Exploring Diversity Of Plants Used For Local Therapeutic Practices In Bathinda District, Punjab: An Ethno-Medicinal Study

In a comprehensive ethnobotanical study in the Bathinda district of the Malwa region (Punjab), an extensivecompilation of plant usage in folk medicine was undertaken through in-depth interviews. The primary objectivewas to gather and identify plants used for therapeutic purposes and capture information on traditional herbalmedicine. Plant specimens were collected during numerous field trips. Furthermore, the study identified 87plant taxa from 41 families and documented their use in folk medicine, with 63 taxa identified as cultivated, 18as wild, and the remaining 6 as both cultivated and wild. The most frequently used plants primarily belong tothe Fabaceae family, representing 10.3% of the total, followed by the Solanaceae at 8.04%, and theApocynaceae, Poaceae, and Cucurbitaceae families, each representing another 5.7%. As a result of thiscomprehensive study, 18 ailments medicinal usages of the 87 taxa have been determined. The use valuesindicate the most significant medicinal plants to be Azadirachta indica (0.042) followed by Cassia fistula (0.033)and Curcuma longa (0.030). In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of traditional folk medicineusage, particularly among the rural population of Bathinda, and underscores the significance of preserving andunderstanding these valuable traditional healing practices.