Documentation of some medicinal plant species from Goa

Abstract

An ethno botanical study involving the collection of traditional knowledge of various medicinal plants was conducted in the year 2012-13 from South Goa. Besides taxonomic identification, various other parameters such as the ailments, plant part/s used method of preparation, method of administration and ingredients added were also collected. The data was collected using interview and questionnaire. A total of 50 medicinal plant species belonging to 20 families and 46 genera were collected and studied for treating 18 human aliments. The study revealed that the most common method of preparation of medicine is decoction, followed by paste and poultice. The people of the state have great faith in effectiveness of medicinal herbs. This traditional system of medicine is fast disappearing due to relatively low income in this tradition, advances in allopathic medicines and scarcity of written documents. The objective of this study was to document the knowledge of traditional home remedies for health care in Goa.