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Wild medicinal plants of South 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India

1*
2
Chittaranjan Naskar , Sobhan Kumar Mukherjee and MadhushriDas Datta 3
1 Madarat Popular Academy, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. Pin- 743610.

chitta.bio@gmail.com
2 Taxonomy and Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Kalyani,

West Bengal, India. Pin- 741235. sobhankr@gmail.com

3 Department. of Botany, Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women, Dakshineswar,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Pin-700035. madhushridas@yahoo.co.in

*Email of Corresponding author: chitta.bio@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The blocksof South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal are rich in vegetation. The various

medicinal plants had been in use by the local communities of the area for curing different

pains and ailments. The present study deals with the identification and documentation of all
those plants which are used as herbal drugs by the local inhabitants. During the survey from

April 2017 to October 2019, 64 plant species belonging to 60 genera and 34 different families

were enlisted and found to be used in effective therapies Among the identified plant species
most belongs to the dicotyledonous families. It is observed that 53.12%, 31.25%, 10.93%,

3.12% and 1.56% are herbs, trees, shrubs, climbers, and creepers, respectively. The study
showed that the chosen area is rich in curative flora useful to treat a variety of health-related

challenges. However, due to increasing population there is habitat destruction. Therefore,
there is an urgent need for their domestication and conservation.

Keywords: phytodiversity; herbal medicine; knowledge; conservation

INTRODUCTION

Herbal drugs are used by majority of the world's population. These are used for primary health
care in rural areas of developing countries. The traditional medicines are derived from medicinal

plants, minerals, and organic matter; however, the herbal drugs are prepared from medicinal
plants only.

In the Indian systems of medicine, most practitioners practicing in various localities have their

own formulations and methods of treatments, hence this should be properly enlisted and
investigated. In western countries also, the use of herbal medicines is steadily growing with high

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