Medicinal Plants and Traditional Practices of Baiga Tribe in Amarkantak Region of Eastern Madhya Pradesh

The present ethnobotanical study was carried out in Amarkantak region eastern part of Madhya Pradesh during January 2018 to January 2019 to document the medicinal plants used by the Baiga tribes. Traditional medicinal plants used by the Baiga tribes of 37 plant species belonging to 35 genera and 28 families used to menstrual disorder, piles, sore throat, respiratory disorder, haematuria, miscarriage, jaundice, fever, insanity, leucorrhoea, bleeding during pregnancy, spermatorrhea, infertility in women, motiabind, scorpion bite, wounds of animals, stomach disorder, intestinal worms, diabetes, leukoderma, rheumatism, scabies, wart and easy delivery etc. and other various unreported medicinal plants are reported here.


Introduction
The district Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh located between 23°15′ to 24°N Latitude and 81°0′ to 81°45′E Longitude, covering an area of 3701 sq. km. The district is surrounded by Korea district (Chhattisgarh) in the East, Dindori district in the West, Shahdol district in North and Northwest district in Umaria (Figure 1). This region is popularly known as the Plateau of Beghel-Khand for its rich and diverse flora. The Pushprajgarh block of Anuppur district mostly inhabited by Gond, Baiga, Panika, Kol, Agaria tribes in sporadic remote hill tracts. The total population of the study site is 194,574. The maximum temperature goes up to 45°C in the month of May and minimum recorded is 20°C in the month of January. The area has been categorised as Central India sub-tropical forest endowed with various forest as natural resources. The holy river 'Narmada' origin in Amarkantak in 'Mai ki Bagiya' passes through the district Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh. The Baigas are one of the oldest aboriginal tribes and classified as one of the primitive tribes of Madhya Pradesh based on pre-agricultural technology, low literacy and stagnant and diminishing population [1]. The area has been categorised as Central India sub-tropical forest endowed with various forest as natural resources. The Baiga tribes still practice on herbal medicines. Hence, the use of herbs to treatment of various health disorders is being done at a very low cost. A number of valuable research papers on ethno-medicinal plants of the Amarkantak region have been published by various researchers [2][3][4][5][6][7]. However, the vast storage of ethno-medicinal information of these study areas has not been fully documented. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to present indigenous knowledge and uses of wild plants, which are used by Baiga tribes for treatment of various ailment diseases.

Methodology
Intensive ethnobotanical explorations were conducted in seven villages, namely Pushprajgarh, Jamunadadar, Bijora, Bhejari, Paladongari, Bendi and Karondapani of district Anuppur from January 2018 to January 2019. The method adopted for collection of data was interview with Baiga tribes, local medicine men (Vaidyas) and one to one discussion about therapeutic uses of local plants in the treatment of various diseases. A questionnaire was prepared to gather data for this purpose. The herbarium specimens were prepared by following the standard method [8]. Plants used by the tribal were identified with the help of Flora of Madhya Pradesh [9][10][11] and identification was confirmed by consulting the herbaria of Botanical Survey of India, Central Regional Circle, Allahabad (BSA). These voucher specimens are prepared and deposited in the herbarium of Department of Botany, Pt. S.N.S. Govt. Post Graduate College, Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. The plants are arranged alphabetically according to their botanical name followed by family, local name and mode of administration for different diseases as given in the ( Table 1).  8

Meliaceae Neem
Leaf juice (10 ml) mixed with a cup of water is given orally once in a day before breakfast for 7 days to prevent miscarriage. 9 Bauhinia variegata L. Caesalpiniaceae Kachnar A spoonful of sun-dried flower bud powder mixed with a cup of water is given orally twice in a day for 21 days to cure piles.
10 Boerhavia diffusa L. Nyctaginaceae Punarnava Root decoction (10 ml) mixed with a cup of water is given thrice in a day for 7 days to cure jaundice.

11
Bryonia laciniosa L. Cucurbitaceae Shivlingi A teaspoonful crushed seed with a glass of water is given orally once in the morning before breakfast for 3 months to cure sterility in women. 12

Anacardiaceae
Chironji Leaf juice (15 ml) mixed a cup of water taken twice in a day for 2 days to prevent dysentery.

Fabaceae Chheula
Flowers are boiled in water and the water is used to take bath for 3 days to cure mild fever among children.

Results and discussion
The ethnobotanical research reports 37 plant species belonging to 35 genera and 28 families used for curing various diseases by the Baiga tribes in the Amarkantak region. The representing plants are mostly used to cure various diseases viz. menstrual disorder, piles, sore throat, respiratory disorder, haematuria, miscarriage, jaundice, fever, insanity, leucorrhoea, bleeding during pregnancy, spermatorrhea, infertility in women, abortifacient, Motiabind, scorpion bite, wounds of animals, stomach disorder, intestinal worms, diabetes, leukoderma, rheumatism, scabies, wart and easy delivery. The presence of such a large number of medicinal plants indicates that the area has a very rich diversity of medicinal plant species and is a site for different indigenous knowledge. The present ethno-medicinal information provided in this paper, is compared with well-known Indian medicinal literature [12][13][14]. The result of the present study continues to play a vital role in the healthcare system of the tribal people and paves the way for the development and discovery of new drugs.