Exploring the Tribal Heritage: Medicinal Plants Utilized by the People of Guna District, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Amidst widespread biodiversity loss, misuse, and the escalating threat of biopiracy, alongside intensifying patent conflicts over bioresources, the documentation of biodiversity and its traditional uses, particularly in medical applications by ethnic communities, has become paramount. Medicinal plants, utilized for millennia to produce diverse medications, have a rich history of efficacy in treating a multitude of ailments. Consequently, these botanical resources continue to play a crucial role in traditional and contemporary medicinal practices. Despite existing ethnobotanical publications focusing on various tribes, this study aims to explore the diversity of medicinal plants among the tribal communities of Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Through interviews and surveys, local names and medicinal uses of 32 medicinal plant species were documented from the study area. These species belong to 26 genera and 18 families, with Fabaceae emerging as the dominant family, comprising eight species, followed by Combretaceae with four species.