An ethnobotanical investigation of medicinal plants used among rural communities in Northeastern Madhya Pradesh, India: a quantitative study

The present study aims to document and analyze information related to significant ethnomedicinal plants in rural communities of Northeastern Madhya Pradesh, India. Data collection involved the use of open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires to gather information on ethnomedicinal plant usage, including specific plants, applications, and traditional healing practices. Quantitative indices such as Relative frequency of citation (RFC), Use value (UV), Family use value (FUV), Informant consensus factor (ICF), and Jaccard’s coefficient of similarity (JCS) were employed to quantify and analyze the gathered information. A total of 201 medicinal plants, belonging to 170 genera and 76 families, were recorded for treating various diseases, with trees (43%), herbs (33%), and climbers (13%) being predominantly used. Plants such as Hedychium coronarium and Cordia macleodii exhibited high RFC and high UV, particularly for treating eye and blood pressure problems. Vanda tessellata showed a high informant consensus factor for treating ear-related problems. Positive correlations were found between RFC and UV (0.631) and RFC and FUV (0.159). The study highlights the prevalence of traditional healing practices using medicinal plants in the area. Documentation of ethnomedicinal species and their therapeutic applications could stimulate further exploration into phytochemical and pharmacological investigations, potentially leading to the development of novel pharmaceuticals.