Ethnomedicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis by the tribes of Adilabad district, Andhra Pradesh
Keywords:
Ethnomedicine, Rheumatoid arthritis, Adilabad district, Andhra PradeshAbstract
The paper deals with 44 species of plants covering 43 genera and 33 families used for curing rheumatoid arthritis by the tribes of Adilabad district, Andhra Pradesh. Fabaceae and Euphorbiaceae are the dominant families with 4 species each followed by Asclepiadaceae (3 spp); Malvaceae, Sterculiaceae and Moraceae (2 spp each) and others. Habit-wise analysis showed the dominance of trees (15), followed by shrubs and herbs (12 each), climbers (4) and a lone epiphyte. Morphological analysis showed the maximum utilization of root in 14 practices followed by leaf (10), stem bark (9), seed (5), fruit (3), stem (2) and others. Dolichandrone atrovirens, Sesbania procumbens and 22 practices were found to be new or less known. More detailed scientific studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the remedies employed traditionally.