Vol. 10, Special Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
S Baruah, Dr. MK Sarma, AA Sharma, P Borah, ASN Ahmed, RK Goswami and H Choudhury

Abstract:
The entire north-eastern region of India including Assam is endowed with a wide diversity of plants with high therapeutic value. A case study was conducted with a view to collect the available medicinal plant genetic resources and documentation of their traditional uses in the North Bank Plain Zone of Assam. The information on various aspects viz. species diversity, their traditional uses, modes of propagation and nature of plants were collected based on surveying amongst the local inhabitants of the entire zone. A total of 220 plant species with high therapeutic value were collected and maintainedin the field gene bank. The collection represented 80 herbs, 42 shrubs, 42 vines and 56 trees. It was observed that the majority of the plants (150) were grown in upland condition followed by 41 in sandy loam, 16 in clay soils and a few were from moist, lowland and swampy habitat. The collected plants were distributed to a total of 90 different plant families. Studies on the modes of propagation revealed that most of the plants are propagated by seed (131), followed by 42 plants by stem cutting and 17 plants by rhizome. Roots, leaves, stems, fruits, bark, oil and seeds of different plants were found to be used for medicinal purpose. Based on uses for the treatment of different diseases, plants were categorized. The established field gene bank and the above documents are expected to serve as the benchmark for further conservation and utilization of medicinal plants of the region.