Gunies

People of any caste or community in all villages in India who treat different diseases with local plants or “Jari buttis” are known by different names in different areas. But by different literature in the world they are called as tribal doctors, barefooted doctors, tribal medicine man (TMM), and layman practitioners. WHO recognized them as traditional health practitioners (THPs). The tribal people of the study area are mainly depending on plant based medicine or herbal formulations prepared by these traditional health practitioners to treat their various types of ailments and they have full faith. Still these tribals are away from the modern medicine because they are residing in the remote areas. The traditional techniques of preparation of herbal formulations and their methods of treatment are also unique. Therefore, it is important to document this knowledge of these traditional health practitioners before lost forever. By field survey and personal interviews 43 plant species and their formulations used by tribals residing in the Kotra region of Udaipur district were documented. The collected plant species belonging to 30 families and 42 genera, out of which, 10 were endangered, 8 vulnerable and 15 rare. These plant species were used in the treatment of cough, asthma, rheumatism, arthritis, animal bites, external tumors, fever and to treat other common diseases.