Indigenous knowledge of rural women on plant-based medicinal practices for respiratory disorders

Swarnalatha, A.M., Mangasri Indigenous knowledge of rural women on plant-based medicinal practices for respiratory disorders Asian Agri-History Volume 10, Issue 3, July 2006, Pages 213-221

Abstract- The traditional Indian lifestyles are well acquainted with herbal medicines. One of the significant features of local health practices is that they use locally available and quite often readily accessible resources. Plant sources form the majority of these resources. In this context, the project "Indigenous knowledge of rural women for health security" was envisaged. The data was collected from rural women and local folk healers of seven agroclimatic zones of Andhra Pradesh, India with the help of a structured schedule by using techniques like focus group discussions and other participatory techniques. The information collected was scientifically validated with the help of experts and scientific literature. This paper presents the indigenous knowledge of rural women on plant-based medicinal practices used for different respiratory disorders, i.e., name of the plant in different languages, the part of the plant used, properties, dosage, and method preparation.