Herbal medicine & healthcare practices among Nicobarese of Nancowry group of Islands - an indigenous tribe of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Tribal people often depend on herbal medicines and the traditional knowledge practitioners (TKPs) serve as their healthcare service providers. This study was an attempt to document the use of medicinal plants by the Nicobarese of Nancowry group of Islands. METHODS: Field survey was conducted in all the five inhabited Islands of the Nancowry group of Islands. All the TKPs were interviewed with a questionnaire-guided ethnomedicinal survey protocol. Voucher specimens of all the cited plants (botanic species) were collected and a Community Biodiversity Register of Nicobarese of Nancowry was prepared. RESULTS: A total of 77 TKPs were identified, who together were using 132 medicinal plant species belonging to 113 genera and 62 families. The TKPs were treating a total of 43 ailments. Seven endemic and three rare plant species were recorded. The most common plant part used was leaves. Remedies were usually prepared using water as the excipient. Routes for administration of medicinal plant preparations were oral, topical and others. The information collected from the TKPs were collated in the form of Community Biodiversity Registers. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The present survey shows that the medicinal plants play a pivotal role in the healthcare of the Nicobarese tribe of Nancowry group of Islands. Efforts to document the medicinal plant species and the formulations used by them are necessary to prevent the loss of this precious knowledge.