Ethnomedicinal plants of Kuki-Chin tribes in Kaihlam wildlife sanctuary of Manipur, India

Background: The undocumented indigenous knowledge of Kuki-Chin tribes within the fringe villages of Kaihlam Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) is vanishing without a trace, therefore preserving the valuable assets is critical for future generations.Methods: Ethnomedicinal information was collected from 84 informants from Kuki-Chin tribes (Paite, Thadou, Hmar, Gangte, Simte, Vaiphei and Zo) and quantitatively analyzed using ICF (Informant consensus factor), FL (Fidelity level), UV (Use value) and RFC (Relative frequency of citation).Results: The total ethnomedicinal plants reported include 102 plant species under 90 genera in 55 families and were utilized by the different ethnic groups of Kuki-Chin tribes in the present study. These plants were used against 53 different ailments grouped into 16 categories. The most commonly used plant part was represented by leaves (45%) and the most common form of preparation was decoction (41%). The calculated ethnobotanical indices range for informant consensus factor (ICF; 0.91-0.99), fidelity values (FL; 84%-100%), use value (UV; 0.5-0.9), the relative frequency of citation (RFC; 0.01-0.71) and the Pearson correlation coefficient between UV and RFC reflecting a positive correlation (0.788) between use value and the relative frequency of citation. The unique features of the study area were the perspectives for the corpse preservation, deworming in children, trichinosis and food poisoning remedies. Among the reported ethnomedicinal plants, two threatened taxa Cycas pectinata Griff. and Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. were highly utilized by the tribal communities as good source of medicines and food which need to be highlighted for their sustainable utilization and conservation.Conclusion: The ethnomedicinal plants were analyzed quantitatively for the first time from the study site regarding their indigenous use by different ethnic groups belonging to Kuki-Chin tribes in Kaihlam Wildlife Sanctuary. The present study will help in the conservation of such intangible assets for their sustainable utilization and prospecting for discovery of new drugs based on the traditional knowledge.