Indian horse chestnut [Aesculus indica (Wall. ex Cambress.) Hook. Hippocastanaceae]: a wild forest tree used for food and medicine by the tribes of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India

Aesculus indica, the Indian Horse Chestnut (IHCN), is a wild tree species indigenous to the temperate forests of the Himalayas. The seeds of this tree are abundant in carbohydrates but are not edible because they contain a very significant quantity of bitter saponins. Indigenous tribes in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh possess a unique traditional knowledge of separating saponins and other impurities from starch. Once this process is over, the resultant product is used as food and medicine. The starch complex, locally known as Seek, is used to prepare several dishes for auspicious occasions. Seek is used as a noncereal diet during fasting, and to keep young children and the elderly warm during the chilly winter months. The local population utilizes the seeds to treat ailments like joint pain, fatigue, diabetes, venous insufficiency, phlebitis, hemorrhoids, ulcers, thrombosis, colic, etc. IHCN has a high energy value, superior starch quality, and a variety of secondary metabolites. These qualities make it a promising raw material for the nutraceutical, functional food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. The utilization of plant components through local indigenous knowledge, as well as their distribution, botany, and ecology, have been described in the present study. Inventorization of the production and productivity of the tree, selection of better and high-yielding germplasm, mechanized processing, value addition, and popularization would be helpful to develop sustainable management practices for IHCN and improve the livelihood and nutritional security of the tribal population residing in the remote localities of Western Himalayas.