Tripura: Study Reveals 248 Plant Species That Cures 75 Diseases

AGARTALA: A recent study has shed light on an exceptional shrub from Tripura, locally known as the "Apang Plant" (Antidesma roxburghii), which has been a staple in traditional healing for treating bone fractures.

The Journal of Bioresources, an accredited UGC-CARE journal, published the study, "Point Pattern Analysis and Consensus Agreements” on Traditional Knowledge of Medicinal Plants Used by Traditional Healers of Tripura.

Written by Prasenjit Patari, Sojeetra Niral Hansrajbhai, Sanjoy Das, and Rohit Kumar Ravte, the study received support from the Regional Ayurveda Research Centre in Agartala.

The study listed 248 medicinal plants that are used to cure 75 health conditions and examined them using ethnobotanical measures such as Usage Report (UR), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC).

Useful species such as Tinospora cordifolia, Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinale, and Antidesma roxburghii are highly regarded in traditional healing.

The research demonstrated the effectiveness of specific plants in treating hepatobiliary disorders that affect the liver, gallbladder, and bile duct, highlighting the need for further phytochemical and pharmacological validation.

While Euphorbia royleana was known for its use in treating bronchitis, Antidesma roxburghii, and Cissus quadrangularis showed high success rates for treating fractures.

The leaf was the most commonly used plant part, used in treatments by 131 species. Other parts included root bark (45 plants), stem bark (30 plants), fruit (21 plants), whole plant (17 plants), and other specific parts. 

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