Ethnobotanical Survey of Rajasthan - An Update

Plants have been used both in the prevention and cure of various diseases of humans and their pets. With the advent of human civilization, many systems of therapy have been developed primarily based on plants. Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Sidda, Unani, etc. are our traditional systems of medicines. The plant-based traditional medical systems continue to provide the primary health care to more than three-quarters of the world’s populace. In India, the use of plants for medicinal treatment dates back to 5000 years. It was officially recognized that 2500 plant species have medicinal value while over 6000 plants are estimated to be explored in traditional, folk and herbal medicine. An important prerequisite for proper utilization of raw materials of the country is the survey of its natural resources and the preparation of an inventory. It is necessary that we should have full knowledge regarding the occurrence, frequency, distribution and phenology of various plants for their proper utilization. The forests and arid regions of Rajasthan have great potentiality both from the economic and botanical points of view. This paper reviews the work done so far in the ethnobotany of Rajasthan.