Medicinal plant wealth of local communities in some villages in Shimoga District of Karnataka, India

An ethnomedicinal survey (1998-2000) was conducted in three villages of Shimoga district of Karnataka, India, using a questionnaire designed by Sinha (1996) [Sinha, R.K., 1996. Ethnobotany-The Renaissance of Traditional Herbal Medicine. Ina Shree Publishers, Jaipur, India, 242 pp.]. The herbal practitioners in the study area were interviewed and information on medicinal plants, their local names, habitat and their seasonal availability was collected. The survey revealed the utilization of 47 species of plants belonging to 46 genera in 28 families used to treat 9 infectious and 16 non-infectious diseases. Twelve new claims on ethnomedical knowledge were reported and there were formulations that were similar to that described already in the literature.