M. B. Patil ABSTRACT The paper deals with the study of some ethnomedicinal plants species used in contact therapy, mainly in Chicken pox, Fever, Jaundice, Rheumatic pains and for abortion, Acceleration delivery, Prevent miscarriage, etc. Contact therapy, in which locally available plants, plant parts are made to touch the specific part of the body of the person or domestic animal by the tribal doctors is one of the commons of the practices used by the tribes of the Nandurbar.
Key Words: Ethnobotanical plants; Nandurbar District; Maharashtra; India.
Introduction
Contact therapy, one of the common practices is applied for curing various ailment in women, children and in cattle. Tribals have faith in their own system of medicine. In contact therapy, a part of a locally available medicinal plant is made to touch the body of the ailing person, tied to different parts of the body or hung around the neck. The major diseases for which contact therapy is practiced are, for easy delivery or to get labour pain, for post-delivery treatment, for abortion, to prevent miscarriage, to prevent small boils on the body, for curing diseases like …show more content…
Akkalkuwa, Dhadgaon, Nandurbar, Navapur, Shahada and Taloda of the district. The information was collected during field trips on basis of interviews with the tribal doctors. Every 2-3 villages there is a prominent tribal doctor. Total 70 tribal doctors have been visited. Upon repeated inquiries, changing the pattern of questioning like showing the plant collected from one tribal doctor to another of a distant locality and asking him for its use as medicine in skin diseases and vice-versa. All the collections are housed in the herbarium of the Department of Botany, Jijamata College, Nandurbar-425412, and Maharashtra,