DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2020.v08i08.003

Pages: 244-248

Medicinal and Aromatic plants are economically important plants, rich in secondary metabolites and potential source of drugs, which provide basic raw materials for medicines, perfumes, flavours and cosmetics. The use of medicinal plants has attained an important role in health system all over the world. A comprehensive effort was made throughout Bolpur-Sriniketan block of West Bengal during 2018 –2019 to know the present status of medicinal plants in homestead garden. Among 80 households surveyed at 8 different villages in 4 Gram Panchayats of Bolpur-Sriniketan block, 36 households (45%) have planted different types of medicinal plants in their Homestead garden. Nearly 77.78% marginalized tribal community started for nutritional gardening whereas 22.22% were from other communities. Different kinds of vegetables (20 numbers of 11 different families), fruits (7 numbers of 7 different families), flowers (3 numbers of 3 different families) and medicinal plants (15 numbers of 11 different families) were recorded in the homestead gardens. The most common medicinal plants recorded in the homestead garden are basak, Asiatic pennywort (thankuni), tulsi (holi basil), four leaf waterclover (sushni sag), turmeric (haldi), Indian aloe (ghritokumari), ginger (ada), thornapple (dhuntra), garlic (rasun), ashoka, golden apple (bael), belelvine (pan), waterhyssop (brahmi), swampweed (kulekhara), creat (kalmegh), stinkvine (gandal), air plant (patharkuchi) and neem. A parallel medical system has developed for curing common ailments. Though, it is an option for alternative livelihood but the local healers are unaware about the modern ayurveda system.