Title :

Bio prospecting of high value medicinal and aromatic

plants found in Chaurajahari municipality of Rukum

Key words: Bio prospecting, High value, MAPs, Rukum

Principal investigator: Agrim Dhital

Affilation: Student : 5th semester ,B.Sc.Ag, IAAS, Paklihawa campus, Rupandehi

Contact details: Phone: 9843368396

Gmail: dhitalagrim34@gmail.com

Starts on: April 5, 2017

Ends on: August 20, 2017

Estimated Budget: Rs. 38,525/- (Thirty eight thousands five hundred twenty five
only )
Introduction:
Majority of Nepal’s population occupies the rural areas and most of the rural people are
intimately linked with the medicinal and aromatic plants either directly or indirectly basically in
unprocessed form. Nepal is also rich in cultural diversity. Due to such an altitudinal variation
from tropical to alpine vegetation and more than 6000 species of vascular plants are found in
Nepal providing a scope for bio prospecting study. Nepal has 118 types of ecosystems along with
13 different types of micro climates. 700 out of 10,091 species of flowering plants being
documented has medicinal value where 238 types are medically tested to find chemical content
(Medicinal and NTFP Coordination Committee). To continue the rational use of medicinal plants
and influence the human health accordingly, survey on this need to be documented

Rukum district is one of the hill and mountain district of Nepal situated in Rapti zoneof MWDR .
Rukum  is a hill and mountain district 280 km west of Kathmandu partially belonging
to Province No. 5 and partially to Province No. 6. Rukum covers an area of 2,877 km² and
elevation ranges from below 750 meters along the Bheri and its lowest tributaries to about 6,000
meters in the Dhaulagiris with a range of climates from sub-tropical to perpetual snow and ice.
The district borders Dolpa and Jajarkot on the north, Salyan, Rolpa and Baglung on the south,
and Myagdi on the east.  The vegetation of the study is dominated by Sal (Shorea robusta)
forest along with sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), Neem (Azadirachta indica), baheda (Terminalia
belerica), dabdabe (Garuga pinnata), khaniyu (Ficus semicordata), asuro (Justicia adhatoda),
dhaiyaro (Woodfordia fruticosa), titepati (Artemesia indica), Jamun (Syzygium cumini), Datiwan
(Achyranthes bidentata), Banamara (Eupatorium adenophorum) and Tejpat (Cinamomum
tamala) etc. The area of the field visit is about 15 km east from the Chaurajahari airport and not
easily accessed with the means of transportation.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

The Chhetris are the ethnic group indigenous to our locality . Brahmins are the sub-ethnicity of
that area . Along with those ethnic group some minor races are also living there such Majhi,
Magar, etc. Most of the peoples are illiterate and engaging in agricultural activities. Despite
advances in modern technologies, ethno pharmacological knowledge is still used in that
community and rests primarily in older generation’s, dhamis and jhankris (traditional healers) in
my study site. The traditional healing practice of the magar, vaidyas, and kabirajsis limited to
certain key member of the society; they communicate this knowledge orally from generation to
generation. In this context, very few sporadic works have been already done to collect the ethno
pharmacological data and traditional knowledge systems However, local healers, local people
and patients are not well informed about the chemical nature of plants and plant products, which
may even be fatal. There is a common belief that medicine from plant sources has no side
effects. But it is remarkable that there are some toxic plants which are more hazardous and may
be fatal if administered by unknowledgeable person or learner healer or taken crude. It may be
true that most of the plant based medicines have fewer side effects.
Most of the peoples are engaging in agricultural practices but there is no such advance
technologies and not quality inputs , so that their income is not sufficient for livelihood
maintenance but important medicinal and aromatic plants are under exploited condition due to
lack of knowledge and information. Around half of the youths are illiterate and unemployed,
some are in abroad for labour work but there is huge scope of identification , extraction and
commercialization of important medicinal and aromatic plants.

RATIONALE OF STUDY:

According to WHO about 80% of the world’s population, especially in the rural areas depends
on herbal medicine for their healthcare needs. About 90% of the Nepalese people reside in rural
areas where access to government health care facilities is lacking. The ethnic people residing in
different geographical belts of Nepal depends on wild plants to meet their basic requirements and
all the ethnic communities have their own pool of secret ethno medicinal and ethno
pharmacological knowledge about the plants available in their surroundings which has been
serving rural people with its superiority. Attraction of human are now towards traditional and
natural medicine rather than antibiotics and chemicals as they do not have side effect, are
effective and sound. Ethno botanist has emphasized the importance of ethno medicinal
knowledge for sustainable community development. Ethnic communities nave their own way of
utilizing the medicinal plant in one hand and conserving ethno medicinal in other hand. These
traditional healers are limited and their knowledge and skills are worthy enough that if they get
lost we couldn’t have knowledge and skill for proper utilization of medicinal plants and their
parts. There is a need to study, identify and document the indigenous knowledge and skill of
utilizing the medicinal plant and plant parts for the benefits of global people. In this region,
herbal remedies continue to remain the primary vehicle for delivery of primary health care. It
will also be very helpful to raise the awareness among the young generations about the
significance of these vital resources and value of their conservation. A greater awareness on the
importance of Indigenous knowledge is likely to help preserve the knowledge base for the use
and benefit of the local community.
Most of the medicinal and aromatic plants are not commercially used till now, some of the
species are used traditionally by farmers, baidyas, dhami and Jhankris. Plants are rich in
nutritional , medicinal and aromatic value but ethnic people are not acquainted with rational and
proper use of medicinal and aromatic plants to get maximum output. The involvement of
maximum local people , exploitation , extraction and commercialization of MAPs will be
milestone for changing livelihood of people living at that particular location along with district .

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of the study can be classified as:

Broad objective:

1) Bio prospecting of high value MAPs in the study area.

Specific objectives:

1. To identify the commonly used MAPs by the local community in Chaurajahari , Rukum.
2. To identify the beneficial components of MAPs present in this community.
3. To isolate the active ingredients from MAPs.
4. To build up awareness among the people for marketing and commercialization of MAPs
extracts.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Nepal is a land of natural and cultural diversity. As previously said by the great king Prithvi
Narayan Shah, Nepal is a land of 4 castes and 36 sub castes, many people belonging to the
different ethnic groups reside here sharing the common land. There are 125 different ethnic
groups reported in census 2011. Traditional knowledge on plants and plant resources for
medicinal purpose has a long history in Nepal and its use is spreading due to having no side
effect, available at affordable price and sometime the only source of health care available to the
poor.

Indigenous knowledge is defined as the accumulated knowledge, skills and technology of people,
derived from the interaction of human beings and their environment. It is the sum of experiences
and knowledge of a given group that forms the basis for decision making in the face of familiar
and unfamiliar problems and challenges. Indigenous knowledge is initiated, derived and evolved
by the local people themselves .(Acharya, 2009)

Ethno pharmacology is the study of differences in response to drugs based on varied ethnicity;
pharmacogenetics. (Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary,2012) The study of ethnic uses of plant
species is very important to modern medicine, agriculture and even the manufacturing industrial
sector of the society.

Documentation refers to an act or instance of authenticating with documents. It is essentially a

process of ensuring conformity to historical facts. (Madan et al, 2002). Ethno medicinal plants
used by Bantar of Bhaudaha , Morang, Nepal was made by Acharya et al 1998 and 86 species
belonging to 81 genera of 41 families were documented to be used for human diseases and 20
species belonging to 20 generas of 15 families to be used for domestic animals , 8 species being
used for both.
Indigenous knowledge is defined as the accumulated knowledge, skills and technology of people,
derived from the interaction of human beings and their environment. It is the sum of experiences
and knowledge of a given group that forms the basis for decision making in the face of familiar
and unfamiliar problems and challenges. Indigenous knowledge is initiated, derived and evolved
by the local people themselves.(Acharya, 2009). Today, ethno pharmacology plays a crucial role
in the study of traditional medicine, as it has an interfacial function linking nature with culture
and traditional knowledge with modern technology thus contributing to all understanding of
traditional medicinal knowledge (Pei, 2005). The main aim of ethno pharmacology is to
document the knowledge about plants that have come through generations and use the
knowledge for the benefit of the society (Chaudhary, 1998). The ethnic communities have
significant customary knowledge on utilization of plant and plant parts and there is a long
tradition of transferring this indigenous knowledge from generation to generation (Acharya and
Acharya, 2009). Use of plants for curing diseases was common in most parts of the world for a
long time. Of the 75,000 plants used in different systems of medicine, more than 20,000 species
of higher plants are used in the traditional treatment practices of indigenous cultures living
around the world (Ved Prakash, 1998). Therefore, medicinal plants or plant derived medicines
have always played a key role in world health including the maintenance of health as well as in
the introduction of new treatment. The world health organization (WHO) has estimated that
about 80% of the population in developing countries depends on traditional medicine for their
primary health care needs. Many such plants also have other domestic uses. It is therefore very
important that studies in ethno botany and ethno pharmacology continue so as to preserve
traditional knowledge (Kurmi and Baral, 2004).

Nepal is rich in biological resources and particularly well known for medicinal and aromatic
plants; it is necessary to investigate the medicinal value of Nepalese medicinal and aromatic
plants which might have tendency to influence human biochemistry since plant species being
used as traditional herbal medicine (Singh, 2006)

It is estimated that, of the over 6500 species of flowering plants in Nepal and over 700 species
are reported by local people to have medicinal properties (NEPAP, 1993). However due to lack
of national program to monitor and protect Nepal’s diversity; no systematic inventories of the
biological diversity of any area; thus it is not unknown how many species of plants are extinct or
becoming extinct. (Camroon, 1996).

METHODOLOGY:

Research sites/ study population:

This research study will be conducted on analyzing the farming practices of 20 farmers
(innovators) in Chaurajahari . 4 respondents will be the national farmers ‘innovators list
particularly focusing on application of medicinal plants and remaining 20 respondents from each
cluster will be based on the criteria used such as innovative practices, gender and accessibility .
Site selection criteria:

The eastern part of Chaurajahari municipality about 14km east from Chaurajahari airport is
selected for the study purpose since this place is near to my residential site and it can be
representative of the medicinal plants application site.

 Organization visit and consultation:

Organization visit particularly on municipality for finding out the promising leader
farmer of the area using the innovative farming practices, situation of MAPs and the
selection based on gender ethnicity, professionalism and accessibility.
 District level orientation to the participants farmers (respondents):
One day district level leader farmer’s workshop will be organized to share the research
activities and farming practices, utilization and documentation in particular.
 Leader farmer household survey:
A total of 20 farmers will be purposively selected for the household surveys. Each
household represent a sampling unit and the household member involved in healing
process will be selected as respondent for household survey. A detail questionnaire will
be used that consist demographic and socio economic information of the family, farming
practices of innovators prevailing healing practices and medicinal plants grown in the
locality.
 Key informants interview:
Throughout the research work ten key informants based on the experience and knowledge
will be visited. Old age men and women of that community will be selected for getting
information medicinal plants, healing practices, their efficiencies and feedback from the
consumers.
 Focus group discussion:
At least four FGDs will be organized and their experiences on utilization of MAPs will
be discussed.
 Researcher’s direct observation:
Direct observation will be made for triangulation of the information gathered from FGDs,
household survey and key informant survey in order to give credit to the validity of the
study. The observation will be carried out in order to find whether there is a good
correspondence between sayings and doings on subject such as types of medicinal plant
they have , they use and they succeed and its scale and frequency of use.
 Secondary sources:
Previous work on region particularly on use of medicinal plants and its efficiency will be
taken. The secondary data is collected from organization visit, net browsing.

EXPECTED OUTPUT:

 Different medicinal plants used by the people of Chaurajahari municipality identified

along with their medicinal values.
 The traditional knowledge and skills on the use of medicinal plant parts by that
community documented.
  The chemical evaluation of the medicinal plants used by the community identified.
 Extraction and commercialization of products of MAPs started.

BENEFICIARIES:

Primary beneficiary will be the local persons, correspondents. Secondary beneficiary will be the
students, municipality, NGO, INGO, donor agencies and academicians. Tertiary beneficiary will
be at the national level if the data is required in the future that provides the baseline for the
policy making.

RISK AND ASSUMPTIONS:

 The correspondent will respond positively with the correct information.

 Budget allocated will be available and released in time.
 The countries will be politically stable with no strikes and naturally pollution free.
 There will be no change in the plans and policies of the government.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF STUDY:

The aged long cultural practices that could help heal the disease and disorders are now
threatened with the so called modern society which needs to be checked and promoted the
traditional healing since they are free from the chemicalised materials. Otherwise, we are sure to
have our descendants feeble in the future.

The study documents the indigenous knowledge of the local people about the medicinal plants
and their practical implications which may get vanished if not nurtured over generations. Since
the documentation has to be carried with the local communities, there was the problem of
language. The data collected could help any non-residential to get the knowledge about the ethno
pharmacology of the community. However it does not cover the vast area and could be
representative of the small area only. Further the survey was done with the limited budget and in
that limited time that may not have choreographed the exact interpretation.
WORK PLAN / TIME SCHEDULE:

S.N. Activities
April May June July Aug.

1 Desk study

2 Site selection and preliminary field visit

3 Literature review

4 Key informant interview

5 Survey

6 Data entry and analysis

7 Report writing/preparation

8 Outreach/Report presentation

ESTIMATED BUDGET:

S.N. Activates Estimated budget (Rs.)

1 Literature review 5,000/-
2 Survey 6,000/-
I Transportation 4,000/-
ii Fooding 2,500/-
iii Lodging 2,000/-
iv Medicines 1,000/-
V Others 1,000/-
3 I Primary data analysis 3,000/-
ii Secondary data collection 2,500/-
4 Stationary/Print/Photocopy 3,000/-
5 Report writing/ Preparation/ Presentation 3,500/-
6 Sub total 33,500/-
7 Contingency (5%) 1,675/-
8 Overhead (10%) 3,350/-
9 Grand total 38,525/-
REFERENCES:

Rajbhandary, K. 2001.Ethno pharmacology of Nepal, ethno pharmacological society of

Nepal.

Acharya , B and Pokhrel, B.1998 . Ethno medicinal plant used by Bantar of Bhaudaha,
Morang, Nepal. Department of botany , Post Graduate , campus, TU , Biratnagar , Nepal,
Our nature,4:96-103.

Gachhadar P, Adhikari A.R , Chaudhary R.P. 2006, Helping Hands with Chimdi People

Manandhar N.P.1980 a. Medicinal plants of Nepal Himalaya. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak

Bhandar.

Dangol D.R. and Gurung S.B.1991. Ethno pharmacology of the Tharu tribe of chitwan
district, Nepal.Int. J. Pharmacognosy 29 (3): 203-209.

Mountain Environment and Development. Kathmandu: Swiss Association for Technical

Assistance in Nepal, pp. 97-107.