A survey of ethno-medicinally important tree species in Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, central India

: The study was carried out in Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, central India. The forest is classified as a tropical dry deciduous type, with teak Tectona grandis as the predominant species. Extensive field trips were carried out during 2018–2020 to document the medicinally important tree species. The medicinal importance of these plants was recorded through interviews, group discussions with local tribal communities and on the basis of the literature available. Enumeration of tree species in this area showed occurrence of 50 tree species belonging to 37 genera and 21 families. The study further observed that several species were being used as traditional medicine by the local tribal folks, traditional healers in the study area, and also by pharmaceutical industries. The study observed that some species in the sanctuary were rare due to several developmental projects, forest destruction, and over-exploitation. The study provides details about the botanical identity, family, local name, plant parts utilised and uses for treatment of diseases. The present paper identified the tree species for their conservation status and accordingly recommends the priority for their conservation in the study area. We recommend that tree species documentation might be helpful for drug formulation and the preservation of traditional knowledge.


INTRODUCTION
Biodiversity is an essential component of our health and existence (Ogunkunle et al. 2019). India is the largest producer of medicinal herbs and hence termed as the 'botanical garden' of the world (Seth & Sharma 2004). It is estimated that more than 50,000 plant species are utilised for medicinal purpose around the world (Schippmann et al. 2002). Ethno-botany is a growing field of research that studies the utilization of various plant species and their qualities as food, medicine, and other purposes (Prescott-Allen & Prescott-Allen 1990). Nature has been a source of medicines for thousands of years, and plant-based system continues to play an essential role in primary health care for 80% of the world's population (Gupta 2001). In the beginning, these were the main sources of folk or ethno-medicine (Bargali & Shrivastava 2002). During the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in the study of medicinal plants and their traditional use in different parts of the world (Hanazaki et al. 2000;Al-Qura'n 2005). In India, since early times, human beings have been exploring plants for various uses such as fodder, food, medicines, fuel-wood, resins, timber, gums, papers, tannins, spices, and beverages (Samant et al. 1998;Bargali et al. 2009;Swamy et al. 2010). Madhya Pradesh has the biggest proportion of India's tribal population. According to the 2011 census, the state's tribal population is 15.31 million which constitutes about 21.1 percent of the total population. Madhya Pradesh harbors 46 tribal communities with over 100 ethnic groups. The state has a high level of biodiversity and ethno-diversity. The indigenous people are dependent on the forest for food, shelter, medicine, and clothing. To meet their daily needs, they harvest non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as roots, tubers, flowers, fruits, fibres, gum, resin, dye, tannins, honey, and wax. A major part of the Sanctuary is covered by dense forest in which Gond tribes are predominant. Medicinal plants are the only easily accessible health care alternative for most of the population in rural and tribal area. About 85% of the rural population of India depends on wild varieties of medicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases. It is still considered the first line of primary health-care even in the present age to major segments of the population worldwide (Jain et al. 2011;Gwalwanshi & Bishwas 2016). Even today, plant materials continue to play a major role in primary health care as therapeutic cures in many developing countries (Lawal et al. 2010). It has been reported that natural products (their derivatives and analogues) represent over 50% of all drugs in clinical use, in which natural products derived from higher plants represent about 25% of the total (Cragg & Newman 2013). The World Health Organization assessed that over 80% of the people in developing countries depend on traditional remedies, for their day to day needs and about 855 traditional medicines including crude plant extracts (Tilburt & Kaptchuk 2008). With the growing threat of losing traditional knowledge in the recent time, several efforts have been made to record and publish this knowledge. In the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in traditional medicine worldwide. The traditional knowledge of herbal medicine and practises transferred from generation to generation has been challenged by modern medicine and technology. Many of these traditional remedies have been largely forgotten or are really no longer practiced (Gruyal et al. 2014). Knowledge or information about traditional herbal medicine is no longer recognised as beneficial particularly among the younger and more educated population (Ducusin 2017). This present study was conducted to document the knowledge of indigenous plant utilization and healthcare practices utilizing tree species by tribals and villagers in the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary and to enumerate the tree species richness and their ethnomedicinal values.

Study area
The Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in central India covers an area of about 1,197.042 km 2 . It lies between 23.083-23.716 N and 79.083-79.416 E, at an average altitude of 600 m above mean sea level ( Figure 1). It comprises the reserved and protected forests of South Sagar, Damoh, and Narsingpur forest divisions. Based on average annual rainfall, temperature and humidity conditions, the climate of the Sanctuary can be broadly termed as seasonal. The year is divisible into three well-marked seasons, i.e., rainy (mid June-September), winter October-February), and summer (March-mid June). The average annual rainfall of the area is 1,200 mm. About 90% of the annual rainfall is received during the south-west monsoon period, only 5.5% and about 4.5% during winter and summer seasons, respectively. January is the coldest month with temperature as low as 5 0 C. Highest temperature reaches up to 48 0 C during the month of May.

Sampling
Field survey of the sanctuary was done during 2018-2020 in different seasons of each year to collect all the forest tree species from each sub habitat, i.e., plateau, slopes, and plains. Further, areas with varying microclimate conditions such as moist, dry, and mesic places were given emphasis for plant collection. Specimens were shown to local indigenous people for local names and their medicinal uses. Their traditional knowledge for use and preparation of decoction/ powdering was also documented. These specimens were dried and pressed in the field and transported to the laboratory and were prepared and deposited in the Herbarium, Department of Botany, Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. For identification, micro-morphological characters of the plant were detailed. All the specimens were critically examined and identified with the help of different flora and published literature (Mudgal et al. 1997;Singh et al. 2001;Verma et al. 1993). The threat status of the identified plant species were assessed after consultation with relevant literature (IUCN 2021;Khanna et al. 2021;Vattakaven et al. 2016). Medicinal plant species are alphabetically addressed in tabular form, accompanied by the author's abbreviations, family name, local name, parts used and disease treatment (Table 1).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Across the study area, a total of 50 species belonging to 37 genera and 21 families were recorded. Fabaceae was found to be the most abundant family with 14 species followed by Combretaceae (06), Moraceae (05), and Myrtaceae with 04 species. All other families were found to have two or one species (Figure 2). The trees species recorded in field surveys are listed in Table 1 along with their botanical name, vernacular/local name, family, parts used, and their ethnobotanical uses in alphabetical order. The study shows that, various parts of plants such as rhizome, roots, fruits, and leaves are used to cure various ailments. Constructive dialogue with the local people revealed that, they have unique knowledge to cure human diseases and disorders by using these tree species. These are administered in the form of medicinal recipes such as extract, powder, juice, paste, oil, etc. Sometimes, various domestic substances like ghee, milk, oil, and turmeric powder are also employed for preparing medicinal recipes. A number of species of trees were found to have multiple uses. Among the five tribal zones in India, this sanctuary belongs to the central zone, dominated by the Gond tribe descended from Rajgonds, a principal tribe of the Dravidian family and perhaps the most important of the non-Aryan or forest tribes in India (Dubey 2004). Information on traditional knowledge related to India is also shared by CSIR's TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library). Further to protect the knowledge from patenting, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and state biodiversity boards (SBBS) have taken steps to conserve and digitize this information. Overexploitation of some tree species particularly for the collection of roots and underground parts from trees is shrinking their extent. Therefore, there is a need to create awareness among the local people for the importance as well as conservation of these tree species in their original habitat. The importance of various forms of knowledge, particularly Indigenous and local knowledge, in understanding and managing climate change is becoming more widely recognised (IPCC 2022). This study provides suitable data for ethnomedicinal plant researchers to further identify new biomolecules for the treatment of various illnesses. There is an urgent need to acquire and preserve this traditional system of medicine by proper documentation and identification of species. The information is also useful for sustainable development of a small-scale pharmaceutical industries for the welfare of the community. It is recommended to formulate conservation strategies for tree species as per their threatened status before they are pushed to extinction.

Least concern
18 Cassia fistula L.

Fabaceae Amaltas Bark
Stem bark is ground with pepper and garlic and the mixture is given to cure fever.

Least concern 19
Dalbergia latifolia Roxb. www.threatenedtaxa.org The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of articles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.