Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants of Kantapada block of Cuttack district, Odisha, India

This study documents the species of medicinal plants used by traditional healers and local villagers to cure different diseases. Plants were documented on the basis of plant parts used, mode of use, doses and mode of administration of herbal drugs. With extensive and intensive field survey in the study area, information regarding plants was collected from local herbal practitioners, village elders and traditional healers through conversations, interviews and discussion with the standardized ethnobotanical questionnaire. A total of 67 plantspecies belonging to 43 families were identified and documented which were used to cure different diseases. The family Fabaceae, Apocynaceae, Rutaceae, Lamiaceae and Nyctaginaceae were most dominated ethnomedicinal plant used to cure different diseases. Plants parts mostly preferred were leaves, fruits, bark and roots. It can be concluded that ethnobotanical plants can be used to discover natural products that may serve as lead for the potential source for new bioactive compound of therapeutic value.