An Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants in Alaniya Village, Kota District, Rajasthan

Abstract

The ethnobotanical heritage protection and the systematic description of the traditional ecological knowledge are unavoidable requirements in modern pharmacognosy and biodiversity conservation. The study is an ethnobotanical survey of the Alaniya Village located in Ladpura tehsil of the Kota District, Rajasthan. The area is characterized by semi-dry climate and hydrological effect of the Chambal River basin, thus maintaining a specific floristic community used by the native population, especially Bhil, Meena, and Gurjar tribes. The focus was to discover, document, and critically examine the medicinal flora that was used in the local traditional treatment regimes. The field work lasted between March 2025 and February 2026 and utilized unstructured interviews and participatory methodologies of rural appraisal carrying out 75 interviews (45 males and 30 females). Identifications of the specimens were made possible through the application of Plant Net and later compared against the official regional floristic monographs. The survey produced 53 medicinal taxa spread out in 28 botanical families. The predominant ones were Fabaceae (10 species), then Asteraceae (7 species) and Euphorbiaceae (5 species). The findings revealed new traditional uses including the use of Canscora diffusa in archaeological refuse to prevent neurodamage and use of Blastania garcinii to treat jaundice. Gastro-intestinal and dermatological afflictions proved to be the most common mentioned categories of ailments. All these observations add to the urgent need of concerted efforts to preserve the endangered diversity of the Hadoti region and globally by promoting unified conservation efforts to preserve a fading body of traditional knowledge.