Sujata Pradhan 1*, J. N. Mohanty 1*, and S. Kumar 2
1Department of Botany, School of Applied Sciences, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Bhubaneswar 752050, India
2Biodiversity and Conservation Lab., Ambika Prasad Research Foundation, Cuttack 753015, India
*(e-mail: sujatapradhan.lect@gmail.com; jatindranath.mohanty@cutm.ac.in)
(Received: 30 December 2024; Accepted: 27 May 2025)
ABSTRACT
A lot of health problems are observed worldwide; among them, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is more serious. Urgent formulations of antimicrobial agents from natural sources and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) are needed. The ITK belongs to different tribal communities for their day-to-day traditional practices. Those communities are storehouses of traditional therapeutic values that need to be explored. Santhal, a tribal community in India and more developed has sound knowledge of forest foods, forest products, sustainable agriculture, and medicinal plants. They use the local plants as food, nutraceuticals, medicinal agents, and as a source of livelihood, which should be documented for the formulation of new antimicrobial agents to mitigate the global health problems. Therefore, in the present study, the Santhal community was selected and enumerated 120 medicinal plants along with their uses and local names used by them. The active constituents of 31 medicinal plants and their pharmacological activities are also documented. 34 nutraceuticals and 10 economically important plants were enumerated through a field survey and presented. Since less documentation is available on plants used by the Santhal community, the present study focuses on their medicinal uses, pharmacological activities, and their nutraceutical potential to provide sources of future medicinal foods and antimicrobial agents to cope with the global health problems.
Key words : antimicrobial resistance, medicinal agents, tribal communities