Traditional herbal healing practices for the treatment of Malaria and associated symptoms by Miju-Mishmi tribe of Lohit district, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

Abstract Background: Miju-Mishmi tribe of Lohit district have been practising traditional herbal medicine for curing various ailments including malaria. Present study investigated the traditionally used antimalarial plants and their mode of preparation by Miju-Mishmi tribe to cure malaria and associated symptoms. Also, to explore their biological relevance and phytopharmacological confirmation about the presence of secondary metabolites. Methods: The study was conducted in three villages of Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh., viz. Karhe, ZiroBasti and Telluliang village. Semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted with purposively selected interviewees including traditional healers, herb sellers, cured patients, and elderly knowledgeable persons. To understand the popularity of each medicinal plant, systematic analysis of ethnobotanical indices, viz., Fidelity Level, Preference Ranking, Use Value, Informant Consensus Factor and Formulation Score were calculated. Qualitative phytochemical profiling was performed for the plants whose PR % scores ≥ 65 and FL scores ≥ 80%.Results: A of total 79 medicinal plants belonging to 50 families and 71 genera were used in twenty-nine ethnomedicinal formulations. Among these, twenty-four plants were reported to be newly used. Mostly leaves (30.38%) of the herbaceous species (48.10%) were used in different formulations. Maximum formulations were prescribed for internal application (83.54%) with wide utility of extraction (25.81%) followed by decoction (22.58%) mode. The highest fidelity value (≥ 80%) was reported for Aconitum heterophyllum followed by Paris polyphylla, Coptis teeta, Euphorbia neriifolia, Holarrhena pubescens, Tinospora cordifolia, Andrographis paniculata. The highest PR value (≥ 65%) was account for C. teeta, followed by T. cordifolia, A. nilagirica and P. polyphylla for curing malaria fever. The UV index ranges between 0.07 to 0.87, with highest ranking reported for C. teeta (UV=0.87). Species like A. heterophyllum, Andrographis paniculata, Artemisia nilagirica, C. teeta, Holarrhena pubescens, and P. polyphylla are in high market demand. Preliminary qualitative phytochemical profiling of selected plants has confirmed their therapeutic efficacy against malaria.Conclusion: Indigenous Miju-Mishmi people have a great knowledge of antimalarial medicinal plants, which requires a proper documentation. There is an enormous probability of getting many effective antimalarial leads from the reported indigenous plants of Mishmi hills for discovery of new drugs.