Taxonomy and Floristic Laboratory, Department of UG, PG and Research in Botany, Karnatak University’s, Karnataka Science College, Dharwad, India

*Corresponding author: Kotresha Katrahalli, Taxonomy and Floristic Laboratory, Department of UG, PG and Research in Botany, Karnatak University’s, Karnataka Science College, Dharwad, India. Email: kotresh_sk@yahoo.com g.vijay919@gmail.com

Copyright: © Gobbi V, et al. 2023. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Information: Submission: 27/01/2023; Accepted: 24/02/2023; Published: 28/02/2023

Gynecological disorder is one of the most severe conditions under reproductive health. So, we investigate and collect information from traditional practitioners on the use of medicinal plants for treatment of gynecological disorder in Bagalkot district, Karnataka. The field study was carried out during January 2021 – October 2022. The indigenous knowledge of local traditional healers about the plant species used for medicinal purposes was collected using a questionnaire by personal interviews during field visits. In the present investigation, 15 plant species, belonging to 15 genera and 12 families used by the local healers against gynecological problems of the women are documented. Leaves (5) were the most frequently used plant parts and most of the medicines were prepared in the form of juice and administrated orally. On the basis of fieldwork, it is revealed that the traditional health practitioner’s use the plant medicine commonly for white discharge (leucorrhea) and irregularity periods (Metrorrhagia) in women’s. The scientific name, family, local name, habit, part used and mode of their administrations are provided in the table.

Keywords: Medicinal plants; Gynecological disorder; Traditional health practitioner; Bagalkot district

Gynecology is a branch of medicine that deals with the condition of the female reproductive system. An emerging specialty called ethanol gynecology uses local medicinal plants to treat gynecological conditions such as abortion, menstruation disorders, leucorrhea, infertility, and delivery issues. Menstrual disorders, despite playing a significant role in women’s lives, are sometimes overlooked as serious health problems that can interfere with women’s daily activities. The restrictions on analgesics and sanitary facilities lead Indian women to prefer household spice cabinets or traditional medications [1]. This study concentrated on the traditional remedies that indigenous women used to manage menstrual discomfort. The traditional health practitioners in Karnataka’s Bagalkot District are highly known for having a thorough understanding of medicinal plants. This paper attempts to compile useful information about plants used traditionally by local healers to treat gynecological diseases.

Study Area: Bagalkote is a city situated in the northern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Geographically, it is located at the coordinates 16.18°N 75.7°E, and Situated along the banks of the River Ghataprabha, it lies at an average elevation of 533 meters above sea level. It is the head-quarters of bagalkote district. The district consists of nine C.D. blocks namely Badami, Bagalkote, Bilagi, Hunugund, Jamakhandi, Mudhol, Ilkal, Guledgudd, and Rabhakavi Banahatti. [Figure 1].

Ethnobotanical data collection: The present work was carried out in villages of the nine talukas of Bagalkot district, Karnataka. The extensive studies were conducted during the period January, 2021 to November, 2022 with the help of local informants and local Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) including males and females of different age groups, education level and experience of medicinal plants utilization. Plant specimens are to be collected with flower and fruits. The collector number is given to each plant and noted the field observation in field note book.

To get information from Traditional Health Practitioners, a questionnaire (Data sheet) must be produced. To keep record of additional information during interactions, a data sheet including the Traditional Practitioner’s name, age, occupation, visit date, knowledge, location, plant family, habit, dosage, and vernacular names as well as a field study note book are also kept.

All the plant specimens collected during field visits were taxonomically identified with the help of available floras [2,6]. The correct plant names were verified from International Plant Names Index [7].

Preparation of Herbarium: The collected plant specimens at the time of field visits were prepared in the form of herbarium as suggested by Jain and Rao (1997) [8]. To protect against insect and fungal attack the herbarium sheet are poisoning with 95% ethanol or methylated spirits (denatured alcohol).

The present study revealed that 15 plant species, belonging to 15 genera and 12 families used by the local healers against gynecological problems of women are documented. Out of 15 plants, the majority of the species are shrubs (40%), followed by herbs (33%), and climbers (27%) [Figure 2]. The majority of medications are made from the following plant parts: leaves (40%), roots (27%), seeds (6.6%), flowers (6.6%), fruit (6.6%), whole plant (6.6%), and wood (6.6%) [Figure 3]. Traditional medical practitioners frequently rely their diagnoses

on both their own expertise in treating patients’ ailments as well as details offered by patients about their symptoms. The four types of medicinal preparations in the current survey were used by grinding up diverse plant parts into powder(6), extracting juice from plant parts(5), combining plant parts with water to make a decoction(2), and plant parts as a paste (2) [Figure 4]. Oral administration of plant medicine was the most typical method. Out of 15 plant species, 60% were used to treat Leucorrhoea (white, yellow, or greenish vaginal discharge), 20% for Menorrhagia (excessive blood flow during periods), 13% for Dysmenorrhea (abdominal, back, or other types of pain associated with periods), and 7% for Metrorrhagia (irregularity of periods) [Figure 5].

Panduranga et al. (2011) [9] reported 37 medicinal plant species for women diseases. They explained about Sterculia urens, Hybanthus enneaspermus, Curculigo orhiodes, Dodonaea viscosa etc. are the most effective medicinal plants to treat women diseases. Vidysagar and Murthy (2012) [10] reported that 26 medicinal plants for menstrual disorders belonged to 21 families in an ethnobotanical survey carried out in Bellary district. They documented Achyranthes aspera L., Asparagus racemosus L., Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., and Leucas aspera (Willd.) Link. as the most effective species against the menstrual disorders of women in Bellary District. Laddimath and Srinath Rao (2016) [11] mentioned in their article that Caesalpinia bunducella Roxb and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal are the most

effective medicinal plants for treating primary infertility in women. Ponnaiah et al. (2018) [12]have reported 24 medicinal plants used for female health issues.They documented Hibiscus rosa sinensis L. and Pedalium murex L. to treat female health issues. Sahu et al, (2021) [13] have reported 28 species for the treatment of urogenital ailments.

Jiao M et al. (2022) [14] Screened 93 literatures on the topic Menstrual disorders in different countries, and analyzed 130 families and 571 species of plants used by women from different countries and regions. Among them, 451 are herbs, 178 are trees, 72 are shrubs, 21 are vines, five are climbers and 37 are of other types. The five main families are Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae, Fabaceae, and Zingiberaceae, while the five frequently used plants are Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (Ginger), Ruta graveolens L. (Common rue), Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Angelica sinensis), Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (Fennel), and Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don (Catharanthus roseus). The general dosage of these herbs was 3–15 g. Vineeta et al. (2022) [15] documented a total of 114 ethnogynecoloical plant species from the retrieved literature of West Bengal, India. They found that Leucorrhea was treated with the highest number of plant species, and roots were most frequently used in different gynaecological ailments. Ugiomoh et al. (2023) [16] revealed that Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Apocynaceae are the most recurrent families for the treatment of female infertility in the Agbor, Ika South, Delta State, Nigeria [Table 1].

In the present study 15 plant species, belonging to 15 genera and 12 families used by the local healers against gynecological problems of women are documented. Flueggea leucopyrus Willd. and Guilandina bonduc L., are the two plant species found in our study to be mostly used to treat gynecological disorders by traditional healers. The identification of ethno-medicinal plants used to treat gynecological disorders is important for the future since it will benefit both researchers and native populations. The described therapies required ethno-medicinal plants, photochemical processes, and other processes.

The authors are grateful to all the traditional healers of Bagalkot for providing the valuable information relevant to this work. The authors are also thankful to the authorities of Karnatak College Dharawad and Karnatak University, Dharawad, for providing good support and facilities. The authors would also like to thank the field assistants, Mr. Sangamesh Waladunki, Mr. Muttu Kalyani, and Mr. Shravankumar Kalyani.