CURCILIGO ORCHIOIDES- A less known ethnomedicinal plant from Senapati district, Manipur

Thangjam Sunita Devi Department of Botany Manipur College, Imphal

INTRODUCTION
Ethnobotany- first coined by J.W. Harshberger (1895) of Pennsylvania Study of plants used by primitive and aboriginal people Ethno-medicinal plants- plants used in traditional& indigenous system of medicine Medicinal uses of several plants have been described in ancient treatises like charak samhita (1000-800 B C.) and susruta samhita(1800-700) Ayurveda-indigenous system of medicine by using plants dates back to the vedic ages (1500-800 B C) WHO(2000) estimates that about 80% of the rural people rely almost exclusively on traditional medicine for their primary health care Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materia lsor herbal preparations and finished herbal products that contain active ingredient, parts of plants or other plant materials or combinations

contd.
Traditional use of herbal medicine refers to the long historical use these medicines Medicinal plants are the backbone of traditional medicine Out of 17000 species of angiosperms found in India 1500 plants with medicinal properties have been recorded in Wealth of India vol. I-XI ( 1948-1976) North eastern region of India is one of the richest biodiversity zones and it has diverse Ethnic communities settled here since long time and it is the store house of medicinal plants and which are naturally grown and available in the forests

Materials and Methods

Regular field trips in various reserve forests of senapati district for collection of vascular plants . Record of habit, habitat, special characteristics and uses ( if any )in the spot Process & preparation of herbarium specimens(Jain & Rao, 1976)and deposit in the Herbaria of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar Identification by consulting available literatures and Floras ( Hookers Flora of British India, vol. vi; Flora of Assam,Kanjilal, vol. IV.) and Monocotyledons & Dicotyledons of Manipur, Deb D.B.(1961) ;Medicinal plants of Manipur, S.C. Sinha (1976)

Study area-Senapati district

Covers an area of 3271 sq. km and has 6 Reserve forests- Kangchup Chiru(2.59 sq. km), Kangchup ( 9.60),khamenlo-Gwaltabi(85.47 sq. km), Tadubi maram (7.77 sq. km), Kanglatongbi- Kangpokpi (85.47 sq. km) and Khuman Ching ( 2.8 sq. cm.)

Senapati district in yellow shade

Plant with 3 flowers

plant with four leaves & single flower

Curciligo orchioides : bisexual flower

Floral parts

A mature flower with young seeds at the base bud of curciligo orchioides

Herbarium specimen

Taxonomic Account of the presented plant

Curciligo orchioides,Gaertn. Hookers Fl. Brit.Ind. Fruct.i. 63.t.13-vol. vi.;1788; Deb Monocot. & Dicot. Plants of Manipur 125.1961. Specimens examined : K-K reserve forest of Senapati district ,898 m. alt. 20.9.2013.Th. Sunita.0693 A.U. silchar, Ecology : uncommon, rare, terrestrial on forest Distribution : India (Manipur, Bihar, ChhotaNagapur, West Bengal, Eastern Ghats),Sri Lanka, Japan, Malaysia Australia.

Description
Vernacular name :golden eye grass or black musale in English ;kalimusli in Hindi; khulr ehthae ? in Kuki. Family: Hypoxidaceae small herb with elongated tuberous rootstock( 5-20 cm. )and lateral roots, leaves ( 6-18x0.5x1.7 cm.) linear to lanceolate, flat, crowded on the short stem with sheathing leaf bases ; Flower-c.1. 3 cm. long, regular, the first 1-2 flowers are bisexual and the reminders are male, yellow, sessile ; bract-hairy, long, white in colour,1-nerved 1. 2 cm. long ; perianth- 6, free, 1.9 cm. long, 0.3 cm. breadth; stamens-6, free, equal in size, dorsifixed,anther-0.8cm. Long,0.2cm; stamens -3, united, ovary- 0.9 cm. long 0.7 cm. breadth, inferior; fruits fleshy and hidden in the leaf bases; seeds shiny black having a hook-like projection at the proximal end.

Reported Medicinal values

1 It improves complexion and is useful in cough, asthma, piles, skin diseases, impotence, jaundice, urinary disorders, leucorrhoea and menorrhoea ( Wu et tal. 2003). 2 Used in traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac, a tonic to restore vigor, and against asthma bronchitis, jaundice, dysentery ,diarrhoea ,leucorrhoea and male sterility (Shrestha et al. 2008). 3 Inhabitants of kangpokpi used fresh leaf juice in cut injuries only Phytochemica lconstituents: alkaloids, sterols/terpenes, saponins, phenolic compounds & tanins ( Asif M. 2012)

conclusion
Due to its highly medicinal values Curciligo orchioides ,a wild neglected herb in Manipur needs to be conserved in its natural habitat and ex situ conservation from extinction before its exploration of medicinal potentials

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