| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2023 | Volume
: 8
| Issue : 2 | Page : 143-149 |
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Present scenario and future prospects of traditional healers from Hassan district, Karnataka
Amara Kushavara Venkatesh, Rajkumar H Garampalli
Department of Studies in Botany, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysuru, India
Correspondence Address:
Prof. Rajkumar H Garampalli
Department of Studies in Botany, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysuru
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jdras.jdras_141_22
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BACKGROUND: Traditional medicines always played important role in meeting the global healthcare needs. In Hassan district, traditional medicinal practices are widespread, which may be attributed to rich plant diversity in the Western Ghats and presence of many ethnic groups. The study was conducted with a purpose of evaluating the current status of traditional medicinal practitioners in the study region and encompassed on the reasons behind depleting practices and future prospects. METHODS: The present study collected and reviewed information using questionnaire from 171 traditional practitioners from Hassan district, Karnataka during 2020–2021. RESULTS: The survey found that 36% of healers learnt from other practitioners in their community who were not family members, either as students or people who lived nearby, and 65% learned traditional medicine from their ancestors. In traditional medicine, plants are the main source of medication, and 83% of practitioners use plants solely in their concoctions. Sixty-six percent (66%) of healers were willing to share knowledge, whereas the remaining were conservative in their approach. Various categories of diseases were being treated with abdominal and skin diseases being the dominant. CONCLUSIONS: Given the similarities in disease diagnosis, plant harvesting, and processing that have been seen, additional rigorous research is required to put the relationship between Ayurveda and noncodified ancient systems of medicine on a more firm footing. The practise seems to be going extinct due to a lack of knowledge transmission and a shortage of medicinal plants. |
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