A MACRO ANALYSIS OF PTERIDOPHYTES IN MEDICINES AND THEIR CURRENT CONTEXT IN INDIA

Abstract

Medicinal values of Pteridophytes are known to man from more than 2000 years. They
have healing and curing power and are used in Homeopathic, Ayurveda and Unani medicines.
The medicinal applications of some Pteridophytes of those that grow in Western Ghats, West
Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan are presented in this paper. Out of 70
families from different parts of the present Indian political boundary, selected species are
considered under 12 families for the analysis. There are 219 species of Pteridophytes measured
as „At risk‟ in India. Of these, 160 are featured to designate that they fall into IUCN category of
„Critically endangered‟. Henceforth, for immediate and strict conservation of all these species,
there is a need of an urgent and special study including locality-mapping by State Governments
and creating public awareness. Pteridophytes are forest-dwelling species; they can be taken as
good indicators of deforestation and habitat-destruction. Pteridophytes have substantial
importance in traditional pharmacopoeias, scientific studies on pharmacology of this group are
scanty.