MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN RICE BEER STARTER CULTURE BY DIFFERENT TRIBES IN ASSAM: AN ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY

The study represents the ethnobotanical information of the medicinal plants used by the six major communities of Assam, namely Mishing, Deori, Ahom, Tiwa, Bodo and Rabha, for better understanding of their local beliefs, customs, and tradition in the preparation of traditional rice beer starter culture. A semi-structured questionnaire was used focusing on the local names of the plants used in a starter culture, parts used, the reason for their use in the preparation, and other medicinal properties. A total of thirty-six plants were found to be used in the preparation by the Mishing community, twenty-seven plants by the Ahom community, thirteen plants by the Deori community, twenty plants by the Tiwa community, and seven plants by Bodo and Rabha communities for their respective starter cultures. A total of fifty-one plants were documented from the study, many of which were commonly used by all the communities to prepare rice beer starter culture and in their traditional health care system for curing many diseases. There is a dearth of information on the efficacy of the plants used in the starter culture preparation by different communities. Therefore, this ethnobotanical survey can help scientists and researchers identify plants with medicinal properties that may be useful in developing new drugs.