Ethno-botanical survey was conducted during the month of October to December 2021 in 6 villages (Bhalabari, Simlibari, Khoirabari, Banseria, Angrajuli and Bagchai chuburi) of Udalguri district of BTR for a better understanding of local beliefs, habits and culinary practices regarding the use of medicinal plants for treatment of obesity. During the ethno-medicinal survey period the well known medicinal practitioners called as “Buwidw” were contacted and appraised regarding the purpose of the study and other ethno-medicinal information were gathered. Local healers or buwidw were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Owing to their prior experiences being exploited by business associates of pharmaceutical and drug companies, some respondents were occasionally reluctant to impart their knowledge of medicinal plants and less receptive to being the focus of outsiders' and visitors' investigations. Altogether 12 local healers or buwidw were interviewed from the randomly selected villages. From the survey, 15 medicinal plants were collected that are mainly used for treatmentof obesity. Out of these 15 plants most cited plants were found to be Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. (Apocynaceae) and Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae). This explorative survey underscores the importance of preserving and documentation of indigenous plants for further scientific investigations.

Antiobesogenic, Bodo tribe, Obesity, Documentation, GC-MS, Phytochemical

In rural regions like BTR where the Bodo tribe makes up the majority of the population, local traditional knowledge and plant-based medicine are still widely practiced, and traditional healers are crucial to primary healthcare. Large sections of this tribe are economically under-developed and they have traditional believes and knowledge in plants and forests. A wide variety of traditional plants are being used among Bodo tribe for the treatment of mild to severe type of health issues or ailments since time immemorial. Obesity has become a serious global health concern since it is associated with major life threatening diseases. It has increased swiftly across all the age group making it serious concern. In fact it is slowly increasing among the tribal population due to radical change in their dietary habit towards HFSS food products. Introducing pharmacological intervention has become very important to combat obesity. Use of medicinal plants which have been consumed for hundred years becomes very important because of their minimal or no side effects. Thus, emphasis on natural products is increasing currently because of their complete absence of side effects. The information acquired from this study could help to identify plant species and extraction techniques for the development of herbal medications to combat obesity and its associated disorders. Most frequently used plants with highest use value for treatment of obesity, as reported in our study such as Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. (Apocynaceae) and Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae) should be given importance for fruther in vivo studies. Moreover, in our study, the GC-MS analysis has confirmed the presence of antiobesogenic bioactive compounds in the methanolic extract of the two plants species.

Jwngsar Baro, Mamoni Das, Deeptimayee Mahapatra, Manisha Choudhury, Soumitra Goswami, Jadav Sarma, Arijit Shome, N.Kapaini Basena, Priyanka Bhattacharyya and Amita Beniwal (2023). Documentation of Antiobesogenic Plants used by Bodo Community of Assam, India. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(11): 416-428.