EXPLORING THE MEDICINAL POTENTIAL OF ALIEN PLANTS: A CASE STUDY OF THE MAO-NAGA COMMUNITY IN MANIPUR, INDIA

Abstract

There has been a constant struggle to fight against alien species across the world. This struggle has been a costly affair and unproductive in most cases. However, the Mao-Naga community of Manipur, India, approaches these plants holistically and positively to boost community health. The community has incorporated these plants into their folk pharmacopeia by discovering, based on trial-anderror approaches or by intuition, the medicinal properties of these plants. This approach can bring a positive impact to combat the invasiveness of alien plants, control their population and thereby sustain the population of the native plants.

Keywords

• ethnomedicinal
• health care
• plant management
• folk medicine