Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 12(2), April 2013, pp. 321-325 Medicinal plants used in the treatment of Gastrointestinal disorders in Bellary district, Karnataka, India Siddalinga Murthy S M 1 & Vidyasagar G M* *Department of Botany, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga-585 106, Karnataka; 1 ADB First Grade College, Harapanahalli 583131, Karnataka E-mail: gmvidyasagar@rediffmail.com Received 21.06.11; revised 11.11.11 An ethnomedicobotanical survey of Bellary district, Karnataka, comprising seven taluks was conducted during 2008-2010. About 32 species of folk drug plants belonging to 32 genera and 27 families were found to be used as a remedy for gastrointestinal disorders by the rural and forest ethnic people. The Scientific, local and family names of these medicinal plants along with their parts used and mode of their administration are given in the present paper. Keywords: Traditional knowledge, Medicinal plants, Gastrointestinal disorders, Bellary, Karnataka IPC Int. Cl. 8 : A61K 36/00, A01D 7/00 Man depended on plants not only for food, but also to cure his various ailments since several thousand years. Most common gastrointestinal disorders are indigestion (Dyspepsia), lack of hungrier (Appetite), stomach pain, ulcers, dysentery and diarrhea, constipation and piles. The causes for the gastrointestinal disorders vary based on the age of the person, locality and the mode of life style. The common causes are contaminated food and water supplies, nutritional factors and also pathogens like bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and helminthes. According to WHO 80% of the populations living in the developing countries rely almost exclusively on traditional medicine 1 . At present about 65% of the Indian population is dependent on the traditional system of medicine 2 . In India, it is reported that traditional healers use 2,500 plant species and 100 plant species serve as regular sources of medicine 3 . Local herbal practitioners in the study area are using a variety of plant species for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders successfully. The main objective of this survey was to document the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants of Bellary district used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Documenting the indigenous knowledge through ethnomedicobotanical study is important for the conservation of biological resources as well as their sustainable utilization. Gastrointestinal disorders are very commonly seen problems in the society and effective drugs are very much required. The results of this study will attract the Scientists, Researchers, Pharmaceutical industries and Herbal healers and play an important role in reducing the gastrointestinal problems in society Bellary, one of the districts in Karnataka has a population of 25.32 lakhs as per the 2011 census. People exhibit a vast diversity in their culture, tradition and living system. The district has a very rich heritage of herbal drugs. The district occupying an area of 8,447 sq km encompasses the latitudinal parallels ranging from 14 o 30 1 to 15 o 50 1 North and to the longitudinal meridians of 75 o 40 1 to 77 o 11 1 East. The district has 7 taluks namely, Bellary, Hadagali, Hagaribommanahalli, Hospet, Kudligi, Sandur and Siruguppa (Fig. 1). The types of soils in the district are mainly black cotton and red. The climate is semi arid with mixed type of vegetation consisting of semi evergreen, dry deciduous and scrub forests. Average elevation of the district is 478 m above sea level. The annual average rainfall and temperature are 636 mm and 32 o C, respectively. Methodology The information on plants used for treating gastrointestinal disorders of folklore source was obtained during the ethnomedicobotanical survey of —————— *Corresponding author