Traditional Knowledge of Bagatas

A detailed investigation on plants associated with Bagata tribe is taken up with the objectives of an extensive and intensive exploration studies in the areas of Bagata habitations. The study area includes 11 agency mandals of the Visakhapatnam district. It lies between17º-34' 11" and 18º-32' 57" northern latitude and 18º-51' 49" and 83º-16' 9" eastern longitude. The entire agency track covers 6, 298 Km2 i. e., 56.4% of the total geographical area of the district. The total population of Bagata tribe is 1,30,301. Ethnomedicinal surveys were undertaken during 2009-2011 covering 44 pockets and 60 Bagata vaidhyas and practitioners were interviewed. Three hundred and seventy two ethnobotanical plant species include 294 genera and 101 families recorded are exploited by Bagata in curing different human ailments and also used for other purposes like food, fodder, timber etc. In the present study, 17 plant species belonging to 17 genera and 15 families and 1237 medicinal practices are newly reported. Naturally occurring substances by following the traditional knowledge about them would give lead for developing new drugs, which can ultimately improve the quality of life.