Nutritional, medicinal and indigenous use of Nasturtium officinale in Tehsil Thunag of District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, North Western Himalaya, India

Abstract

Inhabitants of the hilly regions largely depend on wild herbs for medicine and food supplements. The indigenous knowledge and traditional use of these wild herbs are vanishing fast. Thunag Tehsil is the rich repository of wild medicinal herbs. One among them is Nasturtium officinale (watercress), of the family Brassicaceae, it has been long used as a home remedy or a medicinal plant, edible herb by the local people. The aim of this study was to investigate the traditional use, nutritional, medicinal use of N. officinale in the Tehsil Thunag of District Mandi Himachal Pradesh Western Himalayas. Local inhabitant of valley used to collect this green leafy vegetable from nearby river streams, they used to consume it as (sagg) green leafy vegetable or as a medicine. It is a good source of food, medicine and income for local people in the study area, as this area is surrounded by large number of perennial rivers and streams where this plant is found in abundant. But the young generation is least interested about these traditional herbs and their uses.Its traditional knowledge is declining sharply. So to document this knowledge, the present study was carried in this region.