Study on diversity and therapeutic potential of aquatic macrophytes in the freshwater bodies of Canchipur, Manipur (India)

Abstract

The state of Manipur in North- east India is endowed with a rich repository of medicinal and aromatic plants and more over well-known for its diverse culture of human races. This could be due to its climatic condition, perennial rivers, fertile soil and dense forests. Despite of such wide availability of aquatic vegetation, the literature pertaining to the therapeutic utility of these plants is meagre because of their unproductive and impractical nature. Hence, keeping these facts in mind, the present investigation was formulated to study the diversity of aquatic macrophytes of some freshwater bodies of Canchipur and to document their therapeutic potential prevailing among the local community. In the present investigation, thirty-two macrophytes were found to have medicinal value, whereas twenty-one species were found to be crop related wild species, nine species belonged to wild edible leafy vegetables, three species were wild edible tubers, two species were wild edible seeds and one species belonged to wild edible fruit. The study also revealed the presence of fourteen invasive species, seven species were identified as exotic plants, nineteen species were found to be perennial herbs, fifteen annual herbs, ten perennial aquatic herbs, four aquatic ferns, one semi-aquatic herb and one aquatic bryophyte. The present work will be of immense help to future researchers in evaluating the therapeutic effect or isolated components of these aquatic macrophytes by applying in the field of medicine.