TITLE:
Traditional Knowledge System Based GIS Mapping of Antimalarial Plants: Spatial Distribution Analysis
AUTHORS:
Abdul Qayum, Andrew Michael Lynn, Rakesh Arya
KEYWORDS:
Antimalarial Plants, Bio-Prospecting, Geographical Distribution, GIS Mapping, Medicinal Plants, Vector Borne Disease
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geographic Information System,
Vol.6 No.5,
October
15,
2014
ABSTRACT: The native communities
have been using their unique traditional knowledge system (TKS), culture,
indigenous skills and expertise since the ancient times. India has witnessed
its legacy from the time of Charaka & Susruta for TKS of medicinal plants.
The objective of the study is to carry out inter-disciplinary work by
integrating ethno-medicinal findings with Geographical Information System (GIS)
tools to develop spatio-temporal maps covering antimalarial plants prevalent in
three rural districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. Two sources Flora
Gorakhpurensis & Flora of Upper Gangetic Plains have been considered to
evaluate all possible antimalarials prevalent in the study region and are cross
validated with research papers and journals. GPS coordinates were recorded for
marked locations and under GIS environment maps of antimalarials are generated
to highlight geographical distribution of such plants. Further, these are
analysed with respect to various natural plant habitats.48 plants belonging to 25 families
were found and its geographical distribution is illustrated through series of
GIS maps. The developed map highlights the geographical location of
antimalarial plants and facilitates easy access of plant’s natural habitat. It
is believed that the work would help researchers to find out the novel
antimalarials towards open source drug discovery projects.