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Diarrhoea and dysentery are the important causes of mortality in the developing countries till today. On
the other hand, Manipur state as a whole lies in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity hot spot owing to which
harbours diverged plants supporting about 50% of India’s biodiversity. Mao Naga tribe inhabits the Mao
area, located at a unique geographic, climatic and topographical area in Senapati district of Manipur.
The people of Mao Naga tribe think themselves to have migrated from China through oral storytelling
and have a distinct colourful culture and tradition in which traditional system of medicine forms a large
part. However, this vast body of ethno-botanical knowledge has remained largely unexplored. Thus, an
ethno-medicinal survey has been conducted with the help of local volunteers and accordingly this paper
has a record of 45 plant species being used in traditional medicine belonghing 41 genera and 28
families for treating diarrhoea and dysentery. The family Asteraceae has maximum species representation
of six followed by the family Zingiberaceae with five recorded species. Leaves were the maximum parts
used compared to the other parts with their 34.3% usage, followed by fruit (15%) and bark (12%).The
study also showed an immense potential for ethno-botanical research in the area.
Key words: Mao tribe, diarrhoea, dysentery, medicinal plant, treatment.