Distribution, Ethnobotany, Pharmacognosy and Phytoconstituents of Coptis teeta Wall.: A Highly Valued and Threatened Medicinal Plant of Eastern Himalayas

Objectives: To study the distribution, traditional knowledge, dose and preparations, phytoconstituents, pharmacognostic characters and to correlate phytoconstituents and the claimed health benefits among the tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh if any, the present study was carried out. Methods: Field survey and interview were used for ethnobotany and protocol given in Shah and Seth (2010), Kakote et. al.,(2012) and Wallis (2011) was followed to study pharmacognostic studies while GC-MS was used in the studies of phytoconstituents. Results: This study reports numbers of volatile and non-volatile compounds from the rhizome of Coptis teeta with high percentage of berberine alkaloids. The study also reports alkaloid deposition at parenchymatous tissues and vascular tissues of rhizome. Phytoconstituents presents in the ethanolic extract of C.teeta cold be related to health problems and phytoconstituents as claimed by tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh. Conclusion: Locally called Mishmi teeta in Arunachal Pradesh, Coptis teeta Wall. is a well-known medicinal plant used among Mishmi and other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh for health problems like loose motion, stomach pain, diarrhoea and malaria. This endemic and threatened medicinal plant contains numbers of biologically active compounds and need in-situ as well as ex-situ conservation.