Abstract:

Medicinal oils for topical applications are commonly used by the tribes for treatment of various ailments like headache, muscular spasms and local inflammation. Objective of present paper was to describe the traditional methods for extracting oils either from seeds or whole plants used by the Pawra community in Nandurbar district. Interestingly, the methods of extraction of oils described in Ayurvedic literatures are similar to these methods as well as the medicinal uses except using fish oil in skin diseases. Value addition in the extracted oil resulted in additional economic benefit. Plants used for oil extraction are being conserved in forests as well as cultivated in farm.