Ethnomedicinal Plants of the Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, India

V.R. Mohan^a*, A. Rajesh^b, T. Athiperumalsami^a and S. Sutha^c

^aEthnopharmacologyy unit, Research Depaprtment of Botany, V.O.Chidambaram College, Tuticorin- 628008 Tamil Nadu, India.

^bDepartment of Botany, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu, India.

^cGovernment Siddha Medical College, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.

* e-mail: vrmohan_2005@yahoo.com.

Received 20 February 2008

Abstract

This study was carried out in several geographically isolated pockets of the Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India, in a region inhabited by a tribal group called the Kanikkars. The authors found that a total of 80 plant species belonging to 72 genera and 46 families were used by the natives of the study area for the treatment of such ailments as diabetes, rheumatism, jaundice, fever, cold, cough and snake bite. The full results of this study are organized in table form and include the species botanical name, parts used, method of administration, dosage, and the local or vernacular names of the species.

Key Words: Ethnomedicine, India, Kanikkars, Tirunelveli.

INTRODUCTION

India has a century's old tradition of using medicinal plants and herbal medicines for the alleviation of various diseases and ailments, as well as for the promotion of health and happiness. People often look towards the traditional systems of medicine not only for the curative effects of plants, but also to hopefully provide them with elixirs of youth and good health. Ethnomedicine is one of the systems of medicine that is widely practiced among the tribal and aboriginal populations of our country for the treatment of ailments. Primitive societies have depended on herbal remedies for the treatment of diseases and disorders since time immemorial (Singh et al., 2003).

The tribal tracts are the storehouses of information and knowledge on the multiple uses of plants. However, such traditional knowledge is rapidly disappearing. There is an urgent need to document this knowledge, as otherwise it will be lost forever. The knowledge of the use of natural plant products amongst our people is truly phenomenal.

It is a matter of great pride that among the 18 largest centers of floral diversity in the world, two are located in India. They are the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats (Khoshoo, 1996). The hill chain of Western Ghats is under the threat of rapid loss of genetic resources (Gadgil, 1996). A perusal of the available literature reveals that information on the comprehensive survey, documentation and enumeration of wild medicinal plants used by the Kanikkars tribe of the South-Eastern Slope of Western Ghats, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu is meagre (Ignacimuthu et al., 1998; Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu, 2005a,b). Hence, in the present study, an attempt was made to survey, document and enumerate the wild medicinal species of this area. The Kanikkars are the dominant tribal group inhabiting this locality. The present study focuses on the dependence of the Kanikkars on herbal medicines. Our survey is the first to attempt an exhaustive analysis of the therapeutic values of such medicinal plants.

Medicinal plants and the Kanikkars

The Kanikkars are a hill tribe that are distributed along the slopes of the Western Ghats of the Trivandrum, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli Districts. Because of time limitations (10 months were reserved for the completion of this study), our investigations focused only on the Kanikkars settled in the reserve forest area of the Western Ghats, Tirunelveli Districts, and Tamil Nadu. The area of investigation lies between 77⁰10’ – 77⁰29’ E longitude and 8⁰30’ - 8⁰53’ N, latitude. The ghats are characterized by numerous geological folds and extensions engulfing small narrow valleys and deep narrow valleys which are difficult to reach. The highest peak is Agasthiar peak with an altitude of 6125 feet. Along the vast area of the Southern slopes of the Western Ghats, Tirunelveli District, the Kanikkars live in four isolated pockets or in small hamlets. The areas of their inhabitations include Karayar, Adukku parai, Chinnamayilar, Periya mayilar, Valuar and Inchikuzhi.

The Kanikkars are typical hill tribals. They range across the slopes of the Western Ghats from the Districts of Travancore and Kanyakumari to the District of Tirunelveli. The kanikkars are also commonly known as the Kanis. The kanikkars of the Tirunelveli District are thought to be immigrants from the District of Travancore and are believed to have entered into the Tamil Nadu area through the Kattalamalai Pass (Rajasingh, 1971).

Kanikkars are short in stature and are usually dark skinned. The word kanikkars means "hereditary proprietors of the land." They were once lords of the forests and practiced migratory cultivation. Today, as a result of the passage of governmental forest regulations, the Kanikkars are largely sedentary farmers since the new rules prevent forests from being set on fire or trees being felled at the unrestricted pleasure of individuals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Frequent field trips were undertaken in order to survey the inhabitants of our study area (southeastern slopes of Western Ghats, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu) and to make collections of native medicinal plants. Information regarding medicinal plants was obtained in meetings with Kanikkars who practiced indigenous medicine. In many cases, it was first necessary to gain a good rapport with these people in order to win over their confidence. Most of the information included in this study was gathered from elderly and experienced practioners who are very knowledgeable about medicinal plants. Our field notebook delineates all the usage procedures adopted by these tribals. The gathered data was cross-checked for reliability and accuracy by interacting with different groups of the Kanikkars from different habitats to confirm the use, mode of administration and dosage differences of the herbal materials, if any. After eliciting detailed information regarding the wild medicinal plants (Table 1), the collected materials were carefully brought to the laboratory for identification. Herbarium sheets for all the collected plant specimens were prepared (VOCB No. from 3620 to 3399) and deposited in the Botany Research Laboratory, V.O. Chidambaram College, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India.

The medicinal plants were botanically identified using the "Flora of Presidency of Madras" (Gamble, 1935) and the "Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic" (Mathew, 1983). Confirmation of the identifications was made through the comparison of our specimens with those housed in the Herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Southern Circle, Coimbatore, India.

Plants in Table 1 are arranged alphabetical in order of their botanical names, followed by the family and local (Kanikkar) name and a brief note on the plant parts used, modes of administration, dosages, etc.

Table 1. Ethnomedicinal Plants of the Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, India.

S.No	Herbarium No.	Botanical Name	Family	Vernacular Name	Plant part/parts used
1	VOCB3620	Abrus precatorius L.	Fabaceae	Kunnimuthu	Leaf, Roots and Seeds
2	VOCB3621	Acalypha indica L.	Euphorbiaceae	Sirusinni	Leaf
3	VOCB3622	Achyranthus aspera L. var. aspera	Amaranthaceae	Nayurivi	Leaf
4	VOCB3623	Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa	Rutaceae	Vilvam	Leaf
5	VOCB3624	Alangium salvifolium Wagerin	Alangiaceae	Alinji	Fruit
6	VOCB3625	Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boivin.	Mimosaceae	Usilai	Stem bark
7	VOCB3626	Allium cepa L.	Liliaceae	Vengayam	Bulb
8	VOCB3627	Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f.	Liliaceae	Chothukathalai	Leaf
9	VOCB3632	Alpinia calcarata Roscoe.	Zingiberaceae	Chitrattai	Rhizome
10	VOCB3629	Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br.	Apocynaceae	Ezhilai palai	Leaf and Latex
11	VOCB3630	Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall ex Nees	Acanthaceae	Siriyanangai	Entire plant
12	VOCB3631	Aristolochia indica L.	Aristolochiaceae	Thalaisurulivaer	Root
13	VOCB3632	Asparagus racemosus Willd	Liliaceae	Neervalli	Tuber
14	VOCB3633	Azadirachta indica A. Juss	Meliaceae	Vembu	Stem bark
15	VOCB3634	Bambusa arundinacea Willd	Poaceae	Mungil	Leaf and Terminal bud
16	VOCB3635	Begonia malabarica Lam.	Begoniaceae	Narayanasanjivi	Leaf
17	VOCB3636	Bryophyllum sp.	Crassulaceae	Megasanjeevi	Leaf
18	VOCB3637	Canarium strictum Roxb.	Burseraceae	Kungilium	Resin
19	VOCB3638	Canavalia gladiata (Jacq.) DC.	Fabaceae	Thambattai	Leaf
20	VOCB3639	Cardiospermum halicacabum L.	Sapindaceae	Mudakkathan	Leaf
21	VOCB3640	Catharanthus roseus G. Don	Apocyanaceae	Sudukadumallikai	Leaf
22	VOCB3641	Cissampelos pareira L.	Menispermaceae	Malaithangivaer	Leaf
23	VOCB3642	Cissus quadrangularis L.	Vitaceae	perandai	Leaf
24	VOCB3643	Cleome viscosa L.	Cleomaceae	Naaikkadugu	Leaf
25	VOCB3644	Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn	Verbanaceae	Changukuppi	Leaf
26	VOCB3645	Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt.	Cucurbitaceae	Kovai	Unripe fruits and Leaf
27	VOCB3646	Curculigo orchioides Gaertn.	Hypoxidaceae	Nilapanai	Tuber
28	VOCB3647	Curcuma longa L.	Zingiberaceae	Manjal/Turmeric	Rhizome
29	VOCB3648	Datura metal L.	Solanaceae	Karu-Umatthai	Petals
30	VOCB3649	Dioscorea bulbifera L.	Dioscoreaceae	Vethalaivalli	Tuber and Leaf
31	VOCB3350	Dioscorea pentaphylla L. var. pentaphylla	Dioscoreaceae	Mullvalli	Tubers
32	VOCB3651	Dioscorea tomentosa koen. ex Spreng	Dioscoreaceae	Noolvalli	Tuber
33	VOCB3652	Dodoneae angustifolia L.	Sapindaceae	Viraali	Leaf
34	VOCB3653	Evolvulus alsinoides (L.) L.	Convolvulaceae	Vishnukarandai	Leaf and roots
35	VOCB3654	Ferula assafoetida L.	Apiaceae