ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY MALAYALI TRIBES IN VATHAL HILL OF EASTERN GHATS, INDIA

Dr. Mariappan Senthilkumar* and Vedi Vadivel

ABSTRACT

Plants have been used since ancient times for the treatment of various ailments. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted to collect information about the medicinal plants used by Malayali tribes in Vathal hills of Eastern Ghats, Dharmapuri district Tamilnadu, India. They still depend on medicinal plants for their primary health care needs and most commonly used to cure skin diseases, poison bites, stomachache and nervous disorders. To document their indigenous knowledge on the utilization of medicinal plants particularly most common ethnomedicinal plants. Traditional medicinal knowledge is important not only for its potential contribution to drug development and market values, but also for the people’s healthcare. A total of 110 species of plants distributed in 90 genera belonging to 49 families were identified as commonly used ethnomedicinal plants. As a result, the present study revealed that the information documented regarding the therapeutic uses will provide basic data for further studies mainly focused on conservation of important medicinal plants.

Keywords: Herbal medicine, Ethnobotany, Malayali tribes, Vathal hill.