EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of )

ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS IN KOLLI HILLS OF EASTERN GHATS IN ,

India is rich in cultural and floristic diversity and also a store house of ethnobotanical knowledge. Ethnobotany can be described as the relationship and interactions between man and his surrounding local environment1. Inhabitants depend on ayurveda and medicinal plants to help meet their primary healthcare needs. Traditional medical knowledge is important not only for its potential contribution to drug development and market values, but also for the people’s healthcare2.

Inhabitants of kolli hills make use of medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments like skin diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, bite, cold, cough, asthma etc.

Kolli hills are located in central Tamil Nadu, lies between 110 10’54” - 110 30’00” N latitude 780 15’00” - 780 30’00” E longitude. The slope of this region varies from gentle to very steep. It is an isolated hill range of discontinuous Eastern Ghats, rich in biological diversity of plants predominantly of medicinal and aromatic plants. Kolli hills, is one among eight hills in Southern region. It has a mild climate and the place is known for herbal cultivation. Average rainfall in the Kolli hills is 1340mm3. The soil type is loamy and black soil on kolli hills4. Kolli hills is mainly occupied by Malayali tribals of 98.8%5. These tribal families are depended on forest resources for food, firewood, herbal medicines, timber, fodder, etc.

Many of researchers have published medicinal uses of plants of Kolli hills and their surrounding hill tracts6-17. Review of literature reveals that from ancient times the local tribes were depending on these medicinal plants for treatment of various diseases. The traditional healers of this region mostly used ethnomedicines in decoction form, juice or in paste form.

Few medicinal plants of this area are presented with their botanical name followed by family, local names, habit, plants part used, and the ethno medicinal uses.

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EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of Eastern Ghats)

Botanical name : Acorus calamus L. Family name : Araceae Vernacular : Vayambu name Habit : Shrub Part(s) used : Rhizome Medicinal uses : Stomach ailments, worms, vomiting, sedative, indigestion

Botanical name: : Aegle marmelos (Linn.) Corr. ex.Roxb. Family name: : Rutaceae Vernacular : Vilvam name: Habit: : Tree Part(s) used : Half ripe fruit & Leaf Medicinal uses : Diarrhoea, diabetics

Botanical name: : Andrographis paniculata Wall. ex.Nees Family name: : Acanthaceae Vernacular : Nilavembu/Siriyanangai name: Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Whole plant & Leaf Medicinal uses : Worms, fever, diabetics, leprosy, snake bite, fever

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EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of Eastern Ghats)

Botanical : Asparagus racemosus Willd. name: Family : Asparagaceae name: Vernacular : Thannervittankizhangu/ name Satavali Habit: : Climber Part(s) used : Root and Tuber Medicinal : Liver disorders, jaundice, uses dysentery, chronic fevers, enhance lactation, diuretic, potency and digestion

Botanical : Centella asiatica (Linn.) name: Urban Family : Apiaceae name: Vernacular : Vallarai name: Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Whole plant & Leaves Medicinal : Nervous , brain tonic, uses cardiac problems, fever

Botanical : Coleus aromaticus Benth. name: Family : Lamiaceae name: Vernacular : Karpuravalli/ Omavalli name: Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf Medicinal : High blood pressure, cough, uses urinary complaints

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Botanical : Euphorbia hirta Linn. name: Family : Euphorbiaceae name: Vernacular : Ammanpacharisi name: Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Latex, leaf & whole plant Medicinal : Snake bite, asthma, chronic uses bronchial infections, wounds

Botanical : Gymnema sylvestre (Retz) name: R. Br. Family : Asclepiadaceae name: Vernacular : Sirukurunjan/sakkaraikolli name: Habit: : Shrub Part(s) used : Leaf & Root Medicinal : Diabetes, vomiting, snake uses bite

Botanical : Leucas aspera (Willd) Link name: Family : Lamiaceae name: Vernacular : Thumbai/ Thumbachedi name: Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf

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EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of Eastern Ghats)

Medicinal : Stomach ailments, fever , uses asthma, headache

Botanical : Mimosa pudica Linn.

name:

Family : Mimosaceae

name:

Vernacular : Thottalsurungi

name:

Habit: : Herb

Part(s) used : Leaf & whole plant

Medicinal : Fertility, diuretic, cold,

uses cough, menstrual

bleeding.

Botanical : Ocimum basilicum Linn. name: Family : Lamiaceae name: Vernacular : Thiruneetru pachai name: Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Flowers, Leaf, Whole plant Medicinal : Urinary problems, uses gonorrhea, bronchitis, earache, cold, cough

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Botanical : Solanum nigrum Linn.

name:

Family : Solanaceae

name:

Vernacular : Manattakkali/ Kamanchi

name:

Habit: : Herb

Part(s) used : Berries, shoot, leaf ,

flower & fruits

Medicinal : Fever, skin infections, uses diuretic, piles, ulcers, stomach ailments.

Botanical : Terminalia bellirica name: (Gaerth.) Roxb. Family : Combretaceae name: Vernacular : Thanrikkaai/Thandri name: Habit: : Tree Part(s) used : Leaf, fruits, seed & kernel Medicinal : Toothache, small pox, uses dysentery, stomach ailments

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EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of Eastern Ghats)

References

1. Martin G.J.(2001). Ethnobiology & Ethnoecology, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Vol.II. Academic press, London, pp 609-621.

2. Pei SJ. Pharm. Biol., 2001, 39, 74-79.

3. Anbazhagan S., Shanmugavalli G., Ramesh V. Geomorphology and rainfall data analysis for landslide suspectibility mappling Kolli Hills – A Preliminary study, 2010. National conference on Geomatics in Disaster Management, 2010. JTCDM, TISS-Mumbai.

4. Kadirvelmurugan V., Raju K., Arumugam T., Karthik V. and Ravikumar S. Ethnobotany of Medi-Flora of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, 2014. Scholars Research Library. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2014, 6 (1):159- 164

5. Toll DL, Photogramn, Eng, Remote sensing, 50(1984) 1713-1724

6. Dwarakan P., Rajasekaran K., and Bramadhayalaselvam A. Hitherto unreported medicinal uses of plants from Kolli hills. Ancient Science of Life, 1994, Vol No. XIII Nos. 3 & 4, pp 259 – 260.

7. Anand R.M., Nandakumar N., Karunakaran L., Raghunathan M., and Murugan V. Survey of Medicinal Plants in Kollimalai hill tracts, Tamil Nadu, 2005. Research article. Vol 5(2).

8. Karthik V., Raju K., Ayyanar M., Gowrishankar K., and Sekar T. Ethnomedicinal Uses of Pteridophytes in Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. J. Nat. Prod. Plant Resource, 2011, 1 (2): 50-55.

9. Kuru suresh, R. Kottaimuthu, T. Selvin Jebaraj Norman, R. Kumuthakalavalli, Sabu M. Simon. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Malayali tribals in Kolli Hills of Tamilnadu, India. IJRAP 2011, 2 (2) 502-508.

10. Palanisamy Murugesan, Ganesan Raja, Suresh Kumar Marx, Bommannan Panneer Selvam, 2011. Ethnobotanical study of

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EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of Eastern Ghats)

Medicinal Plants used by villagers in Kolli Hills of District of Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, Volume 10, Article-029. pp 170-173.

11. Francis Xavier T., Freeda Rose A., Dhivyaa M. Ethnomedicinal survey of malayali tribes in Kolli hills of Eastern Ghats of Tamilnadu, India. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 2011, Vol.10 (3), pp.559-562.

12. Senthilkumar K., Aravindhan V., Rajendran A. Ethnomedicinal Plants used for curing Gastro-intestinal ailments by Malayali Tribes in Yercaud Hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, 2012. Journal of Biosciences Research 3(4):234-239.

13. Natarajan V., Anbazhagan, M and Rajendran R. Studies on the medicinal plants used by the malayalli tribes of Kolli Hill in tamilnadu, south India. International Journal of Renewable and Environmental Sciences, 2013 – Vol.1, Issue, 1, pp.10-16.

14. Natarajan V and Udhayakumar A. Studies on the Medicinal Plants used by the Malayali Tribes of Kolli hill in Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Basic and Life Sciences, Volume No. 1 (2013), Issue No. 1.

15. Senthilkumar K., Aravindhan V., Rajendran A. Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Used by Malayali Tribes in Yercaud Hills of Eastern Ghats, India. Journal of Natural Remedies, 2013, Vol 13 (2).

16. Vaidyanathan D., Salai Senthilkumar M. S. and Ghouse Basha M. Studies on Ethnomedicinal Plants used by Malayali Tribals in Kolli hills of Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India, Asian Journal of Plant Science and Research, 2013, 3(6):29-45.

17. Kadirvelmurugan V., Raju K., Arumugam T., Karthik V. and Ravikumar S. Ethnobotany of Medi-Flora of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, 2014. Scholars Research Library. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2014, 6 (1):159-164

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