Introduction

Introduction The word ethnobotany was first given in 1895 by the US botanist John William Harshberger in a public speech to the University of Pennsylvania’s Archaeological association but the history of the field starts quite before by Carl Linnaeus, Father of Botany, was Born in 1707 in Råshult, Sweden, (https://www.tcd.ie/Botany/tercentenary/ origins/carl-linnaeus.php) who written “Species Plantarum” in 1753. Until the late 19th century, the knowledge on plants has not been studied systematically. An American botanist Richard Evans Schultes from Harvard can be considered 'the father of ethnobotany', with his long-standing precise studies among aboriginal peoples of Amazon and Mexico. In the 20th century ethnobotany became a separate discipline with a range of methods of data collection, quantification, and concept. Herbs related therapy attracts many researchers. Humankind not having early written script related to medicinal and ritual plants in Sumerian, Egyptian, Hittite texts, which goes back quite a few thousand years, for instance the most primitive Chinese herbal dated to 3000 BC. Foremost food plants such as cereals, pulses, fruit and nuts, as well as fibre, dye, fodder plants were generally documented in the earliest written texts. However, most information related to edibles and fibre plants was not fully documented and this enormous amount of information such as traditional food, plants, and various techniques of processes passed through generations orally. Researchers found difficulty to identify some of those mentioned names in species level; however the famous work of Dioscorides, De Materia Medica dates back to 1st century AD, comprised more than 600 plant names and descriptions. This book translated in various languages and used all over Europe during middle ages. Before the development of modern medicine, many communities has developed their own traditional medical system (e.g. Ayurvedic, Chinese), the medicinal feature of ethnobotany has been also studied under the name of ethno-medicine or folk medicine. 1 Biologists, Pharmacists, Chemists, Botanists, Agriculturalists, Horticulturists, Foresters, Anthropologists, Archaeologists, Historians and/or Economists who want to investigate the various phase of plant usage generally they combined their special knowledge to complete their assignment. The cultural, social and economic significance of the plants and their flora and fauna in the surroundings becomes an increasingly popular subject. Economic botany or ethnobotany courses are now offered in numerous universities both to anthropologists and biologists (http://archaeobotany.dept.shef.ac.uk /wiki/index.php/ ethnobotany - Introduction). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral- based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques, and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses and maintain well-being. In prehistoric culture, the combination of herbal potion together with religious ritual and magic like formulas were part of all healing practices (Muthuswamy Ragunathan, 2009). Traditional and contemporary systems of medicine were developed by different philosophies. They look at health, diseases, and causes of diseases in different ways. These differences bring different attitudes ranging from complete rejection of TM by modern medical practitioners and of modern medicine by traditional medical practitioners to a parallel existence with little communication over patient care. Experience from many countries, such as those in South East Asia, suggest that integration of traditional and modern healthcare systems can solve much of the problems by providing the basic healthcare services for people in developing countries, particularly the undeserved majority. In these countries, both systems are equally developed and supplement each other toward achieving optimal healthcare coverage. Many traditionally used medicinal plants contain pharmacologically active compounds used in the preparation of both traditional and modern medicines. Over 25% of the pharmaceutical preparations in the world and more than 50% in the USA contain plant-derived active principles. At present, most of the phytoconstituents and plant extracts find their way into 2 modern medicine to treat many critical diseases, and fill the gap between the contemporary system and traditional system of medicine (Muthuswamy Ragunathan, 2010). The importance of traditional and local ecological knowledge in biodiversity conservation is reflected by Article 8 (i) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), which states that the knowledge and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity should be respected, preserved and applied among nearly 45,000 plant species reported in India, about 7,000-8,000 species are considered medicinal and used by village communities, particularly tribal communities, or in traditional medicinal systems, such as the Ayurveda. Traditional medicinal plants are of interest now, as herbal preparations are increasingly being used in both human and animal healthcare systems (Muhammed Nizar, K., et al., 2015). The anthropologists referred to Kerala as a museum of diverse ethnic groups and a variety of traditional medicine. The forest of Western Ghats of Kerala are gifted with an incredibly rich collection of extremely rare plants of which many are endemic to the region the tribes living in this region are to know to possess great knowledge on the medicinal uses of many of these plants (Shanavaskhan, A.E., et al., 2012). Even though various ethnobotanical survey have been carried out in the past on various zones of Western Ghats in Kerala but documentation of ethnic knowledge is not yet fully covered this is because of the size of the study area is huge. The current study planned to execute the ethnobotanical survey in the unexplored area of the Chulannur Peacock Sanctuary and surrounding villages in Palakkad and Thrissur districts of Kerala state, Southern India. 3 Study area: Malabar region is a part of south India lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The name is thought to be copied from the Malayalam word Mala (hill) and Vaaram (range, region) derived or westernised in the bar. This part of India was a part of the British East India Company-controlled State, when it was designated as Malabar District. It incorporated the northern half of the state of Kerala. The Indian state of Kerala has boundaries with the states of Tamilnadu on the south and east, Karnataka on the north and the Arabian Sea coastline on the west. The Western Ghats, adjacent the eastern boundary of the State, form an almost uninterrupted mountain wall, except near Palakkad where there is a natural mountain pass known as the Palakkad Gap. Palakkad, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kasaragod, Kannur and Wayanad, Kozhikode, are the districts coming under Malabar region. Geologically, the Malabar Coast, in particular on its west-side opposite mountain slopes, contributes the wettest region of south India as the Western Ghats catch the heavy moisture loaded monsoon rains. The biodiversity of the Western Ghats is the main factor of the biodiversity of Kerala. The whole State is sanctified with greenery throughout the year. Evergreen forests are its chief biological wealth house. Encouraging climate and soil conditions and other pleasant physical factors are accountable for the biological richness. In Kerala humidity is extremely high at an average of 70 percent. Structurally, Kerala has diverse geophysical plateau such as woodland, wetland, mangroves, ponds, seashores and deltas. The Western Ghats which form the mountain ranges of south-western India have been considered a ‘Hot spot’ because of their wide variety of endemic forms of biodiversity of genera, species and races. Plant-based medicines have a reputable position today, especially in developing countries where contemporary health services are not adequate. There has been a change in public interest towards superior recognition of herbal medicines to treat infectious diseases. This is maybe due to the problem of more prescription and abuse of synthetic antibiotics. It is estimated that natural products have offered for 50% of the pharmaceuticals used in 4 modern Western medicine. The area of study for the ethno botanical survey is the North Kerala, the Malabar region. Documenting the aboriginal knowledge through ethnobotanical studies is vital for the conservation and utilization of biological resources. Ethno botanical survey has been found to be one of the consistent approaches in drug discovery. Traditionally this wealth of knowledge has been passed on verbally from generation to generation without any written text and is still retained by different aboriginal groups around the world. On the other hand the knowledge of medicinal plant is quickly decreasing because of the pressure of western life styles, lessening of traditional herbal healers and the impassiveness of younger generations to carry on the tradition. In the course of ethno botanical surveys, indigenous knowledge from folk people and practitioners is collected and documented to identify plants that can be a source of drugs against infectious diseases. People live in the tribal localities and villages have used aboriginal plants as medicines for generations since this knowledge is based on

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