Abstract
Ethnobotanical studies on plants used by tribes to treat various diseases are often significant as it provides a path for exploration of new drugs. India is rich in traditional medicinal knowledge. Tribal people mainly depend on plants to treat various diseases. The present study aims to document the plants used by the Irula tribal settlement of Attappady, Palakkad district, Kerala. Survey was used to collect information from traditional healers and also from local tribal people. 12 males and 17 females aged between 30 and 70 years were interviewed to collect data regarding the uses of plants. Local name, botanical name, part used, specific medicinal use and mode of usage were documented from the study. All plants documented in the study were collected and authenticated using floras, and voucher specimens were deposited to Government Victoria College Herbarium. From the study, 126 plant species were documented. 38 plants are used to treat cough and fever, 56 plant species are used to cure digestive system disorders and 22 plants are used to treat skin diseases. The highest informant consensus factor was scored for kidney stone (Fic value = 0.6). Most frequently cited plant families were Leguminosae, Apocynaceae, Amaranthaceae and Euphorbiaceae. The medicinal knowledge about these plants was more familiar with old people of the tribal settlement. Younger generation of the tribal settlement is unaware of many medicinal plant uses. So documentation and further studies on these plants are essential to protect this traditional medicinal wealth.
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07 November 2023
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Principal, teachers, staff and students of Department of Botany, Government Victoria College, Palakkad. The authors are thankful to the informants of Irula tribal settlement Attappady for sharing their valuable traditional knowledge. The authors are thankful to UGC and CSIR for financial assistance.
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Jayalekshmi, C.V., Ramesh, R.K., Vijai, M., Suresh, V. (2023). Ethnomedicinal Plants Used by Irula Tribal Settlement of Attappady in Palakkad District, Kerala, India. In: Arunachalam, K., Yang, X., Puthanpura Sasidharan, S. (eds) Bioprospecting of Tropical Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28780-0_4
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