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ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS IN KOLLI HILLS OF EASTERN GHATS IN TAMIL NADU, INDIA

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, snake 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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Botanical name : Acorus calamus L.

Family name : Araceae Vernacular name

: Vayambu

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 name:

: Vilvam

Habit: : Tree Part(s) used : Half ripe fruit & Leaf

Medicinal uses : Diarrhoea, diabetics

Botanical name: : Andrographis paniculata Wall. ex.Nees

Family name: : Acanthaceae Vernacular name:

: Nilavembu/Siriyanangai

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Whole plant & Leaf

Medicinal uses : Worms, fever, diabetics, leprosy, snake bite, fever

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Botanical name:

: Asparagus racemosus Willd.

Family name:

: Asparagaceae

Vernacular name

: Thannervittankizhangu/ Satavali

Habit: : Climber Part(s) used : Root and Tuber Medicinal uses

: Liver disorders, jaundice, dysentery, chronic fevers, enhance lactation, diuretic, potency and digestion

Botanical name:

: Centella asiatica (Linn.) Urban

Family name:

: Apiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Vallarai

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Whole plant & Leaves Medicinal uses

: Nervous , brain tonic, cardiac problems, fever

Botanical name:

: Coleus aromaticus Benth.

Family name:

: Lamiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Karpuravalli/ Omavalli

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf

Medicinal uses

: High blood pressure, cough, urinary complaints

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Botanical name:

: Euphorbia hirta Linn.

Family name:

: Euphorbiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Ammanpacharisi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Latex, leaf & whole plant Medicinal uses

: Snake bite, asthma, chronic bronchial infections, wounds

Botanical name:

: Gymnema sylvestre (Retz) R. Br.

Family name:

: Asclepiadaceae

Vernacular name:

: Sirukurunjan/sakkaraikolli

Habit: : Shrub Part(s) used : Leaf & Root

Medicinal uses

: Diabetes, vomiting, snake bite

Botanical name:

: Leucas aspera (Willd) Link

Family name:

: Lamiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thumbai/ Thumbachedi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf

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Medicinal uses

: Stomach ailments, fever , asthma, headache

Botanical name:

: Mimosa pudica Linn.

Family name:

: Mimosaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thottalsurungi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf & whole plant Medicinal uses

: Fertility, diuretic, cold, cough, menstrual bleeding.

Botanical name:

: Ocimum basilicum Linn.

Family name:

: Lamiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thiruneetru pachai

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Flowers, Leaf, Whole

plant Medicinal uses

: Urinary problems, gonorrhea, bronchitis, earache, cold, cough

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Botanical name:

: Solanum nigrum Linn.

Family name:

: Solanaceae

Vernacular name:

: Manattakkali/ Kamanchi

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

flower & fruits Medicinal uses

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

Botanical name:

: Terminalia bellirica (Gaerth.) Roxb.

Family name:

: Combretaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thanrikkaai/Thandri

Habit: : Tree Part(s) used : Leaf, fruits, seed & kernel Medicinal uses

: Toothache, small pox, dysentery, stomach ailments

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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

EPTRI‐ENVIS Centre (Ecology of Eastern Ghats)  

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Medicinal Plants used by villagers in Kolli Hills of Namakkal 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