Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the Malasar Tribe’s in...

www.ajethno.com

American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 2014, Vol. 1, No. 3, 164-173

Available online at http://www.ajethno.com

© American Journal of Ethnomedicine

Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal

Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the

Malasar Tribe’s in Valparai Hills, Western

Ghats of Tamilnadu

Santhosh Kumar S1*, Samydurai P

2 and N Nagarajan

1

1 PG and Research Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College

(Autonomous),

Coimbatore-641 029, Tamilnadu, India 2Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, R.S. Puram, Coimbatore-641

002, Tamilnadu, India

ABSTRACT

Objective of the current study

The present study to investigate the ethnobotanical survey of medicinal

pteridophyte plant species used by the tribal community in Valparai hills, Western

Ghats of Tamil Nadu. The study was undertaken during the year 2012 June to

July 2013. The indigenous knowledge of traditional tribal used for medicinal

purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during

field trips. Ethnobotanical data were followed by Plant name, family, common

name, habit, parts used and their ethnomedicinal uses. Correct identification was

made with the help of the Flora of Pteridophytes.

Result

The present result showed that the ethno medicinal importance of 23

pteridophytic plant species, belonging to 14 plant families and 15 genera used by

the tribal communities. The ethnomedicinal ferns plant species such as Adiantum

capillus-veneris, Actinopteris radiata, Hemionitis arifolia, Marsilea and Pteris

biuarita.

Conclusion The study ethno medicinal survey represents significant ethno medical plants,

although people in the study area have access to modern medical facilities, which

provides baseline data for future pharmacological and anticancerous studies.

Keywords- Ferns, Ethnomedicine, Tribal communities, Valparai hills.

INTRODUCTION

Indian has one of the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions called

“folk tradition” associated with the use of

medicinal herbs based indigenous belief,

knowledge, skill and cultural practices1.

India is one among the 12-megabiodiversity

countries and having 3 out of 25 hot spots of

the origins and diversity of several plant

species in the World2. The Western Ghats

American Journal of Ethnomedicine ________________________________________ ISSN: 2348-9502

Page 164-173

are the main biodiversity hotspots of India

and the India’s biodiversity is unmatched

due to the presence of 16 different agro-

climatic zones 10 vegetation zones 25 biotic

provinces and 426 biomes3. Traditional

medicine is used throughout the world as it

is heavily dependent on locally available

plant species and plant-based products and

capitalizes on traditional wisdom-repository

of knowledge4. The wide spread use of

traditional medicine could be attributed to

cultural acceptability, economic afforda-

bility and efficacy against certain type of

diseases as compared to modern medicines5.

India has a rich population of

pteridophytes; most of the species appear in

either the region or in South Indian

Mountains called the Western and Eastern

Ghats6. Totally, 12,000 species of

pteridophytes that occur in the World flora,

more than 1,000 species belongs to 70

families and 191 genera likely to occur in

India7. Out of 1,000 species of pteridophytes

occurring in India, 170 species have been

found to be used as food, flavour, dye,

medicine, bio-fertilizers, oil, fibre and bio-

gas production8. Though, recent

ethnobotanical, pharmacological and

biological searches have revealed medicinal,

pharmaceutical, and phytochemical

attributes of pteridophytes, which have

valuable potential application for health and

industry, still many species of pteridophytes

are yet to be explored for their potential

application for future use and to isolate new

active principles from them9. Hence, the

ethnomedicine is the mother of all modern

drugs and recently the importance of the

traditional knowledge based medicines are

being utilized throughout the world10. In the

present paper, an attempt has been made to

gather information about the indigenous

medicinal use of some common

Pteridophytic plants species which may be

further exploited for the benefit of society.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study area

The present study area is confined to

the major range in the Valparai hills of the

Western Ghats that is rich biodiversity and

indigenous population. It is located in the

Western boundary range in Coimbatore

district in the Southwest of Tamilnadu and

lies between at 10.370- 76.97

0 N longitudes

and 10.370- 76.97

0 E latitude form a portion

of Tamilnadu. It has an average elevation of

the hills ranges between 1193 meters (3914

feet) above (MSL) and about annual rainfall

between 3523.3mm to 2882.7 mm, and

temperature varies between 23.6 °C to 19.9

°C. The vegetation type of forest is moist

deciduous forest, and evergreen forest

present (Fig- 1).

Data collection

The ethnomedicine information was

gathered from the local tribal people, who

reside in the Valparai hills, Western Ghats

Tamilnadu. Several field visits were also

conducted in the tribal residing areas of the

study to collect data on ferns medicinal

plants commonly used by them. The

observations collected during field visit

were put into group discussion. The

medicinal plants were identified,

photographed and sample specimens, were

collected in preparation of herbarium.

Voucher specimens have been deposited in

the herbarium of Department of Botany,

Kongunadu Arts and Sciences College

(Autonomous), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

Species Identification

The collected ethnomedicinal

pteridophytic plant species identification

was carried out by using ‘The Manual of

Pteridophyte Flora of Western Ghats, South

India8.


Page 164-173

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

In the present study result showed

that the ethnomedicinal uses of 23

pteridophytic plant species belonging to 14

families in 15 genera were collected from

the Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil

Nadu (Fig- 2). In collected 23

ethnomedicinal plant parts, whole plant is

used in (43.4%) followed by rhizome

(30.4%), leaf (34.8%) and thallus (4.3%) by

Malasar tribes for various ailments like

cough, cold, fever, asthma and leprosy (Fig-

3). The detailed information about plant

name, family, common name, habit, parts

used and their ethnomedicinal uses were

presented in Table 1. The dominant genera,

an analysis were made and found that the

dominant families such as Selaginellaceae (5

species), Adiantaceae (4 species) and

Pteridaceae (3 species) and followed by the

other families such as Angiopteridaceae (1

species), Actinopteridaceae (1 species),

Heminioteridaceae (1 species), Ricciaceae

(1 species), Marsileaceae (1 species),

Gleicheniaceae (1 species), Davalliaceae (1

species), Ophioglossaceae (1 species)

Sinopteridaceae (1 species) and

Polypodaceae (1 species). The tribe’s used

these ethnomedicinal plant species to cure

the various diseases such as wound healing,

body sickness, diarrhoea, skin problems,

body pain, diabetics, cough, cold, fever,

asthma, kidney problem, tonic, chronic

disorders, several aches, hair growth,

stomach problems, ulcer, sore throat, leprosy

and opthalmia.

Based on the medico-potentiality of

ethnomedicinal ferns and fern-allies used by

tribe’s of Valparai hills, the collected

pteridophytes were used for various ailments

like diarrhoea, dysentery, cut wounds, fever,

cough, women’s sterility, skin disease,

insomnia, dyspepsia, tonic, antiviral,

hypoglycaemic, rheumatism, asthma,

leprosy, diabetes and cancer. The tribal

practitioner’s used specific plant parts and

dosages in the treatment of specific

ailments. Plant products are consumed raw

or taken as a decoction/infusion by orally

and paste was applied externally. Fresh

leaves and rhizome were more frequently

used when compared to other parts of the

plant. Sometimes the healer may mix several

plants as ingredients to cure a single disease.

The most cases the fresh plant material is

used for the preparation of medicine.

Alternatively, if the fresh plant parts are not

available, dried plant materials are used.

Documenting the indigenous

knowledge through ethnobotanical study is

important for the conservation and

utilization of biological resources.

Indigenous people use many of the

pteridophytic medicinal plants traditionally

for treating their common ailments like

gastrointestinal disorder, stomach ache,

peptic ulcer, diarrhoea, dysentery, skin itch,

wounds, abscess, eczema, scabies, chest

complains, snake bite, urinary complaints,

bones fracture, hypertension and glandular

swellings11. In our investigation whole parts

of Adiantum radianum used as skin diseases,

cough and fever, leprosy and hair growth.

Hemiontis arifolia used for anti-diabetic,

antimicrobial and Cancer. Sharma12 was

reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of 11

species of ferns and fern allies of Hadoti

plateau, Rajsthan. Our result showed 23

ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species

used by malasar tribal Valparai hills

Western Ghats. Singh and Upadhyay13

recently reported that the ethno-botanical

importance of some pteridophytic plant

species such as Adiantum capillus-veneris L.

(Adiantaceae), Actinopteris radiata (Sw.)

Link. (Actinopteridaceae), Dicranopteris

linearis (Burm. f.) Underwood.

(Gleicheniaceae) and Selaginella bryopteris

(L.) Baker (Selaginellaceae) used by the

Pachmarhi tribes. Similarly, our present

result revealed that the malasar tribes were

also used Adiantum capillus-veneris,

Actiniopteris radiata, Dicranopteris linearis


Page 164-173

and Selaginella bryopteris among these

plant species to cure various diseases like

tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, Diarrhioea,

dysentery, fever helminthiasis and heat

stroke. Idu et al.,14 recently reported that the

ethnomedicinal plants like Azadirachta

indica, Telferia occidentalis and Ocimum

gratissimum are used for the treatment of

common ailments such as malaria, anemia

and stomach upset respectively among the

tribe people by Idoma. Similarly our result

showed one plant species of Angiopteris

evecta used as a dysentery, leprosy and

stomach pain by the malasar tribe of

Valparai hills.

Alagesaboopathi15 reported that the

ethnobotanical study was 44 species, 40

genera and 28 families of angiosperms

Sirumalai Hills of Eastern Ghats, Dindigul

District. Similarly our present result

revealed that the 23 pteridophytic plant

species, 14 families in 15 genera were

collected from the Valparai hills, Western

Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Shaikh et al.16

recently reported that the ethnomedicinal

uses of some Pteridophytic plant species

such as Adiantum caudatum, (L),

(Adiantaceae), Actinioptris radiate (Sw.)


linearis, (Burm. f.) Underwood

(Gleicheniaceae), Marsilea minuta, (L),

(Marsileaceae) and Selaginella tenera,

(Hook & Grev.) Spring. (Selaginellaceae)

used by the tribes Konkan region of

Maharashtra. Similarly our present result

showed that the malasar tribes were also

used Selaginella ciliaris, Dicranopteris

linearis and Selaginella bryopteris,

Doryopteris concolor, Actinioptris radiate,

Adiantum caudatum among these plant

species to cure various diseases like Skin

disease, dysentery, fever, headache,

Diuretic, gonorrhoea, hallucination,

Anthelmintic, Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular,

menstruation and jaundice.

Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu17 reported

that the medicinal plants such as Alpinia

galanga, Azadirachta indica, Calophyllum

inophyllum, Gymnema Silvestre, Leucas

apsera, Melia azedarach, Mollugo

nudicaulis, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Syzygium

cumini, Terminalia chebula and Tribulus

terrestris used for the treatment of diabetic,

asthma, poison bites, stomachache, bone

fracture and dysentery by the Kani tribal.

Similarly our present result revealed that the

one pteridophytic plant species Hemionities

arifolia used as antidiabetic activity. Revathi

et al.18 recently reported that the

ethnomedicinal uses of 50 pteridophytic

plant species belong to 27 families and 35

genera were used by Malayalis tribal in

Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu.

Similarly our present result showed that the

ethno medicinal uses of 23 plant species

belong to 14 families were recorded in the

region of Valparai hills, Western Ghats of

Tamil Nadu.

Traditional indigenous knowledge

represent not only an important heritage,

developed over the centuries, but also

considerable mass of data that should be

exploited in order to provide new and useful

knowledge on plant resources. It is

therefore, necessary to preserve this

indigenous knowledge on traditional

medicines by proper documentation,

identification of plant species used, herbal

preparation and dosage. The documentation

of the traditional knowledge; intellectual

property rights of the locals, trainings about

the sustainable use of the available resources

and use of the traditional knowledge for

conservation which can be addressed in the

future.

CONCLUSION

From this study, it is concluded that

the ethnomedicinal uses of 23 pteridophytic

plant species used by the malasar tribe’s in

Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu.


Page 164-173

The local inhabitants have inherited with

rich traditional knowledge on the use of

medicinal plants or plant parts for their

regular food and medicine. In future study

on these traditional remedies to confirm the

presence of any bioactive compounds and

also include this traditional knowledge into

the strategies of conservation management

of floristic resources for sustainable use.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Authors are greatly thankful to my

Supervisor and Guide Dr.N.Nagarajan,

Associate Professor, Dept. of Botany,

Kongunadu Arts and Science College,

Coimbatore for encouraging the course

work. Authors also thank to Joint Director,

Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle,

Coimbatore and tribes of Valparai Hills.

REFERENCES

1. Mathur A and Joshi H. Traditinal remedies

in Tarai region Kuman, Uttarghand. Indian

journal of Traditional Knowledge. 2012;

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2. Nirmal kumar JI, Rita N kumar, Nadendra

Patil and Hiren Soni. Studies on plant

species used by tribal communities of

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3. Vijayalakshmi N, Anbazhagan M and

Arumugam K. Studies on Ethno-medicinal

plants used by the Irulas tribe of

Thirumurthi Hill of Western Ghats, Tamil

Nadu. International Journal of Research in

Plant Science. 2013; 4(1): 8-12.

4. Awas T, Demissew S. Ethnobotanical study

of medicinal plants in Kafficho people,

southwestern Ethiopia. In Proceedings of the

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Studies. Edited by Svein E, Harald A,

Birhanu T, Shiferaw B. Trondheim,

Norway; NTNU-Trykk Press. 2009; 3:711–

726.

5. Ketema Tolossa, Etana Debela, Spiridoula

Athanasiadou, Adugna Tolera, Gebeyehu

Ganga and Jos GM Houdijk. Ethno-

medicinal study of plants used for treatment

of human and livestock ailments by

traditional healers in South Omo, Southern

Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and

Ethnomedicine. 2013; 9: (32) 1-15.

6. Gowrisankar K, Chandrasekaran R and

Nandakumar K. Survey of ferns and fern

allies from Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil

Nadu. J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov.

2011; 5 (1): 52-55.

7. Dixit RD and Vohra JN. A Dictionary of the

Pteridophytes of India, Botanical Survey of

India, Kolkata. 1984.

8. Manickam VS and Irudayaraj V. (1992).

Pteridophyte flora of Western Ghats of

South India. BI publications, New Delhi.

p.652.

9. Bindu, H., P. Suvarnalathadevi, K. Rukmini

and M.A. Singara Charya. 2012.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial

activity of Hemiontis arifolia (Burn) Moore.

J. Nat. Sci. Res., 3: 9-13.

10. Poongodi A, Thilagavathi S, Aravindhan V

and Rajendran A. Observations on some

ethnomedicinal plants in Sathyamangalam

forests. Journal of Medicinal Plants

Research. 2011; 5(19): 4709-4714.

11. Rout SD, Panda T and Mishra N.

Ethnomedicinal studies on some

pteridophytes of Similipal Biosphere

Reserve, Orissa. International Journal of

Medicine and Medical Sciences. 2009; 1(5);

192-197.

12. Sharma NK. Ethnomadicinal studies on

ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau,

Southern Rajsthan. Zoos’Print J. 2002;

17(3): 732-734.

13. Balendra Pratap Singh and Ravi Upadhyay.

Ethno-botanical importance of Pteridophytes

used by the tribe of Pachmarhi, Central

India. Journal of Medicinal Plants

Research. 2012; 6(1): pp. 14-18.

14. MacDonald Idu, Joseph O. Erhabor and

Oghale Ovuakporie-Uvo. Ethnomedicinal

Plants Used By the Idoma People- Benue

State, Nigeria. American Journal of

Ethnomedicine, 2014; 1(1): 072-088.

15. Alagesaboopathi C. Ethnobotanical studies

on useful plants of Sirumalai Hills of

Eastern Ghats, Dindigul District of


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Tamilnadu, Southern India. International

Journal of Biosciences, 2012; 2(2): 77-84.

16. Shakil D. Shaikh, VP. Masal and Anisa S.

Shaikh. Ethnomedicinal uses of some

pteridophytes from Konkan region of

Maharashtra. International Journal of

pharmaceutical and chemical sciences,

2014; 3 (1): 62-65.

17. Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S Ethnobotanical

survey of medicinal plants commonly used

by Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of

Western Ghats, India. J Ethnopharmacol,

2011; 134, 851-864.

18. Revathi, R. Muthuraja, R, Binu Thomas

and Raju, K. Ethno medicinal fern and fern-

allies used by tribe Malayalis of Kolli Hills,

Eastern Ghats. Pteridological Research,

2013;2(1):1-10.


Page 164-173

Table 1. Showing the list of pteridophytic plant species, family, habitat, parts used and their ethnomedicinal utilization by the tribes of

valparai hills western ghats of tamilnadu

S.

NO Name of the Plant species Family Common name Habit Parts used Ethnomedicinal uses

1 Adiantum caudatum L. Adiantaceae Trailing maiden

hair Rhizome erect Leaf, fronds

Skin diseases,

cough and fever.

2 Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Adiantaceae Roaddu Keerai Rhizome long

creeping whole plant

Febrifuge, anticancerous, tonic, antiviral,

hypoglycaemic,

3 Adiantum zollingeri Mett. ex Kuhn Adiantaceae - Rhizome erect Leaf,

rhizomes Fever, cold, and eczema

4 Adiantum radianum C. Presl Adiantaceae Parapadappai Rhizome erect Whole plant Cough, asthma, fever, leprosy and hair growth

5 Actinopteris radiata (Link)

Angiopteridaceae Saava sedi Perennial, erect herbs Whole plant Diarrhioea, dysentery, fever helminthiasis.

6 Angiopteris evecta (Forst.) Hoff. Actinopteridaceae - Terrestrial Leaf Dysentery, leprosy and stomach pain

7 Hemionities arifolia (Burm. f.) T. Moor) Heminioteridaceae Kalthamarai Rhizome erect Leaf, rhizome Anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and Cancer.

8 Selaginella involvens (Sw.) Spring. Selaginellaceae Kallotti sedi Rhizomes Rhizome Cough, poisonous bite

9 Selaginella bryopteris (L.) Baker Selaginellaceae Sanjivini booti Herb-epiphytic Whole plant Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular, menstruation and

jaundice.

10 Selaginella tenera (Hook. & Grev.) Spring Selaginellaceae Sajivani Perennial herb whole plant Diuretic, gonorrhoea and hallucination

11 Selaginella delicatula (Desv.) Alston Selaginellaceae Thugalpoondu Rhizome erect Whole plant Healing, wound.

12 Selaginella ciliaris (Retz.) Spring Selaginellaceae Chhoti Sanjeevan Perennial herb Whole plant Skin disease, dysentery, fever, headache

13 Riccia sp L. Ricciaceae - Prostate herb Thallus Sedation insomnia, and opthalmia

14 Marsilea sp L. Marsileaceae Thanniyarilai Aquatic or semi

aquatic Leaf

Skin diseases, insomnia, dyspepsia, fever, cough,

Respiratory

15 Pteris biaurita (L). Pteridaceae Kuddhi Rhizome erect Rhizome Chronic disorders.


Page 164-173

16 Cheilanthus mysorensis Wall

Pteridaceae Pachai Rhizome erect Leaf Throat pain

17 Pteris vitata L.

Pteridaceae Yanai vanaji Rhizome erect whole plant Cold, cough and fever and tonic

18 Dicranopteris linears (Burm. f.)

Underwood Gleicheniaceae Padachai Perennial erect Leaf, rhizome Wounds. Asthma, Anthelmintic

19 Doryopteris concolor Langsd. Et Fisch Sinopteridaceae Kalkarai Rhizome erect Leaf Anthelmintic.

20 Leptochilus decurrens Blume. Polypodaceae - Terrestrial Whole plant Fodder

21 Microlepia majuscula (Lowe) T. Moore Dennstaedtiaceae - Rhizome erect Rhizome, leaf Menstrual diseases

22 Humata repens (L. f.) J. Small ex Diels Davalliaceae - Rhizome Rhizome Fever, urinary diseases, dysuria, febrifuge; cough

23 Botrychium daucifolium Wall. i Hook &

Grev Ophioglossaceae Nandu Kuddhi Rhizome erect Whole plant Body pain


Page 164-173

Figure 1. Showing the study area and map of valparai hills,

southern western ghats of tamilnadu, india


Page 164-173

a- Botrychium daucifolium, b-Actinopteris radiata, c- Hemionities arifolia, d- Angiopteris evecta.

Figure 2. Showing the ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species in

valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu

Figure 3. Showing different plant parts used by the malasar

tribes in valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu

www.ajethno.com

American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 2014, Vol. 1, No. 3, 164-173

Available online at http://www.ajethno.com

© American Journal of Ethnomedicine

Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal

Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the

Malasar Tribe’s in Valparai Hills, Western

Ghats of Tamilnadu

Santhosh Kumar S1*, Samydurai P

2 and N Nagarajan

1

1 PG and Research Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College

(Autonomous),

Coimbatore-641 029, Tamilnadu, India 2Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, R.S. Puram, Coimbatore-641

002, Tamilnadu, India

ABSTRACT

Objective of the current study

The present study to investigate the ethnobotanical survey of medicinal

pteridophyte plant species used by the tribal community in Valparai hills, Western

Ghats of Tamil Nadu. The study was undertaken during the year 2012 June to

July 2013. The indigenous knowledge of traditional tribal used for medicinal

purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during

field trips. Ethnobotanical data were followed by Plant name, family, common

name, habit, parts used and their ethnomedicinal uses. Correct identification was

made with the help of the Flora of Pteridophytes.

Result

The present result showed that the ethno medicinal importance of 23

pteridophytic plant species, belonging to 14 plant families and 15 genera used by

the tribal communities. The ethnomedicinal ferns plant species such as Adiantum

capillus-veneris, Actinopteris radiata, Hemionitis arifolia, Marsilea and Pteris

biuarita.

Conclusion The study ethno medicinal survey represents significant ethno medical plants,

although people in the study area have access to modern medical facilities, which

provides baseline data for future pharmacological and anticancerous studies.

Keywords- Ferns, Ethnomedicine, Tribal communities, Valparai hills.

INTRODUCTION

Indian has one of the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions called

“folk tradition” associated with the use of

medicinal herbs based indigenous belief,

knowledge, skill and cultural practices1.

India is one among the 12-megabiodiversity

countries and having 3 out of 25 hot spots of

the origins and diversity of several plant

species in the World2. The Western Ghats


Page 164-173

are the main biodiversity hotspots of India

and the India’s biodiversity is unmatched

due to the presence of 16 different agro-

climatic zones 10 vegetation zones 25 biotic

provinces and 426 biomes3. Traditional

medicine is used throughout the world as it

is heavily dependent on locally available

plant species and plant-based products and

capitalizes on traditional wisdom-repository

of knowledge4. The wide spread use of

traditional medicine could be attributed to

cultural acceptability, economic afforda-

bility and efficacy against certain type of

diseases as compared to modern medicines5.

India has a rich population of

pteridophytes; most of the species appear in

either the region or in South Indian

Mountains called the Western and Eastern

Ghats6. Totally, 12,000 species of

pteridophytes that occur in the World flora,

more than 1,000 species belongs to 70

families and 191 genera likely to occur in

India7. Out of 1,000 species of pteridophytes

occurring in India, 170 species have been

found to be used as food, flavour, dye,

medicine, bio-fertilizers, oil, fibre and bio-

gas production8. Though, recent

ethnobotanical, pharmacological and

biological searches have revealed medicinal,

pharmaceutical, and phytochemical

attributes of pteridophytes, which have

valuable potential application for health and

industry, still many species of pteridophytes

are yet to be explored for their potential

application for future use and to isolate new

active principles from them9. Hence, the

ethnomedicine is the mother of all modern

drugs and recently the importance of the

traditional knowledge based medicines are

being utilized throughout the world10. In the

present paper, an attempt has been made to

gather information about the indigenous

medicinal use of some common

Pteridophytic plants species which may be

further exploited for the benefit of society.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study area

The present study area is confined to

the major range in the Valparai hills of the

Western Ghats that is rich biodiversity and

indigenous population. It is located in the

Western boundary range in Coimbatore

district in the Southwest of Tamilnadu and

lies between at 10.370- 76.97

0 N longitudes

and 10.370- 76.97

0 E latitude form a portion

of Tamilnadu. It has an average elevation of

the hills ranges between 1193 meters (3914

feet) above (MSL) and about annual rainfall

between 3523.3mm to 2882.7 mm, and

temperature varies between 23.6 °C to 19.9

°C. The vegetation type of forest is moist

deciduous forest, and evergreen forest

present (Fig- 1).

Data collection

The ethnomedicine information was

gathered from the local tribal people, who

reside in the Valparai hills, Western Ghats

Tamilnadu. Several field visits were also

conducted in the tribal residing areas of the

study to collect data on ferns medicinal

plants commonly used by them. The

observations collected during field visit

were put into group discussion. The

medicinal plants were identified,

photographed and sample specimens, were

collected in preparation of herbarium.

Voucher specimens have been deposited in

the herbarium of Department of Botany,

Kongunadu Arts and Sciences College

(Autonomous), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

Species Identification

The collected ethnomedicinal

pteridophytic plant species identification

was carried out by using ‘The Manual of

Pteridophyte Flora of Western Ghats, South

India8.


Page 164-173

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

In the present study result showed

that the ethnomedicinal uses of 23

pteridophytic plant species belonging to 14

families in 15 genera were collected from

the Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil

Nadu (Fig- 2). In collected 23

ethnomedicinal plant parts, whole plant is

used in (43.4%) followed by rhizome

(30.4%), leaf (34.8%) and thallus (4.3%) by

Malasar tribes for various ailments like

cough, cold, fever, asthma and leprosy (Fig-

3). The detailed information about plant

name, family, common name, habit, parts

used and their ethnomedicinal uses were

presented in Table 1. The dominant genera,

an analysis were made and found that the

dominant families such as Selaginellaceae (5

species), Adiantaceae (4 species) and

Pteridaceae (3 species) and followed by the

other families such as Angiopteridaceae (1

species), Actinopteridaceae (1 species),

Heminioteridaceae (1 species), Ricciaceae

(1 species), Marsileaceae (1 species),

Gleicheniaceae (1 species), Davalliaceae (1

species), Ophioglossaceae (1 species)

Sinopteridaceae (1 species) and

Polypodaceae (1 species). The tribe’s used

these ethnomedicinal plant species to cure

the various diseases such as wound healing,

body sickness, diarrhoea, skin problems,

body pain, diabetics, cough, cold, fever,

asthma, kidney problem, tonic, chronic

disorders, several aches, hair growth,

stomach problems, ulcer, sore throat, leprosy

and opthalmia.

Based on the medico-potentiality of

ethnomedicinal ferns and fern-allies used by

tribe’s of Valparai hills, the collected

pteridophytes were used for various ailments

like diarrhoea, dysentery, cut wounds, fever,

cough, women’s sterility, skin disease,

insomnia, dyspepsia, tonic, antiviral,

hypoglycaemic, rheumatism, asthma,

leprosy, diabetes and cancer. The tribal

practitioner’s used specific plant parts and

dosages in the treatment of specific

ailments. Plant products are consumed raw

or taken as a decoction/infusion by orally

and paste was applied externally. Fresh

leaves and rhizome were more frequently

used when compared to other parts of the

plant. Sometimes the healer may mix several

plants as ingredients to cure a single disease.

The most cases the fresh plant material is

used for the preparation of medicine.

Alternatively, if the fresh plant parts are not

available, dried plant materials are used.

Documenting the indigenous

knowledge through ethnobotanical study is

important for the conservation and

utilization of biological resources.

Indigenous people use many of the

pteridophytic medicinal plants traditionally

for treating their common ailments like

gastrointestinal disorder, stomach ache,

peptic ulcer, diarrhoea, dysentery, skin itch,

wounds, abscess, eczema, scabies, chest

complains, snake bite, urinary complaints,

bones fracture, hypertension and glandular

swellings11. In our investigation whole parts

of Adiantum radianum used as skin diseases,

cough and fever, leprosy and hair growth.

Hemiontis arifolia used for anti-diabetic,

antimicrobial and Cancer. Sharma12 was

reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of 11

species of ferns and fern allies of Hadoti

plateau, Rajsthan. Our result showed 23

ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species

used by malasar tribal Valparai hills

Western Ghats. Singh and Upadhyay13

recently reported that the ethno-botanical

importance of some pteridophytic plant

species such as Adiantum capillus-veneris L.

(Adiantaceae), Actinopteris radiata (Sw.)


linearis (Burm. f.) Underwood.

(Gleicheniaceae) and Selaginella bryopteris

(L.) Baker (Selaginellaceae) used by the

Pachmarhi tribes. Similarly, our present

result revealed that the malasar tribes were

also used Adiantum capillus-veneris,

Actiniopteris radiata, Dicranopteris linearis


Page 164-173

and Selaginella bryopteris among these

plant species to cure various diseases like

tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, Diarrhioea,

dysentery, fever helminthiasis and heat

stroke. Idu et al.,14 recently reported that the

ethnomedicinal plants like Azadirachta

indica, Telferia occidentalis and Ocimum

gratissimum are used for the treatment of

common ailments such as malaria, anemia

and stomach upset respectively among the

tribe people by Idoma. Similarly our result

showed one plant species of Angiopteris

evecta used as a dysentery, leprosy and

stomach pain by the malasar tribe of

Valparai hills.

Alagesaboopathi15 reported that the

ethnobotanical study was 44 species, 40

genera and 28 families of angiosperms

Sirumalai Hills of Eastern Ghats, Dindigul

District. Similarly our present result

revealed that the 23 pteridophytic plant

species, 14 families in 15 genera were

collected from the Valparai hills, Western

Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Shaikh et al.16

recently reported that the ethnomedicinal

uses of some Pteridophytic plant species

such as Adiantum caudatum, (L),

(Adiantaceae), Actinioptris radiate (Sw.)


linearis, (Burm. f.) Underwood

(Gleicheniaceae), Marsilea minuta, (L),

(Marsileaceae) and Selaginella tenera,

(Hook & Grev.) Spring. (Selaginellaceae)

used by the tribes Konkan region of

Maharashtra. Similarly our present result

showed that the malasar tribes were also

used Selaginella ciliaris, Dicranopteris

linearis and Selaginella bryopteris,

Doryopteris concolor, Actinioptris radiate,

Adiantum caudatum among these plant

species to cure various diseases like Skin

disease, dysentery, fever, headache,

Diuretic, gonorrhoea, hallucination,

Anthelmintic, Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular,

menstruation and jaundice.

Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu17 reported

that the medicinal plants such as Alpinia

galanga, Azadirachta indica, Calophyllum

inophyllum, Gymnema Silvestre, Leucas

apsera, Melia azedarach, Mollugo

nudicaulis, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Syzygium

cumini, Terminalia chebula and Tribulus

terrestris used for the treatment of diabetic,

asthma, poison bites, stomachache, bone

fracture and dysentery by the Kani tribal.

Similarly our present result revealed that the

one pteridophytic plant species Hemionities

arifolia used as antidiabetic activity. Revathi

et al.18 recently reported that the

ethnomedicinal uses of 50 pteridophytic

plant species belong to 27 families and 35

genera were used by Malayalis tribal in

Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu.

Similarly our present result showed that the

ethno medicinal uses of 23 plant species

belong to 14 families were recorded in the

region of Valparai hills, Western Ghats of

Tamil Nadu.

Traditional indigenous knowledge

represent not only an important heritage,

developed over the centuries, but also

considerable mass of data that should be

exploited in order to provide new and useful

knowledge on plant resources. It is

therefore, necessary to preserve this

indigenous knowledge on traditional

medicines by proper documentation,

identification of plant species used, herbal

preparation and dosage. The documentation

of the traditional knowledge; intellectual

property rights of the locals, trainings about

the sustainable use of the available resources

and use of the traditional knowledge for

conservation which can be addressed in the

future.

CONCLUSION

From this study, it is concluded that

the ethnomedicinal uses of 23 pteridophytic

plant species used by the malasar tribe’s in

Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu.


Page 164-173

The local inhabitants have inherited with

rich traditional knowledge on the use of

medicinal plants or plant parts for their

regular food and medicine. In future study

on these traditional remedies to confirm the

presence of any bioactive compounds and

also include this traditional knowledge into

the strategies of conservation management

of floristic resources for sustainable use.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Authors are greatly thankful to my

Supervisor and Guide Dr.N.Nagarajan,

Associate Professor, Dept. of Botany,

Kongunadu Arts and Science College,

Coimbatore for encouraging the course

work. Authors also thank to Joint Director,

Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle,

Coimbatore and tribes of Valparai Hills.

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in Tarai region Kuman, Uttarghand. Indian

journal of Traditional Knowledge. 2012;

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2. Nirmal kumar JI, Rita N kumar, Nadendra

Patil and Hiren Soni. Studies on plant

species used by tribal communities of

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traditional knowledge. 2007; 6 (2): 368-374.

3. Vijayalakshmi N, Anbazhagan M and

Arumugam K. Studies on Ethno-medicinal

plants used by the Irulas tribe of

Thirumurthi Hill of Western Ghats, Tamil

Nadu. International Journal of Research in

Plant Science. 2013; 4(1): 8-12.

4. Awas T, Demissew S. Ethnobotanical study

of medicinal plants in Kafficho people,

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Birhanu T, Shiferaw B. Trondheim,

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726.

5. Ketema Tolossa, Etana Debela, Spiridoula

Athanasiadou, Adugna Tolera, Gebeyehu

Ganga and Jos GM Houdijk. Ethno-

medicinal study of plants used for treatment

of human and livestock ailments by

traditional healers in South Omo, Southern

Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and

Ethnomedicine. 2013; 9: (32) 1-15.

6. Gowrisankar K, Chandrasekaran R and

Nandakumar K. Survey of ferns and fern

allies from Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil

Nadu. J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov.

2011; 5 (1): 52-55.

7. Dixit RD and Vohra JN. A Dictionary of the

Pteridophytes of India, Botanical Survey of

India, Kolkata. 1984.

8. Manickam VS and Irudayaraj V. (1992).

Pteridophyte flora of Western Ghats of

South India. BI publications, New Delhi.

p.652.

9. Bindu, H., P. Suvarnalathadevi, K. Rukmini

and M.A. Singara Charya. 2012.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial

activity of Hemiontis arifolia (Burn) Moore.

J. Nat. Sci. Res., 3: 9-13.

10. Poongodi A, Thilagavathi S, Aravindhan V

and Rajendran A. Observations on some

ethnomedicinal plants in Sathyamangalam

forests. Journal of Medicinal Plants

Research. 2011; 5(19): 4709-4714.

11. Rout SD, Panda T and Mishra N.

Ethnomedicinal studies on some

pteridophytes of Similipal Biosphere

Reserve, Orissa. International Journal of

Medicine and Medical Sciences. 2009; 1(5);

192-197.

12. Sharma NK. Ethnomadicinal studies on

ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau,

Southern Rajsthan. Zoos’Print J. 2002;

17(3): 732-734.

13. Balendra Pratap Singh and Ravi Upadhyay.

Ethno-botanical importance of Pteridophytes

used by the tribe of Pachmarhi, Central

India. Journal of Medicinal Plants

Research. 2012; 6(1): pp. 14-18.

14. MacDonald Idu, Joseph O. Erhabor and

Oghale Ovuakporie-Uvo. Ethnomedicinal

Plants Used By the Idoma People- Benue

State, Nigeria. American Journal of

Ethnomedicine, 2014; 1(1): 072-088.

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on useful plants of Sirumalai Hills of

Eastern Ghats, Dindigul District of


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Shaikh. Ethnomedicinal uses of some

pteridophytes from Konkan region of

Maharashtra. International Journal of

pharmaceutical and chemical sciences,

2014; 3 (1): 62-65.

17. Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S Ethnobotanical

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by Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of

Western Ghats, India. J Ethnopharmacol,

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18. Revathi, R. Muthuraja, R, Binu Thomas

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2013;2(1):1-10.

Am

eri

can

Jo

urn

al

of

Eth

no

me

dic

ine

________________________________________ ISSN: 2348-9502

P

ag

e 1

64

-17

3

Table 1. Showin

g the list of pteridophytic plant sp

ecies, fam

ily, hab

itat, par

ts use

d and their ethnom

edicin

al utiliza

tion by the trib

es of

valparai hills w

estern

ghats of tam

ilnad

u

S.

NO

N

am

e o

f th

e P

lan

t sp

eci

es

Fa

mil

y

Co

mm

on

na

me

H

ab

it

Pa

rts

use

d

Eth

no

me

dic

ina

l u

ses

1

Ad

ian

tum

ca

ud

atu

m L

. A

dia

nta

cea

e

Tra

ilin

g m

aid

en

ha

ir

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Lea

f, f

ron

ds

Sk

in d

ise

ase

s,

cou

gh

an

d f

ev

er.

2

Ad

ian

tum

ca

pillu

s-ve

ne

ris

L.

Ad

ian

tace

ae

R

oa

dd

u K

ee

rai

Rh

izo

me

lo

ng

cre

ep

ing

w

ho

le p

lan

t Fe

bri

fug

e,

an

tica

nce

rou

s, t

on

ic,

an

tiv

ira

l,

hy

po

gly

cae

mic

,

3

Ad

ian

tum

zo

llin

ge

ri M

ett

. e

x K

uh

n

Ad

ian

tace

ae

-

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Lea

f,

rhiz

om

es

Fe

ve

r, c

old

, a

nd

e

cze

ma

4

Ad

ian

tum

ra

dia

nu

m

C.

Pre

sl

Ad

ian

tace

ae

P

ara

pa

da

pp

ai

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Wh

ole

pla

nt

Co

ug

h,

ast

hm

a,

fev

er,

le

pro

sy a

nd

ha

ir g

row

th

5

Act

ino

pte

ris

rad

iata

(Li

nk

)

A

ng

iop

teri

da

cea

e

Sa

av

a s

ed

i P

ere

nn

ial,

ere

ct h

erb

s W

ho

le p

lan

t D

iarr

hio

ea

, d

yse

nte

ry,

fev

er

he

lmin

thia

sis.

6

An

gio

pte

ris

eve

cta

(Fo

rst.

) H

off

. A

ctin

op

teri

da

cea

e

- T

err

est

ria

l Le

af

Dy

sen

tery

, le

pro

sy a

nd

sto

ma

ch p

ain

7

He

mio

nit

ies

ari

folia

(B

urm

. f.

) T

. M

oo

r)

He

min

iote

rid

ace

ae

K

alt

ha

ma

rai

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Lea

f, r

hiz

om

e

An

ti-d

iab

eti

c, a

nti

mic

rob

ial a

nd

Ca

nce

r.

8

Se

lag

ine

lla

in

vo

lve

ns

(Sw

.) S

pri

ng

. Se

lag

ine

lla

cea

e

Ka

llo

tti se

di

Rh

izo

me

s R

hiz

om

e

Co

ug

h,

po

iso

no

us

bit

e

9

Se

lag

ine

lla

bry

op

teri

s

(L.)

Ba

ke

r Se

lag

ine

lla

cea

e

Sa

nji

vin

i b

oo

ti

He

rb-e

pip

hy

tic

Wh

ole

pla

nt

He

at

stro

ke

, d

ysu

ria

, ir

reg

ula

r, m

en

stru

ati

on

an

d

jau

nd

ice

.

10

S

ela

gin

ella

te

ne

ra (

Ho

ok

. &

Gre

v.)

Sp

rin

g

Se

lag

ine

lla

cea

e

Sa

jiv

an

i P

ere

nn

ial h

erb

w

ho

le p

lan

t D

iure

tic,

go

no

rrh

oe

a a

nd

ha

llu

cin

ati

on

11

S

ela

gin

ella

de

lica

tula

(D

esv

.) A

lsto

n

Se

lag

ine

lla

cea

e

Th

ug

alp

oo

nd

u

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Wh

ole

pla

nt

He

alin

g,

wo

un

d.

12

S

ela

gin

ella

cilia

ris

(Re

tz.)

Sp

rin

g

Se

lag

ine

lla

cea

e

Ch

ho

ti S

an

jee

va

n

Pe

ren

nia

l h

erb

W

ho

le p

lan

t Sk

in d

ise

ase

, d

yse

nte

ry,

fev

er,

he

ad

ach

e

13

R

icci

a s

p L

. R

icci

ace

ae

-

Pro

sta

te h

erb

T

ha

llu

s Se

da

tio

n

in

som

nia

, a

nd

o

pth

alm

ia

14

M

ars

ile

a s

p

L.

Ma

rsile

ace

ae

T

ha

nn

iya

rila

i A

qu

ati

c o

r se

mi

aq

ua

tic

Lea

f Sk

in d

ise

ase

s, i

nso

mn

ia,

d

ysp

ep

sia

, fe

ve

r, c

ou

gh

,

Re

spir

ato

ry

15

P

teri

s b

iau

rita

(L)

. P

teri

da

cea

e

Ku

dd

hi

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Rh

izo

me

C

hro

nic

dis

ord

ers

.

Am

eri

can

Jo

urn

al

of

Eth

no

me

dic

ine

________________________________________ ISSN: 2348-9502

P

ag

e 1

64

-17

3

16

C

he

ila

nth

us

my

sore

nsi

s W

all

P

teri

da

cea

e

Pa

cha

i R

hiz

om

e e

rect

Le

af

Th

roa

t p

ain

17

P

teri

s vit

ata

L.

P

teri

da

cea

e

Ya

na

i v

an

aji

R

hiz

om

e e

rect

w

ho

le p

lan

t C

old

, co

ug

h a

nd

fe

ve

r a

nd

to

nic

18

D

icra

no

pte

ris

lin

ea

rs (

Bu

rm.

f.)

Un

de

rwo

od

G

leic

he

nia

cea

e

Pa

da

cha

i P

ere

nn

ial e

rect

Le

af,

rh

izo

me

W

ou

nd

s. A

sth

ma

, A

nth

elm

inti

c

19

D

ory

op

teri

s co

nco

lor

Lan

gsd

. E

t F

isch

Sin

op

teri

da

cea

e

Ka

lka

rai

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Lea

f A

nth

elm

inti

c.

20

Le

pto

chilu

s d

ecu

rre

ns

Blu

me

. P

oly

po

da

cea

e

- T

err

est

ria

l W

ho

le p

lan

t Fo

dd

er

21

M

icro

lep

ia m

aju

scu

la (

Low

e)

T.

Mo

ore

D

en

nst

ae

dti

ace

ae

-

Rh

izo

me

ere

ct

Rh

izo

me

, le

af

Me

nst

rua

l d

ise

ase

s

22

H

um

ata

re

pe

ns

(L.

f.)

J. S

ma

ll e

x D

iels

D

av

allia

cea

e

- R

hiz

om

e

Rh

izo

me

Fe

ve

r, u

rin

ary

dis

ea

ses,

dy

suri

a,

feb

rifu

ge

; co

ug

h

23

B

otr

ych

ium

da

uci

foliu

m W

all.

i H

oo

k &

Gre

v

Op

hio

glo

ssa

cea

e

Na

nd

u K

ud

dh

i R

hiz

om

e e

rect

W

ho

le p

lan

t B

od

y p

ain


Page 164-173

Figure 1. Showing the study area and map of valparai hills,

southern western ghats of tamilnadu, india


Page 164-173

a- Botrychium daucifolium, b-Actinopteris radiata, c- Hemionities arifolia, d- Angiopteris evecta.

Figure 2. Showing the ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species in

valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu

Figure 3. Showing different plant parts used by the malasar

tribes in valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu

Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the Malasar Tribe’s in...

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