CHAPTER ill

ETHNOMEDICINE

3.1. INTRODUCTION

Ethnomedicine, a branch of botanical research, deals with the study of

relationships of indigenous people with their plant environment. These studies

have in recent decades, received much attention owing to their wide local

acceptability and clues for new or less known medicinal herbs (Farnsworth et al

1985). A long intimate association with the local flora has enabled the local people

to develop a strong and effective traditional system of medicine. But the traditional

knowledge accumulated through trial and error is getting depleted, with the advent

of modem education and cultural changes such as westernization (Schultes 1986,

1989). Documentation of ethnobotanical knowledge is important for evaluating

human-plant relationships and for understanding the human ecological relations

to their environment (Alcorn 1981). Moreover, destruction and degradation of high

diversity ecosystems erode the traditional contact, which local people have with

their native floras and reduces the chances of discovering new economically

useful plants (Sequeira 1994). The history of drug discovery indicates that the

ethnobotanical approach is the most productive of the plant surveying methods

(Cox and Balick 1994). Hence, documentation of ethnobotanical knowledge is

highly essential.

Various authors documented the ethnobotanical knowledge of the tribals

in NBR. In Tamil Nadu part of NBR, Ragunathan (1976), Abraham (1981, 1990),

Rajan and Sethuraman (1991, 1993), Mandal and Basu (1996), Hosagoudar and

19
Henry (1996c) and Rajan et a/(1997) have studied the ethnobotany of the Nilgiri

tribes. Ramachandran and Maniyan (1989) gave an ethnobotanical note on the

Iruia tribe of Coimbatore District. Lakshmanan and Sankaranarayanan (1988,

1990) and Sankaranarayanan (1988) have studied the folklore medicines in

Coimbatore District. Anon. (1980), Bhatt et al (1980) and Gopalakrishnan and

Krishnaprasad (1992) have recorded the medicinal plants used by the tribals in

Attappady Reserve Forest of Kerala. Pushpangadan and Atal (1984) have studied

the ethnobotany of tribals in Kerala part of NBR. These authors reported a total

of 373 medicinal plants used by the tribals in the NBR (Prasad et al 1999). In spite

of the above studies, in relation to the floristic and ethnic people diversity of NBR,

information about the medicinal uses of plants is meagre and some tribal groups

such as Irulas, Kattunaickans and Mudugas are less studied. Information on the

habitat, distribution and microhabitat preference of medicinal plants are

insufficient. Moreover, only a few attempts have been made for the scientific

verification of folklore claim of the tribals concerning the utility of plants and for

identification of new drugs. Therefore, the present study was made with the

following objectives:

i) to comprehensively review the existing ethnomedicinal information and

based on the review results carry out documentation of under explored

tribal groups in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

ii) to know the commonly used medicinal plants among the selected tribals

in the NBR and to initiate preliminary phytochemical screening of

selected ethnomedicinal plants.

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3.2. METHODS

3.2.1. Review of ethnomedicinal information

Ethnomedicinal information (species name, family, part used, uses and tribal

group) reported from the NBR were collected from published sources and entered

in a database. (Anon. 1980; Bhatt et al 1980; Pushpangadan and Atal 1984;

Lakshmanan and Sankaranarayanan 1988, 1990; Sankaranarayanan 1988;

Ramachandran and Maniyan 1989; Abraham 1981, 1990; Rajan and Sethuraman

1991, 1993; Gopalakrishnan and Krishnaprasad 1992; Mandal and Basu 1996;

Hosagoudar and Henry 1996c; Rajan et al 1997). The completeness of

ethnomedicinal information reported by these authors was assessed by calculating

breadth of the ethnomedicinal information (Martin 1995).

Number of families recorded during the survey * ^

Breadth of plant families
Total number of families recorded (NBR)

Total number of plant families reported from the NBR was collected from various flora

(Gamble 1957; Subramanyam 1959; Subramanian 1966; Naithani 1966; Sharma et

al 1978; Nair and Henry 1983; Henry et al 1987,1989; Vajraveiu 1992; Stephen

1994).

3.2.2. Utilization of medicinal plants

Information on the uses of plants for medicinal purposes was collected from

Irula, Kurumba, Kattunaickan and Muduga of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Since, Irulas

are one of the largest tribal groups in the NBR (Anon. 1992), more emphasis was

given to them while documenting ethnomedicinal information. In total, 45 field

surveys were conducted in selected tribal villages in Coimbatore Forest Division,

Attappady, Wayanad and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. A total of 40 tribals (30

men and 10 women) including local healers was interviewed. The age of the

informants ranged from 22 to 70. Time devoted with each informant ranged from one

21
to five hours. The information documented was checked and confirmed at various

villages and among different local healers whenever possible. Information on the

name of the plant used, part used, uses, methods of preparation and mode of

administration were gathered from the tribals. Ecological notes such as habitat,

associated plants and microhabitat were also made. Ethnomedicinal information was

also collected from the local market at Boluvampatty Reserve Forest. The collected

medicinal plant specimens were identified and confirmed at the Botanical Survey of

India, Southern Circle, Coimbatore.

An attempt was also made to find out the most commonly used medicinal

plants among the tribals. For this purpose, household survey was conducted among

the Irulas of Attappady and Coimbatore Forest Division, Thirty-one tribals from 21

settlements were interviewed. Medicinal plants, which are used by most number of

tribals were considered as most commonly used medicinal plants.

3.2.3. Phytochemical screening

Four ethnomedicinal plant species (Acalypha fruticosa, Callicarpa tomentosa,

Caesalpinia mimosoides and Vanilla walkerlae), which were not screened earlier

were selected for preliminary phytochemical screening. Fresh plant materials were

collected and identified with the help of local flora (Gamble 1957). The plant material

was shade-dried and powdered. The dried plant (100 gram) was extracted with

aqueous ethanol (3x3 hours) and concentrated in a rotary evaporator under

reduced pressure. The crude extract was screened for different group of

phytochemicals. However, due to the complex nature of the crude extract it does not

answer clearly for individual group of secondary metabolites. Hence, by using

solvents of different polarity the particular group of compounds were

fractionated, thus making the extract less complex to conduct group tests.

22
Ten millilitre (ml) of the crude extract was taken and fractionated with solvents

starting with hexane, toluene, ether and ethyl acetate. The resulting concentrates

were screened for the presence of flavonoid, saponin, steroid, alkaloid and

triterpenoid following standard methods (Harborne 1973; Kumar et al 1990;

Sivakumar 1991; Alagesaboopathi and Balu 1996). Tannins were tested from the

left over aqueous extract.

3.3. RESULTS

3.3.1. Existing information

Review of literature showed that a total of 373 plant species under 102

families were used as ethnomedicine. Among them, Euphorbiaceae were the

most dominant (7.5%) family. Leaves were the most frequently (36%) used plant

part. The completeness of previous ethnobotanical studies was assessed by

calculating the breadth of the plant families as suggested by Martin (1995) and

details of computations are given in 3.2.1. The breadth of the ethnomedicinal

information was 53%. In relation to diversity of plants in the NBR, the breadth of

the information was low. Thus there is a tremendous scope for further conducting

the primary ethnobotanical investigations.

3.3.2. Ethnomedicinal plants

Plant species used by the tribals of NBR for treating various ailments are

considered here as ethnomedicinal plants. The present study recorded 188 such

species belongs to 72 families used by the tribals of NBR. Data were compared

with the available literature on ethnomedicinal plants (Jain 1991) and found that

many usages recorded during this study have not been recorded earlier. However,

23
for some plants the usage was found to be similar to the information already

available. Fifteen new ethnomedicinal plants and fifty-six new uses were recorded

during this study. A list of ethnomedicinal plant species, habitat, part used, uses

and tribal groups studied are given in Appendix II and III.

Of the 188 ethnomedicinal plant species, some were used by more than

one tribal group. Irulas used 157 species of plants as medicines while 32 species

were recorded for Kattunaickans, six species each were recorded for Kurumbas

and Mudugas. Of the 72 plant families recorded from the present study, twelve

were the most dominant. Euphorbiaceae were the largest contributor followed by

Verbenaceae, Fabaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Acanthaceae (Figure 3.1). The

total contribution of these families alone was 25%. Herbs contributed about 35%

of the species followed by shrubs and trees each contributing about 24%, climbers

contributed about 16% while epiphytes contributed 1% (Figure 3.2). In total, 14

different parts of medicinal plants were used. Utilization of underground parts

(roots, rhizome, tuber and bulb, 32%) and leaves (31%) to treat various ailments

were of common practice among the tribals of NBR (Figure 3.3).

For the data analysis all the reported diseases were grouped into 54

use categories following Jain (1991). Some ailments were treated by more than

one plant species. For example, 29 ethnomedicinal plants species were used for

treating digestive disorders and 23 species to heal cuts and wounds (Figure 3.4).

Peninsular endemic (Ahmedullah and Nayar 1987) species such as Tamilnadia

uliginosa (Plate 3a) and Capparis grandiflora (Plate 3b) are used to treat digestive

disorders. Most of the ethnomedicinal plants used by the tribals were to treat one

24
specific ailment. Species such as Hemionitis arifolia (Plate 4a) and Vanilla

walkeriae (Plate 4b) are used as children's diseases and veterinary medicine

respectively. However, some species were used to treat more than one ailment.

For example, Terminalia chebula (Combretaceae) was used to treat cuts and

wounds, cough, bum injuries and to reduce toothache while Cassia occidentals

was used to treat four ailments, namely digestive disorders, body pain,

rheumatism and gynaecological complaints.

3.3.3. Most commonly used ethnomedicinal plants

In total, 31 tribals from 21 settlements were interviewed to find out most

commonly used ethnomedicinal plants. In total 90 medicinal plant species were

recorded of which, species such as Glycosmis arborea, Helicteres isora, Cyclea

peltata, Hemidesmus indicus, Sida acuta, Toddalia asiatica, Clerodendrum

serratum, Dalbergia latifolla, Plumbago zeylanica and Thespesia lampas were the

ten most commonly used medicinal plants among the irula tribes (Table 3.1).

About 68% of medicinal plant species were used to treat one ailment and 32% of

plants were used to treat two or more ailments. Dalbergia latifolia, Glycosmis

arborea, Helicteres isora and Sida acuta were used for treating four ailments.

Clerodendrum serratum, Datura metel, Mimosa pudica and Phyllanthus emblica

were used for treating three ailments. Euphorbiaceae, Caesalpiniaceae,

Asclepiadaceae, Solanaceae and Verbenacae were the most commonly used

plant families by the Irulas.

25
 mPresent study
EJEarlier studies
Percentage used

Figure 3.1. Dominant families of ethnomedicinal plants in the NBR

Figure 3.2. Use of ethnomedicinal plant species by
growth forms (n =188)

Root/rhizome/tuber 32.1%

Figure 3.3. Use of ethnomedicinal plant species by

parts (n =188)
 26

21

16

seioeds p -lequinN
s S' *4 ? V f * S' - i *X ® '
<S
Use category

Figure 3.4. Number of ethnomedicinal plant species by important use category in the NBR
 (b)
Plate 3 a) Tamilnadia uliginosa - an ethnomedicinal plant
b) Capparis grandiflora - a peninsular endemic medicinal plant.
Plate 4 a) Hemionitis arifolia - a medicinal plant used to treat children's diseases
b) Vanilla walkeriae - an ethnoveterinary plant
3.3.4. Phytochemical screening

Four medicinal plants were screened for the presence / absence of secondary

metabolites. Steroids and alkaloids were present in all the plants screened (Table

3.2). Flavonoids and tannin gave positive results in all the plants except in Acalypha

fruticosa. Presence of saponin was detected in all the plants screened except in

Vanilla walkeriae. All the plant extracts gave negative results for the presence of

triterpenoids. Secondary metabolites isolated from selected medicinal plants are

given in Appendix IV.

Table 3.1. Ten most common ethnomedicinal plants used by the Irulas of NBR
S.No Species Use category No. of tribals (n = 31)
1 Glycosmis arborea Body pain, stomach ache, 16
vermifuge
2 Helicteres isora Fever, vermifuge, rheumatism, 16
stomach ache
3 Cyclea peltata Stomach ache 16
4 Hemidesmus indicus Stomach ache 15
5 Toddalia asiatica Stomach ache 15
6 Sida acuta Cuts & wounds, dysentery, 14
head ache, rheumatism
7 Plumbago zeylanica Head ache 14
8 Thespesia lampas Jaundice, stomach ache 14
9 Dalbergia latifolia Dysentery, piles, rheumatism, 14
stomach ache
10 Clerodendrum serratum Body pain, rheumatism, 14
stomach ache

31
Table 3.2. Presence/absence of phytoconstituents of medicinal plant species
Species/part/extract ST PC FL SA TT TA
Acalypha fruticosa (Leaves)
Benzene 444
4*
- - - -
Ether 4-
- - - - -
Ethyl acetate
- - - - - -
Methanol +++
- - - - -
Calficarpa tomentosa (Leaves)
Hexane 4-4*+ - - - - -
Ether 4- 4-
- - - -
Ethyl acetate
- - - - - -
Aqueous +++ 4- 4-4-4
- - -
Caesalpinia mimosoides (Young shoot)
Hexane 444
- - - - -
Toluene 4-4-4- +++ 444
- - -
Ether 4-4-4- 4-4-4- 4- 444
- -
Ethyl acetate 4-4-4-
- - - - -
Aqueous 4-4-4- 4
- - - -
Vanilla walkeriae (Stem)
Hexane +++ - - - - -
Toluene 4
- - - - -
Ether 4- 4-
- - - -
Ethyl acetate
- - - - - -
Aqueous 444
- - - - -
ST- Steroids; PC - Phenolic compounds; FL - Flavonoids; SA - Saponins; TT - Triterpenoids
and TA - Tannins; + Positive; - Negative. Note: +++ indicate higher concentration

32
3.4. DISCUSSION

3.4.1. Ethnobotanical knowledge

The present investigation showed that the tribals in the NBR make use

of a wide range of plants from their environment. Of the 188 ethnomedicinal plants

recorded, some species were used by more than one tribal group. The knowledge

regarding the utility of plants and plant products may either have been passed on

to the present generation by their ancestors or to be based on experience.

Evidently, medicinal plant uses in NBR were spread over many families and there

is a great deal of diversity in the species and the way in which they are used. It is

quite interesting that the family Euphorbiaceae had more medicinal plants.

Mutchnick and Me Carthy (1997) and Milliken and Albert (1997) also made similar

observation in Guatemala and Brazil respectively. Other families that have more

medicinal plants include Fabaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Caesalpiniaceae and

Solanaceae. These families are known to be useful since ancient times (Banerji

1980; Shah 1990; Jain 1991). These important families that contain many

medicinally useful species should be carefully studied, with the aim of managing

and perhaps domesticating. Although this may be taken as a pointer to the most

pharmacologically active families in the NBR, it is important to bear in mind the

relative sizes and diversities of those families, which will clearly have an influence

upon their representation. However, clear disparities between family size and

'family use value' have been demonstrated for medicinal plants in Peru by Phillips

and Gentry (1993a & b).

Leaves and underground parts were the most frequently used plant

parts among the tribals in the NBR. Anon. (1997) reported that leaves and

33
underground parts were the commonly used plant parts in south India. Diallo et

al (1996) and Samvatsar and Diwanji (1999) also made similar observation in

West Africa and Madhya Pradesh, India respectively. Basically leaves are used

because they are readily available, easily collected, easy to process, and as the

main centre of photosynthetic metabolism one finds high levels of secondary

metabolites. As for roots, they act as storage organ for secondary metabolites. In

NBR, conventionally the tribals use medicinal plants for their own use but in the

recent past, the practice has become more commercial leading to over

exploitation of medicinal plants. Browder (1992) cites many examples from South

America that medicinal plants used primarily by local communities are being

depleted by unsustainable use. Data on density, population structure and

regeneration of medicinal plants is required for the effective utilization of these

invaluable resources.

The present study showed that plants used to treat digestive disorders

were the most consistently used. Similar observation was made by various

authors (Pushpangadan and Atal 1984; Johns and Kimanani 1991; Diallo et al

1996). This may suggest a high occurrence of gastrointestinal disorders among

the tribals of NBR.

3.4.2. Preparation of medicine

Plant parts were prepared as decoctions, pastes, juices and powders.

The addition of pepper was recommended in many preparations in the belief that

it will enhance the efficacy of the drugs. Mostly preference was given to drugs

prepared from fresh plants collected from wild. Medicinal plants are administered

34
either singly or in combination with other plants, presumably because the mixture

has a synergistic effect. At times a single plant species is used for treating more

than one ailment, while single ailment is treated by several species. In such

instances, it is difficult to assess the effective role of a particular plant species.

Only phytochemical studies and clinical trials can confirm the efficacy of a

particular species in treating the disease.

A single medicinal plant was often used for treating more than one

ailment (Eg. Terminalia chebula, Cassia occidentalis, Glycosmis arborea and

Homonoia riparia). This is common in many traditional systems. For example in

Sao Tome Trema guineensis is used against venereal disease, diarrhoea and

prenatal pain (Sequeira 1994). However, it is known that the activities of different

chemical constituents are enhanced by different factors, such as preparation,

dosage and part used (Iwu 1993).

3.4.3. Commonly used medicinal plants

The ten most commonly used medicinal plants among the Irulas were

Glycosmis arborea, Helicteres isora, Cyclea peltata, Hemidesmus indicus, Sida

acuta, Toddalia asiatica, Clerodendrum serratum, Dalbergia latifolia, Plumbago

zeylanica and Thespesia lampas. Ethnomedicinal uses of these plants have been

well documented (Jain 1991; Jain and De Filipps 1991) and it reflects the

therapeutic value of these plants. This has important implications for any

conservation or management measures to be undertaken. As most of these

species are highly adaptive, they can be grown even in kitchen gardens.

35
3.4.4. Sources of medicinal plants

By examining the source of the resource used, an idea could be gained

of the existing conflicts between their utilization and conservation needs. During

the interviews, the informants were asked where the plant was found and

wherever possible, were requested to show the individual plants from which they

obtained their material. Using this information with the observation on their habitat,

the plants were grouped into three broad categories of source type: those which

are cultivated, those occurring in areas subjected to human disturbance and those

growing in secondary forests of varying stages of development. It was found that

approximately two-thirds of the documented plants came from forest source and

a few were cultivated. Thus, most of the plants used for medicinal purposes came

from secondary forest areas, which fall inside the reserve. Some medicinal plants

were also purchased from the local markets. The present study supports the view

that the secondary forests are reservoirs of useful species (Toledo et al 1992;

Chazdon and Coe 1999).

Market place represent an important centre of ethnobotanical

information. The importance of documenting the ethnobotanical information from

market place was discussed by Bye and Linares (1983) and Martin (1995). Fruits

of Terminalia chebula are sold in dried condition while Myristica dactyloides and

Fagraea ceylanica fruits are sold as fresh. This indicate the efficacy of active

principles in different condition of the plant. Of the plants introduced into the

country, some have evolved secondary medicinal uses such as Brassica nigrum,

Cuminum cyminum, Allium cepa, Chromolaena odorata and Mimosa pudica. Also

of importance are spontaneous plants commonly growing near settlements and

36
disturbed areas, as they are accessible to the human population without requiring

cultivation or care. These included plants such as S/da acuta (Cuts and Wounds),

Acalypha indica (Skin diseases) and Boerhavia diffusa (Body pain).

3.4.5. Phytochemical screening

Presence of steroids and alkaloids was observed in all the plants

screened in the present study. This agrees with the previous findings that they are

more common to species of tropical areas (Lewin and York 1978). All the plant

extracts gave negative results for the presence of triterpenoids, which may be due

to plant/parts screened, which is lacking aromatic plant/parts. Presence of

alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, saponins and tannins were observed whose

presence might be attributed to the medicinal properties of plants (Kapoor et al

1989; Chhabra et al 1984; Gill et al 1993). Tannins that are well documented for

the astringent, cytotoxic and antineoplastic activities and used in diarrhoea,

haemorrhage, wound healing and deep burns. Occurrence of steroids, flavonols

and phenols in the genus Acalypha was reported by (Chopra et al 1992), which

is in accordance with our present findings (Appendix. IV). Acalypha fruticosa

leaves were being used for stomach disorders by the Irulas. It is interesting that

Kiritikar and Basu (1987) reported the uses of this plant by the "Vaidyas" in

Southern India for stomachache. This suggests the therapeutic activity of the

plant. Occurrence of steroids and phenolic compounds was well established in

Callicarpa spp (Ahmed and Zaman 1973; Chatterjee et al 1972; Anjaneyalu et al

1977; Singh and Agrawal 1994), which is in accordance with the present findings

(Appendix. IV). The literature survey shows genus Vanilla to contain polyphenolic

compounds (Anon. 1989), which is according to the present findings (Appendix-

37
HI). Detailed study of the poiyphenolics may give a chemotaxonomic marker in

Vanilla species.

From the present study, it is inferred that the biological action may be

due to the presence of one or combination of the above secondary metabolites.

The active principle can be identified by a detailed phytochemical examination of

each group by isolating and identifying the structure of the compounds. It was

observed that our findings confirmed earlier screening in related species. The

preliminary phytochemical screening of medicinal plants show promising results.

Hence, detailed phytochemical examination of each group of secondary

metabolites and structure related activity could be attempted in these species.

Such studies are of special significance for India, where the medicinal plant wealth

is rich and a sizeable rural population still relies on herbal medicine for primary

health care.

The study revealed that there is enormous ethnomedicinal plant

diversity in NBR. The formulation and standardization of some effective herbal

medicine either with single plant or in combination with other plants with

appropriate dosage for its sustainable use should be encouraged. The data on

ethnobotanical plants will serve as a useful tool to prepare development and

action plant to herbal drug industry for improving and uplifting the life and

economy of the tribals of this region. It is therefore, imperative that the traditional

knowledge regarding the uses of plants in medicine from ethnobotanically

unexplored and under explored areas should be documented systematically

38
before it is lost along with the dwindling traditional culture and natural resources

of such areas due to rapid urbanization and industrialization.

3.5. SUMMARY

The objectives of the study were to document the ethnomedicinal knowledge

of under explored tribal groups in the NBR and to initiate preliminary

phytochemical screening of selected ethnomedicinal plants.

1) Ethnomedicinal information was collected from Irula, Kurumba,

Kattunaickan and Muduga of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. In total 188

ethnomedicinal plants belonging to 72 families were recorded.

Species of Euphorbiaceae family were consistently used as

ethnomedicine.

2) Utilization of underground parts (roots, rhizome, tuber and bulb, 32%)

and leaves (31%) to treat various ailments were of common practice

among the tribals of NBR. Plants used as gastrointestinal remedies

were the most consistently used by the tribals.

3) Medicinal plants are administered either singly or in combination with

other plants, presumably because the mixture has a synergistic effect.

At times a single plant species is used for treating more than one

ailment, while single ailment is treated by several species. In such

instances, it is difficult to assess the effective role of a particular plant

species. Only phytochemical studies and clinical trials can confirm the

efficacy of a particular species in treating the disease.

39
4) Glycosmis arborea, Helicteres isora, Cyclea peltata, Hemidesmus

indicus, Sida acuta, Toddalia asiatica, Clerodendrum serratum,

Dalbergia latifolia, Plumbago zeylanica and Thespesia lampas were

the ten most commonly used medicinal plants among the Irulas of

Attappady and Coimbatore Forest Division. As most of these species

are highly adaptive, they can be grown even in kitchen gardens.

5) Four medicinal plants were screened for the presence / absence of

secondary metabolites. Steroids and alkaloids were present in all the

plants screened. Flavonoids and tannin gave positive results in all the

plants except in Acalypha fruticosa. Presence of saponin was

detected in all the plants screened except in Vanilla walkeriae. The

preliminary phytochemical screening of medicinal plants show

promising results. Hence, detailed phytochemical examination of each

group of secondary metabolites and structure related activity could be

attempted in these species.

40