Abstract

ETHNOMEDICINAL PRACTICE IN WESTERN GHATS OF TAMIL NADU

D. Raveena Judie Dolly*, Dinesh Peter J., Anup Raveen Jaison R., Rajeev Joseph D., Nirmala Anbu Rani L. and Aruna Devaraj R.

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Abstract

India harbors natural unexploited ecosystem with maximum biodiversity lodging endemic plants of great medicinal value. Plants used in tribal medicine have played a major role in treating chronic as well as transmittable diseases. Western Ghats with its & major 7 hills chosen, have the most valuable bioactive phyto compounds in prime 77 herbs. Qualitative & Quantitative ethnobotanical data to compare the usefulness of the floristically distinct hill types of western Ghats of Tamil Nadu in India was collected using an informant consensus factor in utilization and treatment of diseases.70±7% of different hills had the same frequency value. Plants belonging to Family Solanaceae exhibited wider phytochemical variation. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were maximum in the hot April season. Medicinal plants with flavanoids had anti-inflammatory activity of 50 ± 3% in Nigiris and 52.7 ± 2% in Anamalai hills. Application of the statistical tool ANOVA for highest wound healing effects were noticed in 400mg/kg of aqueous extract with a significance, P < 0.001. Costlier experiments for this valuable Ethnopharmacological studies like FTIR,GC-MS, HPLC, HNMR and Scientific digitization, documentation, DNA data base analysis and GEN BANK deposition in Bethesda Gen Bank could help in the maintenance of a comprehensive Herbal Repository and promise low cost herbal solutions for major communicable diseases in future.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine of Western ghats. Ethnoecological & pharmacological herbal appraisal, digitization, documentation, Herbal Repository.