Ethnobotanical Leaflets 12: 118-126. 2008.
Glimpses
of Tribal Botanical Knowledge of Tirunelveli Hills,
G.J.
Jothi* A. Benniamin and V.S. Manickam Centre for Biodiversity and Biotechnology St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Palayamkottai-.627 002 Tamil *Department of Plant Bilogy and Biotechnology Loyolla College,
Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India Email: jothigj@yahoo.com Issued ABSTRACT In the
present paper, 46 plant species of angiosperms belonging to 19 genera of
Euphorbiaceae that occur naturally in the Tirunelveli Hills of western Ghats,
India, were chosen for study. It was found that the uses of Euphorbiaceous
plants by the inhabitants of this region cover a number of broad categories
including food, various kinds of poisons, medicines, sundry types of oils,
waxes, rubbers, varnishes, compounds for paints and other industrial
products. Key Words: Tirunelveli hills, western Ghats, Euphorbiaceae, medicinal
plants. INTRODUCTION Evolution
of human life and culture has directly or indirectly been associated with and
influenced by the surrounding environment. Primitive people live closely
associated with nature and chiefly depend on it for their survival. Their
dependence on plants around them made them acquire the knowledge of economic
and medicinal properties of many plants by methods of trial and error.
Consequently, they became the store-house of knowledge of many useful as well
as harmful plants, accumulated and enriched through generations and passed on
from one generation to another, without any written documentation. World
wide, tens of thousands of species of higher plants and several hundred lower
plants are currently being employed by human beings for such purposes as
food, fuel, fibre, oil, herbs, spices, industrial crops and as forage and
fodder for domesticated animals. (
Heywood, 1992). Many people, especially in the poorer,
underdeveloped countries, rely on wild plants for food, construction
materials, fuel wood, medicine and many other purposes. Traditionally, the
people in many local communities worldwide are extremely knowledgeable about
plants and other natural resources, on which they are so immediately and
intimately dependent. Unfortunately, much of this wealth of knowledge is
today becoming lost as traditional cultures become eroded. Ethnobotanists can
play very useful roles in rescuing this disappearing knowledge and returning
it to local communities. In this way local ethnobotanical knowledge can be
conserved as part of living cultural- ecological systems, helping to maintain
a sense of pride in local cultural knowledge and practice and reinforcing
links between communities and the environment, all of which may be thought of
as essential steps in the promotion of conservation (Martin, 1995 ). It is,
therefore, important that before this rich unwritten folk-lore on uses of
plants and plant resources becomes lost forever through the recent
accelerated ‘civilization’ of the aborigines (tribals), it should be properly
documented and preserved (Rao and
Henry, 1997). The
health of every individual is directly dependent on the plant world. Out of the total Indian angiosperm flora of
about 20,000 species, some 5,000 are economic species. Of the latter, some
3,000 are medicinal root plants; whereas 680 produce fruits of medicinal
value. About 450 Indian medicinal plants are exported globally. The
richness and diversity of the tropical flora and fauna of Euphorbia is the largest genus in the family
Euphorbiaceae and one of the sixth largest genera of flowering plants in the
world, consisting of about 2000 species.
Out of 81 species of Euphorbia
occurring in Aporusa lindleyana has long been used traditionally
for the treatment of jaundice, fever, headache and insanity. Significantly, the analgesic activity of a
root extract of A. lindleyana was
later proven by Krishnamoorthy et al.,
(1999). An
extract of Phyllanthus amarus significantly
reduces the radiation-induced Micronuclei (MN) induction in both
polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE) and normochromatic erythrocytes (NCE). This
reduction was found to increase linearly with extract dosages of from 25 to 125 mg/kg (Devi et al., 2000). During the field survey, the
medicinal species of Euphorbiaceous were collected and documented. Information was obtained from the Tribals
(Kanis) of Tirunelveli hills and the local Siddha, Ayurvedha practitioners
and tabulated. STUDY The Tirunelveli hills
lie between 77o 5’ and 77o40’ E and 8o20’
and 8o 50’ N from the southernmost segment of the The Kani’s and Paliya
tribes inhabit the villages of Petchiparai, Kallar and Mahendragiri in the
Kanyakumari district and Kadayam, Sankarankoil, Puliarai, Papanasam,
Courtallam, Sivagiri and Manjolai in the Tirunelveli District. They subsist
on leaves, tubers and fruits of forest plants and on meat from wild, hunted
animals. Wild plants provide the bulk of their medicines. Many changes can be
expected in the future, however, since the younger generations of these
communities are being more and more influenced by modern day social and
living standards. METHODOLOGY Field trips were conducted during
1999 to 2004 in the tribal and rural parts of the Tirunelveli hills. Data was
collected regarding plant and plant parts used, local names and purposes and
method of administration of the drugs. Information was obtained from tribal
medicine men, old men and women, and other local rural informants. The actual
application of plant remedies was also observed during field work. The plant
specimens were identified using recent regional floras (Gamble,
1993 & 1994). Routine herbarium methods have been followed in
preserving specimens and they are deposited in St. Xavier’s College
Herbarium, Palayamkottai. RESULTS The
tribals and rural populaces use a variety of species from the forested as
well as non forested geographic pockets of the study area. In the present
paper, 46 plant species of angiosperms belonging to 19 genera of the
Euphorbiaceae were studied (Table 1). The uses of Euphorbiaceous plants in
our own society cover a number of broad categories including food, various
kinds of poisons, medicines, sundry types of oils, waxes, rubbers, varnishes,
compounds for paints and other industrial products. Many plants of this family have been used
in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2000 years as anti-tumour drugs.
According to Schroeder et al., (1980),
plants of this family have been used to treat cancer, tumours, and warts from
the time of Hippocrates (ca 400 BC). CONCLUSION As
pointed out earlier, the field of ethnobotany is receiving more and more
attention these days. However, it is still the molecular biologists whose
work centers in the laboratory that garnishes more status and funding. Field
ethno botanists have not yet received the same level of support and respect,
primarily because interest in this field has only recently reemerged. Yet, the
field is growing. New scientific journals and societies have begun to
disseminate the studies of
ethnobotanists to peers, other scientists, and policy makers
worldwide. The current era is an exciting time to be an ethnobotanist.
Ethnobotany issues are the focus of much public attention. Due to increased
public interest and policy making in conservation, companies are looking for
new plants and new approaches for the production of food, medicines, and
energy sources. University departments are opening positions for
interdisciplinary-trained ethnobotanists. The future looks promising for
these dedicated scientists in a fascinating and vital field of research. REFERENCES Ainslier,
W., 1826. Tirrooghucallia Materia indica 2: 424-426. Binojkumar,
M. S. and Balakrishnan, N. P. 1996. Ethnobotanical studies of the genus Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae ) J.Econ.Tax.Bot 12: 46-49. Clive,
A. Stace, 1984. Plant taxonomy and biosystematics. Edward Arnold. Devi
P U, Ravindra Kamath, BSS Rao, RK Kaath, 2000. Current Sci. 78
(10):1245-1247. Gamble,
J. S., (1993 & 1994). Flora of the Presidency of Gopalan and Henry, A.
N., 2000. Endemic plants of Heywood, V.H., 1992.
Conservation of germplasm of wild species.
In Sandlund, O.T., Hindar,
K. and Brown, A.H.D. (eds.). Conservation of Biodiversity for Sustainable
Development. Hill
J. I., 1755. Useful family Herbal (ed2), Krishnamoorthy,
G., G., Kavimani, Lanhers, M.C.,
Fleurentin, J., Dorfman, P., Misslin R., Mortier, F., 1996 Neuro
physiological effects of Euphorbia
hirtal (Euphorbiaceae ), Phytotheraphy research 10 (8) 670- 676. Martin, J., 1995. Ethnobotany - A methods manual. Chapman and
Hall, Nayar,
1996. Hotspot of endemic plants in Rama Rao, N. and Henry,
A.N., 1997. The Ethnobotany of Schroeder,
G., Rohmer, M., Beck, J.P. and Anton, R, 1980. 7 - Oxo 7 alpha hydroxyl and 7
Beta hydroxysterols from Euphorbia
fischerriana. Phytochemistry (19): 2213-2215.
Table 1. The list of Medicinal
plants of Euphorbiaceae from
Tirunelveli hills.
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