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Ethnobotanical Leaflets
14:173-81, 2010. Ethnobotanical
Documentation of a Few Medicinal Plants in the Agasthiayamalai
Region of Tirunelveli District, India Shubashini K. Sripathi*
and Uma Sankari Department of Chemistry *Corresponding author: E-mail address: adusks@gmail.com
Issued: February 01,
2010 Abstract An ethnobotanical study
of medicinal plants in Agasthiayamalai region of Tirunelveli district was done by collecting information
from the experienced medicinal practitioners of Kani
tribes. Ten plants were collected, authenticated and information on their
medicinal uses along with the parts used and mode of administration is
enumerated. The phytochemical constituents present
in their extracted materials were identified. Antibacterial activity of the
extracts was analysed and zone of inhibition for
different bacterial strains is reported. Keywords: Agasthiayamalai, ethnomedicinal
uses, antibacterial activity. Introduction Plants have been used in traditional
medicine for several thousand years. The use of plants as medicinals
by the local people have been well documented as early as 1935 by Burkill. Theophrastus (370-285 BC) began the scientific
classification of plants, and dioscorides De Materia Medica (77 AD)
reported the uses, medicinal and otherwise, of over 600 plants. Ibn al-Baitar (1197-1248)
listed over 1400 drugs and medicinal plants in his Corpus of Simples.
In An ethnobotanical
study was undertaken to collect information proposed to be useful for
research on medicinal plants of the Agasthiayamalai
Biosphere Reserve in Tirunelveli district of Tamil
Nadu. The Agasthiayamalai Biosphere Reserve [Maridass et al.,
(2008)] in south Kerala is extended to parts of Kanyakumari
and Tirunelveli districts lying between 77° 5' and
77° 40'E longitudes. 8°20' and 8° 50'N latitudes. Southwest monsoon from June
– September, and northeast monsoon in October and November bring rain to this
region, and annual rainfall varies at different places from 89 cm to 625 cm [John De Britto et al., (2007)]. The Agasthiar peak is the highest peak with an altitude of
6125 feet. Along the vast area of the Southern slopes of the Materials
and Methods The
collection of plants was done on the basis of frequently used folk medicines
by the Kani tribes. The plants were collected from Lowerdam, Agastiar falls and Servalar regions of Agasthiyamalai,
Tirunelveli district, during February 2009. The
identity of each plant was confirmed at Botanical Survey of India, and Table
1 Some ethnomedicinal plants of Agasthiayamalai
region.
Extraction The collected plant materials (Table 1) were air dried under controlled conditions to avoid too many chemical changes. The whole plant was cut into small pieces. 25g of the each dried plant material was separately extracted with ethanol for 2hrs at reflux temperature. The collected extracts were evaporated under vacuum. The residue was stored under refrigeration. Preliminary colour
tests The qualitative identification of alkaloids was done by cream colour precipitate formation on adding small amount of Mayer’s reagent (Mercuric chloride (13.5g) and potassium iodide (50g) were dissolved in water and the solution was made upto 1000ml with distilled water). The carbohydrates in the extracts were identified by Molisch test (α-Naphthol (2.5g) was dissolved in 25ml of ethanol). The purple colour ring formation indicates the presence of carbohydrates. The extracts were tested for flavoniods by Schinoda test (few magnesium turnings and concentrated hydrochloric acid were added to solution of sample in ethanol). Pink to red in the test solution was an indication for presence of flavonoids. Tannins were identified by the green colouration formed by adding neutral ferric chloride Table 2 Results of Preliminary phytochemical tests on the ethanolic
extracts of the plant sample.
solution to the alcoholic extract. Libermann-Burchard test was conducted for steroids and terpenoids (To 1ml alcoholic extract of drug 2-3ml of acetic anhydride was added, heated and cooled then 1 to 2 drops of concentrated sulphuric acid was added) A dark green colouration of the solution indicated the presence of steroids and red colouration indicated the presence of terpenoids). Saponins were confirmed by the froth formation when 1ml of the alcoholic extract was diluted with distilled water, heated cooled and then diluted with distilled water. The extracts were tested for their antibacterial activity by the disc diffusion method against two gram positive and two gram negative bacteria namely Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococci sp and Escherichia coli, Proteus sp. Results
and Discussion The investigation revealed that a
total of 10 species, distributed into different regions of Agasthiayamalai find ethnomedicinal
uses for a wide range of applications in Tirunelveli
district. Tribals and rural people use a variety of
species from the forest as well as non-forested pockets of the study area.
The information included in this study was gathered from elderly and
experienced practitioners. The results of qualitative color tests of the
plant extracts are given in Table 2. Among the ten plants, seven plants
namely Cassia alata, Abutilon indicum, Acalypha fruticosa, Dichrostachys cinerea, Spermacoce hispida, Pouzolzia auriculata wight and Gymnema sylvestre tested positive for alkaloids and Cassia alata, Cardiospermum halicacabum, Clerodendrum inerme, Acalypha fruticosa, Dichrostachys
cinerea, Pouzolzia auriculata wight, Gymnema sylvestre showed positive results for flavoniods. Except Pouzolzia
auriculata wight all other plants tested
positive for steroids. Clerodendrum inerme and Pouzolzia auriculata
wight tested positive for terpenoids only. The antibacterial activity studies
(Table 3) revealed that Cardiospermum
halicacabum has highest activity against Streptococii and Spermacoce
hispida has highest activity against E.coli. Most of the other extracts revealed moderate
activity against the chosen bacterial strains. Table 3 Antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of the plant samples.
Enumeration Cassia
alata (Tamil name: Cheemaiagathi) v A paste of the leaves along with turmeric is used to smoothen dry skin. v The
leaf and flower extracts are used as a remedy for skin rashes. Ipomoea obscura (L.) Ker
Gaw (Tamil name:Cirutali) v The whole plant has medicinal value. It is used to cure cold, asthma, dry cough and chest cold. v The fresh plant extract is mixed with gingely oil and is used to cure cold, asthma and dry cough. v The plant extract cures pain in body by expanding the blood vessels. v The plant extracts is part of many siddha medicines. Cardiospermum halicacabum
(Tamil name: Mutakkarran) v The boiled juice of the plant is said to cure gastric problem. v The plant extract is used to cure paralysis attack and rheumatic pains. Clerodendrum inerme
(e) Gaertn (Tamil name: Sankankuppi) v The
leaf extract is used to clot blood in cut wounds. v The
leaf extract boiled with coconut oil is used to cure swellings, pains and
inflammation. v It
is used as a main ingredient in pain killer oils. Abutilon Indicum (L.)Sweet subsp.indicum (Tamil
name: Thuththi) v The
yellow coloured flowers have the nature of coolness. v The
plant extract along with buttermilk is used to remove the irremovable waste
from the intestine. v The
root and stems are used in black magic. v It
cures piles. Acalypha fruticosa
Forssk (Tamil name: Serucinni) v The
plant extract is used to clean the lungs and cures the allergy in lungs. v It
cures cold. v It
reduces breathing trouble. v It
is part of most siddha medicines. Dichrostachys cinerea,(l.)Wight and Arn (Tamil name: Vitattalai) v Leaf and flower extracts has medicinal values. v Air-dried leaf and flower of the plant made as choornam mixed with honey and taken before food cures
ulcer, indigestion, allergy and pains due to wounds. v The leaf extract along with milk is used to cure ulcer. Spermacoce
hispida (L.) (Tamil name: Nathaichuri) v It
strengthens the nervous system. v It
purifies the Red Blood Cells. v It
has the power of mesmerizing. v Intake
of 2 to 4 g of the seeds along with a mixture of chukku
(dry ginger) and avarampoo (Cassia auriculata), coriander seed and ragi
reduces the unwanted cholesterol namely LDL and HDL from the body. v The
seeds are used to reduce body weight. v The
intake of seeds strengthens the body. Pouzolziz auriculata wight (Tamil name: Parapoduki) v The stem peel finds use on
curing itching. Gymnema sylvestre
(Retz.) R.Br.ex Schult (Tamil name: Sakkaraikkolli) v A fine powder of dried
leaves along with navalkottai and arukampul is used to cure diabetics. v It is used to cure joint
pains. v It is used to cure breathing
trouble, constipation and jaundice. v It cures the allergy caused
due to insect bite. Conclusion The information obtained from this ethnobotanical study is to ensure the therapeutic efficiency of the traditional medicinal plants, which may be used as leads in developing novel therapeutic agents. Since the users are based on empirical knowledge, scientific studies of all these herbal drugs are highly desirable to establish their efficiency for safe use. A recent review of literature revealed that the above medicinal plants have been only sparingly investigated for their constituents and hence the collected information may be useful for researchers in the field of ethnobotany, taxonomy and pharmacology. Acknowledgement The authors thank the authorities of References ·
Ghanthi Kumar, S.
and Manickam V.S. 2008. Ethnobotanical
utilization of poecilineron pauciflorum
Bedd. by the kani tribes
of Agasthiamalai, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India,
Ethnobotanical leaflets; 12: 719-22. ·
John
De Britto, and Mahesh, R. 2007. Evolutionary
medicine of Kani Tribal’s Botanical knowledge in Agasthiayamalai Biosphere Reserve - South India, Ethnobotanical leaflets; 11: 280-290. ·
John
De Britto, and Mahesh, R. 2007. Exploration of Kani Tribal Botanical Knowledge in Agasthiayamalai
Biosphere Reserve - ·
Maridass, M., Zahir Hussain, and Raju, G. 2008. Phytochemical
survey of Orchids in Tirunelveli Hills of · Mohan, V.R., Rajesh, A., Athiperumalsami, T. and Sutha, S. 2008. Ethnomedicinal plants of the Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, India, Ethnobotanical Leaflets; 12: 79-95.
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