INTRODUCTION:

India is rich in ethnic diversity where there are about 67.37 million tribal people belonging to 537 tribal groups living in different geographical locations with various subsistence patterns. These tribal groups living in diversity rich areas possess a wealth of knowledge and skills on the utilization and conservation of food and medicinal plants¹^,². Information based on long-term use of plants by humans (ethnomedicine) likely helps to isolate safer active compounds from plants than from plants with no history of human use. Thus instead of relying on trial and error, as in random screening procedures, traditional knowledge helps scientists to target plants that are medicinally useful³.

The knowledge on the use of medicinal plants was transmitted from generation to generation but younger generations are not interested to follow these traditional medicinal practices from their ancestors and are migrating to lucrative jobs in more developed nearby urban areas⁴. Hence, the present study was aimed at documenting the wild medicinal plants used by sholaga tribes who inhabit this area.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Study area:

The study area, Kathri hills is located in the North Bargur Reserve Forest, Chennampatti range, Erode district. It is located in the Western ghats of Tamil nadu and lies between 11° 87' - 11° 90' N latitude and 77° 67' - 77° 65' E longitude with an altitude ranging from 324m – 1027m. It covers a total area of 12.55 hectares. The major forest types of this area include mixed dry deciduous forest, scrub forest and semi evergreen forest. Sholagars, the tribal people of Kathri hills live at an altitude of 1027m as settlements. They are said to be the descendants of Karayan who lived in Geddesala hills a long ago and their staple food is ragi⁵. Malaiyampatti and Madhampatti are the two villages in Kathri hills and is inhabited by 74 families with a population of 245 including 54 children. The main occupation of the people is agriculture and they also use to sell some forest produces like honey, tamarind, etc. They are very poor economically and there is one tribal school. The nearest hospital is at kolathur but they show more interest in traditional method of healing.

Methodology:

The field study was conducted comprehensively during the period of 2016 – 2017 to collect and document the ethnobotanically important plant species. The sholagar families were frequently visited including a traditional healer and the information was collected from them using scheduled interviews. Questionnaire method was avoided since the people were not more educated. All the specimens were identified using flora⁶ and the plants are arranged alphabetically with their botanical names.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

A total of 31 plant species belonging to 20 families and 29 genera treating 14 different types of ailments have been enumerated in the present investigation (Table 1). Out of these, 36% were herbs followed by 32% of trees, 19% of shrubs and 13% of climbers. The frequent use of herbs among the indigenous communities is a result of wealth of herbaceous plants in their environment⁷. Leaves (37%) were used in most cases for treating diseases followed by whole plant (20%), roots (17%), flowers, fruits and seeds (17%) and bark (9%). Similar practices were also followed by many other indigenous communities⁸^,⁹. The reason why leaves were used mostly is that they are collected very easily than underground parts, flowers and fruits etc. and in scientific point of view leaves are active in photosynthesis and production of metabolites¹⁰. In the present study, more number of plants were used to treat poisonous bites (19%) followed by wound healing (16%) and skin diseases (16%).

Table 1: Inventory of ethnomedicines used by Sholagas in Kathri hills, Chennampatti range, Erode district.

Botanical Name	Habit	Vernacular Name	Family	Parts used	Mode of Preparation
Skin diseases
Acalypha indica L.	Herb	Kuppaimeni	Euphorbiaceae	Leaves	Leaf extract is applied topically on the affected area.
Azadirachta indica A. Juss.	Tree	Vembu	Meliaceae	Leaves	Leaves paste is applied topically over the affected area.
Cassia occidentalis L.	Undershrub	Peyavarai, Ponnavarai	Caesalpiniaceae	Leaves	Paste is taken orally.
Melia azedarach L.	Tree	Malaivembu	Meliaceae	Leaves & flowers	Paste is applied topically to treat scabies and skin eruptions.
Tinospoa cordifolia Miers.	Climber	Seenthilkodi	Menispermaceae	Whole plant	The whole plant is powdered and is applied on the affected area to treat irritation of the skin caused by cats and rats.
Wound healing
Acacia leucophloea Willd.	Tree	Velvaelam	Mimosaceae	Bark	Paste is applied on the affected area.
Albizzia lebbeck Benth.	Tree	Kattuvagai	Mimosaceae	Seed	Seed oil is smeared on wounds for healing.
Chloroxylon swietenia DC.	Tree	Porasu	Rutaceae	Leaves	Dried leaves are applied on the wounds to increase wound healing.
Tiliacora racemosa Colebr.	Climber	Perungkattu-kodi	Menispermaceae	Leaves	Paste of leaves is applied to treat wounds.
Tridax procumbens L.	Herb	Vettukkayapoondu	Compositae	Leaves	Juice of leaves is applied on the wounds.
Poisonous bites
Achyranthes aspera L.	Herb	Nayuruvi	Amarantaceae	Root	Juice is taken orally to treat poisonous bites.
Aerva lanata Juss.	Herb	Poolaipoo	Amarantaceae	Whole plant	Juice of the whole plant is taken orally to treat poisonous bites.
Andrographis alata Nees	Herb	Periyanangai	Acanthaceae	Whole plant	Decoction of the whole plant is taken orally for snake bites.
Andrographis paniculata Nees.	Herb	Siriyanangai	Acanthaceae	Whole plant	Crushed into paste and taken internally for snake bites.
Evolvulus alsinoides L.	Herb	Vishnu-Karandai	Convolvulaceae	Root	The powder of the roots is mixed with hot water and taken internally for snake bites.
Withania somnifera Dun.	Undershrub	Amukkara	Solanaceae	Whole plant	Aqueous extract of the whole plant is taken internally for snake bites.
Rheumatism
Anisomelos malabarica R.Br.	Herb	Peymiratti	Lamiaceae	Whole plant	Decoction of the whole plant is taken internally.
Cardiospermum halicacabum L.	Climber	Mudakattan	Sapindaceae	Leaves	Juice of the leaves is taken orally.
Holoptelea integrifolia Pl.	Tree	Aayamaram	Ulmaceae	Bark	Mucilagenous bark is boiled and the juice is squeezed out and applied topically on the affected area to treat rheumatic swellings.
Ulcer
Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.	Tree	Palaa	Moraceae	Fruits	Fruits are chewed raw to treat ulcer.
Hemidesmus indicus R. Br.	Herb	Nannari	Asclepiadaceae	Root	Juice of the roots is taken orally.
Jaundice
Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn.	Herb	Kezhanelli	Euphorbiaceae	Whole plant	Paste of the whole plant is taken daily morning.
Diabetes
Cassia auriculata L.	Shrub	Aavaram	Caesalpiniaceae	Flowers	Flowers are eaten raw.
Gymnema sylvestre R. Br.	Climber	Sirukurinjan	Asclepiadaceae	Leaves	Dried leaves are powdered and taken internally in the morning.
Cough and fever
Cassine glauca (Rottb). Kuntze.	Tree	Karuvali, Seluppa	Celastraceae	Root	Decoction of the roots is used to treat fever.
Indigofera tinctoria L.	Herb	Avuri	Fabaceae	Leaves	Juice of the leaves is used to treat whooping cough.
Dysentry
Psidium guajava L.	Tree	Koyya	Myrtaceae	Leaves & Fruits	Leaves are chewed to treat dysentery.
Urinary problems
Asparagus racemosus Willd.	Undershrub	Ammai chedi	Liliaceae	Root	Tuberous roots are used to treat urinary troubles.
Tephrosia purpurea Pers.	Herb	Kolinji	Fabaceae	Root	Decoction of the roots is mixed with honey or sugar and taken orally.
Tiliacora racemosa Colebr.	Climber	Perungkattukodi	Menispermaceae	Leaves	Juice is taken orally which is used as a diuretic.
Menstrual problems
Cassia auriculata L.	Shrub	Aavaram	Caesalpiniaceae	Flowers	Flowers are dried, powdered and taken orally to treat menstrual problems in women.
Bone fractures
Dodonaea viscosa L.	Shrub	Virali	Sapindaceae	Leaves	Leaves are dipped in gingelly oil and tied over the affected area.
Burns
Ficus religiosa L.	Tree	Arasamaram	Moraceae	Bark	Powder is applied on the affected area to treat heat burns and red scar left after the burns.

Right from the beginning, the documentation of traditional knowledge especially on use of medicinal plants has provided important information for modern drugs¹¹. This study revealed that the medicinal plants continue to play an important role in the healthcare system of this tribal community. However, Sholagas refuse to talk and share their knowledge other than their community members and similar condition was also reported in case of Paliyans¹². Also the knowledge about the traditional medicine among them is dwindling which indicates an immediate need for further studies aimed at conserving the knowledge about the traditional medicine in that unique region.

CONCLUSION:

The study revealed that the sholagas possess rich wealth of medicinal knowledge and would provide ideas for further phytochemical research.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The authors wish to thank officials of the Forest Department, Chennampatti range for the help rendered by them during the study and also the Sholaga tribal people who shared their valuable knowledge.

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Received on 14.02.2018 Modified on 11.03.2018

Res. J. Pharmacognosy and Phytochem. 2018; 10(2): 179-182.

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2018.00028.6