Ethnomedicinal Plants in Kolli Hills of Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India India is rich in cultural and floristic diversity and also a store house of ethnobotanical knowledge. Ethnobotany can be described as the relationship and interactions between man and his surrounding local environment1. Inhabitants depend on ayurveda and medicinal plants to help meet their primary healthcare needs. Traditional medical knowledge is important not only for its potential contribution to drug development and market values, but also for the people’s healthcare2. Inhabitants of kolli hills make use of medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments like skin diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, snake bite, cold, cough, asthma etc. Kolli hills are located in central Tamil Nadu, lies between 110 10’54” - 110 30’00” N latitude 780 15’00” - 780 30’00” E longitude. The slope of this region varies from gentle to very steep. It is an isolated hill range of discontinuous Eastern Ghats, rich in biological diversity of plants predominantly of medicinal and aromatic plants. Kolli hills, is one among eight hills in Southern region. It has a mild climate and the place is known for herbal cultivation. Average rainfall in the Kolli hills is 1340mm3. The soil type is loamy and black soil on kolli hills4. Kolli hills is mainly occupied by Malayali tribals of 98.8%5. These tribal families are depended on forest resources for food, firewood, herbal medicines, timber, fodder, etc. Many of researchers have published medicinal uses of plants of Kolli hills and their surrounding hill tracts6-17. Review of literature reveals that from ancient times the local tribes were depending on these medicinal plants for treatment of various diseases. The traditional healers of this region mostly used ethnomedicines in decoction form, juice or in paste form. Few medicinal plants of this area are presented with their botanical name followed by family, local names, habit, plants part used, and the ethno medicinal uses.

Botanical name : Acorus calamus L.

Family name : Araceae Vernacular name

: Vayambu

Habit : Shrub Part(s) used : Rhizome Medicinal uses : Stomach ailments, worms,

vomiting, sedative, indigestion

Botanical name: : Aegle marmelos (Linn.) Corr. ex.Roxb.

Family name: : Rutaceae Vernacular name:

: Vilvam

Habit: : Tree Part(s) used : Half ripe fruit & Leaf

Medicinal uses : Diarrhoea, diabetics

Botanical name: : Andrographis paniculata Wall. ex.Nees

Family name: : Acanthaceae Vernacular name:

: Nilavembu/Siriyanangai

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Whole plant & Leaf

Medicinal uses : Worms, fever, diabetics, leprosy, snake bite, fever

Botanical name:

: Asparagus racemosus Willd.

Family name:

: Asparagaceae

Vernacular name

: Thannervittankizhangu/ Satavali

Habit: : Climber Part(s) used : Root and Tuber Medicinal uses

: Liver disorders, jaundice, dysentery, chronic fevers, enhance lactation, diuretic, potency and digestion

Botanical name:

: Centella asiatica (Linn.) Urban

Family name:

: Apiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Vallarai

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Whole plant & Leaves Medicinal uses

: Nervous , brain tonic, cardiac problems, fever

Botanical name:

: Coleus aromaticus Benth.

Family name:

: Lamiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Karpuravalli/ Omavalli

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf

Medicinal uses

: High blood pressure, cough, urinary complaints

Botanical name:

: Euphorbia hirta Linn.

Family name:

: Euphorbiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Ammanpacharisi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Latex, leaf & whole plant Medicinal uses

: Snake bite, asthma, chronic bronchial infections, wounds

Botanical name:

: Gymnema sylvestre (Retz) R. Br.

Family name:

: Asclepiadaceae

Vernacular name:

: Sirukurunjan/sakkaraikolli

Habit: : Shrub Part(s) used : Leaf & Root

Medicinal uses

: Diabetes, vomiting, snake bite

Botanical name:

: Leucas aspera (Willd) Link

Family name:

: Lamiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thumbai/ Thumbachedi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf

Medicinal uses

: Stomach ailments, fever , asthma, headache

Botanical name:

: Mimosa pudica Linn.

Family name:

: Mimosaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thottalsurungi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Leaf & whole plant Medicinal uses

: Fertility, diuretic, cold, cough, menstrual bleeding.

Botanical name:

: Ocimum basilicum Linn.

Family name:

: Lamiaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thiruneetru pachai

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Flowers, Leaf, Whole

plant Medicinal uses

: Urinary problems, gonorrhea, bronchitis, earache, cold, cough

Botanical name:

: Solanum nigrum Linn.

Family name:

: Solanaceae

Vernacular name:

: Manattakkali/ Kamanchi

Habit: : Herb Part(s) used : Berries, shoot, leaf ,

flower & fruits Medicinal uses

: Fever, skin infections, diuretic, piles, ulcers, stomach ailments.

Botanical name:

: Terminalia bellirica (Gaerth.) Roxb.

Family name:

: Combretaceae

Vernacular name:

: Thanrikkaai/Thandri

Habit: : Tree Part(s) used : Leaf, fruits, seed & kernel Medicinal uses

: Toothache, small pox, dysentery, stomach ailments

References

1. Martin G.J.(2001). Ethnobiology & Ethnoecology, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Vol.II. Academic press, London, pp 609-621.

2. Pei SJ. Pharm. Biol., 2001, 39, 74-79.

3. Anbazhagan S., Shanmugavalli G., Ramesh V. Geomorphology and rainfall data analysis for landslide suspectibility mappling Kolli Hills – A Preliminary study, 2010. National conference on Geomatics in Disaster Management, 2010. JTCDM, TISS-Mumbai.

4. Kadirvelmurugan V., Raju K., Arumugam T., Karthik V. and Ravikumar S. Ethnobotany of Medi-Flora of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, 2014. Scholars Research Library. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2014, 6 (1):159-164

5. Toll DL, Photogramn, Eng, Remote sensing, 50(1984) 1713-1724

6. Dwarakan P., Rajasekaran K., and Bramadhayalaselvam A. Hitherto unreported medicinal uses of plants from Kolli hills. Ancient Science of Life, 1994, Vol No. XIII Nos. 3 & 4, pp 259 – 260.

7. Anand R.M., Nandakumar N., Karunakaran L., Raghunathan M., and Murugan V. Survey of Medicinal Plants in Kollimalai hill tracts, Tamil Nadu, 2005. Research article. Vol 5(2).

8. Karthik V., Raju K., Ayyanar M., Gowrishankar K., and Sekar T. Ethnomedicinal Uses of Pteridophytes in Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. J. Nat. Prod. Plant Resource, 2011, 1 (2): 50-55.

9. Kuru suresh, R. Kottaimuthu, T. Selvin Jebaraj Norman, R. Kumuthakalavalli, Sabu M. Simon. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Malayali tribals in Kolli Hills of Tamilnadu, India. IJRAP 2011, 2 (2) 502-508.

10. Palanisamy Murugesan, Ganesan Raja, Suresh Kumar Marx, Bommannan Panneer Selvam, 2011. Ethnobotanical study of

Medicinal Plants used by villagers in Kolli Hills of Namakkal District of Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, Volume 10, Article-029. pp 170-173.

11. Francis Xavier T., Freeda Rose A., Dhivyaa M. Ethnomedicinal survey of malayali tribes in Kolli hills of Eastern Ghats of Tamilnadu, India. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 2011, Vol.10 (3), pp.559-562.

12. Senthilkumar K., Aravindhan V., Rajendran A. Ethnomedicinal Plants used for curing Gastro-intestinal ailments by Malayali Tribes in Yercaud Hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, 2012. Journal of Biosciences Research 3(4):234-239.

13. Natarajan V., Anbazhagan, M and Rajendran R. Studies on the medicinal plants used by the malayalli tribes of Kolli Hill in tamilnadu, south India. International Journal of Renewable and Environmental Sciences, 2013 – Vol.1, Issue, 1, pp.10-16.

14. Natarajan V and Udhayakumar A. Studies on the Medicinal Plants used by the Malayali Tribes of Kolli hill in Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Basic and Life Sciences, Volume No. 1 (2013), Issue No. 1.

15. Senthilkumar K., Aravindhan V., Rajendran A. Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Used by Malayali Tribes in Yercaud Hills of Eastern Ghats, India. Journal of Natural Remedies, 2013, Vol 13 (2).

16. Vaidyanathan D., Salai Senthilkumar M. S. and Ghouse Basha M. Studies on Ethnomedicinal Plants used by Malayali Tribals in Kolli hills of Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India, Asian Journal of Plant Science and Research, 2013, 3(6):29-45.

1. Kadirvelmurugan V., Raju K., Arumugam T., Karthik V. and Ravikumar S. Ethnobotany of Medi-Flora of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, 2014. Scholars Research Library. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2014, 6 (1):159-164

Abstracts from published literature related to Ethnomedicinal plants of Kolli hills 

_____________________________________________________________________________ A survey of Medicinal Plants in Kollimalai Hill Tracts, Tamil Nadu 

 

 R.M., Anand Nandakumar N., Karunakaran L., Raghunathan M., and Murugan V.  

A Survey of Kollamalai hill tracts of Tamil Nadu, India was conducted to record the plants known  in  the  tribal  pockets  and  mentioned  in  the  present  paper.    Inhabitants  utilize  a number of medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments.  The present study aims to draw the attention of phytochemists and pharmacologists to the need of further critical study.  If the efficacy of each plant is scientifically established then these plant drugs can be recommended to rural people who are within the reach of these potential drugs. 

 

Source:  Research article (2006). Vol 5(2) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ethnomedicinal Uses of Pteridophytes in Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats of T.N.  India 

 

V. Karthik1, K. Raju2, M. Ayyanar1, K. Gowrishankar3 and T. Sekar1*  

The  present  investigation  was  carried  out  during  January  to  December  2009  for  the documentation  of  medicinal  uses  of  Pteridophytes  in  Kolli  Hills  of  Eastern  Ghats,  Tamil Nadu, India. The survey aimed to identifying the plants used for the general health of the indigenous  people  of  the  study  area.  Ethnomedicinal  information was  gathered  through questionnaire  from the  tribal and non‐tribal people of Kolli hills  in Tamil Nadu. We have reported  30  species  of  medicinally  important  Pteridophytes  belonging  to  16  families distributed  in  27  genera.  Our  study  concluded  that,  the  wealth  of  indigenous ethnomedicinal  knowledge  of  Pteridophytes  may  also  points  to  a  great  potential  for research in the discovery of new drugs to fight diseases and other new uses.  

Source: Scholar Research Library. Journal of Natural Product and Plant Resourse, (2011), 1 (2): 50­55 

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants used by Malayali Tribals in Kolli Hills of Tamil 

Nadu, India Kuru suresh1*, R. Kottaimuthu2, T. Selvin Jebaraj Norman2, R. Kumuthakalavalli2, Sabu M. Simon2.   

 

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among the Malayali tribals in various villages of kollihills, Nammakkal district, Tamilnadu, India during January 2007 to April 2009.  A total of  108  species  of  ethnomedicinal  plants  belonging  to  102  genera  and  59  families  were reported with the help of standardized questionnaires among 50 tribal informants between ages  of  20‐85.    The  study  shows  a  high  degree  of  ethnobotanical  novelty  and  the  use  of plants among the malayali reflects the revival of interest in traditional folk medicine.  The medicinal plants used by malayali are arranged alphabetically followed by botanical name, family name, local name parts used, mode of preparation and medicinal uses. 

Source: International Journal of Research in Ayurveda & Pharmacy (2011), 2 (2) 502­508 

_____________________________________________________________________________________   

Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants used by Villagers in Kolli hills of Namakkal district of T.N. India  

*Palanisamy Murugesan1, Ganesan Raja2, Suresh Kumar Marx3, Bommannan Panneer selvam4 

 The  present  study  deals  with  the  medicinal  plants  used  by  the  people  of  Kolli  Hills  for treatment  and  prevention  of  various  ailments.    For  the  study  filed  visits were  organized frequently  from March 2009 to May 2010 to Kolli Hills of Namakkal district. The present investigation provides ethnobotanical information of various medicinal plants used by the village peoples, herbal medicine practitioners and other traditional healers of Kolli Hills. A total  of  54  plants were  enumerated with  their medicinal  importance  and  parts  of  those plants used to treat various ailments. Now there is a need for cultivation and conservation of these medicinal plants for discovering new plant medicines in the future.  

Source: International Jr. of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research (2011), Volume 10, Issue 1, Article­029 

_________________________________________________________________ Ethnomedicinal Survey of Malayali tribes in Kolli hills of Eastern Ghats of T.N. India. 1Francis Xavier*T., 2Freeda Rose A., & 3Dhivyaa M.     An Ethnobotanical survey was undertaken to collect information from tribal people of Kolli hills  of  Eastern  Ghats,  South  India.  The  traditional  knowledge  of  local  tribal  people  on medicinal plants was collected through questionnaires and personal interview during field trips. The present study reveals that the Malayali people in Kolli hills used 50 plants species distributed in 45 genera belonging to 33 families to treat various diseases. The documented medicinal plants mostly used  to  cure  skin diseases.  In  the present  study,  Solanaceae and Lamiaceae are most dominant families were used for the various ailments. Documentation of  traditional  knowledge  on  the  Ethnomedicinal  uses  of  these  plants  is  essential  for conservation efforts for the plants resources and new drug development. 

Source: Indian Journal of traditional knowledge Vol.10 (3) July 2011, pp.559­562.  

Studies on the Medicinal Plants used by the Malayali Tribes of kolli hill in Tamil Nadu  

V. Natarajan and A. Uday Kumar  The  present  study  aimed  at  the  documentation  of  various medicinal  plants  traditionally used by the Malayali Tribes of Kolli Hill and the people of surrounding villages of Kolli hill, Tamilnadu state India. A sum of 83 plant species of ethnomedicinal values available in Kolli hill, belonging to 76 genera and 41 families were recorded during this study and this study reflects  the  high  degree  of  ethnobotanical  novelty  and  the  uses  of  plants  as  herbal medicines  by  the malayali  tribes  and  the  revival  of  interest  in  traditional  folk medicines prepared from medicinal herbs.  

Source:  International  Journal  of  Basic  and  Life  Sciences,  Volume  No.  1  ((2013),  Issue  No.1 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Used by Malayali Tribes in Yercaud Hills of E.G., 

India Senthilkumar K., Aravindhan V., Rajendran A.* 

 

Medicinal  plants  have  played  an  important  role  in  treating  and  preventing  a  variety  of  diseases throughout  the world.  India  is  one  of  the most medico‐culturally  diverse  countries  in  the world where the medicinal plant sector is part of a time honoured tradition that is respected even today. The  present  study  was  initiated  with  an  aim  to  identify  traditional  healers  who  are  practicing herbal medicine among the Malayali tribes in Yercaud hills of Eastern Ghats, India and to document their  indigenous  knowledge  on  the  utilization  of  medicinal  plants  particularly  most  common ethnomedicinal  plants.  The  ethnobotanical  information was  collected  through  interviews  among local  traditional healers  in  the study area. A  total of 90 species of plants distributed  in 80 genera belonging to 44 families were identified as commonly used ethnomedicinal plants in the study. As a result, the present study revealed that the information documented regarding the therapeutic uses will  provide  basic  data  for  further  studies  mainly  focused  on  conservation,  cultivation  and economic welfare of the tribal population. 

Source: Journal of Natural Remedies (2013), Vol 13 (2)  _____________________________________________________________________ Studies on Ethnomedicinal Plants used by Malayali Tribals in  Kolli hills of E.G.  T.N., India 

 Vaidyanathan D., M. S. Salai Senthilkumar and M. Ghouse Basha*  

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among the Malayali tribals in various villages of kollihills, Nammakkal District, Tamilnadu, India during July 2011 to june 2013. A total 250 species of ethnomedicinal plants belonging to 198 genera and 81 families and 21 habitats, 228  dicotyledons,  22  monocotyledons  were  reported  with  the  help  of  standardised  50 tribal  informants  between  the  ages  of  40‐75.  The  study  shows  a  high  degree  of ethnobotanical  novelty  and  the  use  of  plants  among  the  Malayali  reflects  the  revival  of interest in traditional folk medicine. The medicinal plants used by Malayalis were arranged alphabetically  followed  by  botanical  name,  family  name,  local  name,  habitat,  plant  parts used, mode of preparation and ethnomedicinal uses.  

Source: Asian Journal of Plant Science and Research (2013), 3(6):29­45 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ethnobotany of Medi­Flora of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu Kadirvelmurugan V.1, Raju K.2, Arumugam T.3, Karthik V.3 and Ravikumar S.1*  

The tribes and non‐tribes are residing in kolli hills and ever depend on medicinal plants for their  healthcare  and  treating  of  various  diseases.  The  present  study  is  to  identify  such distinct  medicinal  plants  utilized  by  tribes  and  non‐tribes  in  the  kolli  hills.  The  ethno‐botany,  their  mode  of  preparation  and  application  of  the  medicinal  plants  have  been gathered from the traditional healers, patients and elderly persons in and around the study area, after season wise field visits conducted between January 2009 and November 2009. The  present  study  revealed  that,  the  tribes  are  regularly  using  about  58  pants  and  32 families  and  it  is belong  to diverse  families  to  treat  the various diseases.   The above  the present  study,  ethno‐botany  and medicinal  knowledge  gained  from  the  tribals would  be very useful information for the botanists, biochemists, pharmacologists, traditional system of medicine and healthcare sector.   

Source: Scholars Research Library. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2014, 6 (1):159­164