ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED FOR WOUND HEALING ...

Global J Res. Med. Plants & Indigen. Med. | Volume 5, Issue 7 | July 2016 | 203–216

Global Journal of Research on Medicinal Plants & Indigenous Medicine || GJRMI ||

ISSN 2277-4289 | www.gjrmi.com | International, Peer reviewed, Open access, Monthly Online Journal

ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED FOR WOUND HEALING PURPOSES

BY MALAYALI TRIBES OF KALRAYAN HILLS, SALEM DISTRICT,

TAMIL NADU, INDIA

M Kannan1, T Senthil Kumar

2*, M V Rao

3

1Department of Botany, Directorate of Distance Education, Vinayaka Missions University, Salem-636 308,

Tamil Nadu, India 2Department of Industry University Collaboration, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 024,

Tamil Nadu, India

3Department of Plant Science, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli-620 024, Tamil Nadu, India

*Corresponding Author: E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 27/05/2016; Revised: 19/07/2016; Accepted: 21/07/2016

ABSTRACT

Ethnobotanical study plays an important role in the field of herbal research and enumeration of

new medicinal plants. The tribal communities are dependent on the forest vegetation and utilize them

for medicinal, non-medicinal, socio-cultural and religious purposes in their day-to-day life. The

present paper documents the ethnomedicinal knowledge of Malayali tribes of Kalrayan hills on

wound healing purposes only. Periodical field visits were made to collect the ethnomedicinal

information on the plants used for wound healing purposes through personal interviews among the

elders, village heads and traditional healers with the help of standardized questionnaires and

discussions with them. Use of 72 plant species from 66 genera belonging to 43 families has been

recorded along with the parts used, mode of preparation, mode of administration and their dosage.

These plants are used in the form of paste, powder, juice, etc., for the treatment. In the present study,

we observed that the Malayali tribes of Kalrayan hills are well experienced in the administration of

local herbs for the treatment of wounds and other related injuries.

KEYWORDS: Ethnobotany, Kalrayan hills, Malayali tribes, Traditional Healers, Medicinal Plants,

Wound Healing, Salem.

Research article

Cite this article: M Kannan, T Senthil Kumar, M V Rao (2016), ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED FOR WOUND

HEALING PURPOSES BY MALAYALI TRIBES OF KALRAYAN HILLS, SALEM DISTRICT,

TAMIL NADU, INDIA, Global J Res. Med. Plants & Indigen. Med., Volume 5 (7): 203–216

mailto:[email protected]



INTRODUCTION

Ethnobotany is a distinct branch of natural

science dealing with the study of how people of

a particular culture and region make use of

indigenous plants for various aspects such as

medicine, religion, cultural, agriculture

instruments, house hold implements and

several other disciplines (Patel and Patel,

2013). Now, ethnobotany has become a part of

the tradition and culture through out the world.

The uses of natural herbal drugs whether

traditional or modern, have originated directly

or indirectly from folklore and rituals known as

ethnomedico-botany (Kutum et al., 2011).

In the rural communities, wounds arising

from bruises, cuts and scratches are untreated at

the initial stages and such wounds became

septic and inflamed before they are brought to

the attention. In such cases, the wounds are

treated with plant materials or it requires advice

of herbalists (Grierson and Afolayan, 1999). A

wound may be defined as a breakdown in the

skin by the loss of continuity of epithelium

with or without loss of underlying connective

tissues such as muscles, bones, nerves, due to

the injury to the skin or underlying tissues or

organs caused by surgery, a blow, a cut,

chemicals, heat, cold, friction, shear force,

pressure or as a result of disease, such as ulcers.

The most agreed phases of wound healing are

inflammatory phase, proliferative phase and

remodeling or maturing phase (Norman

Williams et al., 2008).

Wound healing occurs by regenerating

dermal tissue as a natural process (Arshad

Mehmood Abbasi et al., 2010). Throughout the

world, wounds have been treated mostly

topically with different medicinal herbs or with

their extracts solely or in combination with

some other plant parts (Ayyanar and

Ignacimuthu, 2009). More than 70% of wound

pharma products are plant based, 20% are

mineral based and remaining contains animal

products as their base material (Ramya

Subramanian et al., 2011).

There are several reports in adjacent hills of

Kalrayan hills, around the Salem District of

Tamil Nadu, India on ethnomedicinal aspects

(Sankaran and Alagesaboopathi 1995; Senthil

Kumar and Krishnamurthy 1997;

Alagesaboopathi 2009; 2011; 2012; 2013;

2014; Mishra et al., 2008; Parthipan et al.,

2011; Rekha and Senthil Kumar, 2014).

Though few workers have documented the

ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal plants in the

study area, still lot of works are to be done

(Kadavul and Dixit, 2009; Selvaraju et al.,

2011; Natarajan et al., 2012; Manikandan and

Alagu Lakshmanan, 2014; Kannan et al., 2015;

2016). Although most of the healers and elders

are having vast knowledge on wound healing

herbs, there is no separate report for wound

healing plants in the study area. With this back

ground, the present work was taken up to

explore the ethnomedicinal plants used for the

wound healing purposes and other related

injuries such as cuts, burns, boils, sores, etc., by

the Malayali tribes of Kalrayan hills, Salem

district, Tamil Nadu, India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study area

Kalrayan (Kalvaryan) hills are a range of

hills situated in the Eastern Ghats of the

Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, lies

between the North latitudes 11o 36‟ and 12

o 01‟

N and the East longitudes 78o 29‟ and 78

o 54‟

E. It runs over three districts viz. Salem

(Southern and South Western portion),

Villupuram (Central and Eastern portion) and a

small region of northern part in

Thiruvannamalai district and it stretches over

an area of 1158.4 km2

(Sakthivel et al., 2010).

The Kalrayan measures 25.76 km (NS) and 37

km (EW). The altitude varies from 1000 to

3800 meters above mean sea level (Natarajan et

al., 2012).

The average annual rainfall in the study

area ranges from 782.98 to 1787.20 mm. The

temperature varies from minimum of 25°C to a

maximum of 40°C. It is composed of seven soil

types and varies from red-loam to black clay

(Kadavul and Parthasarathy, 2001) and is

endowed with rich natural resources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Ghats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India



Divisions of Kalrayan hills

Geographically, Kalrayan hills are divided

into 5 regions or “Nadu”s (Cluster of tribal

villages) namely, Chinnakalrayan Nadu

(Northern part), Periyakalrayan Nadu (Western

part), Jadaya Gaundan Nadu (Southern and

Eastern part), Kurumba Gaundan Nadu

(Central part) and Ariya Gaundan Nadu

(North). Among them, Chinnakalrayan Nadu

(Little Kalrayans) and Periyakalrayan Nadu

(Big Kalrayans) belongs to Salem district and

they include 58 and 44 tribal hamlets

respectively. The remaining three regions

belong to Villupuram district.

Tribal community

The tribal history of Kalrayan hills with its

Jagirdars (Under the Muslim government,

Jagirs are servants of the state, collect the

revenue and looked the administration of the

district/hills) dates back to the time of Krishna

Deverayar, the Emperor of Vijaya Nagara

Kingdom. The native people of the Kalrayans

were called as Vedar (Hunter). The warriors

belonging to Karalar community had invaded

from Kanchipuram and settled in Kalrayan

hills. After sometimes, they over rided the

native people, Vedar of Kalrayan hills and

married their girls. The mixed population of

Karalar and Vedar communities presently

called Malayali and they call themselves as

Goundars (Velayutham Saravanan, 2003).

Social status

Ethnic people of Kalrayan hills are farmers

and their life style is plain agricultural type.

Due to the poor irrigational facilities, their

agriculture is strictly unproductive, uneconomic

and seasonal (Prabakaran et al., 2013). Most of

them are poor and they are engaged in

agriculture as Koolis. Only few people are in

government services and some are engaged in

cottage industries. To supplement their

economy rest of the people are doing works

interrelated with agriculture and involved in

hunting, live stock keeping, poultry farming,

rearing honeybees, collection of honey, bee

wax and other minor forest products (Kuru

Suresh et al., 2011). In the off-seasons,

(January – May months) the male members of

the family travel to nearby towns such as

Salem, Villupuram, Namakkal, Erode and

Karur as daily wages or they migrate to the

neighboring states like Karnataka or Kerala to

compete their economy.

They are interested in folktales, songs,

worship, mythology, taboos, religious and

social ceremonies (Thurston and Rangachari,

1909). Most of the tribal people of the study

area are residing in remote and inaccessible

forest areas and they are having no source to

get modern medicine for their health care.

Hence, they are practicing phytotherapy to treat

the common ailments and they are having good

knowledge on the herbal treatment for their

health care. Enumeration of plants used for

wound healing purposes is the part of the

ethnobotanical research work carried out by us

in the study area.

Data Collection

Ethnomedicinal data were collected through

conversations and interviews with Vaidhyars

(Traditional healers), tribal heads, elders and

farmers having familiarity and sound

knowledge on herbal treatments using standard

methods adopted by Jain (1987). Regular field

visits were made to the various hamlets of

Kalrayan hills from Dec‟2009 to Dec‟ 2014 for

the ethnomedicinal investigations.

The medicinally important plants were

collected, identified and verified with standard

floras (Gamble, 1935; Mathew 1981-1983) and

the voucher specimens were deposited in the

Department of Botany, Vinayaka Missions

University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India. The

documentation of ethnomedicinal information

includes botanical name, local name, family,

parts used, mode of preparation and

administration. The information collected from

the respondents of the study area were cross

verified with the informants, healers or village

headmen of the adjacent hamlets and also

previously reported literatures of the study area

and nearby hills.



RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

During the study period, we could able to

understand that the large sections of tribal

communities of the study area are well

experienced in the administration of local herbs

for various diseases. But this valuable herbal

knowledge is confined to few members of the

community in a hamlet. Most of the traditional

healers learnt this knowledge from their

ancestors from child hood by assisting them in

the collection of herbal plants from wild,

preparation of crude drugs, assisting in

administration and other treatment procedures.

Wounds and related injuries

There are about 16 types of wounds and

other related injuries noticed in the present

study area (Table 1.) All these wounds fall

under two major categories namely physical

injuries and skin problems. About 11 types of

injuries comes under the physical injuries and

these type of wounds occur during various day-

to-day life activities of the tribal community.

Remaining five types of injuries occur as skin

infections due to the microbial infections or as

the impact of environmental factors.

Table 1: Various categories of wounds and other related injuries occurred among Malayali

tribes of Kalrayan Hills, Salem, Tamil Nadu.

S. No. Name of the Diseases

(Tamil)

Name of the Diseases

(English)

Terminology Category

1. Kan Pungal Eye wounds / Injuries Ocular trauma Physical injuries

2. Adi Paduthal Injuries Trauma

3. Kuruma Pun (Naalpatta Pun) Wound Chronic wound

4. Mul Paduthal Thorns in legs Wound

5. Padukkai Pun Bed sore Decubitus ulcer

6. Periya Kaayam Deep wounds Wound

7. Pun Wound Wound

8. Ratha Kattu Contusion Haematoma

9. Thee Pun Burn wound Burns

10. Veekkam Swelling Inflammation

11. Vettu Kaayam Cut wounds Laceration

12. Sirangu Skin problems Impetigo Skin problems

13. Koppalam Boils Furuncle / Boils

14. Mukha Paru Pimples Acne

15. Kattigal Tumors Neoplasm

16. Silanthi Kattigal Abscess Abscess

Ethnomedicinal plants

For the treatment of wounds and other

related injuries such as cuts, burns, boils, sores

and wounds caused by external injuries,

Malayali tribes of the study area are utilizing

72 plant species belonging to 66 genera under

43 families in which most of the plants are

herbs (34 species), followed by tree (25

species), shrubs (7 species) and climbers (6

species). The predominant families are

Apocynaceae with 5 species, Euphorbiaceae,

Fabaceae and Rubiaceae with 4 species each

followed by Capparaceae, Malvaceae,

Moraceae, Rutaceae and Solanaceae with 3

species each. Remaining families are

represented by one or two species each (Table

2). The plants were enumerated alphabetically

under each disease along with the information

such as their botanical name, vernacular name,

family, part of the plant used and mode of

preparation and administration (Table 3).



Bryophyllum pinnatum, Cassia fistula,

Clausena dentata, Calotropis gigantea,

Erythrina indica, Jatropha curcas, Lantana

camara, Pterocarpus marsupium, Ricinus

communis and Tridax procumbens are some of

the notable plants used for the wound healing

purposes and it is in agreement with previous

reports (Ramya Subramanian et al., 2011;

Shrirame and Gogle, 2014; Ramesh Kumar

Ahirwar and Kumud Sandya, 2015).

Table 2: Family wise distribution of ethnomedicinal plants used for wound healing purposes in

Kalrayan hills, Salem district.

S.

No.

Family name No. of plant

species (in

each family)

1. Apocynaceae 5

2. Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Rubiaceae 4

3. Capparaceae, Malvaceae, Moraceae, Rutaceae, Solanaceae 3

4. Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Convolvulaceae, Liliaceae,

Mimosaceae

2

5. Acanthaceae, Aizoaceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Arecaceae, Cactaceae,

Caricaceae, Celastraceae, Crassulaceae, Dioscoriaceae, Ebenaceae,

Hyacinthaceace, Hypoxidaceae, Lamiaceae, Legoniaceae, Melastomataceae,

Musaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Oxalidaceae, Pedaliaceae, Piperaceae, Poaceae,

Polygonaceae, Pteridaceae, Salvadoraceae, Sapotaceae, Verbenaceae,

Zingiberaceae

1

Table 3: List of Ethnomedicinal plants used for wound healing purposes by Malayali Tribes of

Kalrayan Hills, Salem, Tamil Nadu.

S.

No.

Diseases

Binomial Name Vernacular

Name

Family Parts

used

Formulations and doses

1. Kan Pungal

(Eye

Wounds)

Clausena dentata M.

Roem.

Nana chedi Rutaceae Leaf Young leaves ground with

mother milk and extract is

applied externally in eyes as

drops.

Diospyros montana

Roxb.

Vakana

Maram

Ebenaceae Leaf Leaf juice used as eye drops.

Tephrosia purpurea

(L.) Pers.

Oosi

Thuvarai

Fabaceae Leaf Two or three drops of leaf juice

is administered as eye drops to

cure wounds made by stick

injuries. Also used in cattle for

the same purpose.

Wrightia tinctoria

R.Br.

Palai Apocynaceae Leaf Crushed leaf extract mixed with

mother's milk. Clean white cloth

is dipped in the extract and

administered as eye drops in

nights.

2. Pungal

(Wound

Healing)

Acacia leucophloea

Willd.

Vel Velam Mimosaceae Bark Bark paste in hot water is

applied externally.

Achyranthes aspera L. Nayuruvi Amaranthaceae Leaf,

Stem

Paste is applied externally.



Biophytum sensitivum

(L.) DC.

Male surungi Oxalidaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally.

Blepharis

maderaspatensis

B.Heyne ex Roth

Nenthria

Poondu

Acanthaceae Leaf Leaf juice with Sesamum

indicum oil is boiled and applied

on the wounds twice or thrice a

day.

Bryophyllum pinnatum

(Lam.) Kurz

Ranakalli Crassulaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied on wounds,

insect bites and boils to reduce

the pain and severity.

Cleome gynandra L. Velai Chedi Capparaceae Root It is specially used to heal the

wounds made by broken glass

pieces. Root paste is applied and

tied on the wound area for a day.

The broken glass pieces will be

dissolved and oozes out if any

inside the wound.

Cleome viscosa L. Naai velai Capparaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally

up to cure.

Cleome viscosa L. Naai velai Capparaceae Leaf Leaf juice is applied externally

up to cure.

Dioscorea bulbifera L. Kaattu

Vethala Kodi

Dioscoreaceae Tuber Tuber is ground well and

applied on the wounds

externally.

Erythrina indica Lam. Kalyana

Murungai

Fabaceae Leaf Leaf juice is applied externally

to stop bleeding and leaf paste

tied on the wounds to heal.

Euphorbia

heterophylla L.

Paal Perukki Euphorbiaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally.

Ficus microcarpa L.f. Kal Arasan Moraceae Bark,

Leaf

Bark paste is used for healing

wounds and leaf decoction also

used for cleaning and washing

the wounds.

Heliotropium indicum

L.

Thel

Kodukku

Boraginaceae Seed Seed paste is applied externally.

Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. Sotru

Katralai

Liliaceae Leaf Along with plant materials small

quantity of sugar is added and

ground well in to paste and

applied externally. Opuntia dillenii Haw. Sappathikalli Cactaceae Fleshy

stem

Calotropis procera

(Aiton) W.T.Aiton

Vellai

Erukan

Apocynaceae Leaf Dried leaf powder is mixed with

coconut oil and applied

externally as paste. Cocos nucifera L. Thennai Arecaceae Oil

Ipomoea asarifolia

Roem. & Schult.

Sundan chedi

kodi

Convolvulaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally

up to cure.

Pavonia zeylanica (L.)

Cav.

Vedivana

poondu

Malvaceae Leaf

Centella asiatica (L.)

Urb.

Vallarai Apiaceae Leaf Dry decoction is applied

externally on wounds.

Ixora coccinea L. Idli Poo Rubiaceae Leaf, Flower

Madhuca longifolia

J.F.Macbr.

Iluppai Sapotaceae Bark

Mirabilis jalapa L. Anthi

Mantharai

Nyctaginaceae Root Root paste or powder is applied

externally up to cure.

Mitragyna parvifolia

Korth.

Kadamba

Maram

Rubiaceae Leaf Leaf paste is used to dress

wounds.



Musa paradisiaca L. Vazhai Musaceae Latex Latex is applied on the wounds

and dressed with clean white

cloth. Then 2 or 3 drops added

on the dressing. Cloth is

persistent on wounds up to cure.

Opuntia dillenii Haw. Sappathikalli Cactaceae Fruit Fruit pulp is applied externally.

Strychnos nux-vomica

L.

Yetti Maram Loganiaceae Seed Paste is applied externally.

Sesamum indicum L. Ellu Pedaliaceae Oil Dry powder is mixed with

Sesamum oil and applied

externally. Waltheria indica L. Sengali

Poondu

Malvaceae Root

3. Vettu

Kaayangal

(Cut

Wounds)

Azima tetracantha

Lam.

Sangamullu Salvadoraceae Root Paste is applied externally.

Decalepis hamiltonii

Wight & Arn.

Mavilangam Apocynaceaee Root Root powder is applied

externally to cure cut wounds.

Lantana camara L. Unnichedi Verbenaceae Leaf Paste is applied externally. As it

dries up and persistent on the

wounds up to cure, it may form

pus in some persons.

Premna tomentosa

Willd.

Poda nari Lamiaceae Leaf Leaf paste is roasted and applied

externally.

Tridax procumbens L. Vettu Kaya

Poondu

Asteraceae Leaf Leaf juice will control the

bleeding immediately and paste

is applied externally on wounds

to heal.

Biophytum sensitivum

(L.) DC.

Male surungi Oxalidaceae Leaf Young leaves are made in to

paste and applied externally up

to cure. Canthium parviflorum

Lam.

Karai Rubiaceae Leaf

Curculigo orchioides

Gaertn.

Nilapanai

kizhangu

Hypoxidaceae Rhizo-

me

Naringi crenulata

(Roxb.) Nicolson

Pori valai

Poondu

Rutaceae Leaf

Curcuma longa L. Manjal Zingiberaceae Rhizo

-me

Leaf is ground with fresh or dry

turmeric and made in to paste. It

is applied externally on wounds

and this paste is persistent on

wounds up to cure.

Sida rhombifolia L. Marunthu

Thalai

Malvaceae Leaf

Curcuma longa L. Manjal Zingiberaceae Rhizo-

me Leaf paste is applied externally

on cut wounds with Curcuma

longa powder. Dendrocalamus

strictus Nees

Siruvarai

Mungil

Poaceae Leaf

4. Periya

Kaayangal

(Deep

Wounds)

Calotropis gigantea

(L.) W.T. Aiton

Erukku Apocynaceae Latex Latex is applied on the wounds

two or three times daily up to

cure.

5. Kuruma Pun

(Naalpatta

pun -

Chronic

Wounds)

Allium sativum L. Poondu Liliaceae Bulb Plant materials are ground well

with Allium sativum and Piper

nigrum and paste is applied

externally up to cure.

Ipomoea asarifolia

Roem. & Schult.

Sundanchedi

kodi

Convolvulaceae Leaf

Pavonia zeylanica (L.)

Cav.

Vedivana

poondu

Malvaceae Leaf

Piper nigrum L. Milahu Piperaceae Seeds

Hemionitis cordifolia

Roxb. in Wall.

Kal paruthi Pteridaceae Leaf Ground with cow ghee and

applied externally up to cure.

Maantham, Selanthi Kattikal,

wounds in knuckles of fingers

are also cured.

6. Thee Pun Cassia fistula L. Sara kondrai Caesalpiniaceae Leaf Fresh leaves are ground with



(Burns) Cocos nucifera L. Thennai Arecaceae Oil coconut oil and made in to paste

and applied externally.


Roxb. Wall.

Kalparuthi Pteridaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally.

Musa paradisiaca L. Vazhai Musaceae Leaf In heavy burns the persons will

be laid down in the leaves up to

the recovery.

Polygonum glabrum

Willd.

Attarali Polygonaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally

for burn wounds.

7. Pungal &

Muka Paru

(Wounds &

Pimbles)

Memecylon

umbellatum Burm.f.

Allan Maram Melastomataceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally

up to cure.

8. Sirangu

(Impetigo)

Acacia concinna DC. Seevakkaai Mimosaceae Fruit Dry powder is used as antiseptic

for washing wounds.

Acalypha indica L. Kuppai Meni Euphorbiaceae Leaf Paste is applied externally up to

cure.

9. Koppalam

(Furuncle /

Boils)

Cordia myxa L. Naruvili Boraginaceae Bark Stem bark paste is externally

applied up to cure.

Ipomoea quamoclit L. Mayil

Manikkam

Convovulaceae Leaf Crushed leaves are applied

externally on boils up to cure.

Tarenna asiatica

Kuntze

Therani

chedi

Rubiaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied on the boils and boils with pus and also applied externally on skin allergies.

Citrus limon (L.)

Burm.f.

Elumichai Rutaceae Fruit Leaf is ground with lime juice

and applied externally up to

cure. Mollugo nudicaulis

Lam.

Parpadakam Aizoaceae Leaf

Xanthium indicum

J.Koenig ex Roxb.

Otta Chedi Asteraceae Leaf Leaf juice is applied externally.

10. Furuncle

between

Fingers


Roxb. Wall.

Kal paruthi Pteridaceae Leaf Leaves are ground with cow

ghee and applied on the infected

regions.

11. Boils &

Skin

Allergies

Tarenna asiatica

Kuntze

Therani

chedi

Rubiaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied on the boils

and boils with pus and also

applied externally on skin

allergies.

12. Boils &

Wounds

Cleome monophylla L. Ellu

Sakkalathi

Capparaceae Leaf,

Seed

Either seed or leaf of the plant is

ground and applied on the boils

or cut wounds. It will cure and

prevent the formation of pus.

Wattakaka volubilis

Stapf

Peria

Kurinjan

Apocynaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally

on the surfaces.

13. Boils &

Sores

Pterocarpus

marsupium Roxb.

Vengai

Maram

Fabaceae Leaf Crushed leaves are applied

externally on boils and sores.

14. Kattigal

(Tumors)

Azima tetracantha

Lam.

Sangamullu Salvadoraceae Root Root is ground with water and

applied externally.

Carica papaya L. Pappali Caricaceae Latex Latex is applied on the tumors

daily up to cure.

Urginea indica Kunth Kaatu

Poondu

Hyacinthaceae Bulb Ground and paste is applied

externally on tumors for 2 or 3

days.

Withania somnifera

(L.) Dunal

Amukara

Kizhangu

Solanaceae Tuber Paste is applied on the surfaces

will control the Kattihal

(tumers), Amukara means

amukuthal meaning suppress the

tumors.



Parts of the plants used

For wound healing treatments, plant parts

such as leaf, stem, root, bark, latex, seed,

flower, fruit, tuber, bulb, rhizome and seed oil

are used by the local healers and elders of the

study area. Leaves were found to be most

frequently used for the treatment, which

accounts for 52 preparations followed by root

(Seven preparations) and oil (Six preparations).

Other plant parts are represented in few

preparations only (Figure 1).

Tribes of Kalrayan hills are using different

dosage forms for wound healing purposes.

Among them, use of fresh plant parts as such,

dry powder, pastes, juice, decoction,

combinations of various parts of plants are

some of the important dosage forms used by

them. There are about 74 preparations in use

15. Silanthi

Katti

Lycopersicon

esculentum Mill.

Thakkali Solanaceae Fruit Fruit is made in to small pieces

and tied with white cloth on the

surface of the Silanthi Katti for 3

to 4 days.

16. Adi

Paduthal &

Veekkam

(Trauma &

Swelling)

Artocarpus

heterophyllus Lam.

Pala Maram Moraceae Latex Latex is applied externally daily

up to cure.

Cassine glauca

(Rottb.) Kuntze

Karuvaali

Maram

Celastraceae Root Root paste is applied externally.

17. Swelling &

Boils

Datura metel L. Karuoomath

ai

Solanaceae Leaf Leaf is ground in to paste with

hot water and applied externally.

Tamarindus indica L. Puli Caesalpiniaceae Leaf Leaf is ground in to paste with hot water and applied externally. Also used to treat pain.

18. Ratha Kattu

(Contusion)

Erythrina indica Lam. Kalyana

Murungai

Fabaceae Leaf Leaf paste is applied externally

on the surfaces.

Jatropha curcas L. Kattu Kottai Euphorbiaceae Leaf Leaves are soaked in rice water

overnight, heated and tied

around painful area to reduce

pain.

Premna tomentosa

Willd.

Poda nari Lamiaceae Leaf Leaves are boiled in water and

fixed on the injured area by

means of castor oil. It will be

continued up to cure. Ricinus communis L. Kottai

Maram

Euphorbiaceae Oil

19. Ratha

Kattu,Bone

fracture,

Injuries

Artocarpus hirsutus

Lam.

Kaatu Pala Moraceae Bark Fresh or dried bark powder and

Phaseolus mungo seed powder

are mixed together in equal

quantities. Sesamum oil and egg

white yolk are mixed with the

above powder and made in to

paste. Applied externally on

surfaces of the injured regions,

bone fractures and Ratha kattu

(blood clotting in injured area).

Phaseolus mungo L. Ulundhu Fabaceae Seed

Sesamum indicum L. Ellu Pedaliaceae Oil

Premna tomentosa

Willd.

Poda nari Lamiaceae Leaf Sesamum oil is applied on the

leaf surface of Premna

tomentosa and shown in direct

fire for few seconds (Vaatti) and

they are applied on the injured

or fractured area.

Sesamum indicum L. Ellu Pedaliaceae Oil

20. Thorns in

legs

Calotropis gigantea

(L.) W.T.Aiton

Erukku Apocynaceae Latex For removal of thorns from the

leg, a drop of latex is applied on

the thorny area. On the next day

thorns can be removed easily. It

also heals the wounds formed

due to the thorns.



among the villagers in which use of paste form

is dominating over all other dosage forms with

47 preparations (Figure 2). Jatropha curcas and

Premna tomentosa leaves are processed with

oil and shown in fire directly then applied on

the wounds for the healing process. Latex from

Artocarpus heterophyllus and Carica papaya

are also used for the healing purposes.

In certain cases, two types of preparations

of the same plant were used in a single

treatment. For example, Ficus microcapa leaf

decoction is used for cleaning the wounds

where as, its bark paste is applied externally on

wounds for healing purposes. In the same way,

leaf juice of Tridax procumbens is used for the

control of bleeding in cut wounds where as its

paste is applied externally to heal the wounds.

Figure 1: Various parts of ethnomedicinal plants used by Malayali tribes of Kalrayan hills for

wound healing purposes.

Figure 2: Various modes of preparations of medicaments used for the wound healing purposes

by Malayali tribes of Kalrayan hills, Salem.

52

7

6

5

5

5

43

2 2 2 1

Leaf

Root

Oil

Bark

Latex

Seed

Fruit

Rhizome

Stem

Tuber

Bulb

Flower

4710

6

43

2 2

Paste

Juice

Fresh Parts

Powder

Processed Materials

Decoction

Latex



Modes of administration

Maximum number of preparations used for

promoting wound healing was used as external

application (68) and only two preparations are

administered orally. Many researchers have

reported the external application as the

dominant mode of administration in wound

healing treatments (Senthil Kumar and

Krishnamurthy, 1997; Grierson and Afolayan,

1999; Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu, 2009; Ramya

Subramanian et al., 2011).

As the treatment for wound healing is

continued up to cure, dosage of administration

is not recommended for any of the

preparations. Bandages made using the bark

extract of Musa paradisiaca and pastes

prepared from the plants such as Curcuma

longa, Lantana camara, Sida rhombifolia etc.,

when applied are persistent on the wounds till it

heals and the dried bandages and plant pastes

will fall off automatically after the healing.

As the tribal communities of the study area

are forest dwellers, they depend on their

surrounding for their day-to-day activities. It

was observed that the wounds are one of the

major problems suffered by those forest

inhabitants due to their life style in the forest

area and they easily get injured during their

day-to-day activities in the forest. As they are

dwelling and working in the interior regions of

the forests, immediate need for the remedy

arises for their wounds with in the forest and

they go for phytotherapy. Hence, most of them

learnt the herbal knowledge from their mother,

father, elders of the family, neighbors, and

relatives etc., who are nearer to them at the

time of injuries in the forest.

CONCLUSION

The present documentation revealed that

the ethnomedicinal plants are still in use among

Malayali tribal communities of the study area

and they are well experienced in the

administration of local herbs for the treatment

of wounds and other related injuries. These

plants are common, cost effective and easily

accessible at the time of requirement. But the

practice of herbal medicine is being utilized by

few „Vaidhyars‟ and elderly people only.

It is concluded that the healthcare system of

Malayali tribe traditionally depends on herbal

practices for their ailments. Moreover, elders

and traditional healers have rich knowledge on

herbal wealth. The traditional knowledge of the

healers helped us in the documentation of the

ethnobotanical information. Hence, the

documentation of traditional knowledge will

help in the field of herbal research and

enumeration of new medicinal plants for a

particular therapeutic effect. At the same time

the detailed pharmacological investigations of

the herbal plants will be helpful in development

of newer drugs for a particular condition.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

One of the authors (MK) is thankful to The

Chancellor, Vinayaka Missions University,

Salem. The authors are also thankful to the

resident tribes of the study area for their

response and participation in the survey by

sharing their knowledge on plants. The authors

are also grateful to Dr. R. Prabakaran,

Vivekanandha College of Arts and Sciences

(W), Tiruchengode for accompanying us during

the field visit. A special word of gratitude for

tribal informant Mr. A. Murugesan who helped

the author a lot during the course of study and

Dr. A. Anuradha, Department of Obstetrics &

Gynecology, Sivaraj Homeopathy Medical

College & Research Institute, Salem for the

suggestions.

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Source of Support: NIL Conflict of Interest: None Declared

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