Abstract

ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE ON MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY THE VILLAGE PEOPLES OF PALLATHUPATTI, PUDUKKOTTAI DISTRICT, TAMIL NADU

Sujatha G.* and Ranjitha S.

ABSTRACT

Since thousands of years, medicinal plants have played a vital role throughout the world in healing and protecting from several diseases. The present study was initiated with an aim to identify and document the indigenous knowledge of Pallathupatti village, Kunnandarkoil Taluk, Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu. Field studies were carried out for a period of seven months, August 2017 to February 2018. A total of 100 plants species distributed in about 86 diverse genera and 47different families were identified. The vernacular name, botanical name, family, part(s) used, phytochemical constituents and their medicinal uses were recorded. Among them 88 plant species belonged to dicot families and 12 plant specimens belonged to monocot families. The family Fabaceae was represented with nine species followed by Lamiaceae with seven species. Trees were the primary sources of medicine (39%), followed by herbs (25%), shrubs (20%), climbers (6%), grass (5%), succulent (4%) and creeper (1%). The most frequently used plant part is the whole plant (25%) followed by root (16%), leaf (12%), fruit (11%), flower (10%), bark (9%), seed (8%), stem (7%) and latex (2%). The most important species was Ocimum tenuiflorum according to their highest use value of 0.91 which was followed by Jasminum officinale and Borassus flabellifer with 0.84 UV. As a result, a wide array of medicinal plants are available at Pallathupatti village that needs to be explored for phytochemical and pharmacological activities. At the same time suitable measures should be taken for the conservation of these valuable plants.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, documentation, use value, whole plant, Pallathupatti.