EVALUATION OF ETHNOBOTANICAL PLANTS USED BY THE MALAMUTHANS TRIBAL COMMUNITY IN THE MEDAPPARA FOREST, WESTERN GHATS OF KERALA

Anjana, P.R. and S. Paulsamy* Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore. *E.mail: paulsami@yahoo.com Medappara forest of Kerala was surveyed to list out the ethnobotanical plants used by Malamuthans tribal community. Totally 250 plants belonging to 86 families were reported to be present in the study area, in which Fabaceae family was the dominant one contributed 25 species followed by the families, Euphorbiaceae (16 species), Asteraceae (13 species) and Acanthaceae with 12 species and the distribution of species in the study area includes various life-forms viz., trees (81 species), shrubs (53 species), herbs (78 species), climbers (35 species) and epiphytics (3 species) habits respectively. Of the 250 plant species, 237 (95%) were recognized as medicinally important and also cures 127 types of ailments. Of the 250 plant species encounted at all life-form levels. Sixteen ailment categories were classified, among them a higher number of 110 species were prescribed by the Malamuthan ethnic community for Gastro Intestinal Ailment (GIA).


INTRODUCTION
The indigenous people nurture rich knowledge about medicinal plants developed over generations by bold experimentation through trial and error methods (Sahai, 2003). This treasure of knowledge has been passed orally without any written documents and is still retained by them (Perumalsamy and Ignacimuthu, 2000). In the last few years, there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal or traditional medicine and these drugs are gaining popularity because of their natural origin and exhibit remarkable efficacy in the treatment of various ailments (Siddhiqui et al., 1995). A vast knowledge of how to use the plants against different illness may be expected to have accumulated in areas where the use of plant is still of great importance (Diallo et al., 1999).
Ethnomedicinal studies are the suitable source of information regarding useful medicinal plants that can be targeted for domestication and management (Kunwar and Duwadee, 2003). These studies assume great importance in enhancing our traditional skills and technology about the plant grown and used for native or tribal communities for their sustenance. The use of ethnobotanical information in medicinal plant research has gained considerable attention in segment of the scientific community (Heinrich, 2000). Also, traditional medicine and ethnobotanical information play an important role in scientific research, particularly when the literature and field work data have been properly evaluated (Awadh et al., 2004). Many reports on ethnobotanical studies in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of Western Ghats are available (Abraham, 1981;Parthasarathy, 1995;Rajan et al, 2003;Sivakumar and Murugesan, 2005;Pradheeps and Poyyamoli, 2013;Sharmila et al., 2014).
However no studies on ethnobotanical significances have been carried out in the Medappara Forest, Poovaranthode of Kerala, and a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve where rich diversity of plant species is available. Hence the present study is aimed to document the medicinal plants of ethnobotanical importance in the study area of Medappara forest during the period between June, 2014 and February, 2015.

Study area
The present study was made in Medappara Forest at Poovaranthode, Thamarassery Range which belongs to western parts of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the Western Ghats, Kerala which spreads over an area of about 1400 hectares (Fig.1). It is a tropical moist evergreen forest consisting of multistoreyed structure encompasses high species content. The geographical location of the study forest is 11° 23'45" N and 76° 06' 18" E and its altitude is ranging from 800 m to 2000 m above msl.

Ethnic community
Malamuthans are one of the primitive tribal groups of Kerala living in Malappuram and Calicut districts including the study area, Medappara Forest. They are also known as Mala Namboothiris (tribal Brahmins) due to their strict beliefs and customs. The Malamuthan consider themselves as a very superior people and prefer to live isolated. They are fearless and loyal and clime to be the Malanamboothiris.

Data Collection
Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted during March, 2014-February, 2015 in the Medappara forest of Kerala. The information was gathered through questionnaires, personal interviews and discussions among them (Schultes, 1962;Jain, 1989;Jain and Goel, 1995). The questionnaire contains the details of the plants, parts used, medicinal uses and mode of preparation of remedies. The taxonomic identification of the plant specimens were done with the help of local and regional floras viz., Flora of Presidency of Madras (Gamble and Ficsher, 1957) and Flora of Tamilnadu Carnatic (Mathew, 1983). The collected plant species were dried for herbarium preparation and the same were maintained in the Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore.

Ailment Categories
Based on the information obtained from the traditional healers in the study area, all the ailments were grouped into 15 categories viz., Gastro-Intestinal Ailments (

Documentation of indigenous ethnomedicinal knowledge
The present study revealed the use of 237 species of plants distributed in 196 genera belonging to 86 families which were commonly used by most of the Malamuthan traditional healers for the treatment of 127 types of diseases. The prominent family of medicinal plants was Fabaceae with 25 species followed by Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae and Acanthaceae with 16, 13 and 12 species respectively. For each reported species, botanical name, family, parts used and ailments treated were provided (Table 1).
The medicinal uses of plants gathered in the present study were compared with the previously published information from various parts of India (Dasture, 1962;Pal and Jain, 1998;Maheswari, 2000;Sahoo et al., 2001;Suresh Babu, 2001;Shiva et al., 2002;Anilkumar, 2003;Kirtikar and Basu, 2005;Alice and Asha Sankar, 2007;Deshpande et al., 2010;Hrudayanath and Rout, 2011;Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu, 2011;Venkatachalapathi et al., 2015). The data showed that no plant was reported as a new medicinal plant as all the plants were reported with different uses elsewhere.

Ailment Categories
Based on the information obtained from the traditional healers in the study area, all the reported ailments were categorized into 16 categories (Table  2). Among the various ailment categories analyzed, higher number of 110 species was prescribed for a Gastro-Intestinal Ailments (GIA). Next to this, 86 plants were used for the treatment of Dermatological Infections or Diseases (DID) followed by 82 species for Skeleton-Muscular System Disorder (SMSD). For all other ailment category except insecticidal property, generally more than 5 species were used by the Malamuthan tribal communities in the study area, Medappara forest. However, for insecticidal properties (IC) only 2 species viz., Cycas circinalis and Duranta erecta were used. This data indicates the usefulness of various species for many ailment categories by the tribal community in the study area.

Life-form and parts used
The percentage of species distribution in various life-forms was varied markedly (Fig 2). Trees were the primary source of medicine (78 species) followed by herbs (71 species) and shrubs (52 species). Among the different plant parts used, the leaves (79 species) were most frequently used for the treatment purposes. Similarly, the root parts were also prescribed mainly (from 71 species) for many ailments. Very less number of species, less than 2 were used for their parts like corm, petiole, tuber, buds, twigs and grains.

DISCUSSION
Ethnobotany is perhaps the most important method to identify and study natural plant resources and their management by indigenous people. Roots, bark, indigestion and other bowels related problems of cattle and goats. The portion of bark is given orally to cattle in dysentery occurring during rainy seasons.
Leaves are considered as an antidote to the sting of cobra. Fruits are edible.
The roots are used to treat malaria, typhus fever, small pox and pneumonia. Poultice of roots are used on open wounds and skin ulcers. Leaves used as antidote for poisonous stings and also to treat skin diseases. The root is used for the treatment of snake bite. Shoot extract is used for abdominal pain. Latex applied externally on burns. Fruits are edible, sweet taste used in treatment of cancer. Wall of the young fruit is removed and the inner portion is cooked in goat milk and eaten for ulcers. Juice applied externally to glandular swelling and abscesses to promote suppuration. The cane is used for reinforcement of walls, making basket. Barks are used to extract tannin and also for ayurvedic medicinal purposes. Used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for curing cough and oedema. Decoction of root used as a protective medicine after child birth. The leaves applied hot are reported to give relief in rheumatic pains. Preparation of flowers are used as a diuretic for diseases and ailments of the kidneys and the lower urinary tract. The stem bark is evaluated for wound healing activity used in treatment of cuts and wounds. The wood is suitable for general construction, house building, posts, cabinet work, railway sleepers, furniture, musical instrument etc. Wood useful; bark and fruits astringent flowers and bark used in the treatment of cough and cold; fruits edible. Stem used for tooth cleaning. The plant is used in hyperdypsia, fatigue and hemicarnia. Bark, flower and seeds are used against dyspepsia, colic, menorrhagia, hyperdipsia and bone fracture.
The entire plant including the roots, possesses antiinflammatory, anti-fertile and anti-diuretic properties. It is used in treating coryza, hyperthermia and sore throat.
The plant is used to treat cirrhosis. It have antimicrobial property. Non-antibiotic source in therapeutic application of the treatment of acne development by reducing the chance of non -specific initiation and augmentation phase of the inflammatory response.

Fig. 1. Location of the study area
It enables us to work with local people to explore knowledge based on experiences and ages. The indigenous population still relies to a great extent on traditional healers and medicinal plants to meet their healthcare needs because of the perceived effectiveness, presumed safety with minimal side effects and affordability (Vliathan, 1998). Of the 16 ailment categories analyzed, a higher number of 110, 86 and 82 species were prescribed for Gastro Intestinal Ailments (GIA), Dermatological Infection (DID) and Muscular System Disorder (SMSD) respectively. It may be explained due to the presence of the respective bioactive compounds in the secondary metabolites produced by the species (Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu, 2011). It has been noted interestingly that a very little number of 2 species viz., Cycas circinalis and Duranta erecta were used for insecticidal property and also as mosquito repellent species. The presence of certain alkaloids may be the possible reason for this fact (Mayura and Phasomkusolsil, 2014).
The medicinal uses of plants gathered in the present study were compared with the previously published information from other parts of India. It showed that no plants were reported as a new medicinal plant as all the plants were reported with different uses. This fact exhibits that the medicinal plants enlisted in the study area are already prescribed by the healers of various areas in India. When the life-form is considered, higher number of species used for various ailments were trees. It may be explained that the studied forest at Medappara is a climax formation (Champion, 1939) and contains the trees as dominant and most established structures which might aid the sources of medicine consistently. Gonzalez et al. (2010) also reported the usage of more tree species for medicinal purpose in the climax forest in the western Spain due to its stable structure and consistency in availability. Among the different plant parts used, the leaves were most frequently used for medicinal purposes. Many indigenous communities elsewhere also utilized mostly leaves for the medicinal purposes (Ignacimuthu et al., 2006(Ignacimuthu et al., , 2008Teklehaymanot et al., 2007;Srithi et al., 2009;Giday et al., 2010;Cakilcioglu and Turkoglu, 2010;Gonzalez et al.,2010 andAbdul Latheef et al., 2014). The reason why leaves were used mostly is that they are collected very easily than underground parts, flowers, fruits etc. (Giday et al., 2009) and in scientific point of view leaves are active in photosynthesis and production of metabolites (Ghorbani, 2005).

CONCLUSION
The present study indicated that the study area has numerous medicinal plants to treat a wide range of human ailments. Studies on traditional medicinal plants revealed that the local people from medappara forest prefer traditional medicine due to low cost and sometimes it is a part of their social life and culture so it is necessary to acquire and preserve this traditional system of medical practice. Further, studies by using animal models and subsequent clinical trials are suggested to confirm the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants, thus used for drug manufacturing by pharmaceutical industries.