Documentation of medicinal plants used by the traditional healers, mayannur forest, thrissur district, kerala, india

Abstract

The study was carried out to document the medicinal plants used by the traditional healers in Mayannur Forest, Thrissur District, Kerala, India. In the present study, 107 plant species belonging to 46 families were documented in the Mayannur forest, Kerala. The informants of an age group ranging from 50-80 were selected for collecting data of the plants in the forest. The medicinal plants such as herbs (36%), shrub (19%), trees (27%)  and climbers (18%) were mainly used by traditional healers for the treatment of fever, wound healing, skin diseases and menstrual problems. Saraca asoca was mainly in the traditional medicines to cure diseases and for treating menstrual problems. Medicinal plants used by the traditional healers were documented along with their scientific name, common name and medicinal uses. The present study shows that, the plant material mainly used was leaves for the treatment of diseases. Among the 107 plant species Rare Endangered Threatened (RET) plant species were also documented. Documentation of knowledge and conservation of the endangered plants helped for the sustainable development.