Documentation and quantitative analysis of the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants in Udumalpet Block, Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

IntroductionHerbal medicines have drawn a great attention Worldwide owing to their medicinal application without side effects. The present study aimed to document and quantitatively analyze the usage of medicinal plants in the Udumalpet Block, Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu by conducting medico-ethnobotanical survey as the existence of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants in the rural and urban areas are questionable and need the documentation work to conserve. MethodsFrequent surveys were carried out during the period of December 2017–December 2018 among the rural/urban communities of Udumalpet block. Data were collected by interviewing the informants. For each recorded species, quantitative data of Informant Consensus Factor (Fic), Use value (UV), Family Use value (FUV), Relative Frequency Citation (RFC), Fidelity Level (FL) and Informants Agreement Ratio (IAR) have been analyzed using Chi-Square test and t-test. ResultsA total of 57 informants were interviewed to document the herbal preparation and 128 flowering plants belonging to 111 genera of 56 families were recorded. The results of Fic value showed that, Respiratory System Diseases (RSD) has the greatest agreement, followed by Dental Care (DC) and Skeleto-Muscular System Disorder (SMSD) etc. 62 species were recorded with highest Fidelity Level (FL) are Abrus precatorius, Gymnema sylvestre, Justicia tranquebarensis, Oxalis corniculata etc. for various ailments. Allium cepa var. aggregatum is recorded with highest UV in the treatment of RSD and DID. The Family Zingiberaceae having the highest FUV of 0.38 with 65 uses reports. As a result of the study Acalypha fruticosa, Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Delonix elata, Kedrostis foetidissima, Senna auriculata, Withania somnifera and Zingiber officinale are used in the treatment of more than five ailment categories. ConclusionResults of the present study showed that the rural and urban inhabitants of the study areas are still considerably relying on the medicinal plants for the treatment of common ailments and diseases. However, urbanization due to the anthropogenic pressure is found to be the major threats for the medicinal flora of the study areas.