Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the Malasar Tribe s in Valparai Hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu

Transcription

1 American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 2014, Vol. 1, No. 3, Available online at American Journal of Ethnomedicine Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the Malasar Tribe s in Valparai Hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu Santhosh Kumar S 1*, Samydurai P 2 and N Nagarajan 1 1 PG and Research Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College (Autonomous), Coimbatore , Tamilnadu, India 2 Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, R.S. Puram, Coimbatore , Tamilnadu, India ABSTRACT Objective of the current study The present study to investigate the ethnobotanical survey of medicinal pteridophyte plant species used by the tribal community in Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. The study was undertaken during the year 2012 June to July The indigenous knowledge of traditional tribal used for medicinal purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during field trips. Ethnobotanical data were followed by Plant name, family, common name, habit, parts used and their ethnomedicinal uses. Correct identification was made with the help of the Flora of Pteridophytes. Result The present result showed that the ethno medicinal importance of 23 pteridophytic plant species, belonging to 14 plant families and 15 genera used by the tribal communities. The ethnomedicinal ferns plant species such as Adiantum capillus-veneris, Actinopteris radiata, Hemionitis arifolia, Marsilea and Pteris biuarita. Conclusion The study ethno medicinal survey represents significant ethno medical plants, although people in the study area have access to modern medical facilities, which provides baseline data for future pharmacological and anticancerous studies. Keywords- Ferns, Ethnomedicine, Tribal communities, Valparai hills. INTRODUCTION Indian has one of the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions called folk tradition associated with the use of medicinal herbs based indigenous belief, knowledge, skill and cultural practices 1. India is one among the 12-megabiodiversity countries and having 3 out of 25 hot spots of the origins and diversity of several plant species in the World 2. The Western Ghats

2 are the main biodiversity hotspots of India and the India s biodiversity is unmatched due to the presence of 16 different agroclimatic zones 10 vegetation zones 25 biotic provinces and 426 biomes 3. Traditional medicine is used throughout the world as it is heavily dependent on locally available plant species and plant-based products and capitalizes on traditional wisdom-repository of knowledge 4. The wide spread use of traditional medicine could be attributed to cultural acceptability, economic affordability and efficacy against certain type of diseases as compared to modern medicines 5. India has a rich population of pteridophytes; most of the species appear in either the region or in South Indian Mountains called the Western and Eastern Ghats 6. Totally, 12,000 species of pteridophytes that occur in the World flora, more than 1,000 species belongs to 70 families and 191 genera likely to occur in India 7. Out of 1,000 species of pteridophytes occurring in India, 170 species have been found to be used as food, flavour, dye, medicine, bio-fertilizers, oil, fibre and biogas production 8. Though, recent ethnobotanical, pharmacological and biological searches have revealed medicinal, pharmaceutical, and phytochemical attributes of pteridophytes, which have valuable potential application for health and industry, still many species of pteridophytes are yet to be explored for their potential application for future use and to isolate new active principles from them 9. Hence, the ethnomedicine is the mother of all modern drugs and recently the importance of the traditional knowledge based medicines are being utilized throughout the world 10. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to gather information about the indigenous medicinal use of some common Pteridophytic plants species which may be further exploited for the benefit of society. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study area The present study area is confined to the major range in the Valparai hills of the Western Ghats that is rich biodiversity and indigenous population. It is located in the Western boundary range in Coimbatore district in the Southwest of Tamilnadu and lies between at N longitudes and E latitude form a portion of Tamilnadu. It has an average elevation of the hills ranges between 1193 meters (3914 feet) above (MSL) and about annual rainfall between mm to mm, and temperature varies between 23.6 C to 19.9 C. The vegetation type of forest is moist deciduous forest, and evergreen forest present (Fig- 1). Data collection The ethnomedicine information was gathered from the local tribal people, who reside in the Valparai hills, Western Ghats Tamilnadu. Several field visits were also conducted in the tribal residing areas of the study to collect data on ferns medicinal plants commonly used by them. The observations collected during field visit were put into group discussion. The medicinal plants were identified, photographed and sample specimens, were collected in preparation of herbarium. Voucher specimens have been deposited in the herbarium of Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Sciences College (Autonomous), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Species Identification The collected ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species identification was carried out by using The Manual of Pteridophyte Flora of Western Ghats, South India 8.

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION In the present study result showed that the ethnomedicinal uses of 23 pteridophytic plant species belonging to 14 families in 15 genera were collected from the Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu (Fig- 2). In collected 23 ethnomedicinal plant parts, whole plant is used in (43.4%) followed by rhizome (30.4%), leaf (34.8%) and thallus (4.3%) by Malasar tribes for various ailments like cough, cold, fever, asthma and leprosy (Fig- 3). The detailed information about plant name, family, common name, habit, parts used and their ethnomedicinal uses were presented in Table 1. The dominant genera, an analysis were made and found that the dominant families such as Selaginellaceae (5 species), Adiantaceae (4 species) and Pteridaceae (3 species) and followed by the other families such as Angiopteridaceae (1 species), Actinopteridaceae (1 species), Heminioteridaceae (1 species), Ricciaceae (1 species), Marsileaceae (1 species), Gleicheniaceae (1 species), Davalliaceae (1 species), Ophioglossaceae (1 species) Sinopteridaceae (1 species) and Polypodaceae (1 species). The tribe s used these ethnomedicinal plant species to cure the various diseases such as wound healing, body sickness, diarrhoea, skin problems, body pain, diabetics, cough, cold, fever, asthma, kidney problem, tonic, chronic disorders, several aches, hair growth, stomach problems, ulcer, sore throat, leprosy and opthalmia. Based on the medico-potentiality of ethnomedicinal ferns and fern-allies used by tribe s of Valparai hills, the collected pteridophytes were used for various ailments like diarrhoea, dysentery, cut wounds, fever, cough, women s sterility, skin disease, insomnia, dyspepsia, tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, rheumatism, asthma, leprosy, diabetes and cancer. The tribal practitioner s used specific plant parts and dosages in the treatment of specific ailments. Plant products are consumed raw or taken as a decoction/infusion by orally and paste was applied externally. Fresh leaves and rhizome were more frequently used when compared to other parts of the plant. Sometimes the healer may mix several plants as ingredients to cure a single disease. The most cases the fresh plant material is used for the preparation of medicine. Alternatively, if the fresh plant parts are not available, dried plant materials are used. Documenting the indigenous knowledge through ethnobotanical study is important for the conservation and utilization of biological resources. Indigenous people use many of the pteridophytic medicinal plants traditionally for treating their common ailments like gastrointestinal disorder, stomach ache, peptic ulcer, diarrhoea, dysentery, skin itch, wounds, abscess, eczema, scabies, chest complains, snake bite, urinary complaints, bones fracture, hypertension and glandular swellings 11. In our investigation whole parts of Adiantum radianum used as skin diseases, cough and fever, leprosy and hair growth. Hemiontis arifolia used for anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and Cancer. Sharma 12 was reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of 11 species of ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau, Rajsthan. Our result showed 23 ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species used by malasar tribal Valparai hills Western Ghats. Singh and Upadhyay 13 recently reported that the ethno-botanical importance of some pteridophytic plant species such as Adiantum capillus-veneris L. (Adiantaceae), Actinopteris radiata (Sw.) Link. (Actinopteridaceae), Dicranopteris linearis (Burm. f.) Underwood. (Gleicheniaceae) and Selaginella bryopteris (L.) Baker (Selaginellaceae) used by the Pachmarhi tribes. Similarly, our present result revealed that the malasar tribes were also used Adiantum capillus-veneris, Actiniopteris radiata, Dicranopteris linearis

4 and Selaginella bryopteris among these plant species to cure various diseases like tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, Diarrhioea, dysentery, fever helminthiasis and heat stroke. Idu et al., 14 recently reported that the ethnomedicinal plants like Azadirachta indica, Telferia occidentalis and Ocimum gratissimum are used for the treatment of common ailments such as malaria, anemia and stomach upset respectively among the tribe people by Idoma. Similarly our result showed one plant species of Angiopteris evecta used as a dysentery, leprosy and stomach pain by the malasar tribe of Valparai hills. Alagesaboopathi 15 reported that the ethnobotanical study was 44 species, 40 genera and 28 families of angiosperms Sirumalai Hills of Eastern Ghats, Dindigul District. Similarly our present result revealed that the 23 pteridophytic plant species, 14 families in 15 genera were collected from the Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Shaikh et al. 16 recently reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of some Pteridophytic plant species such as Adiantum caudatum, (L), (Adiantaceae), Actinioptris radiate (Sw.) Link. (Actinopteridaceae), Dicranopteris linearis, (Burm. f.) Underwood (Gleicheniaceae), Marsilea minuta, (L), (Marsileaceae) and Selaginella tenera, (Hook & Grev.) Spring. (Selaginellaceae) used by the tribes Konkan region of Maharashtra. Similarly our present result showed that the malasar tribes were also used Selaginella ciliaris, Dicranopteris linearis and Selaginella bryopteris, Doryopteris concolor, Actinioptris radiate, Adiantum caudatum among these plant species to cure various diseases like Skin disease, dysentery, fever, headache, Diuretic, gonorrhoea, hallucination, Anthelmintic, Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular, menstruation and jaundice. Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu 17 reported that the medicinal plants such as Alpinia galanga, Azadirachta indica, Calophyllum inophyllum, Gymnema Silvestre, Leucas apsera, Melia azedarach, Mollugo nudicaulis, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Syzygium cumini, Terminalia chebula and Tribulus terrestris used for the treatment of diabetic, asthma, poison bites, stomachache, bone fracture and dysentery by the Kani tribal. Similarly our present result revealed that the one pteridophytic plant species Hemionities arifolia used as antidiabetic activity. Revathi et al. 18 recently reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of 50 pteridophytic plant species belong to 27 families and 35 genera were used by Malayalis tribal in Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Similarly our present result showed that the ethno medicinal uses of 23 plant species belong to 14 families were recorded in the region of Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Traditional indigenous knowledge represent not only an important heritage, developed over the centuries, but also considerable mass of data that should be exploited in order to provide new and useful knowledge on plant resources. It is therefore, necessary to preserve this indigenous knowledge on traditional medicines by proper documentation, identification of plant species used, herbal preparation and dosage. The documentation of the traditional knowledge; intellectual property rights of the locals, trainings about the sustainable use of the available resources and use of the traditional knowledge for conservation which can be addressed in the future. CONCLUSION From this study, it is concluded that the ethnomedicinal uses of 23 pteridophytic plant species used by the malasar tribe s in Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu.

5 The local inhabitants have inherited with rich traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants or plant parts for their regular food and medicine. In future study on these traditional remedies to confirm the presence of any bioactive compounds and also include this traditional knowledge into the strategies of conservation management of floristic resources for sustainable use. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors are greatly thankful to my Supervisor and Guide Dr.N.Nagarajan, Associate Professor, Dept. of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore for encouraging the course work. Authors also thank to Joint Director, Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle, Coimbatore and tribes of Valparai Hills. REFERENCES 1. Mathur A and Joshi H. Traditinal remedies in Tarai region Kuman, Uttarghand. Indian journal of Traditional Knowledge. 2012; 11(4): Nirmal kumar JI, Rita N kumar, Nadendra Patil and Hiren Soni. Studies on plant species used by tribal communities of Saputara purna forest. Indian journal of traditional knowledge. 2007; 6 (2): Vijayalakshmi N, Anbazhagan M and Arumugam K. Studies on Ethno-medicinal plants used by the Irulas tribe of Thirumurthi Hill of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Research in Plant Science. 2013; 4(1): Awas T, Demissew S. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Kafficho people, southwestern Ethiopia. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Edited by Svein E, Harald A, Birhanu T, Shiferaw B. Trondheim, Norway; NTNU-Trykk Press. 2009; 3: Ketema Tolossa, Etana Debela, Spiridoula Athanasiadou, Adugna Tolera, Gebeyehu Ganga and Jos GM Houdijk. Ethnomedicinal study of plants used for treatment of human and livestock ailments by traditional healers in South Omo, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2013; 9: (32) Gowrisankar K, Chandrasekaran R and Nandakumar K. Survey of ferns and fern allies from Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu. J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov. 2011; 5 (1): Dixit RD and Vohra JN. A Dictionary of the Pteridophytes of India, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata Manickam VS and Irudayaraj V. (1992). Pteridophyte flora of Western Ghats of South India. BI publications, New Delhi. p Bindu, H., P. Suvarnalathadevi, K. Rukmini and M.A. Singara Charya Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of Hemiontis arifolia (Burn) Moore. J. Nat. Sci. Res., 3: Poongodi A, Thilagavathi S, Aravindhan V and Rajendran A. Observations on some ethnomedicinal plants in Sathyamangalam forests. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. 2011; 5(19): Rout SD, Panda T and Mishra N. Ethnomedicinal studies on some pteridophytes of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa. International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences. 2009; 1(5); Sharma NK. Ethnomadicinal studies on ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau, Southern Rajsthan. Zoos Print J. 2002; 17(3): Balendra Pratap Singh and Ravi Upadhyay. Ethno-botanical importance of Pteridophytes used by the tribe of Pachmarhi, Central India. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. 2012; 6(1): pp MacDonald Idu, Joseph O. Erhabor and Oghale Ovuakporie-Uvo. Ethnomedicinal Plants Used By the Idoma People- Benue State, Nigeria. American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 2014; 1(1): Alagesaboopathi C. Ethnobotanical studies on useful plants of Sirumalai Hills of Eastern Ghats, Dindigul District of

6 Tamilnadu, Southern India. International Journal of Biosciences, 2012; 2(2): Shakil D. Shaikh, VP. Masal and Anisa S. Shaikh. Ethnomedicinal uses of some pteridophytes from Konkan region of Maharashtra. International Journal of pharmaceutical and chemical sciences, 2014; 3 (1): Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commonly used by Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of Western Ghats, India. J Ethnopharmacol, 2011; 134, Revathi, R. Muthuraja, R, Binu Thomas and Raju, K. Ethno medicinal fern and fernallies used by tribe Malayalis of Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats. Pteridological Research, 2013;2(1):1-10.

7 Table 1. Showing the list of pteridophytic plant species, family, habitat, parts used and their ethnomedicinal utilization by the tribes of valparai hills western ghats of tamilnadu S. NO Name of the Plant species Family Common name Habit Parts used Ethnomedicinal uses 1 Adiantum caudatum L. Adiantaceae Trailing maiden hair 2 Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Adiantaceae Roaddu Keerai Rhizome erect Rhizome long creeping Leaf, fronds whole plant Skin diseases, cough and fever. Febrifuge, anticancerous, tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, 3 Adiantum zollingeri Mett. ex Kuhn Adiantaceae - Rhizome erect Leaf, rhizomes Fever, cold, and eczema 4 Adiantum radianum C. Presl Adiantaceae Parapadappai Rhizome erect Whole plant Cough, asthma, fever, leprosy and hair growth 5 Actinopteris radiata (Link) Angiopteridaceae Saava sedi Perennial, erect herbs Whole plant Diarrhioea, dysentery, fever helminthiasis. 6 Angiopteris evecta (Forst.) Hoff. Actinopteridaceae - Terrestrial Leaf Dysentery, leprosy and stomach pain 7 Hemionities arifolia (Burm. f.) T. Moor) Heminioteridaceae Kalthamarai Rhizome erect Leaf, rhizome Anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and Cancer. 8 Selaginella involvens (Sw.) Spring. Selaginellaceae Kallotti sedi Rhizomes Rhizome Cough, poisonous bite 9 Selaginella bryopteris (L.) Baker Selaginellaceae Sanjivini booti Herb-epiphytic Whole plant Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular, menstruation and jaundice. 10 Selaginella tenera (Hook. & Grev.) Spring Selaginellaceae Sajivani Perennial herb whole plant Diuretic, gonorrhoea and hallucination 11 Selaginella delicatula (Desv.) Alston Selaginellaceae Thugalpoondu Rhizome erect Whole plant Healing, wound. 12 Selaginella ciliaris (Retz.) Spring Selaginellaceae Chhoti Sanjeevan Perennial herb Whole plant Skin disease, dysentery, fever, headache 13 Riccia sp L. Ricciaceae - Prostate herb Thallus Sedation insomnia, and opthalmia 14 Marsilea sp L. Marsileaceae Thanniyarilai Aquatic or semi aquatic Leaf Skin diseases, insomnia, dyspepsia, fever, cough, Respiratory 15 Pteris biaurita (L). Pteridaceae Kuddhi Rhizome erect Rhizome Chronic disorders.

8 16 Cheilanthus mysorensis Wall Pteridaceae Pachai Rhizome erect Leaf Throat pain 17 Pteris vitata L. Pteridaceae Yanai vanaji Rhizome erect whole plant Cold, cough and fever and tonic 18 Dicranopteris linears (Burm. f.) Underwood Gleicheniaceae Padachai Perennial erect Leaf, rhizome Wounds. Asthma, Anthelmintic 19 Doryopteris concolor Langsd. Et Fisch Sinopteridaceae Kalkarai Rhizome erect Leaf Anthelmintic. 20 Leptochilus decurrens Blume. Polypodaceae - Terrestrial Whole plant Fodder 21 Microlepia majuscula (Lowe) T. Moore Dennstaedtiaceae - Rhizome erect Rhizome, leaf Menstrual diseases 22 Humata repens (L. f.) J. Small ex Diels Davalliaceae - Rhizome Rhizome Fever, urinary diseases, dysuria, febrifuge; cough 23 Botrychium daucifolium Wall. i Hook & Grev Ophioglossaceae Nandu Kuddhi Rhizome erect Whole plant Body pain

9 Figure 1. Showing the study area and map of valparai hills, southern western ghats of tamilnadu, india

10 Figure 2. Showing the ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species in valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu a- Botrychium daucifolium, b-actinopteris radiata, c- Hemionities arifolia, d- Angiopteris evecta. Figure 3. Showing different plant parts used by the malasar tribes in valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu

11 American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 2014, Vol. 1, No. 3, Available online at American Journal of Ethnomedicine Indigenous Knowledge on Some Medicinal Pteridophytic Plant Species Among the Malasar Tribe s in Valparai Hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu Santhosh Kumar S 1*, Samydurai P 2 and N Nagarajan 1 1 PG and Research Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College (Autonomous), Coimbatore , Tamilnadu, India 2 Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, R.S. Puram, Coimbatore , Tamilnadu, India ABSTRACT Objective of the current study The present study to investigate the ethnobotanical survey of medicinal pteridophyte plant species used by the tribal community in Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. The study was undertaken during the year 2012 June to July The indigenous knowledge of traditional tribal used for medicinal purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during field trips. Ethnobotanical data were followed by Plant name, family, common name, habit, parts used and their ethnomedicinal uses. Correct identification was made with the help of the Flora of Pteridophytes. Result The present result showed that the ethno medicinal importance of 23 pteridophytic plant species, belonging to 14 plant families and 15 genera used by the tribal communities. The ethnomedicinal ferns plant species such as Adiantum capillus-veneris, Actinopteris radiata, Hemionitis arifolia, Marsilea and Pteris biuarita. Conclusion The study ethno medicinal survey represents significant ethno medical plants, although people in the study area have access to modern medical facilities, which provides baseline data for future pharmacological and anticancerous studies. Keywords- Ferns, Ethnomedicine, Tribal communities, Valparai hills. INTRODUCTION Indian has one of the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions called folk tradition associated with the use of medicinal herbs based indigenous belief, knowledge, skill and cultural practices 1. India is one among the 12-megabiodiversity countries and having 3 out of 25 hot spots of the origins and diversity of several plant species in the World 2. The Western Ghats

12 are the main biodiversity hotspots of India and the India s biodiversity is unmatched due to the presence of 16 different agroclimatic zones 10 vegetation zones 25 biotic provinces and 426 biomes 3. Traditional medicine is used throughout the world as it is heavily dependent on locally available plant species and plant-based products and capitalizes on traditional wisdom-repository of knowledge 4. The wide spread use of traditional medicine could be attributed to cultural acceptability, economic affordability and efficacy against certain type of diseases as compared to modern medicines 5. India has a rich population of pteridophytes; most of the species appear in either the region or in South Indian Mountains called the Western and Eastern Ghats 6. Totally, 12,000 species of pteridophytes that occur in the World flora, more than 1,000 species belongs to 70 families and 191 genera likely to occur in India 7. Out of 1,000 species of pteridophytes occurring in India, 170 species have been found to be used as food, flavour, dye, medicine, bio-fertilizers, oil, fibre and biogas production 8. Though, recent ethnobotanical, pharmacological and biological searches have revealed medicinal, pharmaceutical, and phytochemical attributes of pteridophytes, which have valuable potential application for health and industry, still many species of pteridophytes are yet to be explored for their potential application for future use and to isolate new active principles from them 9. Hence, the ethnomedicine is the mother of all modern drugs and recently the importance of the traditional knowledge based medicines are being utilized throughout the world 10. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to gather information about the indigenous medicinal use of some common Pteridophytic plants species which may be further exploited for the benefit of society. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study area The present study area is confined to the major range in the Valparai hills of the Western Ghats that is rich biodiversity and indigenous population. It is located in the Western boundary range in Coimbatore district in the Southwest of Tamilnadu and lies between at N longitudes and E latitude form a portion of Tamilnadu. It has an average elevation of the hills ranges between 1193 meters (3914 feet) above (MSL) and about annual rainfall between mm to mm, and temperature varies between 23.6 C to 19.9 C. The vegetation type of forest is moist deciduous forest, and evergreen forest present (Fig- 1). Data collection The ethnomedicine information was gathered from the local tribal people, who reside in the Valparai hills, Western Ghats Tamilnadu. Several field visits were also conducted in the tribal residing areas of the study to collect data on ferns medicinal plants commonly used by them. The observations collected during field visit were put into group discussion. The medicinal plants were identified, photographed and sample specimens, were collected in preparation of herbarium. Voucher specimens have been deposited in the herbarium of Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Sciences College (Autonomous), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Species Identification The collected ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species identification was carried out by using The Manual of Pteridophyte Flora of Western Ghats, South India 8.

13 RESULT AND DISCUSSION In the present study result showed that the ethnomedicinal uses of 23 pteridophytic plant species belonging to 14 families in 15 genera were collected from the Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu (Fig- 2). In collected 23 ethnomedicinal plant parts, whole plant is used in (43.4%) followed by rhizome (30.4%), leaf (34.8%) and thallus (4.3%) by Malasar tribes for various ailments like cough, cold, fever, asthma and leprosy (Fig- 3). The detailed information about plant name, family, common name, habit, parts used and their ethnomedicinal uses were presented in Table 1. The dominant genera, an analysis were made and found that the dominant families such as Selaginellaceae (5 species), Adiantaceae (4 species) and Pteridaceae (3 species) and followed by the other families such as Angiopteridaceae (1 species), Actinopteridaceae (1 species), Heminioteridaceae (1 species), Ricciaceae (1 species), Marsileaceae (1 species), Gleicheniaceae (1 species), Davalliaceae (1 species), Ophioglossaceae (1 species) Sinopteridaceae (1 species) and Polypodaceae (1 species). The tribe s used these ethnomedicinal plant species to cure the various diseases such as wound healing, body sickness, diarrhoea, skin problems, body pain, diabetics, cough, cold, fever, asthma, kidney problem, tonic, chronic disorders, several aches, hair growth, stomach problems, ulcer, sore throat, leprosy and opthalmia. Based on the medico-potentiality of ethnomedicinal ferns and fern-allies used by tribe s of Valparai hills, the collected pteridophytes were used for various ailments like diarrhoea, dysentery, cut wounds, fever, cough, women s sterility, skin disease, insomnia, dyspepsia, tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, rheumatism, asthma, leprosy, diabetes and cancer. The tribal practitioner s used specific plant parts and dosages in the treatment of specific ailments. Plant products are consumed raw or taken as a decoction/infusion by orally and paste was applied externally. Fresh leaves and rhizome were more frequently used when compared to other parts of the plant. Sometimes the healer may mix several plants as ingredients to cure a single disease. The most cases the fresh plant material is used for the preparation of medicine. Alternatively, if the fresh plant parts are not available, dried plant materials are used. Documenting the indigenous knowledge through ethnobotanical study is important for the conservation and utilization of biological resources. Indigenous people use many of the pteridophytic medicinal plants traditionally for treating their common ailments like gastrointestinal disorder, stomach ache, peptic ulcer, diarrhoea, dysentery, skin itch, wounds, abscess, eczema, scabies, chest complains, snake bite, urinary complaints, bones fracture, hypertension and glandular swellings 11. In our investigation whole parts of Adiantum radianum used as skin diseases, cough and fever, leprosy and hair growth. Hemiontis arifolia used for anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and Cancer. Sharma 12 was reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of 11 species of ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau, Rajsthan. Our result showed 23 ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species used by malasar tribal Valparai hills Western Ghats. Singh and Upadhyay 13 recently reported that the ethno-botanical importance of some pteridophytic plant species such as Adiantum capillus-veneris L. (Adiantaceae), Actinopteris radiata (Sw.) Link. (Actinopteridaceae), Dicranopteris linearis (Burm. f.) Underwood. (Gleicheniaceae) and Selaginella bryopteris (L.) Baker (Selaginellaceae) used by the Pachmarhi tribes. Similarly, our present result revealed that the malasar tribes were also used Adiantum capillus-veneris, Actiniopteris radiata, Dicranopteris linearis

14 and Selaginella bryopteris among these plant species to cure various diseases like tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, Diarrhioea, dysentery, fever helminthiasis and heat stroke. Idu et al., 14 recently reported that the ethnomedicinal plants like Azadirachta indica, Telferia occidentalis and Ocimum gratissimum are used for the treatment of common ailments such as malaria, anemia and stomach upset respectively among the tribe people by Idoma. Similarly our result showed one plant species of Angiopteris evecta used as a dysentery, leprosy and stomach pain by the malasar tribe of Valparai hills. Alagesaboopathi 15 reported that the ethnobotanical study was 44 species, 40 genera and 28 families of angiosperms Sirumalai Hills of Eastern Ghats, Dindigul District. Similarly our present result revealed that the 23 pteridophytic plant species, 14 families in 15 genera were collected from the Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Shaikh et al. 16 recently reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of some Pteridophytic plant species such as Adiantum caudatum, (L), (Adiantaceae), Actinioptris radiate (Sw.) Link. (Actinopteridaceae), Dicranopteris linearis, (Burm. f.) Underwood (Gleicheniaceae), Marsilea minuta, (L), (Marsileaceae) and Selaginella tenera, (Hook & Grev.) Spring. (Selaginellaceae) used by the tribes Konkan region of Maharashtra. Similarly our present result showed that the malasar tribes were also used Selaginella ciliaris, Dicranopteris linearis and Selaginella bryopteris, Doryopteris concolor, Actinioptris radiate, Adiantum caudatum among these plant species to cure various diseases like Skin disease, dysentery, fever, headache, Diuretic, gonorrhoea, hallucination, Anthelmintic, Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular, menstruation and jaundice. Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu 17 reported that the medicinal plants such as Alpinia galanga, Azadirachta indica, Calophyllum inophyllum, Gymnema Silvestre, Leucas apsera, Melia azedarach, Mollugo nudicaulis, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Syzygium cumini, Terminalia chebula and Tribulus terrestris used for the treatment of diabetic, asthma, poison bites, stomachache, bone fracture and dysentery by the Kani tribal. Similarly our present result revealed that the one pteridophytic plant species Hemionities arifolia used as antidiabetic activity. Revathi et al. 18 recently reported that the ethnomedicinal uses of 50 pteridophytic plant species belong to 27 families and 35 genera were used by Malayalis tribal in Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Similarly our present result showed that the ethno medicinal uses of 23 plant species belong to 14 families were recorded in the region of Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Traditional indigenous knowledge represent not only an important heritage, developed over the centuries, but also considerable mass of data that should be exploited in order to provide new and useful knowledge on plant resources. It is therefore, necessary to preserve this indigenous knowledge on traditional medicines by proper documentation, identification of plant species used, herbal preparation and dosage. The documentation of the traditional knowledge; intellectual property rights of the locals, trainings about the sustainable use of the available resources and use of the traditional knowledge for conservation which can be addressed in the future. CONCLUSION From this study, it is concluded that the ethnomedicinal uses of 23 pteridophytic plant species used by the malasar tribe s in Valparai hills, Western Ghats of Tamilnadu.

15 The local inhabitants have inherited with rich traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants or plant parts for their regular food and medicine. In future study on these traditional remedies to confirm the presence of any bioactive compounds and also include this traditional knowledge into the strategies of conservation management of floristic resources for sustainable use. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors are greatly thankful to my Supervisor and Guide Dr.N.Nagarajan, Associate Professor, Dept. of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore for encouraging the course work. Authors also thank to Joint Director, Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle, Coimbatore and tribes of Valparai Hills. REFERENCES 1. Mathur A and Joshi H. Traditinal remedies in Tarai region Kuman, Uttarghand. Indian journal of Traditional Knowledge. 2012; 11(4): Nirmal kumar JI, Rita N kumar, Nadendra Patil and Hiren Soni. Studies on plant species used by tribal communities of Saputara purna forest. Indian journal of traditional knowledge. 2007; 6 (2): Vijayalakshmi N, Anbazhagan M and Arumugam K. Studies on Ethno-medicinal plants used by the Irulas tribe of Thirumurthi Hill of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Research in Plant Science. 2013; 4(1): Awas T, Demissew S. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Kafficho people, southwestern Ethiopia. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Edited by Svein E, Harald A, Birhanu T, Shiferaw B. Trondheim, Norway; NTNU-Trykk Press. 2009; 3: Ketema Tolossa, Etana Debela, Spiridoula Athanasiadou, Adugna Tolera, Gebeyehu Ganga and Jos GM Houdijk. Ethnomedicinal study of plants used for treatment of human and livestock ailments by traditional healers in South Omo, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2013; 9: (32) Gowrisankar K, Chandrasekaran R and Nandakumar K. Survey of ferns and fern allies from Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu. J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov. 2011; 5 (1): Dixit RD and Vohra JN. A Dictionary of the Pteridophytes of India, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata Manickam VS and Irudayaraj V. (1992). Pteridophyte flora of Western Ghats of South India. BI publications, New Delhi. p Bindu, H., P. Suvarnalathadevi, K. Rukmini and M.A. Singara Charya Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of Hemiontis arifolia (Burn) Moore. J. Nat. Sci. Res., 3: Poongodi A, Thilagavathi S, Aravindhan V and Rajendran A. Observations on some ethnomedicinal plants in Sathyamangalam forests. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. 2011; 5(19): Rout SD, Panda T and Mishra N. Ethnomedicinal studies on some pteridophytes of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa. International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences. 2009; 1(5); Sharma NK. Ethnomadicinal studies on ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau, Southern Rajsthan. Zoos Print J. 2002; 17(3): Balendra Pratap Singh and Ravi Upadhyay. Ethno-botanical importance of Pteridophytes used by the tribe of Pachmarhi, Central India. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. 2012; 6(1): pp MacDonald Idu, Joseph O. Erhabor and Oghale Ovuakporie-Uvo. Ethnomedicinal Plants Used By the Idoma People- Benue State, Nigeria. American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 2014; 1(1): Alagesaboopathi C. Ethnobotanical studies on useful plants of Sirumalai Hills of Eastern Ghats, Dindigul District of

16 Tamilnadu, Southern India. International Journal of Biosciences, 2012; 2(2): Shakil D. Shaikh, VP. Masal and Anisa S. Shaikh. Ethnomedicinal uses of some pteridophytes from Konkan region of Maharashtra. International Journal of pharmaceutical and chemical sciences, 2014; 3 (1): Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commonly used by Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of Western Ghats, India. J Ethnopharmacol, 2011; 134, Revathi, R. Muthuraja, R, Binu Thomas and Raju, K. Ethno medicinal fern and fernallies used by tribe Malayalis of Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats. Pteridological Research, 2013;2(1):1-10.

17 Table 1. Showing the list of pteridophytic plant species, family, habitat, parts used and their ethnomedicinal utilization by the tribes of valparai hills western ghats of tamilnadu S. NO Name of the Plant species Family Common name Habit Parts used Ethnomedicinal uses 1 Adiantum caudatum L. Adiantaceae Trailing maiden hair Rhizome erect Leaf, fronds Skin diseases, cough and fever. 2 Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Adiantaceae Roaddu Keerai Rhizome long creeping 3 Adiantum zollingeri Mett. ex Kuhn Adiantaceae - Rhizome erect whole plant Leaf, rhizomes Febrifuge, anticancerous, tonic, antiviral, hypoglycaemic, Fever, cold, and eczema 4 Adiantum radianum C. Presl Adiantaceae Parapadappai Rhizome erect Whole plant Cough, asthma, fever, leprosy and hair growth 5 Actinopteris radiata (Link) Angiopteridaceae Saava sedi Perennial, erect herbs Whole plant Diarrhioea, dysentery, fever helminthiasis. 6 Angiopteris evecta (Forst.) Hoff. Actinopteridaceae - Terrestrial Leaf Dysentery, leprosy and stomach pain 7 Hemionities arifolia (Burm. f.) T. Moor) Heminioteridaceae Kalthamarai Rhizome erect Leaf, rhizome Anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and Cancer. 8 Selaginella involvens (Sw.) Spring. Selaginellaceae Kallotti sedi Rhizomes Rhizome Cough, poisonous bite 9 Selaginella bryopteris (L.) Baker Selaginellaceae Sanjivini booti Herb-epiphytic Whole plant Heat stroke, dysuria, irregular, menstruation and jaundice. 10 Selaginella tenera (Hook. & Grev.) Spring Selaginellaceae Sajivani Perennial herb whole plant Diuretic, gonorrhoea and hallucination 11 Selaginella delicatula (Desv.) Alston Selaginellaceae Thugalpoondu Rhizome erect Whole plant Healing, wound. 12 Selaginella ciliaris (Retz.) Spring Selaginellaceae Chhoti Sanjeevan Perennial herb Whole plant Skin disease, dysentery, fever, headache 13 Riccia sp L. Ricciaceae - Prostate herb Thallus Sedation insomnia, and opthalmia 14 Marsilea sp L. Marsileaceae Thanniyarilai Aquatic or semi aquatic Leaf Skin diseases, insomnia, dyspepsia, fever, cough, Respiratory 15 Pteris biaurita (L). Pteridaceae Kuddhi Rhizome erect Rhizome Chronic disorders.

18 16 Cheilanthus mysorensis Wall Pteridaceae Pachai Rhizome erect Leaf Throat pain 17 Pteris vitata L. Pteridaceae Yanai vanaji Rhizome erect whole plant Cold, cough and fever and tonic 18 Dicranopteris linears (Burm. f.) Underwood Gleicheniaceae Padachai Perennial erect Leaf, rhizome Wounds. Asthma, Anthelmintic 19 Doryopteris concolor Langsd. Et Fisch Sinopteridaceae Kalkarai Rhizome erect Leaf Anthelmintic. 20 Leptochilus decurrens Blume. Polypodaceae - Terrestrial Whole plant Fodder 21 Microlepia majuscula (Lowe) T. Moore Dennstaedtiaceae - Rhizome erect Rhizome, leaf Menstrual diseases 22 Humata repens (L. f.) J. Small ex Diels Davalliaceae - Rhizome Rhizome Fever, urinary diseases, dysuria, febrifuge; cough 23 Botrychium daucifolium Wall. i Hook & Grev Ophioglossaceae Nandu Kuddhi Rhizome erect Whole plant Body pain

19 Figure 1. Showing the study area and map of valparai hills, southern western ghats of tamilnadu, india

20 Figure 2. Showing the ethnomedicinal pteridophytic plant species in valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu a- Botrychium daucifolium, b-actinopteris radiata, c- Hemionities arifolia, d- Angiopteris evecta. Figure 3. Showing different plant parts used by the malasar tribes in valparai hills, western ghats of tamilnadu