Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Oct 7:2:43.
doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-2-43.

Medicinal plants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India

Chellaiah Muthu  1 , Muniappan Ayyanar, Nagappan Raja, Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu
Affiliations

Medicinal plants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India

Chellaiah Muthu et al. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. .

Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey was undertaken to collect information from traditional healers on the use of medicinal plants in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu during October 2003 to April 2004. The indigenous knowledge of local traditional healers and the native plants used for medicinal purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during field trips.The investigation revealed that, the traditional healers used 85 species of plants distributed in 76 genera belonging to 41 families to treat various diseases. The documented medicinal plants were mostly used to cure skin diseases, poison bites, stomachache and nervous disorders. In this study the most dominant family was Euphorbiaceae and leaves were most frequently used for the treatment of diseases.This study showed that many people in the studied parts of Kancheepuram district still continue to depend on medicinal plants at least for the treatment of primary healthcare. The traditional healers are dwindling in number and there is a grave danger of traditional knowledge disappearing soon since the younger generation is not interested to carry on this tradition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of the study area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Habit.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Method of preparation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of remedies used for various ailments.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abu-Rabia A. Urinary diseases and ethnobotany among pastoral nomads in the Middle East. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2005;1:4 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/1/14 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pei SJ. Ethnobotanical approaches of traditional medicine srudies: Some experiences from Asia. Pharmaceutical Biology. 2001;39:74–79. - PubMed
    1. Lev E. Ethno-diversity within current ethno-pharmacology as part of Israeli traditional medicine – A review. Journal of Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. 2006;2:4 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/2/1/4 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gazzaneo LR, Paiva de Lucena RF, Paulino de Albuquerque U. Knowledge and use of medicinal plants by local specialists in an region of Atlantic Forest in the state of Pernambuco (Northeastern Brazil) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2005;1:9 http://http.//www.ethnobiomed.com/content/1/1/9 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Qura'n S. Ethnobotanical survey of folk toxic plants in southern part of Jordan. Toxicon. 2005;46:119–126. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2005.04.010. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources