Original Articles
Selvamony Sukumaran, Thankappa
Abstract
The present study was conducted to document the ethnomedicinal knowledge of two cultural communities residing in Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu, South India. Ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants were obtained through intensive structured and semi-structured interviews from traditional medicinal practitioners (TMP) and elders of the community. The plant specimens were identified by using the herbarium specimens available in the Department of Botany, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, Marthandam. A total of 131 plant species has been used to treat various ailments among the two cultural communities of Kanyakumari district. Regarding the medicinal uses of plants species it varies among the community, whereas few plants have same usage. In the present survey some medicinal plants have been reported for the first time in the study area. The use of plants among the two cultural communities reflects their knowledge in ethnomedicine and further investigation on these species may lead to the discovery of novel bioactive molecules.