Agricultural and Biological Research

A comparative note on the ethnomedicinal plants used by the Kattunaikka and Paniya tribes of Nilambur forest, Malappuram district, Kerala, (India)

Chithra Malappurathattil* and Geetha S Pillai

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted to explore the indigenous knowledge of the Kattunaikka and Paniya tribes of Nilambur forest, Malappuram District, Kerala, India and to highlight the uses of the diverse flora. This paper provides information about 79 medicinal plant species used by the two tribes to manage 38 ailments conditions, either as single plant remedies or in combination. Of the 79 species recorded, 64 species (81%) were found to be used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine and 65% for similar conditions. The indigenous knowledge of these tribal traditional healers has been disappearing due to lack of followers for this valuable knowledge, as well as their migration to places outside of the forest. Use of plants among the two tribes reflects their interest in ethno-medicine and further investigation on under-explored species may lead to the discovery of novel pharmaceutical products.