The assessment of florestic diversity towards the conservation of biodiversity in Pachamalai hills of Eastern Ghats

Melba Priyadharshini A^1,2, Dinesh Raja J², Sadhana Sri R² and Immanuel Sagayaraj M^{1* *}Correspondence: Immanuel Sagayaraj M, Department of Botany, Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India, Email:

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Introduction

Plants have always been vital to human existence since they provide necessities including food, clothing, medicine and shelter. Knowledge about the art of using herbs is a legacy that is transmitted from generation to generation. Ethnobotany is a branch of science that studies the interactions between people and plants. According to Khajoei and Khosravi, ethnobotanical surveys involve local people being interviewed, as well as utilizing data from the literature and each region's folklore [1]. The preservation and transfer of priceless and practical traditional knowledge to next generations is the aim of ethnobotany. People's uncontrolled harvesting of medicinal plants has raised the possibility of many species going extinct and as a result, the loss of traditional knowledge on how to use them.

Materials and Methods

Geographical location of Pachamalai hills

The Pachamalai hills are situated in Northeastern Tamil Nadu, India, at 11.306638° LAT to 78.570924° LONG. They cover an area of 14,122 square kilometres and are elevated above sea level (Figure 1) [2]. The Tamil Nadu districts of Salem and Tiruchirappalli are separated by Pachamalai hills. The three most significant rivers to emerge from the Pachamalai hills are the Veera Ramar Dam, the Kallar and the Solamathi.

Figure 1) The Pachamalai hills study area, biodiversity hot spot

Residence in the study area

The Pachamalai hills are in Tamil Nadu's Eastern Ghats. Pachamalai hills had 12, 872 residents as of the 2012 census, of whom 8,072 (62.70%) lived in rural areas and just 4,750 (36.90%) in metropolitan cities. The percentage of nomads in the population is less than 0.38%. The majority of inhabitants in the Pachamalai hills speak Tamil; however some regions are home to a small number of tribes who speak Malayalam [3]. The majority of people living in rural areas work in agriculture, primarily growing grains, pineapples and jackfruit.

The local climate

The Pachamalai hills have a semi-arid climate with hot, dry summers and cold, dry winters. Maximum temperatures in the region range from 23 to 31 degrees celsius, while minimum temperatures fall between 12 and 18 degrees celsius. The Northeast monsoon brings the most rainfall to these highlands in the months of September, October and November. In the last ten years, a maximum rainfall of 1250 mm has been documented.

Data collection

The study region was examined in order to collect data from Malayaliethnic individuals who have firsthand knowledge of therapeutic herbs [4]. In order to document the ethnomedical information, the author conducted surveys in eight villages (Keelkarai, Kamboor, Puthoor, Thannerpallam, Topsengattuppatti, Pallangudi, Thenparanadu and Solamathi) between November 2023 and February 2024. Face-to-face interviews with participants were conducted using a questionnaire approach. Twenty-one field excursions were conducted in the study area during the duration of the study, accounting for 423 field days spent with the Kerala ethnic population. The process of choosing informants is based on the distribution of ethnic individuals who own. They were asked to share details about the medicinal plants they utilized and to display the types of plants they saw in the field. The individuals chosen were those who were known to be attending to their own families, relatives and other individuals who came to them for assistance with their health [5]. The district's residents have a wealth of medical plant knowledge that has been passed down orally from generation to generation. However, given that younger generations do not seem to be interested in carrying on this practice, it appears that this information is disappearing from modern culture.

Preservation of plant specimens

The standard procedure for collecting plants was adhered to, which included mounting, drying, preparing and preserving plant specimens. Triple-vetted voucher specimens of medicinal plants were gathered, prepared and identified. Plants that were identified correctly were categorized alphabetically based on family name, colloquial name, traditional medicinal applications and other uses. The plants that were collected were identified and given names based on the Madras Presidency Flora and the Tamil Nadu Carnatic Flora. Later on, they were confirmed by the southern circle botanical survey of India, located in Coimbatore, India. All of the conserved herbarium specimens were placed in the Heber Herbarium Cabinet, Bishop Heber College in Tiruchirappalli [6].

Ailment categories

All reported illnesses were divided into 16 categories based on data gathered from the Malayali ethnic community in the study area (Table 1). These categories included: Cardiovascular and Circulatory System Diseases (CSCD), Cooling Agents (CA), Dental Care (DC), Dermatological Infections/Diseases (DID), ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat problems), Endocrine Disorders (ED), Fever (FVR), Gastrointestinal Disorders (GIA), General Health (GH), Genito-Urinary Ailments (GUA), Hair Care (HC), Neurology (NEU), Oncology (ONC), Poisonous Bites (PB), Respiratory System Diseases (RSD) and Skeleto-Muscular System Disorders (SMSD). Based on the body systems treated, many disorders were grouped together under one ailment category.

TABLE 1 Reported ailments treated in the Pachamalai hills

Analyzing data

The quantitative value indices Fic, RFC and CI the most widely used metrics in quantitative ethnobotany based on "informant consensus" were used to assess the data that was gathered. The informant consensus factor or Fic, is one of the measurable indices utilized in this study. It is computed using the method below: FIC is equal to Nur-Nt/(Nt-1).

Where Nt denotes the total number of species utilized for the sickness category by all informants and Nuris the number of use reports of informants for a specific ailment category. The same species for the treatment of the same disorders [7]. Fic values range from 0 to 1. High variation in the use of species is indicated by a number close to zero, meaning that informants disagree about which species to use in the treatment of a certain sickness category.

The relative frequency of citation is another index that is employed in this manner (RFC). This measure is calculated by dividing the total number of survey informants (N) by the number of informants who mentioned a helpful species (FC or frequency of citation). According to Tardio and Pardo-de Santayana, the RFC value ranges from 0 (when no one mentions a plant as useful) to 1 (when all informants mention it as useful). RFC index, which is determined by the following formula and does not take into account the use category (Arouse report is a single record for use of a plant mentioned by an individual) and RFC solid understanding of medicinal plant usage.

Cultural Importance Index (CII) is the third strategy employed in this study. The calculation of this index involves adding up the percentage of informants who discuss the usage of each species or dividing the total number of participants who mention using a species by the total number of informants (N) [8]. This index is determined using the formula.

This index considers the diversity of applications and the distribution of use (number of informants) for each species.

Results and Discussion

A total of 103 species of medicinal plants, categorized into 92 taxa and 57 families, were gathered from the Pachamalai hills for this study. Thirteen informants were chosen based on their extensive expertise and background in the usage of medicinal plants. Table 2 contains information on local names for the plants, their purposes and the parts of the plants that are used to treat illnesses. Fabaceae was the most commonly utilized family, with nine species, followed by Solanaceae and Euphorbiaceae, each with six species, Cucurbitaceae and Lamiaceae, with five species apiece and others (Table 3) [9-10]. According to a survey conducted in Tamil Nadu's Western Ghats, the Fabaceae family had the highest number of plant species, as reported by Revathi, et al. in 2013. According to Marles and Farnsworth, the Fabaceae family is also recognized to include the greatest number of plant species worldwide. Studies on medicinal plants are becoming more and more prevalent.

TABLE 2 List of traditional medicinal plants used by the Malayali ethnic people in the Pachamalai hills

TABLE 3 Families of medicinal plants used in the study area

Leafy plants were used 41% of the time to prepare cures, followed by fruit (12%), seeds (11%), bark (6%) and rhizome and root (each 7%), flower and rhizome (each 4%), whole plant (3%), branch, tuber, bulb and latex (each with 1%). Because the leaves are much easier to gather than other plant parts, tribal groups all over the world use them to prepare herbal medicine [11]. Scientific explanation is that leaves typically have higher levels of photosynthetic activity and secondary metabolite production than other portions of the plant.

User report and use categories

The current study included 1055 use reports in total, which were divided into sixteen distinct ailment categories. The majority of records (19.24%) were for gastrointestinal disorders. According to a number of earlier ethnobotanical surveys, the most common plant usage was recorded in relation to gastrointestinal illnesses. This illness category is one of the most prevalent in the current study location, as well as in other parts of the world, because of unsanitary eating settings and contaminated drinking water. The greatest herb for treating stomachaches, according to residents of Pallangudi and Thenparanadu, is lavanagam (Cinnamomum verum L.) [12].

Additional conditions in the study area that were commonly treated with medicinal plants by Malayaliethnic people were burns, smallpox, scabies and lesion odor. The use of medicinal plants to treat dermatological infections was shown to be quite prevalent in a related study carried out in Kerala, India [13]. Disease outbreaks in the Pammalai hills are caused by the area's semi-arid climate, insufficient moisture content and water shortage. Hence, the locals of Kerala's Pachamalai hills believed that plants were a useful source for treating a variety of illnesses, particularly skin infections and digestive disorders.

The current study included 1055 use reports in total, which were divided into sixteen distinct ailment categories. The majorities of records (19.24%) were for gastrointestinal disorders. According to a number of earlier ethnobotanical surveys, the most common plant usage was recorded in relation to gastrointestinal illnesses. This illness category is one of the most prevalent in the current study location, as well as in other parts of the world, because of unsanitary eating settings and contaminated drinking water. The greatest herb for treating stomachaches, according to residents of Pallangudi and Thenparanadu, is lavanagam (Cinnamomum verum L.).

Statistical analysis

In this study, Nigella sativa had the highest number of usage reports (61UR), followed by Santalum album and Cinnamomum verum, with 46 and 41 use reports, respectively. These plants also exhibited high CI and RFC indices [14]. This indicates that these species were the most well-known plant species in the area and were brought up by all informants. Compared to Nigella sativa, Ficus racemosa, Santalum album and Cinnamomum verum had higher RFC and CI indexes, but their use reports were lower.

Based on the damaged area of the human body, sixteen disease categories were identified in this ethnobotanical inquiry.

The taxamedicinal usage reports for the various disease categories were computed using the informant consensus factor. In previous published publications, the informant's consensus factor was abbreviated as FIC and ICF, respectively. The Informant's Consensus Factor (Fic) values for each category of illness are displayed in Table 4. The majority of disease categories exhibited high levels of informant agreement (mean Fic=0.78), with metabolic disorder obtaining the highest level of consensus (Fic=1.00). Similarly, Upreti, et al., found comparable findings to this study from an ethnobotanical survey conducted in Rasuwa district in Central Nepal, wherein informants had the highest level of agreement for most of the illness categories with (mean Fic=0.82). Numerous ethnobotanical studies demonstrate how locals in various regions of India continue to use traditional medicinal herbs [15].

TABLE 4 Informant agreement factor for different use categories

The current study's findings showed that even though the locals had access to government-run healthcare facilities, they continued to treat a variety of ailments with medicinal plants. Furthermore, in the hunt for bioactive chemicals, high Ficvalues can be utilized to identify promising species. Caklcoglu and Turkoglu state that understanding a species' use value might help determine the pharmacological characteristics, dependability and utility of a related plant.

Comparing the quantitative indices of ethno botanical studies can aid in providing a deeper comprehension of the customary knowledge of plants utilized by a certain ethnic group within a given region [16]. Table 4 illustrates that of the species examined, 15.24% (or around 26 species) had a relative frequency of citation of one (RFC=1). This indicates that the majority of respondents in the research area agreed that these species were the most widely used therapeutic plants. The lowest number of citations for Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Emblica officinalis, Ricinius communis, Cardiospermum halicacabum, Ocimum sanctum, Odina wodier and Tectona grandis indicated that only a small number of informants were using these plants (Table 5).

TABLE 5 Comparison of important plants by indices and use ranking based on each index

Plants that are used in combination

The informants who were interviewed felt that some medicinal plants should be utilized in conjunction with other plant components to cure specific conditions to the best of their abilities (Table 5). For instance, diarrhoea can be effectively treated by combining the helpful plants Aegle marmelos, Altonia scholaris, Justicea adhatoda, Mangifera indica and Mucuna pruriens. Additionally, Glycyrrhiza glabra can effectively treat diabetes when combined with powdered leaves of Gymnema sylvestre and Muraya koenigii. Burns and neurological issues are treated with a mixture of Caryotaurens leaves and fumes produced from burning Areca catechu seeds. A combination of whole plants from Commelina clavata, Hybanthus enneaspermus and Cuminum cyminum is used to cure anemia [17].

"Kaya kalpas" (legiyam), a popular dish in the Pachamalai Hills, is made by combining the fruit and seed powder of sixteen different plants: Prunusdulcis, Pistaciavera, Anacardiumoccidentale, Elettaria cardamom, Arachis hypoogaea, Sesamum indicacum, Cuminumcyminum, Pipernigrum, Trigonellafoenum-graceum, Zeamaize, Coriandrumsativum, Fragariaxananassa, Cymbopogoncintratus, Glycinemax, Lablabpurpureus and Viginaradiate. The ethnic people think that this mixture will strengthen the body, purify the blood, raise intelligence and memory power and promote male fertility.

Other uses of medicinal plants: In addition to medical purposes, informants noted various uses for the plant species, such as food, fodder, fuel (wood for fire) and dye. Table 2 provides a list of edible plants.

Edible plants: Edible plants such as Syzygium. People pick them based on the growing season and sell them in local marketplaces. Edible plants serve as fresh veggies. Solanum torvum is used to prepare a variety of dishes and pickles. Benincasa hispida (Venpoosani) is used as a vegetable. Nigella sativa and Murraya koenigii (Karuveppilai) are cooked (Paani) and the unripe fruit of Mangifera indica (Maangaai) is used to make pickles [18]. Ficus racemosa (Aththi) is utilized in cheese making (Table 2).

Economic plants: The locals use Prosopis juliflora as a valuable source of fuel (firewood). Abutilon indicum, Tephrosia purpurea and Thespesia populenea are cattle feed. Eleven (10.6%) of the 103 medicinal plant species described in this study are employed in technology and crafts. Indian women are famous for wearing silk saris. The yarns are dyed with natural colors made from many plant species, including Curcuma aromaticum (Kasthurimanjal), Embilica officinalis (Nellikkai) and Lawsonia inermis (Maruthani) [19]. These traditional handicrafts are exported all over the world and provide significant money for weavers. Air fresheners are also made from Pongamia glabra (Pungam), Rosa canina (Rosapoo) and Santalum album (Santhanam) [20].

Conclusion

In the current study, 103 medicinal plant species split into 92 genera from 57 families were recorded with the assistance of Malayalee ethnic people in the Pachamalai Hills. Thesemi-arid climate of Pachamalai hills promotes the growth of rich vegetation with many medicinal and economically significant plants. The current study concluded that plants with high use reports, such as Nigella sativa, Cinnamomum verum and Santalum album, require additional exploration in terms of phytochemical and associated pharmacological studies. Cinnamomum verum and Nigella sativa, in particular, are vital sources of revenue for the Kerala inhabitants of the Pachamalai hills.

The study found that plants play a major role in various elements of life in the Pachamalai hills, such as in the local game (kitti-pul) utilizing willow branches or in children's games using the leaves of Thespesia populneae to make toy whistles. A variety of tree species have historically been regarded sacred and revered by both Hindu and Buddhist religions throughout India. Ficus benghalensis is India's national tree and in the Pachamalai hills, this very old tree that has been passed down through more than five generations of Malayalis is said to be utilized for judgement. There is also folklore in this area about the tree Syzygium cumini, in which people believe there are ghosts and spirits. For this reason, they do not climb this tree at noon. Based on ethnic people's medical information; some plants should undergo deeper phytochemical and pharmacological studies.

Acknowledgement

We thankful to the Chief Conservator of Forests, Trichy Division, The District Forest Officer, Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu Forest Department, Gove of Tamilnadu for Granted Permission to enter into the Permitted area. We also than the Management of Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli for Support.

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