Ethnobotanical Traditions and Plant Species Richness: Insights from the Mudugar and Paniyar of Anakkal

Abstract

The tribes have immense knowledge about the nature and natural products and their knowledge is sacred. Medicinal plants have vital role in their customs which are restricted in their specific communities. The current study is an investigation on the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used by the mudugar and paniyar community and species richness in anakkal hamlet, malampuzha grama panchayath of palakkad gap in Western Ghats, kerala. It is the first study on that area. About 55 species belongs to 32 family were collected. Among these lamiaceae is the prominent family with 5 species. Major ailment category treated is digestive system related. Most of the species are herbs (40%) and uses mostly leaves for the preparation of medicine. The quantitative analysis such as use value and informant consensus value are calculated. Ocimum sanctum L. has the highest UV, and plants used againstdigestive system related ailments have more FIC value. Among the collected plant species, Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. is considered as endangered species. Cyclea peltata Hook.f.& Thoms. is a rare species. Various biodiversity conservation strategies are also discussed here.

Introduction

Early humans had a close relationship with nature, developing cultural practices that both reflected their beliefs and helped conserve biodiversity. Indigenous communities, numbering over 476 million globally, maintain traditional knowledge, often isolated from the outside world. The study of these relationships between people and plants, known as ethnobotany, has become crucial for documenting traditional knowledge, conserving biodiversity, and discovering medicinal plants that contribute to modern drug development. According to WHO, nearly 80% of people in developing countries still rely on indigenous plant knowledge. However, much of this knowledge is passed orally through generations, making it vulnerable to loss due to deforestation, agricultural expansion, and overgrazing. Initiatives like India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), and related biodiversity acts help preserve and protect this knowledge.

Methodology:

• Study Area: Anakkal, Palakkad, Kerala, a tribal settlement near Walayar forest. Main tribal groups: Irular, Mudugar, and Paniyar. Focus was on Mudugar and Paniyar communities.

• Data Collection: Field visits and semi-structured interviews in April–May 2022 with 13 informants aged 28–65, including traditional healers (‘Vaidhyan’ Ayyappan and Janu Kiliyakad). Plant specimens were collected, photographed, and scientifically identified.

• Data Organization & Analysis: Data recorded in tables (binomial, vernacular name, family, habit, part used, ailments treated). Quantitative methods like Informant Consensus Factor (FIC) and Use Value were applied. Data were also represented graphically.

Results & Discussion:

• Ethnomedicinal Plants: 55 species from 32 families were documented.

  • Most prominent families: Lamiaceae (5 species), Apocynaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae (4 each).

  • Other families included Acanthaceae, Menispermaceae (3), and several with 1–2 species.

• Ailments Treated: Plants were categorized into 13 ailment types.

  • Most commonly treated: fever, cold, cough (10 species).

  • Least common: kidney/urinary issues, wound healing, pregnancy-related (2 species each).

• Each plant was documented with botanical name, local name, habit, part used, ailment treated, and mode of use.

Conclusion

The study explains the use of medicinal plants by the tribes of Anakkal, Palakkad district. It can explain the medicinally important plants in that traditional pocket, which may help in the future drug development as most of them were wild species. From the collected data it’s clear that trees are also having important role in traditional healing as herbs. But as the case of medicinally important parts most of them uses leaves. It has comparatively higher usage than other parts. Some herbs were more special because they are used as the whole plant. The major ailment category treated in this area is digestive system related and respiratory related ailments (10 plants for each). Among the whole species collected from there Ocimum sanctum Linn. have the highest use value (1) and it locally used by almost all the people in that area. The traditional practices are also highlighted here with the use of “irumbakam” plant (Hopea ponga (Dennst.) Mabb.). Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss., (Mula- tender stem) is used as an abortion drug which is already in use for abortion in the traditional Chinese medicine. Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. is considered as endangered species (IUCN). The plant aegle marmelose is observed in the present study and it is considered Near Threatened/Vulnerable in the IUCN Status. In this study it is evident that due to modernization the indigenous knowledge is decreasing from the generations. The people of two different communities are different in sharing knowledge between the generations. In paniya community of Anakkal, they are not bothered about to losing the knowledge and hence they are not involving in passing that knowledge. And they are involving in other jobs as a part of developmental projects by the Government. But in mudugar community the indigenous knowledge is somehow involving in this sharing but they were getting involved in to other jobs. Mudugar community is close to the forest areas so most of them goes to forest and collects medicinal and other forest products. The people who are going to forests are now less in paniyar community. This will promote the loss of indigenous knowledge of the tribal community from Anakkal. These records can be utilized in the future for spotting the place in which endangered/Vulnerable/Near Threatened species are found. This will help to reduce the risk of extinction of many plant species which can add richness to the entire biodiversity. The conservation of these species is an important step to reduce the risk of extinction. The plant Cyclea peltata is pollinated by a particular green butterfly, which is inter-related. So the conservation of this species will also help to conserve those particular butterflies. And the species Rauvolfia serpentina also called snake root plant, which is an endangered species in the IUCN red list. They may be at risk if there is no special action taken to protect them. The over exploitation or ignoring the threat may be result in losing these precious species from the earth.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Binumol M., Nisy S., Reshma M., Abilash E. S.. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.