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Ethnobotanical
Leaflets 14: 120-25, 2010. Traditional
Phytotherapy for Snake bites by Tribes of Chitradurga District, *V.T. Hiremath1
and T.C. Taranath2 1Department of
Botany, SJM Chitradurga,
Karnataka, India hiremath2047@gmail.com 2.
Department
of Botany, Environmental Laboratory, tctaranath@rediffmail.com *Corresponding
author email: hiremath2047@gmail.com Issued: Ferbuary 01, 2010 Abstract Chitradurga is one of
the central districts of Karnataka state and is flanked by Davangere, Tumkur,
Chikmagalur and The investigation reveals that the
local health healers/tribals used 15 plants belonging to 11 families with 12
formulations (02 multiple applications and 10 single plant applications. The
study reveals that roots were most frequently used (09 species), followed by
leaf extract (04 species), latex and gum with one (01) species each. The
study also reveals that many people of the district still continue to rely on
traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. Recent trend shows a
decline in the number of traditional health practitioners in the region since
the younger generation is not interested to continue this tradition. There is little documentation of
the ethnomedicinal knowledge was carried out in the district. In addition,
several wild medicinal plants are declining in number due to the destruction
and unscientific collection of plants from forests. Hence there is an urgent
need for exploration and documentation of the traditional knowledge in order
to ascertain the local ethnomedicinal plants. Therefore present study is an
attempt to present ethnomedicinal observations recorded with respect to snake
bites. Key
words: Phytotherapy, Ethnomedicine, Hakki-pikki, Snake
bite. Introduction The vast diversity of
flora and fauna is the outcome of millions years of organic evolution on the
earth. They are interdependent, interrelatedand interacting with the
physico-chemical environment facilitating the flow of energy and material
cycling. Since ages man relied on plants as a sole source of medicine. The
knowledge has been transmitted from generation to generation. Out of 250,000
flowering plant species only 1.2% have been analysed for medicinal value. The art of herbal healing has very
deep roots in Indian culture and folklore. Even today in most of the rural
areas, people are depending on local traditional healing systems for their
primary health care. Documentation of indigenous knowledge through
ethnobotanical studies is important for the conservation and utilization of
biological resources. Today 80% of the world’s population depends on
traditional medicine for their primary health care needs (WHO). Medicinal
plants are the backbone of the traditional medicine, this means that, 3300
million people in the underdeveloped countries utilize medicinal plants on a
regular basis (Dobriyal and Narayana 1998).The objective of the present study
was to document the richness of ethno-medicinal plant species used by the
tribal and traditional health healers of Chitradurga district and the
practices of the people towards the conservation and sustainable utilization
of biological resources of the said region. Similar type of studies has been
carried out by several workers in several parts of the country (Hebbar et.al.
2002, Harsha V.H. et.al. 2003,
Ignacimuthu S, et.al. 2006). Methodology Periodic field surveys were carried
out in different villages of Chitradurga district. Data were collected from
the tribals,local vaidyas, village elders through personal communication and
questionnaire.The data include the plant name, local name, part used and
therapeutic uses and the frequency of collection of plants etc. Voucher
specimens were collected and identified by referring standard flora (Hooker,
1884; Gamble 1936, Saldhana, 1984). All the voucher specimens were maintained
in the herbarium at SJM College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Chitradurga,
Karnataka ( Results and Discussion The
present investigation reveals that the plants used to treat snake bite are
commonly avaialable in the local forests. The method of preparation and mode
of action is also simple and convenient. Hence most of the local people can
affort the traditional treatment and having personal faith and believe gave
encouraging results in the treatment of snake bites. The present paper gives
a detailed account of 12 plants (Table.1.) as herbal remedies for snake bite
by the tribal and traditional health healers of Chitradurga region. The date
indicates that tribal people used 15 plants for the treatment of snake bite
under 12 formulations. (Fig.1.)
Table.1. Showing
plant parts used for curing Snake bites by the tribes of Chitradurga
district,
Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to the tribal
and local healthhealers of Chitradurga district for their cooperation and
discussion on the subject and also revealing their valuable information in
the relevant field. Our thanks is also to UGC New References Gamble, J.S.,
1936. Flora of Presidency of Hooker, J.D.,
1884. TheFlora of Harsha V.H., V.
Shripathi and G.R. Hegde.,2005. Ethnoveterinary practices in Uttara Kannada
district of Karnataka. Hebbar S.S, V.H.
Harsha, V. Shripathi, G.R. Hegde,2004. Ethnomedicine of Ignacimuthu
S,Muniappan M Ayyanar, Karuppasamy K S.2006. Ethnobotonical investigations
among Tribals in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu ( Saldanha CJ.
Flora of Karnataka. |
