Ethnobotanical explorations in Unamancheri, a village in the outskirts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Background: The study aims to document the ethnomedicinal plants used in the Unamancheri village near Chennai. This is the first time documenting the medicinal plants used in an urbanized area.

Methods: The uses of medicinal plants were identified through questionnaires and interviews with the local people. Data obtained from the interview analyzed with MS-office.

Results: In this study, we identified 60 Angiosperm species from 36 families that cure multitude of external as well as internal ailments. Much of the plants utilized for ethnomedicine belong to the family Fabaceae. Herbaceous species are preferred more than other plant life forms and leaves are the predominant utilization parts for curing illness. Most people in this village recommended plants and their highest use value observed was from Ormocarpum cochinchinense (Lour.) Merr. (0.91) followed by a combination of Morinda pubescens J.E.Smith, Vitex negundo L. var. negundo and Azadirachta indica A.Juss. (0.84) and Acalypha indica L (0.82)

Conclusions: The study evinces that people still depend on plants for curing health issues. The plants with high use value index should be prioritised for conservation.

Keywords: An urbanized area, Conservation, Ethnobotanical studies, Irula tribal, Ormocarpum cochinchinense