ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF HERBAL PLANTS USED FOR VARMA TREATMENT IN KANNAPADI VILLAGE, SALEM (DT) TAMIL NADU, INDIA

Ethnobotany plays an important role in the development and conservation of biodiversity. It is the study of the relationship between tribal people and medicinal plants. The aim of the study was to document the herbal plants used for Varma treatment in Kannapadi village, Salem, and to record the medicinal flora and traditional knowledge of Kurumba tribes regarding indigenous plants used in Varma treatment. This survey was carried out among the tribes of Kannapadi hills, Salem district, Tamil Nadu. Information was collected from the people through face-to-face interviews during field trips, conducted over a period of 4 months. In this survey 96 medicinal plants species belonging to 50 families were documented. The maximum number of medicinal plants belonging to the family Fabaceae are represented by 11 species, including two Indigofera species, Tephrosia one species Abrus one species, among the 96 species. The medicinal plants were mostly used to cure bone fractures, fever, rheumatism, pain, inflammation, and wounds. The documented plants were given in a table that includes respective families along with their botanical name, habit, Tamil name and ethnomedicinal uses. This study will contribute to the search for new drugs and treatments. Pharmacological studies on the plants with high percentage use values and fidelity levels are needed to validate their uses in the management of the said therapeutic applications. Further research on the isolation and characterization of the plant active compounds could lead to the discovery of new potential drugs.