Ethnomedicines of Kurichyas , Kannur district, Western Ghats, Kerala

Abstract

Introduction India, a land of amazing biodiversity, has a vast store house of natural resources that can be sustainably used as food, nutritional supplements and medicine. The Western Ghats region of Kerala is a great emporium and treasure house of ethno-botanical wealth. Tribal medicines offer a vast scope for medical research. With the rapid intrusion of modern civilization the ancient tribal tradition and culture is on the verge of extinction. Based on the ethnobotanical studies, many alkaloids and other important chemicals are being isolated from plants by using better techniques of chemical analysis and isolation methods; however, much work has still to be done. New medicinal uses of plants are being reported continuously by several workers from different localities 1-4 . In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate and document some of the medicinal plants used by people of Kurichyas tribe of Kannur district to cure their ailments.