Ethnomedical value of plants in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India

The present survey was undertaken to explore the traditional knowledge of plant species found in four villages (Athamangalam, Vadukkuveli, Thalainayar and Perumangalam) in Sirkali taluk of Nagapattinam district, Tamilnadu state, The ethnomedicinal information was collected through oral interviews to village elders and vaidyas (those who cure disease by traditional methods) of the rural areas of this district. The knowledge available to the rural population of the area is transmitted only through oral language from generation to generation over time and therefore it needs to be recorded in order to be preserved. Medicinal plants are listed by botanical name, family name, local name, plant parts used and mode of preparation and the names of the diseases cured. About 50 plant species belonging to 27 families were described as effective herbal drugs for various ailments. The documented ethnobotanical uses of plants mostly related to the treatment in curing stomach pain, breast pain, headache, bleeding, yellow fever, muscle pain and blood purifier.