Indian Journ al o f Traditional Knowledge Vol. I (I) , October 2002, pp. 26-39

Evaluation of phytomedicines from street herbal vendors in Tamil Nadu, South India

S. Karuppusam/, K.M. Rajasekaran2 and N. Karmega mJ*

I Department of Botany, Arulmigu Pal~lI1i Andavar College of Arts and Culture, Palani - 624 602, Tamil Nadu, Indi a;2 Department of Botany, Mad ura Co llege, Madurai - 625 01 L Tamil Nadu, Indi a ; ~ Department of Biology, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram - 624 302,

Tamil Nadu , India

e- mail : nkarmegam@rediffmail .com

Received 2 luly 2001

A survey was conducted among the street herbal vendors during 1997-2000 in eight dis­tri cts of Tamil Nadu. South India to highligh t the use of medici nal plants used for the prepara­tion of va ri ous traditional medicines. More than 100 medicinal pl ants are used by the herbal vendors for the preparation of different types of medicines for the treatment of about 25 ail­ments. The paper also di sc usses antim icrobial activity of different street herbal formulations against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudo/l/onas aeruginoso and Candida albicans.

Keywords: Traditional medicine, Street herbal vendors, Med icinal plants of Tamil Nadu, Anti bacterial activity o f herbal formulati ons

There has been a struggle between man and sickness since time immemorial. However, man has acquired methods of treating sickness using hi s local bio­cultural environment. In every society, whether technologically primitive or ad­vanced, there exist some sort of curative reci pes for the health maladies J. The term ethnomedicine is recently defined as "medical system of the primitive that has been evolved in their own cultural milieu and recognised as the methods of diagno­sis and treatment which are natural or

*Corrcspondent author.

not,,2. Most of the ancient know ledge

systems have continued to survive only by oral communication from generation to generation in rural as well as in tribal communities. The ethnic communities that have been using the same medicinal plants for many generations are more likely to have identified plants with useful bioactivity. Also these ancient cultures should have resided in an area with a di ­verse flora. The high availability of plant di versity has increased the probabi lity of di scovering plants with useful bioactive principles. Because of the rapid intrusio n of modern civilization into these remote

S KARUPPUSAMY el al.: PHYTOMEDICINES FROM HERBAL VENDORS IN TAMIL NADU 27

areas, tribal traditions and culture of

no mad ic folks are now slowly disap­pearing.

In India, Ayurvedic system evolved over 5,000 years ago and is still in practice. The Rig Veda and Atlwrva Veda have included more than 700 medic inal prescriptions3

.

Other systems of medicine such as the Chi­nese, Unani and Siddha traditions have the ir roots in Ayurveda. All the medici nal sys­tems mentioned above are mostly based on the plants and plant prod ucts that are avail­able in Indian region.

It is inte res ting to note that most of the drugs derived or o rigi na lly isolated from hi gher pl ants were di scovered in an eth­nobotanical contex t. For example, reser­pine derived fro m Rauvolfia serpelltilla, was di scovered by analysing Indi an Ay­urvedic remedi es . Herbal medici nes are be ing used by about 80 percent of the world populati on mai nly in the develo p­ing countries for primary health care. They have stood the tes t of time for their safety, effi cacy, cultural acceptabi lity and lesser side effects4

. There is no previous record and research work availab le o n street herbal vendors, their medicina l formulations, method of preparati on and the activity of vari ous traditional medici­nal fo rmulations in Ta mil Nadu . The pre­sent study is intended to document the med ic ina l plant resources and med ic inal formulations as sold by the street herbal vendors and the ir efficacy with reference to antimi crobial acti vity.

Materials and methods Study period

The phytomedicinal survey was con­ducted in various parts of Tamil Nadu

(Coimbatore, Dindigul , Erode, Karur, Madurai, Namakkal, Theni and Tri chy Di stricts) mainl y from the s treet herbal vendors during the yea r 1997-2000.

Collection oj illjormatioll The phyto medi c ina l info rmati o n was

collec ted from 37 street herbal vendors fro m vari ous parts of Tamil Nadu by s tandard schedul e5

-7

. The present study recorded names o f fo rmul ations, compo­nents of various medic ina l formulations , methods of preparation , details of dosage and ai lments treated.

Collectioll oj phytollledicilles All the phytomedic ina l material s and

pl ant drugs sold by the he rbal vendors were co llec ted . The bit noti ces that had a ll the details of medic inal preparat ions and the ir uses were also collected from the stree t herba l vendors ( if available). The names of all the raw drugs, formula­ti ons and the ir properties were also col­lected carefully for further evaluatio n.

Idelltification The plant materi als were identi fied

with the he lp of s tandard local floras8-9

.

Pre liminary identificati on was done by examining fresh plants procured from the herbal vendors . The corresponding raw drug materials were collected and the mo rphological characters were compared with the fresh plants and vernacular names. Few respondents were more in­form ative and co-operative; they have shown fresh plants in the habitat, which was lI seful for the final identi fication . The identificatio n of plant materials was con­finned at the regional herbarium at

28 INDIAN J TRADIT IONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL I , No. I , OCTOBER 2002

Botanical Survey of India, Southern C ir­cle, Coimbatore,

Preservation The collected material s were preserved

in ai rtight containers and labelled indi­vidually. Various medicinal plant parts co llected were broadly ca tegori zed as leaves, stem, bark, roo t, fl ower, fruit, seed, rhizome, bulb, tuber and res in . The medicinal form ulations were also c lassi ­fied and preserved as such for labelled medicinal oils, o intments and herbal powders.

Evaluation ofphytolll edicilles Extraction:

The medicinal fo rmulations of kalim­bugal (ointments) and podirnarulldhugal (herbal medicinal powders) were ex­tracted with petroleum ether, hexane and ethano l by Soxhlet 's apparatus. ]n the case of water extracts, 1 ~Og of material was mixed with 500 ml of distilled water, boi led for one hour, fi !tered and finally cooled to room temperature, Extracts thus obtained were concentrated by using ro­tary vacuum evaporator and kept at 20°C

± 2°C. The test ex trac ts (1000 ppm) were prepared with respective solvents sepa­rate ly for each ex tract. Similarly the tes t extracts o f medicinal o ils (muligai el1lwi) were also prepared with one ml of herbal medicinal oil in 10 ml of Hexane ( 1:10 V IV), The obtained hexane ex tracts were used directly for further study' D.

Antimicrobial screening Microorganisms used

Four selected bacterial species namely Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus,

Escherichia coli and Pseudoll1onas aeru­ginosa and one fungal species Calldida albicans were collected from the micro­bial type culture collec tio n (MTCC) of Institute of Mi crobial Technology (IM­TECH), C handi garh , Indi a.

Activity analysed The Durham's tube slant method was

used for hexane ex tract of medicinal o il s and the activity was calculated in per­centage of inhibition " . Hexane (95 %) was used as control. Solvent extracts of ointments and herbal powders were used against selected microorgani sms in pre­culture plates by disc (5 mm) diffusion method. The activity was measured by zone of inhibition in mm l2

,

Results The street herbal vendo rs intervi ewed

for the present study belonged to d ifferen t cmegories, but most of them were sched­uled tribes, The respondents of thi s study belo ng to the communiti es of Nari kur­avas, Valayas, Pulayas and Malayal ies. They are the descendan ts of tribal folk­healers from adjoining hilly areas of Western Ghats, The present study re­vealed that 133 medicinal plant species belonging to 66 families are sold as raw drugs by street herbal vendors and they were prescribed for more than 2S ail­ments (Table 1). Among various parts of the plants used for different ailments , barks, leaves, seeds and roots accounted for 30, 15, 33 and 24 plant species, re­spectively, A total of IS medicinal for­mulatio ns were collected and classified based o n the local names such as medicinal oils (muligai ell/wi), o intments

S KARUPPUSAM Y el 01.: PHYTOMEDICINES FROM HERBAL VEN DORS IN TAMI L NAD U 29

Table I- Medi cinal pl alll parts so ld raw by the herbal vendors

Parts Botanica l name Vern acular name Famil y Propert i es!c u res sold (Tami l)

Leaves All drogmpliis panicllia/(l Nees. Nil avaembu Acanth aceae Alll idote Arlelll isia sieversialla Ehrh . ex Marikkolulldhu Asteraceae Aphrod isiac Will d. Clerodendrulll phlolllidis Willd. Thaluthalai Verbenaceae Flatu lence Colclenia proclllllbens L. Seruppadai Boragillaceae Dermatiti s Debregeasia longifo lia Wedd. Kattunochi Urticaceae Stomachic Eclipla proslrata L. Mant. Kari salai Asteraceae Skin di seases GYl/111 ellla svlveslre R. Br. Sirukurinjan Asc lepi adaceae Antidi abetic lllsl icia adlialocla L. Adathodai Acalllhaceae Haemorrhoid Lobelia nicoliallaefolia Roth . ex Kattupuhai yilai Lobeli aceae Ex pectorant Schultes Majoranll liortensis Moench. Marugu La m i aceae Stimu lant Pentalropis capensis Bull. Uppukkolli Asclepiadaceae Antiulcerous Pogoslelllon li eYlleanus Benth . Kathirpachai Lami aceae Diaphoreti c SOla1l/1I 1I Irilobalwn L. Thuthu val ai Solanaceae Bronchit is 7),lopliorrl indica MelT. Na nj aruppan Asclepi adaceae Alll iasthmatic Vilex Irifolia L. Karunochi Ve rbenaceae Alllimalari al

Stem Coscinilllll feneslrallllll Colebr. Maramanjal Meni spennaceae Antiinflammatory EnicoSlellla axillare (Lam. ) Ray. Vell arugu Gellli anaceae Anthelminti c l asll1inlllll angllslij'olilllll (L. ) Kuru vilangodi Oleaceae Alterant Wi lld. Sanlallllll albwn L. Sallthanam Salltalaceae Ant itumorous

Bark Al(1I lgilllll salvifolil/ l11 Wang. Alingil ai Alangiaceae Antiinfl ammatory Bixa orellana L. Japh ra manjal Bixaceae Astringent Cadaba/i-wicosa Druce. Kattakat i Capparaceae Carminati ve Callic([I ]H1lOlllenlosa (L. ) MUIT. Vetri lai patt i Verbenaceae Dropsy Capparis :eylanica Wall. Aatanday Capparaceae Antitumorous Ceriscoides wrgida (Roth .) Nanj undam Ru biaceae Emollient Tri ven. Cinllal//Ol/l/lIlllllacroC(// ]J1I11l Hk. Periya lavangam Lauraceae Stimu lant F. Clerodendrwn ViSCOSUlIl Vent. Perungil ai Verbenaceae Demu lcent COCCI/ IllS pelldllills Diels. Sarangothini Meni spermaceae Carminati ve Cra/aeva magna (Lour. ) DC. Mavalingam Capparaceae Hepatopathy Croton rigliulII L. Naervalam Euphorbiaceae Vermifuge Dolichandrone arcuata Clarke Rampalai Bignoni aceae Constipati on Elaeagnl/s conferta Rox b. Kuliri Eleaeagnaceae Helmithias is ElIlbelia ribes Burm. Voy uvilanga m Myrsinaceae Bronchiti s ErythroxylulI1l1lonogynlll1l Rox b. Sempul i nchan Erythroxylaceae Leucoderma GlIlelina asialica L. Ku malamaram Verbenaceae Astringent Holarrhena anlidysenrerica Wall. Vepalai Apocy naceae Antidysenteric Hydnocarplls laurifolia Sleumer. Sothukala Flacourtiaceae Diuretic Litsea gllllinosa Robinson Elumburuki Lauraceae Disinfectant Maerua ape tala Jacob Iru valli Capparaceae Expectorant

Comd ..

30 INDI AN J TRADIT IONAL KNOWL EDGE, VOL I. No. I. OCTOBER 2002

Tab le I- Medicinal plan t pariS so ld raw by the herbal vendors---Col/ld.

Parts Botanical namc Vernacular nallic Famil y Propert ics/cu res sold (Tam il )

Oro.rI'//(1II il/(/ic/(III l3enth. Ve nga m Bignoni aceae Demulcent Prelll l/a C(lrYIII /;osa ROll I. & Minnai Verbenaceac Bronchiti s Willd. R//(Is lIIy.wrens is G.Don Mullu veclm hi Anacarcliaccae Cephalalgia Sa /parlura persico L. Kunnimaram Sa lvadoraceae Cox iti s Shorea rox /; /( rghi i G. Don Thal ura Dipterocarpaceae Eczema S.I" lIphor !! lIIa il/ \'o//(cral /( II I Roxb. Pongurungu Verbenaceae Arthrit is Til/ospura cordi/ii / ia Miers. ex Chinti l Meni spermacee Alex ipharm ic Hook. f. Vel/ Ii /ago lIIatieraspalw/{/ Gaerl n. Vcmbaclam Rhamnaceae Astringe nt Vi l!!x lI eg /(l/do L. Vennochi Verbenaceae Bronchiti s Wrighlia lillcluria R. 13 r. Iru palai Apocynaceae Gonorrhoea

Root Achvrallfhes aspera L. Nayuru vi Amaranthaceae Anti infl ammatory AI/isochi//(s ca m oslIs Wall. Karpurava ll i Lami aceae Stimulalll All isollle/es lIIa/abarica R. 13 r. Pey mi ralli Lami aceae Astri ngent Allf ia r is loxicar ia Lesch. Marauri Moraceae Dyspepsia Aphal/al/ lhe cl/sp ida/a Planch. Kocli tancli Ulmaceae Flatulence A rislO/ochia il/d ica L. Aclaga m Aristolochiaceae Febrifu ge Barleria sl r igosu Willcl . Nil ambaram Acanthaceae Antidote Breyl/ ia vi li.I·-itiaea Fisch. Karunell i Eu phorbiaceae Emeti c Casear ia escll/el/la Roxb. KOllargovai F1acourliaceae Leucoderma Cissalllpe/os pareira L. Appata Meni spermaceae Bronchiti s C/eruriel/dn il l/ il/ enl/e Gaerln. Peenari sangu Verbenaceae Aill ipyretic C/erudel l(/m lll serra/ /( III (L. ) Angarava ll i Verbenaceae Digestive Moon. Coral/ocOIplls epigaells Hook. f. Akashakarudan Cucurbitaceae Antirabies CrvplO /ep is bll chw /(/I/ii R. & s. Nagathalec Periplocaceae Ailliclote Deca/epi.l· hall/i/lol/ii W. & A. Mahalikil angu Peri p I ocaceae Laxative Cel/dam ssa vulgaris Nees. Karunochi Acanthaceae Ulcerosis C /ycyrrhiza g /abra L. Athimathuram Fabaceae Refri gerent H elllide.I·lI/lIs il/diclIS R. 13 r. Nannari Peri plocaceae Diges ti ve Hygruphi/a all r iclI/ala Heine. Ncermu ll i Acanth aceae Emolli elll /clll lOcOIpllsji·lllescel/s R. 13 r. Parava lli Apocy naceae Febrifuge / ildigufera cassiuides Rottl. ex Sivanarvaembu Fabaceae Aillhelmintic DC. K/eil/ ia gralldi/lora (Wall. ex Muyalkathu Asteraceae Depurati ve DC.) Rani Lellcas aspera Link. Thumbai Lam i aceae Verminos is P/lll11bago zey /al/ ica L. Chitrarnu lam Plumbag inaceae Astringent Poeci/ul/ell l"Ol/ il/d iClI1II l3edd . Puthanko lli C1 usiaceae Anthelmintic Rall volfia se ipel/IiI/a l3elllh. ex Parnbu kad iver Apocynaceae Aillido te Kurz Rhi l/oCallfhlls IWS llfllS (L. ) Kurz Nagamall i Acanthaceae Anticlote

COI:td ..

S KARUPPUSAM Y el a/.: PHYTOM EDICINES FROM HERB AL VENDORS IN TAMIL NADU 31

Table I- Medicinal plant parts sold raw by the herbal vendors--Col/ld.

Parts Botan ical name Vernac ular name Fam ily Properties/cures sold (Tamil)

Rubia cordifulia L. Man!. Manjeeti Rubi aceae Antitu morous Scwel/aria viu/acea Hey ne. ex Malainangai Lami aceae Bronchitis Benth . Sida cordata Borssum. Palampasi Malvaeeae Antiulcerous T/lll11bergiafragrallS Rox b. Thanuthukodi Acanthaeeae Diaphores is Trellla oriel/lalis Blume. Ambarathai Ulmaceae Eczema Vallaris so/al/acea (Roth .) Kuntz. Nithi lam Apocynaceae Antidote Wilhal/ia sOllll/ifera Dunal. Amukra Solanacee Alterative

Flower Crocus salivlIs L.f Kunkumapoo Iridaceae Aphrodisiac Ellginea carvophyllata Alston Kirambu Myrtaceae Carminative MimI/SOps e/engi L. Mahi lam Sapotaceae Laxative

Fruit Ba/al/iles aegypliaca Rox b. Nanjunda i Balanitaceae Ant itumorous Cadaba Irifo/iala W. & A. Vilut i Capparacee Laxative Cell is phi/ippel/sis Blanco. Venkkottai Ulmaceae Stomachic He/ecleres isora L. Valamburi Stereu li aeeae Refrigerent Myrislica dacty/oides Gaertn. Kattujathikka Myrist icaceae Carmi nati ve Myrislica fragrans Houtt. Jathikay M yristicaceae Anthelmintic So/al/ulII slIrallel/Se Burm. f Mullukathri Solanaceae Aphrodisiac So/allllll/ vianlll/ Dunal. Kandangathri Solanaceae Haemoptysis Terlllil/alia bellirica Roxb. Thanrikay Combretaceae Refri gerent Terlllil/a/ia cllebll/a Retz. Kadukay Combretaceae Laxative

Seed Abrusfrwicli/oSIIS Wall. Pachaikundumani Fabaceae Alexiteric Abrus pII/chelllls Wall. Karuppukunduman i Fabaceae Aphrodisiac Ardisia so/al/acea Roxb. Kol ikottai Myrsinaceae Carminati ve Cassia abslls L. Mulaipa lvirai Caesa lpi ni aceae Haemostat ic Ce/aslms pal/iell/allis Willd . Valuluva i Celas traceae Stimulant Coch/ospennlllll re/igioslIIlI (L.) Kongilav u Cochlosper- Sedative Alston. maceae E/aeocarplIs wbercII /allls Roxb. Ruthraksham Elaeocarpaceae Cephalalgia Ellfada pllrsaelha DC. Malai thellu Mimosaceae Laxative Carcil/ia spiCUla (W.& A.) Hook. f. Thamarathai Clusiaceae Digestive Harpllllia arborea Rad lk. Neikkottai Sapindaceae Anthelmintic Jalropha 1Il 1l /lifida L. Malaiamanakku Euphorbi aceae Laxative Lophopeta/1I111 wiglllial/wlI Am. Venkkottai Celastraceae Stomachic MadllllCli lOl/gifo/ia Machr. Nattueluppai Sapotaeeae Anthelmint ic Mllclilla pmriells (L.) DC. Poonaykali Fabaceae Antipark insonian Pedalilll/1l11urex L. Yanainerunjil Pedaliaceae Febrifuge Psora/eel cory fllolia L. Karboga ari si Fabaceae Haemotactic Rederlllachera xy/ocarpa Schum. Vedanguruni Bignoniaceae Leucoderma ReinwardliodendrOlI al/alllallay- Santhanavirai Meliaceae Dermatitis allUIIl Saldanha SelllicarplIs allacardilllll L. f. Senkotta i Anacardiaceae Digestive SeSa1ll1l11l /al/ceolawlII Klein. ex Kattuyell u Pedaliaceae Laxative Willd.

Collfd.

32 IND IAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL I. No. I. OCTOB ER 2002

Table I- Medicinal plant parts sold raw by the herbal vendors-Collld.

Parts Botanica l name Vernacular name Family Propcrti es/cures sold (Tam il )

S,r vc!II/os lIux-l'olllica L. Yelli Loganiaceae Antidote SlrW:/lIws pOialO/"lll1l L. r. Thcthamkottai Loganiaceae Haematuria Tracliyspenlllllli ro.rburgliiallullI Ashamatagam Apiaceae Carminati ve (L. ) Spra , Zi~iplius xylopyros Wi lid . Mullukoltai Rhamnaceae Antidiabetic

Rhi zome Alpill ia galallga Sw. Ch i tharathai Zi ngiberaceac Stimulant Acoms calalllus L. Vasambu Araceae Expectorant Curculigo orcliioides Gac rtn . Nil appanai Amaryllidaceae Antipyretic Curcullla al'OlIIarica Sa l. Kasturimanjal Zi ngi beraceae Appe ti zer

Bulb Urgell ia illdica L. Nari vengayam Lil iaceae Haemotactic Tuber Asparagus racelllo.\'US Willd. Thanneermuttan Liliaceae Diureti c

ki lang u Dioscorea bulbifera L. Siruvalli Dioscoreaceae Card iotonic

Resin Bos\I'ellia sen oIa Rox b. Kurangu chambrani Burseraceae Antidysenteri c COllllllipliora CCludaf{t Engl. Kilu vai B u rseraceae Carminati ve FemIa asafoelida W. & A. Perungaya m Apiaceae Anti spasmod ic Gardellia gUl/lIl1ilera L. f. Kumbilpicin Rubiaceae Leprosy Lallllea coralllallilelica MelT. Uthianpicin Anacardi aceac Ast ringent Morillga cOllcallell sis Nimmo. ex Kattumurungai Moringaceae Bruises Gibs.

Table 2- Some herbal medicinal form ulati ons sold by street herbal vendors. their compos ition and ailments

Herbal formu­lations (Med ium)

1. Med icinal oils (Muliga i ellllai) Vadha el/lwi (Castor oil + neem oil in 2: I ratio)

Mega ellllai (Castor oil + Sesame oil in 2: I ratio)

Plants used

Allellilllll g raveolells

A lliulII salil'lIIl1 Bacopa 1II01lllieri Caesalp illia bOlldu(' CarriiospemlulII /wlic([­cabulII CrolOlI liglilllll D eloll ix alala Phyla lIodijlo/'{/ Piper IOllgUIII Arlelllisia vulgaris

Cellielia as ia/ica

Parts used

Seed

Bulb Lea f extract Leaf extract Lea f extract

Seed Leaf extract Leaf extract Seed Leaf extract

Leaf extrac t

Ailments

Paralysis and displacement of bones

Li ver. heart and stomach problems

Mode of application

Ex ternally on the part(s)

applied affected

Orally administered ( 10 ml/day for 48 days)

COIlld.

S KARUPPUSAMY et at.: PHYTOMEDICINES FROM HERBAL VENDORS IN TAMIL NADU 33

Table 2-Some herbal medicinal formu lations sold by street herbal vendors, their composi tion and ailments--Contd.

Herbal formu- Plants used Parts used Ailments Mode of application lations (Medium)

Coccinia grandiflora Leaf extract Coldenia proculllbens Plant extract Ficus religiosa Bark Michelia champaca Flower Myrislicaji'agrans Seed powder Pedalium mllrex Seeds Plumbago zeylanica Root Tinospora cordifolia Leaf

Vembadam ennai Alpinia galanga Rhizome Ulcer Orally administered (Castor oil) (5 ml thrice a day)

Caesalpinia bOllduc Root Cardiospermul11 halica- Leaf extract cabum Hemidesmus indicus Root Pergularia daelllia Root Solanum xanthocarpum Root Ventilago maderaspa- Bark extract tall a

Seethevi ennai Cardiospermul11 halica- Leaf extract Respiratory Orally administered (Coconut oil) cabum problems (10 ml/day for 15

days) Ferula asafoetida Resin Pergularia daemia Root Phyllamhus emblica Fruit Solanum trilobatul11 Leaf extract Terminalia chebula Fruit powder Tylophora zeylanica Leaf extract

Perali ennai Aloe vera Leaf extrac t Digestive Orally (Castor oil+ coco- problems & as administered nut oil in I: I ratio) appetizer (5 ml/day for 3

days) Alpinia galanga Rhizome Curcuma longa Rhizome Foelliculum vulgare Seed Harpullia arborea Fruit Hel11idesmus indicus Root Terminulia chebula Fruit Trigonella foenum- Seed graecum ZinsJber officinale Rhizome

Contd ..

IND IAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDG E, VOL I. No. I. OCTOBER 2002

Table 2- Somt: herbal med icinal fo rmul at ions sold by street herbal vendors, their compositi on and ai I ment s--Collld.

Ilerbal formu­lati ons (Medium )

KIII/Ihal ell/wi (Coconut oil )

2, Ointments (Kalilllbllgal ) Kavakkalilllbll

Pilavaikkalimbu

Erikayakkalirnbll

Plants used

Eclipla proslrara

Ellgellia caryophvl/ara FicIIs bellgi7alellsi.\· Clyeyrrhiw glabra MilllllSOpS elellgi Piper 10llglllll SOla1/1I11l sural/el/se Veliveria zizollioides

Aegle lIlarlllelos

Celaslnr.\· pal/ielllallls Cissalllpelos pareira Cyperus rollllldlls Diospyros lIlierophvlla Eclipta prostrara Phyla lIodijlora Piper betle Pllilica grallarulll Sida cordi/olia

Abrus preca/orills

Azima telracanrha Butea 11/0nosperllla EiaeocarpIIs tllberclI-la/us Moringa cOlleanensis Papaver sOlllllijenrlll Plumbago zeylanica Aloe vera

Anisorneles indica Azadirachta indica Calotropis procera Cocos nuci/era Datllra stramonium Moringa concallel/sis PIIlliea granatllrn Tinospora corciifo/ia

Parts used

Lea f

Flower Aeri al roo t Bark Flower Seed Root Root

Fruit

Seed Leaf Bulb Leaf Lea f Leaf Leaf Fruit Root

Seed

Root Resin Seed

Leaf Seed Root Leaf

Leaf Seed oil Flower Fruit shell Leaf Resin Flower Stem

Ailments

Dandruf and fo r healthy hair

Mode of applica tion

Externall y appl ied on hair

Cut wounds and Ex ternally appli ed ex ternal wound on the wound healing

External tumours Ex ternall y applied on the tumours

Fire wounds

burn Externally appli ed on the burn wound

Contd.

S KARUPPUSAMY el al.: PHYTOMEDICINES FROM HERB AL VENDO RS IN TAMIL NADU 35

Table 2- Some herbal medi c ina l fo rmul ations so ld by stree t herbal vcndors, the ir compositi on and

a i Iments--CIJII Id.

Herba l formu­lati o ns (Medium )

3. Herbal medici­nal powders ( Pudi

IIW n II /(lllllgl II)

Vis lllllllilrim

11111 rlllI dllll

Van llli ll nilltlli ll

Kabll!l IIl1/rllllt/hll

SlIdlwgll 1I1!1r11l1dhll

Plants used

/I /IIlmgraphis

Pllllic illatil

Pans used

Lea f

A r islolochia illdica Root Crvplo lepis bllc!wllllllii Root El'oll'IIIIIS alsilloides Plant Ichll oCll lp lls/i"lllescells Root R{{III,(J /jill Se llJ1! llfill1l Root RhillOClllllhlls 1I11.1'IIIIIS Root

Allilllll Sat iV1I1I1

Alpillill glllll llga Cissils ql{({drallg llillri.l'

Ellgellia ca rrophv lllllil C/rcvr rlli : 1I gillbra OCillll ll1l ,I'I IIIUIIIII

Piper IOllg11l1l Trigoll ello juelllllll -

graeclIlIl Z illgiher offic ill lile

Allilllll SlIli l' lIIl1

CisSIlS repells M llkia III l1dertlsp(l{llIIlI

OCill l ll1ll sallCllIl1I I 'erg illo r ia daelllill SOI!llIIlIll Irilo/;1II11111 T l' lophorti zevlllllicil

Cellfella asillliCil

EC! ipra proslrtllil Hygmphila ull ric lliara Rilla g raveolells

Bulb

Rhi zo me Stem Flower Bark Leaf Seed Seed

Rhi zome

Bul b

Stem Lca f Leaf Leaf Leaf Lea f

Lea f

Leaf Root Root

Ai lment s

Antido te for snake bite and scorpion sting

Gas troub le and sto mach problems

Nasobronchial di seases

Stomach proble ms

Mode of app li ca ti o n

Oral ly ad mini ste red (50 g/day fo r 3 days)

Ora ll y adm ini ste red (2 5 g/day for 5 days)

Ora lly ad mini ste red (25 g/day for 5 days)

Ora lly ad mini ste red ( lO g/day for only one day)

Conrd.

36 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL I, No. I, OCTOBER 2002

Table 2-So me herbal medicinal formulation s sold by street herba l vendors, their composition and ailments-Contd.

Herbal formu ­lations (M edium)

Plants used Parts used Ailments Mode of application

Wilhania sOlllnifera

Zingiber ojficinale

Root

Rhizome

Pedhi marundhu Acalypha indica Root

CardiosperlllLllll halica- Root cabum

C/erodendrum inerme Leaf

Croton tig/iLlIll Seed

Debregaesia elongata Bark

PoeciioneLlron indiculII Bark

Shorea roxbLlrghii Bark

Sida cordata Leaf

StlychllOS lIux-vomica Seeds

Pulllkkolli lIIarundhll

Cassia obtLlsa

Cassia selina

Chenopodium ambrosioides

Root

Root

Leaf

(kalimbugal) and herbal medicinal pow­ders (podimarundhugal). The components of medicinal formulations, parts of the plants used for the preparation with media and ailments treated are shown in Table 2. The results on the antimicrobial activ­ity of medicinal formulations showed that all the formulations were effective against tested microorganisms with different zones of inhibition (Tables 3 and 4) . The hexane extracts and water extracts of ka-

Dysentery, diarrhoea and cholera

Expelling intestinal worms

Orally admini stered (100 g/day for only one day)

Orally admini stered (50 g/day for only one day)

linzbugal and podimarundhugal showed least antimicrobial activity when com­pared with ethanol and petroleum-ether extracts.

Discussion It is evident from the findings that the

street herbal vendors have good knowl­edge about phytomedicines and they are continuing the preservation of vast use­ful folk knowledge on nature-cure even

Table >-Antimicrobial screening (zone of inhibition in mm*) of herbal oinunents (kalilllbllgal) and herbal powders (Podilllarlllulhugal) collected from street herbal vendors

Medicinal Ethanol extract Petroleum-ether extract Hexane extract Water extract formulations BS SA PA EC CA BS SA PA EC CA BS SA PA EC CA BS SA PA EC

I . Kayakkalimbu 20.5 21.2 18.9 19.1 25.1 16.2 15.1 10.2 17.0 19.5 18.3 21.2 2.5 18.1 21.2 11.2 21.4 24.1 19.2

2. Pilavaikalimbu 28.3 22.5 22.8 23.5 20.2 8.3 11.0 13.1 19.6 21.2 10.1 9.2 5.4 10.8 11.8 25.2 21.4 21.8 19.6

3. Eriiwyakkalilllbu 21.8 19.6 25.7 18.3 19.8 19.6 22.7 18.5 18.7 19.4 20.4 15 .2 7.4 1.9 8.2 18.2 16.3 21.2 28.2

4. Vishamarunthll 15.7 21.2 16.8 17 .2 8.5 5.3 5.8 6.2 5.8 2.1 7.5 8.2 14.3 5.2 8.1 5.1 6.2 7.5 3.5

5. Vayumarundhu 3.8 4.5 13.2 12.1 11.2 4.8 6.3 7.2 1.5 2.0 3.2 4 .5 3.4 2.1 3.5 4.5 4.5 21.1 18.3

6. Kabhamarundhu 18.5 7.4 15.3 18.2 10.0 21.5 19.5 18.1 19.2 11.3 7.4 8.2 1.9 2.4 1.8 3.5 4.8 5.8 6.6

7. Sdhagamarundhu 18.2 21.2 24.5 23.1 29.2 202 18.1 16.7 18.1 10.5 11.2 12.6 21.2 20.3 15.2 19.1 21.2 25.7 20.4

8. Bethimarundhu 27.2 21.8 25.4 29.2 18.2 25.1 20.8 21.2 20.6 21.4 18.5 16.2 16.7 18.9 12.8 21.5 23.2 18.5 19.4

9. Pulukkollima- 26.2 20.5 21.2 25.6 20.8 19.5 16.2 18.3 16.4 20.1 21.2 20.6 25 .3 11.6 10.5 26.5 20.1 20.5 21.2 rundhu

Control 4.5 4.8 4 .9 5.4 3.2 2.1 2.0 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 2.1 0.9 0.6

·Va1ues are mean of three replicates; BS=Bacjflus subtilis; SA=Staphylococcus aureus; PA=Pseudol1wnas aerugillOsa; EC=Escherichia coli; CA=Candida albicans

CA

22.1

27.3

19.3

2.1

11.2

7.4

12.8

15.2

7.4

VJ

~ ::0 c: '1:1

;:§ VJ

~ -< ~ ~ :-

'1:1 ::c ~ o s:: tTl o B ~ VJ

;2 o s:: ::c tTl

(;5 » r < tTl Z o o ::0 VJ

Z -l » s:: r z » o c:

W -..l

38 IND IAN J TRADITION AL KNOWLEDG E, VOL I, No . I. OCTOBER 2002

Table 4--Antimierobia l scree ning of herbal medicinal oils (Illulig({i ellllui) collected from strect herbal vendors

SI. Na ille of the mcdic inal oil Perce ntage of acti vity in hexa nc ex tract'" No BS SA PA EC CA

I. \/adfla elllllli RO.5 85.2 70.0 79 .8 85 .1 2. M ega ell i/(/i 90. 1 9-U 8004 8 1.9 70.2 1. Velllb({r/wlI ellll({i 82.5 9 1.0 95.0 82.3 83.3 -I . Seer/el'i ell lloi 9 1.7 9-1.5 83.8 87 .1 75.6 5. Peroli elu /(/i 80.2 89.4 9 1. I n .3 70.9 6. KU'ld//(// el//loi 75.7 69.5 80.3 71.1 86.1 7. Hex ane (co nt ro l) 20.3 18.7 25 .1 20.2 15.2

" Va lucs arc mcan of three repli catcs; I3S = 8 ocil/lls subrilis; SA = Swpilv/oc()cCUS (Iureus;

PA = Pseuc/ollwllos aemgill oso; EC = Escilericflio coli ; CA '" Calldido a/bi("(/lls

today . They were we ll versed with differ­ent types o f illness and could diagnose only by observing the sy mptoms of the patients. The herbal remedies have been developed and formulated by their fore­fa thers and these pract ices arc tradition­ally followed and communica ted by ver­balized means from generati on to genera­tion. The herbal vendors often exhibit their folk medicines on the roads ide sta ll s in busy streets of towns and the medic inal formulati ons are kept in glass jars and the raw plant parts in dried form . The plant products and plant parts sold by the herbal vendors are very common inmost of the localiti es of T amil Nadu but some are rare and endangered species such as Lobelia flicoliollaejolia, COSCillill1ll f ell­eslrallllll, Elllada pllrsaelllO, Urgenia in ­dica and Curcllligo orchioides_ In the present study, the roots and seeds were found collec ted from a large number of plant species. Thi s may lead to the deple­tion of rootstock of important ethnomedi ­cinal plants. Due to over exploitation and indi scriminate collection of rare and en-

dangered plants from the wild habitat, their populati on may decrease rapidl y .

The phytomedicinal therapy is cheaper, easy to procure and adm' nister. H istori­ca lly wes tern scienti fic i nvesligation o f plant based medici ne began wi th 0 ser­vat ions on the trad i tional usage, foll owed by extracti on, identi fication of acti ve con­stituents and finally the formulation and clinical trial sl}. Majority of the peop le in the wor ld are rely ing on the plants rather than commercial products developed from the pl ant materi als I~. Tami I adu has a great f loral di versi ty and compre­hensive traditi on in the use of med icinal plants for both an tibacter ial and anti fun-

I ... 15- 18 I h I ga activities . n t e present stu c y also, the herba l formulations of the ven­dors showed considerab le anti microb ial acti viti es. Some of the plants used by the street vendors for the preparation o f herbal medicine were already invest igated for the active principles and for thei r pharmacological activities and these in­vestigation s coincide w ith the resul t of the present study. Thus, the collecti on and

S KARUPPUSAMY et al.: PHYTOMEDICINES FROM HERBAL VENDORS IN TAMIL NA DU 39

documentation o f traditional knowledge on the ethnomedic ines is important for finding out new, effec ti ve and safe drugs fo r vario us ailments. However, to g ive more support to the above findings, fur­the r inves ti gations are needed for the isolation of acti ve princ iples and pharma­cological evaluation of diffe rent medic i­nal pl ant speci es reported in thi s study.

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