Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources

Vol. 1 (1), March 2010, pp. 97-101

Piscicidal plants used by Gond tribe of Kawal wildlife sanctuary,

Andhra Pradesh, India

E N Murthy1, Chiranjibi Pattanaik

2*, C Sudhakar Reddy

3 and V S Raju

1

1Plant Systematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, Kakatiya University, Warangal-506 009, Andhra Pradesh, India 2Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History, Deccan Regional Station, Hyderabad-500 017, Andhra Pradesh

3Forestry & Ecology Division, National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO, Hyderabad- 500 625

Received 4 June 2008; Accepted 18 August 2009

The present paper highlights the use of 25 plant species for fish poison by the Gond tribe living in the Kawal wildlife

sanctuary. Though most people from Gond tribe are engaged in fishing activities, they use their indigenous traditional

knowledge to catch the fish by applying plant extracts. The piscicidal plants used by Gonds are arranged alphabetically

along with botanical name followed by family name, local name, habit and plant part used.

Keywords: Andhra Pradesh, Fish poison, Gond tribe, Kawal wildlife sanctuary, Piscicidal plants.

IPC code; Int. cl.8 A61K 36/00, A01N 65/00

Introduction Plant poisons have been widely used by traditional

societies all over the world as a means of catching

fish. Plant extracts are referred to as botanicals and

when poisonous to fish are called piscicides1. Such

piscicidal plants contain different active ingredients

known as alkaloids, resin, tannin, saponin, nicotine,

diosgenin, etc2. However, these active ingredients are

toxic to fish at high concentrations and wear off

within a short time3, 4

. Many plants/plant parts from

different families have been applied for catching fish.

Some plants contain compounds of various classes

that have insecticidal, piscicidal and molluscicidal

properties5-11

. Synthetic organic compounds are

identified with problems of environmental resistance,

pest resurgence and detrimental effects on non-target

organisms because of their non-degradability12, 13

. The

botanical insecticides are believed to be more

environment-friendly because they are easily

biodegradable14

and leave no residues in the

environment11

. The importance of ethnobotanical

studies as cost-effective means of locating new and

useful plant compounds shows that commercial

synthetic drugs cost more than extractions from

plants. Also, the use of botanicals has been found to

aid fish cropping greatly as it saves time of fishing

and increase easy handling1. Ethnobotanists from

different parts of India have documented plant species

employed as fish poison15-26

. No such work has been

documented from the tribal dominated Adilabad

district of Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, an attempt has

been made to document and enumerate the piscicidal

plants with existing traditional uses and practices in

the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) of Andhra

Pradesh, India. This data may be useful in developing

potential drugs for catching fishes, which is a regular

practice in aquaculture industries.

Study Area

Kawal wildlife sanctuary is situated in Adilabad

district of Andhra Pradesh (Fig. 1, Map). It is located

around 260 km from Hyderabad and lies between 19º

05' -19º 20' N latitude and 78º 32' -79º 12' E

longitude. It occupies an area of 892.23 sq km. It is

one of the oldest sanctuaries of the state declared

during 1965. Vegetation in the sanctuary exhibits a

classical example of southern tropical dry deciduous

forests with predominantly species like Tectona

grandis Linn. f. and its associates Anogeissus latifolia

Wall. ex Bedd., Terminalia alata Heyne ex Roth,

T. arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn., Boswellia serrata

Roxb., Cleistanthus collinus (Roxb.) Benth. & Hook.

f., Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merrill,

Hardwickia binata Roxb., Haldinia cordifolia (Roxb.)

Ridsd, Mitragyna parviflora (Roxb.) Korth.,

Strychnos nux-vomica Linn., Chloroxylon swietenia

DC., Bombax ceiba Linn., Diospyros melanoxylon

Roxb., etc. Various tribes inhabit in and around the

sanctuary area but the major tribe is the Gond tribe ___________________

*Correspondent author, E-mail: jilu2000@rediffmail.com

INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2010

98

who has developed unique indigenous knowledge

related to the uses of plant resources due to constant

association with the forests. The climate of the area is

characterized by hot summer and dry except during

the southwest monsoon season. The area receives

about 1,044 mm rainfall annually. The minimum and

maximum temperatures are 15 and 44ºC in the month

of December and May, respectively27

. Humidity is

generally high especially in the monsoon and post

monsoon months.

Methodology

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted during

2005-2007 to collect information from the Gond tribe

inhabiting in Kawal wildlife sanctuary. During the

survey of the tribal villages, different methods used to

catch fishes were also recorded. Generally, they used

various plant species extracts to stupefy the fish to

catch them easily. As many of the Gond people

depend on fishing activities, these piscicidal plants

make their work easy in fishing. The data collected

were further verified and cross-checked in different

villages with Gond people. Efforts have been made to

select the plants in flowering and fruiting condition

and have been provisionally identified by consulting

the regional floras28, 29

. The collected plant specimens

were also matched with Herbarium of Regional

Research Laboratory (RRL-B), Bhubaneswar, Orissa

and deposited in the Herbarium of Botany Department

(KUH), Kakatiya University, Warangal, Andhra

Pradesh.

Results and Discussion The list of plant species having piscicidal effects in

the surveyed areas is enumerated alphabetically with

botanical names with voucher number, family name,

local name, locality of collection, habit, parts used

and active ingredients (Table 1, Plate 1). A total of 25

plants were collected and identified during the field

investigation, which belong to 18 families and 24

genera. Tree has the highest diversity (15 species)

followed by 5 shrubs, 4 herbs and one climber. The

family with the most species used for this purpose is

Rubiaceae (3 species) followed by Apocynaceae,

Loganiceae, Fabaceae and Sterculiaceae with 2

species, and rest of the families is with single species.

Stem bark of various plants (10 spp.) are used

maximum times with seed (5 spp.) and fruit, leaves,

rhizome and roots with 2 species each. Some plants

like leaves of Holoptelia integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch,

fruit of Balanites aegyptiaca (Linn.) Delile, seed of

Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken, stem bark of

Wrightia tinctoria (Roxb.) R. Br., seed of Strychnos

nux-vomica Linn. and S. potatorum Linn. are mostly

preferred for fish poison and frequently used by the

Gond tribe. The parts of other plant species are used

occasionally.

The results obtained from this study brought in

light of piscicidal plants of KWS. Gond tribe living

inside the sanctuary is fond of fishing and often

spends the whole day for this purpose in festival

occasion. For stupefying fish through usage of fish

poisons, the selection of a suitable water body is very

important. For this, the tribal people prefer shallow

water bodies and slow flowing or stagnant water.

Sometimes for catching fish from rivers, the flow of

water is checked either by erecting temporary wall of

mud and stones or by diverting the water current into

small ponds. Different plant parts (see Table 1) were

crushed and thrown in stagnant water. The bio-active

compounds present in the plants act on fishes and

their activity slowly get paralyzed. Thus, the fish

poison makes the fish float in a dazed state and

come to the surface of water from where they can

be captured easily. However, the tribal observations

Fig. 1Location map of the study area

KAWAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

MURTHY et al: PISCICIDAL PLANTS KAWAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

99

regarding fish poison are that the fish lose

consciousness and the effect of fish poison does not

adversely change the taste and quality of fish. They

are also in perception that by taking the fish as food, it

won’t affect their health condition. The extracts from

these plants are used mostly in dry season when water

level is low. This allows use of small quantity of

botanical to stupefy fish with little effort for cropping.

The present data was compared with other published

literature and found that some of the plant usages

listed are not recorded earlier. The fruit of Balanites

aegyptiaca is used in the present study while stem

bark of the same plant is mentioned in the study

carried out in Chhattisgarh state24

. The use of stem

Table 1Plants used as fish poison by Gond tribe of Kawal wildlife sanctuary

Botanical name/ Voucher No. Family Local name Collected place Habit Parts used Ingredients

Acorus calamus Linn./KUH 2010 Acoraceae Vasa nabhi Donga pally Herb Rhizome Asarone and

beta-asarone

Balanites aegyptiaca (Linn.)

Delile/KUH 2022

Balanitaceae Gara Alinagar Tree Fruit Saponin

Calotropis gigantea (Linn.) R.Br. ex

Ait./KUH 2011

Asclepiadaceae Gilledu Jannaram Shrub Root Calotropin

Careya arborea Roxb./KUH 2024 Lecythidaceae Budda dharmi Talamadugu Tree Stem bark Tannin

Cassia fistula Linn./KUH 2023 Caesalpiniaceae Rela Juvviguda Tree Stem bark Anthraquinone

Catunaregam spinosa

(Thunb.)Tirveng./KUH 2026

Rubiaceae Manga Gandigopalraopur Shrub Stem bark Piperine

Cleistanthus collinus (Roxb.) Benth.

& Hook.f./KUH 2033

Euphorbiaceae Nalla kodisha Rampur Tree Stem bark Alkaloids

Costus speciosus (Koenig.) Sm.

KUH 2035

Zingiberaceae Chengala gadda Donga pally Herb Rhizome Diosgenin

Gardenia latifolia Soland./ KUH 2030 Rubiaceae Bikki Alinagar Tree Stem bark Alkaloids

Garuga pinnata Roxb./KUH 2015 Burseraceae Garugu Jannaram Tree Fruit Garuganin

Gloriosa superba Linn./KUH 2018 Lilliaceae Nabhi Beersaipeta Herb Tuber Saponin

Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.)

Ridsd./KUH 2038

Rubiaceae Bandari Juvviguda Tree Stem bark Triterpenoids

Helicteres isora Linn./KUH 2041 Sterculiaceae Nulthadu Huzoor nagar Shrub Bark Alkaloids

Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.)

Wall. ex G.Don/KUH 2045

Apocynaceae Pala kodisha Rampur Shrub Stem bark Holarrhinene,

Conessine

Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.)

Planch./KUH 2017

Ulmaceae Nemali nara Koyagudem Tree Leaves Octacosanol

Madhuca indica J.F.Gmel./ KUH 2046 Sapotaceae Ippa Parupally Tree Seed Alkaloids

Ougeinia oojeinensis

(Roxb.)Hochr./KUH 2048

Fabaceae Vandanamu Muthyampeta Tree Leaves Alkaloids

Plumbago zeylanica Linn./ KUH 2059 Plumbaginaceae Chitramoolamu Tallapeta Herb Root Plumbagin

Pongamia pinnata (Linn.) Pierre

KUH 2051

Fabaceae Kanuga Jannaram Tree Seed Pongmol

Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken.

KUH 2055

Sapindaceae Pusuku Alinagar Tree Seed Alkaloids

Sterculia urens Roxb./KUH 2058 Sterculiaceae Tapsi Kalleda Tree Stem bark Glucuronic acid

Strychnos nux-vomica Linn.

KUH 2061

Loganiaceae Visha mushti Lingapur Tree Seed Strychnine

Strychnos potatorum Linn./ KUH 2065 Loganiaceae Chilla Kawwal Tree Seed Strychnine

Ventilago denticulata Willd.

KUH 2068

Rhamnacee Danti Kalleda Climber Stem bark Alkaloids

Wrightia tinctoria (Roxb.) R. Br.

KUH 2070

Apocynaceae Kodisha pala Talamadugu Shrub Stem bark Isoricinoleic

acid

INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2010

100

bark of Wrightia tinctoria in this paper deviated from

the use of root bark of the same plant for stupefying

the fish in other region22

. Stem bark of Holoptelia

integrifolia is used in Maharashtra but leaves of the

same species are used by the Gond people in present

study25

.

Plate 1Some plants collected during field survey in Kawal wildlife sanctuary

MURTHY et al: PISCICIDAL PLANTS KAWAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

101

Conclusion The listed plants in this study certainly contain

certain active ingredients, which cause physiological

impairment in fish. Most of these plants have

medicinal values as well, so storage and

further development of their germplasm should be

ensured. This data regarding piscicidal plants may be

useful in developing eco-friendly methods to

eradicate fishes from the aquaculture ponds without

using any hazardous chemicals. Hence, there is need

to explore more environment and health-friendly fish

toxicants from plants to stupefy and catch fishes.

Acknowledgements The authors are thankful to the Head, Department

of Botany, Kakatiya University for providing facilities

to work. We are also thankful to Chief Wildlife

Warden and Forest Department, Andhra Pradesh to

permit us to work in the Kawal wildlife sanctuary.

References 1 Burkill HN, The useful plants of West Tropical Africa, 2nd

Edn, Vol. 1, Families A-D, Royal Botanical Garden, Kew,

1985.

2 Wang S and Huffman JB, Botanochemicals: Supplements to

petrochemicals, Econ Bot, 1991, 35, 369-382.

3 Kulakkattolickal AT, Piscicidal plants of Nepal: primary

toxicity screening using carp (Genopharyngodon idella)

fingerlings, J Ethnopharmacol, 1987, 21, 1-9.

4 Adewumi CO, Plant Molluscicides, Potential of Aridan,

Tetrapleura tetraptera for schistosomiasis control in Nigeria,

Sci Total Environ, 1991, 102, 21-33.

5 Neuwinger HD, Plants used for poison fishing in tropical

Africa, Toxicon, 2004, 44, 417-430.

6 Rao IG, Singh A, Singh VK and Singh DK, Effect of single

and binary combinations of plant-derived molluscicides on

different enzyme activities in the nervous tissue of Achatina

fulica, J Applied Toxicol, 2003, 23, 19-22.

7 Tripathi SM and Singh DK, Molluscicidal activity of Punica

granatum bark and Canna indica root, Braz J Med Biol Res,

2000, 33, 1351-1355.

8 Singh A and Singh SK, Molluscicidal evaluation of three

common plants from India, Fitoterapia, 2005, 76, 747-751.

9 Singh D and Singh A, Piscicidal effect of some common

plants of India commonly used in freshwater bodies against

target animals, Chemosphere, 2002, 49, 45-49.

10 Prajapati V, Tripathi AK, Khanuja SPS and Kumar S, Anti-

insect screening of medicinal plants from Kukrail forest,

Lucknow, India, Pharmaceut Biol, 2003, 41, 166-170.

11 Marston A and Hostettmann K, Plant molluscicides,

Phytochemistry, 1985, 24, 639-652.

12 Koesoemadinata S, Pesticide as a major constraint in

integrated agriculture aquaculture farming system, In:

Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Farming Systems, by

RSV Pullin and ZH Shehadeh (Eds), International Centre for

Living Aquatic Resources Management, Manila, Philippines,

1980, p. 45.

13 Cagauan AG and Arce RG, Overview of Pesticides Use in

Rice-Fish Farming in Southeast Asia, In: Rice-Fish Research

and Development in Asia, by CR dela Cruz, C Lightfoot, BA

Costa-Pierce, VR Carangal and MP Bimbao (Eds),

International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources

Management, Manila, Philippines, 1992, p. 217.

14 Kela SL, Ogunsusi RA, Ogbogu VC and Nwude N,

Screening of some plants for molluscicidal activity, Revue

Eled Med Vet Physc Trop, 1989, 42, 195-202.

15 Raizada MB and Verma SB, Indian plants reported as fish

poison, Indian For, 1937, 63, 198.

16 Bhatia HL, Use of Mahua cake in fishery management,

Indian Farming, 1970, 20, 39-42.

17 Lamba SS, Indian pisicicidal plants, Econ Bot, 1970, 24,

134-136.

18 Joshi P, Fish stupefying plants employed by tribals of

southern Rajasthan – A probe, Curr Sci, 1986, 55, 647-650.

19 Pal DC and Saren AM, Some plants used by tribals of India

for poisoning/stupefying fishes, J Econ Taxon Bot, 1986, 8,

13-16.

20 Caril Nayagam M, Ravi R and Kandaswamy R, Plants used

by Kattunayakkas for stupefying fishes, J Econ Taxon Bot,

Addl Ser, 1996, 12, 287-288.

21 Islam M, Ethnobotanical studies of certain piscicidal plants

of Assam and its neighbouring areas, Nature Biosphere,

1996, 1, 7-11.

22 Sharma SK, Additions to the fish stupefying plants employed

by tribals of southern Rajasthan, J Econ Taxon Bot, 1997, 21,

249-251.

23 Sharma PP and Singh NP, Plants used for stupefying fish by

tribals Dadra and Nagar Haveli (UT), J Econ Taxon Bot,

2001, 25, 221-224.

24 Kumar Virek and Sikarwar RLS, Plants used as fish poison

by tribals of Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, India,

Ethnobotany, 2003, 15, 87-89.

25 Pawar S, Patil MV and Patil DA, Fish stupefying plants used

by tribals of North Maharashtra, Ethnobotany, 2004, 16, 136-

138.

26 Tirkey Amia, Fish stupefying plants used by tribals of

Joshpur district, Chhattishgarh, India, J Econ Taxon Bot,

2006, 30, 163-166.

27 Anonymous, Indian Meteorological Department, Adilabad

district (http://adilabad.ap.nic.in/). (Accessed on 25th May

2008).

28 Gamble JS, Flora of Presidency of Madras, Adlard & Son

Ltd., London, 1928.

29 Pullaiah T and Chennaiah E, Flora of Andhra Pradesh, Vols

I-III, Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, 1997.