Traditional herbal remedies of Malakudiya tribe of Kasaragod district of Kerala state

Abstract

The present study enumerates the traditional knowledge of the Malakudiya tribes of Kasaragod district of Kerala State. The tribal people are still depending on the traditional healthcare system to heal their ailments. The nearby forests and surroundings waste lands providing adequate raw materials for the preparation of herbal remedies. An open-ended semi-structured interview with a rather simple questionnaire was employed to collect the traditional information. A total number of 10 informants from the Malakudiya tribal community were interviewed and are having an age group of 50-80 during the course of study. Traditional knowledge of 21 plant species belonging to 18 families were documented for treating around 16 kinds of ailments. Rutaceae and Aristolochiaceae are the dominant families. It is an attempt made to preserve the rich traditional wealth of the tribal community.