0998-A2

Attitudes Towards the Use of Medicinal Plants for Diseases in the Siruvani Hills of Western Ghats, India

P.S. Navaraj^[1]

ABSTRACT

The new branch of science, Medico-ethnobotany acts as a bridge between traditional knowledge of tribal peoples and botany regarding medicinal aspects of plants. A large chunk of the global population relies on traditional medicine and a large part of the therapies consists of plant extracts or their active constituents. India is very rich in medicinal plants. This diversity of flora is spread over the natural habitats of forest environment.

In the Siruvani hills the native community, the Irulars use these medicinal plants with their own life styles, rituals, customs and beliefs. The interest in herbal medicine and its utilization has been increasing rapidly in recent years. The native community Irulars have dark complexions, a platyrrhine nose, are of short stature and have scanty hair with dry skin. They have a good knowledge of the medicinal plants of the Siruvani hills.

This paper aims to reveal the attitudes towards the use of plants to treat diseases among tribal and non-tribal people in terms of age, sex, education and income. Due to high expenses, the tribal people refuse to use modern medicines. Their belief in the natural medicinal plant medicines is highlighted here. Knowledge about the usage and innovative management of herbal plants is also discussed.

Introduction:

The new branch of Science Medico-Ethano botany acts as a bridge between botany and tribal knowledge regarding the medicinal aspects of plants. Today a large chunk of population relies on medicinal plants for their treatment for diseases. (WHO, 1993). The rich and diverse floristic wealth including a large number of medicinal plants in India

Provides a natural medicine to the habitants. The diversity is spread on the natural habitats in different vegetation or forest types. The native communities use traditional medicines with their own life style, customs, rituals and beliefs. Irrespective of the availability of modern medicines, the Irular community in Siruvani hills of Coimbatore district uses the medicinal plants for their diseases. Irulars are good at knowledge of herbal wealth and related vegetation in the immediate vicinity. Their knowledge and usage is being compared with the non tribal people of the same locality.(Sharma, 2000)

Tamilnadu is under strategic geographical location and possess an invaluable treasure herbal of medicinal plants holding major share in cultivation and export of more than fifty medicinal plants species. Hundreds of other species available under the natural ecosystem are gathered and exported to many countries. Medicinal plants are cultivated in Tamilnadu are cultivated in isolated patches each being grown in favourable soil and agro climatic region. For eg Senna and Periwrinkle are cultivated in the southern districts.(Kurien, 1995)

This is because their sustainable character is essential to sustain one of world’s oldest medical tradition, a priceless legacy of the Indian people. Millions of rural house holds are using medicinal plants in a self-help mode. The tribal adults living in remote areas still depend on indigenous systems of medicine to a great extent. Ethano botanical survey conducted among the tribal and forest habitants of Coimbatore district has brought to light a number of wild plant species used by them as medicine. The various parts of plants were used individually or combined in some medicinal formularies (Karuppasamy, 2001). There is very slow in increasing consumer attitude and practice in using for medicinal plants for health care in rural and hill area since herbal medicines or medicinal plants are one of the basic requirements of healthy living among any society, an empirical study on attitude towards herbal medicine or medicinal plants in health care among tribal is a significant one.

Objectives:

1. To find out and compare the socio-economic characteristics among the selected tribal and non-tribal adults in the study area.

2. To ascertain and compare the level of attitude towards uses of herbal medicinal plants in health care among the selected tribal and non-tribal adults.

3. To find out the inter relationship among the selected tribal and non tribal adults towards uses of herbal medicinal plants in health care.

4. To understand the possible ways to propagate the traditional medicines and innovative management.

Hypothesis:

1. There will be no significant association between the respondents age and attitude towards the use of herbal plant in health care among tribal and non tribal people.

2. There is no significant association between the respondents family type and attitude towards the use of medicinal plants in health care among tribal and non tribal people.

3. There is no significant association between the respondents monthly income and use of medicinal plants in health care of the tribal and non tribal people.

4. There is no significant relationship between the sex and education status and the attitude towards the uses of medicinal plants in health care of the respondents both in tribal and non tribal area.

5. There will be no significant difference between the respondents belong to tribal and non tribal areas with reference to attitude toward the uses of medicinal plants in health care.

Methodology:

The present investigation is based on Survey Method. The Survey Method is used to study the respondents level of attitude towards the uses of medicinal plants in health care.

The purpose of this research design is to provide description of an individual, a community, a society, an event or any other unit under investigation. Since this is the comparative study the tribal and non tribal areas has been chosen from the study areas in Tamilnadu. For tribal and non tribal area Coimbatore district has been selected. Five villages in each selected districts had been chosen. The multi stage random sampling technique has been used and thus the sample consists of 120 respondents (each 60 adults from tribal and non tribal area).

For the purpose of the study, an interview schedule which covers the socio economic particulars of the respondents and the measuring the attitudes of the respondents on uses of medicinal plants for health care, which are presented in Table -1 by using the three point scale. Statistical tools were employed to draw meaningful inferences.

Findings and Discussions.

1. In the study area most of the respondents both from tribal and non tribal area come under the age group of 28-42 years.

2. 65% and 35% of the respondents in tribal area belongs to male and female respectively where as it is 68% and 32% in non tribal areas.

3. All the responsdents in both tribal and non tribal area belong to same religin, Hindu. All the respondents in tribal area belong to (Sloca 42% and Irular 58%) Scheduled tribe community. In non tribal area BC 25%, MBC 42% and SC 33% forms the caste group.

4. All the respondents are not married and all of them are engaged in agricultural activities either involved in own agriculture or involved as agricultural coolies both in tribal and non tribal area.

5. Illiteracy is more in tribal area when compare to non tribal area. (74% in tribal and 58% in non tribal area.

6. Majority of the respondents in tribal areas are getting monthly income of rs 1500-3000 (56%) and the income between Rs 1000-4000 (62%) in non tribal areas. Only 5% and 18% of the non tribal people are earning more than Rs.5000/month.

7. Among 78% of tribal and 54% of non tribal respondents are living in nuclear families and rest are in joint family system.

8. Majority of the respondents in tribal area (85%) spends up to Rs 60/permonth for their family medical expenditure. Around 60% of the non tribal respondents spend between 80-150 for their family medicinal expenses. Only 28% of the respondents in non tribal area spends between Rs. 151-300 per month for their family expenses.

Hypothesis related findings and Discussions.

1. There is no significant association between the age group of the respondents and their attitude towards use of medicinal plants both in tribal and non-tribal areas. (Table 2). Similar finding has been reported in the work of Sharma (2000). The age is not the factor but the economicstatus and an understanding about the herbal medicines decides the popularity of traditional medicines.

2. In the tribal area there is no significant association between the family type and use of medicinal plants. But in non - tribal areas joint family system have more favorable attitude towards the uses of medicinal plants for health care. A comparative data analysis is presented in annexure as Table 3. This indicates that a shifting of allopathy to homeo or naturapathy is the modern trend.

3. There is no significant relationship between monthly income and use of herbal medicines in the selected groups.(table4). Public wants the disease to be cured with out causing any side effect and for that the economic condition is not the criteria.

4. There is a significant relation ship between the use of medicinal plants and education in tribal and no such relationship is found in non tribal areas.(table 7) The well awared people alone opt for the traditional medicine. They have to wait patiently for curing a disease. An immediate temporary cure is not matching with the permanent cure. Hence the educationally strong people can alone understand the importance of traditional medicine.

5. There is a significant difference between the respondents who belong to tribal and non-tribal people with regard to their attitude of use medicinal plants. The knowledge of use of medicinal plants is more in tribal when compare to non tribal. (table 8). The attitude will emerge only after getting a thorough understanding about the practice. Since the tribal people are living along with herbal plants their life is totally depend on the herbal medicines and hence tribal people show more interest than non tribal people.

Limitations.

Since the study covers only limited area the results cannot be generalized to the whole universe. To some extent the uses of medicinal plants in health care are determined by some hereditary factors so the results were not authenticated. In the interview schedule researchers have used to study a few medicinal plants for only certain health care both in tribal and non tribal area.

Suggestions.

Efforts should be taken by all concerned to promote medical cultivation both in tribal and non-tribal areas. Stress more given in non-tribal areas. NGO and other organizations may create suitable awareness among the public regarding medicinal plants. Educational institutions should play a vital role in promoting suitable awareness among the public regarding medicinal plants.

Innovative management in popularizing traditional medicines.

The use of traditional medicine India is widespread. As a medical system, it is affordable, accessible, and culturally acceptable. In the past, colonial regimes legislated against use of traditional medicine and prohibited or restricted the activities of traditional medical practitioners, largely in an effort to extirpate traditional belief systems in favour of Christianity. Efforts to repeal outdated legislation are gaining momentum, while traditional practices regain recognition for their cultural and medicinal values. The popularity of traditional medicine is increasing due to several key factors. The cost of conventional medicine is beyond the reach of many Africans, and is often unavailable. The ratio of Western doctors to patients in many parts of the region is extremely poor. Traditional medicine, on the other hand, is available in almost every village, with either traditional medical practitioners present, or knowledgeable elders able to treat health problems.

Several governments in the region have realised the value of traditional medicine especially in relation to primary health care in their countries. Zambia and Zimbabwe in particular are noteworthy for their efforts to increase understanding between traditional and conventional practitioners, and to encourage cooperation in the treatment of a variety of ailments. Trade is becoming increasingly commercialised as traditional medical practitioners use networks of professional collectors to supply the necessary ingredients. Unfortunately, many of these collectors and vendors of medicinals have little interest in the long-term sustainability of the industry, and are only involved to make a profit to meet daily economic needs. In Kenya, rural to urban migration has led to more people getting into the business, with an increasing scarcity of valued species near urban areas as more people search for diminishing supplies. Many organisations within government, NGOs and the private sector have made progress in addressing the issues. However, joint action must be taken on several levels to solve this looming health and conservation crisis. Both the natural resources sector and the health sector must be involved in developing strategies to address the issue and ensure that African countries retain their wild heritage and a high standard of healthcare for all. Action needs on the conservation, management, and awareness fronts, as well as the fields of regulation and research. Efforts, however, will only be successful if they are cross-sectoral, and encourage cooperation and collaboration between government health ministries, natural resource managers, traditional medical practitioners and a wide variety of other interest group.

Demand for traditional medicine is increasing, hence strategies to increase supply are especially important, and will involve government and private action to propagate, breed, and sustainably harvest plant and animal species from the wild. Many efforts to prompt such action involve bringing together representatives from sectors and industries that do not traditionally collaborate, as innovation and creativity are essential in developing strategies and definitive actions to address conservation and health issues. A first effort aimed at bringing together experts from a variety of sectors involved a workshop held in December 1998, in Nairobi with participants with a diversity of expertise, ranging from commercial game management, economics, traditional medical practice, commercial herbal medicine production, biodiversity and conservation.. Following thorough examination of the conservation, management, awareness, research and regulation aspects of the issue, the workshop participants recommended four main focus areas for joint action.

Promoting and undertaking research which address data management and policy deficiencies. In the area of policy and regulation, it was ascertained that there are no specific policies or laws covering wildlife medicinals, and there are numerous regulations that impede conservation and appropriate management of these resources. These regulatory mechanisms need to be reviewed and if changes are needed then action should be taken.

Inventories of wildlife medicinals should be undertaken to increase knowledge about the status of medicinal plant and animal species, so that appropriate action can be taken to ensure sustainable utilization. Finally, capacity building should be promoted among local institutions, particularly those involving traditional medical practitioners. This was recognised as being essential, as these individuals have much knowledge and commitment to conservation and sustainable use, but often lack the necessary tools to achieve positive action.

Natural resources are declining and healthcare needs are rising. To meet the multi-sectoral goals of conservation and sustainable utilisation of wild plant and animals, AND medicinal security for all, joint efforts are required. No one group can do it alone. Agencies and organisations have different priorities and objectives, but these are inter-linked. Only through collaboration and cooperation can conflicting aims be addressed and our problems solved. We need research and good information.

Preliminary results on the evaluation of herbal preparations used for the management of HIV/AIDS in many African countries, have shown encouraging results in that there have been improvements of quality of life and clinical conditions of patients treated with such herbal preparations. Blood tests to monitor their level of immunity (CD4 and CD8 counts) have also shown an improvement and in some cases there has been a significant decrease in viral load. However, further research is needed to confirm these results for safety and efficacy.

Table 1 - Uses of Some medicinal plants.

Bibiliography

1. Darshan Shankar (2001) Current scenerio of Medicinal plants. Paper presented in the National seminar on Medicinal plants at Trichy on Oct 20-21,2001

2. Husnu C. Baser (1999) in Rajamanis Paper on Scope of cultivation of High value Medicinal plant in Tamilnadu with reference to species notified by the National plantation board, Souvenir on National seminar on Medicinal plant at Trichy 2001

3. Karuppasamy (2001) Evaluation of Medicinal plants in Dindigul district of Tamilnadu

Paper presented in the National seminar on Medicinal plants, 2001

4. Kurian J.C.,(1995) Plants that heal, Orient Watchmann Publishing house, Pune.

5. Sharma (2000) Indigneous health practices related to fever among Bharias of Patalkot of M.P., Jabalpur, Tribal Health bulletin, Regional Medical Research center, Vol 6 No 2.