Ethnomedicinal Information of Selected Members of Vitaceae with Special Reference to Kerala State
Rani Joseph *
Department of Botany, St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, Kottayam, Kerala, 686101, India.
Scaria K. Varghese
Department of Botany, St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, Kottayam, Kerala, 686101, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
An ethnobotanical exploration of selected Vitaceae members of Kerala state was conducted from September 2014 to December 2018. During the ethnobotanical surveys, personal interviews were conducted with herbal medicine practitioners, traditional healers, elder tribal people and village dwellers. Field studies were conducted at regular intervals in various seasons in different regions of Kerala. Some of the genus belonging Vitaceae have ethnomedicinal significance stated by herbal medicine practitioners and elder tribal persons. It is an urgent need for documenting these peculiar plant species before such valuable knowledge becomes inaccessible and extinct.
Keywords: Ethnomedicine, Kerala, traditional healers, Vitaceae.