Abstract

Background: Tribal people are well-informed about the causative factor of various ailments and also the medicinal herbs that can cure those ailments. Pachamalai Hills is known for its richest biodiversity and it is one of the greenest mountains in Tamil Nadu. Majority of people belonging to Malayali community live here and they have good knowledge about the curing effects of medicinal herbs.

Aims and Objective: To ascertain the medicinal use of the plants, which are used for heart diseases by the tribal people in Pachamalai Hills, Tamil Nadu, India.

Materials and Methods: Thirteen plant species were collected once in every 3 months from Pachamalai Hills during 2013–2015. The plants were identified and confirmed with a senior plant taxonomist.

Result: Based on the ethnomedical field survey, a total of 13 species of medicinally important plants that can cure cardiovascular diseases belonging to 11 families are distributed in 12 genera.

Conclusion: These plants species that can cure coronary heart disease may also have great potential for research in the discovery of new drugs to prevent heart diseases.

Key words: Tribal; Ailments; Species; Pachamalai Hills