Hepatoprotective ethnomedicinal plants of Mavilan and Koraga tribes of the Western Ghats region of Kerala, India

Abstract

Liver diseases have steadily increased to become one of the major causes of death globally for the past few decades, causing roughly two million deaths per year worldwide. Since ancient times, people have used medicinal plants to cure various liver disorders, and there are many plants and herbal preparations available in the market that can act as liver-protecting agents. As part of our ethnomedicinal survey, we have enumerated a variety of plants that the Mavilan and Koraga tribes of the southern Western Ghats region used to cure liver disorders. Face-to-face interviews with the tribal practitioners were conducted using a questionnaire after obtaining prior informed consent from each informant. The survey revealed 27 ethnomedicinal information for the treatment of liver diseases, of which 12 are single drug preparations and 15 are formulations. The survey documented 34 plant species belonging to 32 genera and 23 families for the treatment of liver diseases. This is the first study of its kind conducted in the Mavilan and Koraga tribal hamlets with the aim to document and conserve the ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants used to cure liver diseases. The detailed literature search revealed that the single drug plants Biophytum reinwardtii, Cycas circinalis, Lepidagathis keralensis and Memecylon randerianum are reported first time for their ethnomedicinal use against liver diseases.