Traditional plants used for the treatment of gynaecological disorders in Vedaranyam taluk, South India - An ethnomedicinal survey

Abstract

Gynaecological disorder is one of the most severe conditions under reproductive health. So we investigate and collect information from traditional practitioners on the use of medicinal plants for treatment of Gynaecological disorder in Vedaranyam taluk, Nagappattinam district of South India. The field study was carried out for a period of January 2014–January 2015 in Vedaranyam taluk, Nagappattinam district of South India. This is the first traditional medicine study in which statistical calculations about plants are done by RFC, CI, UV and ICF in the study area. The ethnomedicinal information was collected through interviews, informal meetings, open and group discussions and overt observations with semi-structured questionnaires among traditional practitioners. A total of 66 species of plants distributed in 62 genera belonging to 44 families were identified as commonly used ethno medicinal plants by traditional practitioners in Vedaranyam taluk for the treatment of 36 ailments based on the reproductive systems treated. Leaves were the most frequently used plant parts and most of the medicines were prepared in the form of paste and administrated orally. We know the most important species according to their use value such as Moringa oleifera, Smailax zeylanica and Achyranthes aspera were recorded. The present study, we have highlighted some claims which are high use in the study area. Further pharmacological studies of these plants may provide some important drugs for the treatment of common gynaecological disorders.

Graphical abstract

1. Introduction

Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system (uterus, vagina and ovaries). Gynaecology is an important branch which deals with the treatment of ailments among rural women for example abortion, menstrual trouble, menopous syndrome, morning sickness, leucorrhea, anti-fertility, delivery problem, etc.¹ Socio economic conditions force many women's seek abortion. In countries where abortion is illegal or where the health system can't provide sufficient care, women are left with option of inducing abortion themselves. In India, Indian phenol code, which was enacted in 1816 and was written in accordance with British law at the time of creation, declared induced abortion as illegal Induced abortion was defined as purposely causing miscarriage.²

According to WHO³ ‘The health care of women is Crucial’. Women who live in hamlets economically and educationally very, very poor. Generally pregnant women of rural areas prefer a skilled village midwife to gynaecologist for delivery. It is not possible for them to go to the healthcare and multispecialty centers owing to distance and inadequacy of money. Traditional birth attendants (TBA) provide the majority of primary maternity care in many developing countries. In India, TBA have provide basic healthcare, support and advice during and after pregnancy and child birth, based primary on experience and knowledge acquired infirmly through the tradition and practice of the community where they originated. They usually work in rural, remote and other medically underserved areas.

Approximately 80% of world population depends on traditional herbal medicine for primary healthcare as plant and plant based medication in the base of many of the today's pharmaceutical drugs used for various ailments.⁴ In India almost 95% of medications are plant based formulations from the traditional system of Unani, Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Siddha and their associate material largely depended on wild harvested plants.⁵

Herbal medication hold highly reputational position in the developing countries like India and China becoming popular among people of both urban and rural areas to their safety, efficacy and affordability. Almost 8,000 plant species are registered for their ethnomedicinal importance⁶ and traditional knowledge based formulations or indigenous traditional medicine has played an elementary role in the innovation of novel healthcare products from plants.⁷

Many ethnobotanical studies have been carried out on the medicinal use of herbal plants but very few quantitative studies have been performed on the use of traditional remedies for gynaecological care. Fortunately, the tradition of using traditional remedies to treat female healthcare problem is still very much alive. However these traditional remedies have not been thoroughly documented. The creation of nuclear families where grand mothers are absent, migration to cities easy availability of synthetic drugs and access to primary health centre's are some of the reasons for the less of traditional knowledge about traditional remedies. In this study, we have documented the traditional knowledge on plants used for treating gynaecological disorders.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Selection of traditional practitioners

The population of the Vedaranyam (Taluk), Nagapattinam district is around 8 sites in our study total of 2, 15,653 (Males-1, 07, 007; Females-1, 08, 646) peoples were lived (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedaranyam_taluk). The informants or traditional practitioners were selected based on their knowledge of medicinal plants in the study area. The practitioners who had been practicing for more than 5 years were included in the survey. In the first visit, the purpose and nature of the project were explained to each practitioner in a simple language, to get prior informant consent. After establishing a clear consent from them, formal interviews were conducted from the second visit onwards. In this study, 120 traditional healer medical practitioners were included and their knowledge on medicinal plants was gathered. The interviews were conducted in the local language ‘Tamil’ and the documentation of the data in the field was also done in the local language. Successive free listing was the method adopted for the interview.⁸ The interview consisted of two parts. The first part dealt with the demographic profile of the informants which included the name, gender, age, professional experience, educational status and occupation (Appendix A). The second part dealt with their medicinal plant knowledge (Appendix B). The informants were asked to describe the medicines that were given by them with their mode of usage. The details regarding the parts used, mode of preparing the medicine and solvent used for administration in this part. Furthermore, the informants were asked to describe the symptomatology of illnesses.

2.2. Investigation sites

The study area was investigated to get information from local traditional practitioners having practical knowledge of medicinal plants were interviewed in 8 villages of Kallimedu, Kodia kadu, Kuravap palam, Maruthur south, Nakudaiyan, Panjanadhikulam east, Periakuthakai and Putpavanam, Vedaranyam (taluk), Nagappatinam (dt), Tamil Nadu, India (Fig. 1). The field surveys were conducted between January 2014 and January 2015 in Vedaranyam taluk of Nagappattinam district. A total of 365 field days was spent together the data. Methods of selecting informants depended upon the distribution of local people having sound knowledge. They were requested to collect specimens of the plants they know or to show the plant species on site. These informants were traditional practitioners themselves or had tradition of healing in their families and had knowledge of the medicinal use of the plants. The wealth of medicinal plant knowledge among the people of this district is based on hundreds of years of beliefs and observations.

Fig. 1.

Investigation sites.

2.3. Preservation of plant specimens

Standard method was followed with record to collection of plant materials, drying, mounting, preparation and preservation of plant specimens.⁹ Voucher specimens of medicinal plants in triplicate were collected, prepared and identified. Plants with their correct nomenclature were arranged alphabetically by family name, vernacular name, ethno medicinal uses and other applications. The identification and nomenclature of the listed plants were based on the Flora of Presidency of Madras¹⁰ and the Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic.¹¹ They were later verified at Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle, Coimbatore, India. All the preserved specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of A.V.V.M.S.P. College (Pushpam Herbarium Cabinet (PHC), Poondi.

2.4. Quantitative analysis

2.4.1. Relative frequency citation (RFC)

This index used here is the relative frequency of citation (RFC). This index is obtained by dividing the number of informants mentioning a useful species (FC or frequency of citation), by the total number of informants in the survey (N). RFC value varies from 0 (when nobody refers to a plant as a useful one), to 1 (when all the informants mentioning it as useful).¹² RFC index, which does not consider the use-category (UR or use-report is a single record for use of a plant mentioned by an individual) and RFC calculated by the following formula:

$${\text{RFC}}_{\text{s}}=\frac{{\text{FC}}_{\text{s}}}{N}=\frac{{\sum }_{i=i_1}^{i_{\text{N}}}{\text{UR}}_{\text{i}}}{N}$$

2.4.2. Cultural importance index (CI)

The second approach used in our study is the cultural importance index (CI). This index is calculated by the sum of the proportion of informants mentioning each species use (i.e. the sum of the number of participants who mention the use of each species divided by the total number of informants (N). This index is calculated by the following formula:

$$\text{CI}i=\sum _{u=u1}^{uN\text{C}}\sum _{i=i1}^{iN}\text{URui/}N$$

This index takes into account the spread of the use (number of informants) for each species along with its versatility, i.e. the diversity of its applications.¹²

2.4.3. Use value (UV)

The Use Value (UV) demonstrates the relative importance of plants known locally. It was calculated using the following formula.¹³

$$\text{UV}=\sum \text{Ui}/\text{N}$$

where Ui is the number of uses mentioned by each informant for a given species and N is the total number of informants.

2.4.4. Informant consensus factor

The informant consensus factor (ICF) was used to see if there was agreement in the use of plants in the ailment categories between the plant users in the study area. The Fic was calculated using the following formula¹⁴

$$ICF=(N_{ur}-N_t)/(N_{ur}-1)$$

where Nur refers to the number of use-reports for a particular ailment category and Nt refers to the number of taxa used for a particular ailment category by all informants. The product of this Factor ranges from 0 to 1. A high value (close to 1.0) indicates that relatively few taxa are used by a large proportion of the informants. A low value indicates that the informants disagree on the taxa to be used in the treatment within a category of illness.

3. Results

Face to face interviews were conducted for resolving and registering demographic characteristics of respondents. Among the practitioners the age groups of 30–83 was very high compared to other groups. Around 6.66% of practitiners were below thirty years old. There was no equal dividends as for as male-female ratio concern (Table 1). The ethnobotanical survey permitted the sampling of 66 plants species, belonging to 62 genera and 44 families were recorded (Table 2). The most represented family was Fabaceae has the high number of species (5) followed by Malvaceae and Cucurbitacae with each four species, Lamiaceae, Euphorbiacae and Moraceae with three species each (Table 3). In the current survey, 37% of the reported species are herb. Other highly reported species are tree (28%), climber (21%) and shrub (14%) (Fig. 2). Plant parts used by the traditional practitioners of Vedaranyam (taluk) to treat various ailments were mainly leaves, fruits and seeds. Aerial parts of plant and whole plants were also used in case of small herbaceous plants. The most frequently utilized medicinal plants parts were leaves (32%) used for the preparation of medicine solely, it was followed by root (20%), bark (12%), seed (11%), flower (7%), fruit (6%), stem (5%), latex (3%), tuber (2%), whole plant and male inflorescence (each 1%) (Fig. 3). Considering the mode of preparation of herbal medicines, reports include paste, powder, decoction, juice, raw and fumes. Among these major form of the preparation is paste (31%), powder (26%), decoction (19%), juice (17%), raw (6%) and fumes (1%) (Fig. 4). The present study traditional practitioners of this region often add Ghee used as leaves paste and water used as leaves powder (e.g. Hemidesmus indicus), paste is made by crushing plant parts using pestle and morter and when mixing it with ghee and cow milk or salt and honey (e.g. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) The percentage of solvents mixed with the preparations are shown in Fig. 5. Oral administration was the main mode (96%) of intake of medicine followed by external administration (4%) these modes of preparation and administration are the most used in traditional medicine (Fig. 6). A total of 5764 use reports have been documented in these surveys which are categorized in thirty six different ailments. These include Leucorrhoea (12.92%) which is the highest number of records (Table 3). Moringa oleifera has the highest number of use-reports (307 UR) in our study followed by Smilax zeylanica and Achyranthes aspera with 262 and 246 use-reports, respectively, and are placed in first position by CI indices (Table 2). This means that this species has been mentioned by all informants and is the most recognized plant in the region. Also, because of the highest values of these species have the most diverse uses. Azadirachta indica, Tribulus terrestris and Asparagus racemosus which were ranked first by RFC respectively (Table 2). The most commonly used species was Moringa oleifera with 307 use reports by 120 informants, giving the highest use value of 2.588 Moringa oleifera is attributed to its use in the treatment of various diseases and it is well recognized all the informants as an lactation (Table 2). The Informant consensus factor (ICF) thirty six ailments were shown in Table 5. The most ailment categories have both the highest level of informant agreement (mean ICF = 0.98) and the total consensus (ICF = 1.00) obtained for clot of breast milk, decrease breast milk, delivery pain, promoting sexual desire, Strengthening, To control over bleeding after delivery, To control menstrual cycle, excessive or prolonged menstrual cycle, hasten the delivery, induces sterility in women, induce uterine contraction during child birth, promote menstruation, stop bleeding from uterus, treat scanty menstruation, over bleeding, excess bleeding, urinary obstruction, urinary tract infection, vaginitis, vulvodynia and weakness during monthly discharge (Table 4). The gynaecological complaints rectified commercial drugs have been induced many side effects of the human body. These drug molecules treated gynaecological complaint have categorized with their side effects in Table 5.

Table 1.

Demographic profile of the informants included in the survey (N = 120).

Demographic features	Number of people	Percent (%)
Age
30 years	8	6.66%
31–40	20	16.66%
51–60	30	25.00%
61–70	35	29.16%
71–80	16	13.33%
Above-81	11	9.16%
Gender
Men	68	56.66%
Women	52	43.34%
Education
Uneducated	47	39.16%
Primary school	13	10.83%
Secondary school	24	20.00%
High school	11	9.16%
Degree	16	13.33%
Diploma	9	7.50%
Occupation
Self employs	35	29.16%
Government employs	17	14.16%
Cattle drovers
a. Goat	43	35.83%
b. Cow	15	12.50%
c. Pig	10	8.33%

Table 2.

Medicinal plants treated in traditional healers of rural community in Vedaranyam (Taluk) to treat gynaecological disorders.

No.	Botanical name, family & voucher no.	Vernacular name	Life form	Parts used	IP	Illness treated with no. of IR in each illness	Total no. of UR	RFC	CI Value	Use Value	Preparations	Solvents used for administration	Reported Literatures
1.	Abrus precatorius L. (Fabaceae) PHC-1305	Kundumani ()	Climber	Seed	50	Painful bleeding (IR:36)	36	0.416	0.720	0.300	Powder	Mixed with Hot water, then taken orally during pain.	34
2.	Abutilon indicum, G. Don. (Malvaceae) PHC-1321	Thuththi ()	Herb	Seed	80	Amenorrhoea: Absence of menstrual period during the reproduction days (IR:67)	67	0.666	0.837	0.558	Powder	Dried seed powder mixed with ordinary water, then taken orally on every morning for 3 days.	Not reported
3.	Acacia farnesiana L. (Mimosaceae) PHC-1340	Kasthurivel ()	Tree	Bark	94	Leucorrhoea: White discharge from the reproductive organ (IR:87) Menorrhagia: Excessive level of blood flow with long days (IR:47)	134	0.783	1.425	1.116	Powder	Mixed with Hot water then taken orally	34
4.	Achyranthes aspera L. (Amaranthaceae) PHC-1354	Nayuruvi ()	Herb	Root Leaves	92	Easy delivery: Less pain delivery during delivery time (IR:92) Amenorrhoea: Absence of menstrual period (IR:91) Dysmenorrhoea: Painful menstruation (IR:63)	246	0.766	2.673	2.050	Powder Decoction Decoction	Mixed with water, then taken orally before delivery. Dried leaves boiled with water, then filter the decoction and taken orally on early morning for 3 days. Same as above preparation method. But, it is taken during suffer from the painful menstruation	37
5.	Aloe vera L. (Liliaceae) PHC-1311	Kaththalai ()	Herb	Leaves	83	Uterine disorders: Irregular periods and excessive pain during menstrual periods (IR:73) To control over bleeding of blood after delivery- (IR:53)	126	0.691	1.518	1.050	Juice Juice	Mixed with 12 h rice soaked water, then taken orally on 3–5 days in the early morning. Taken fresh juice at the time of bleedings	38 39
6.	Adathoda vasica. Nees. (Acanthaceae) PHC-1360	Aadathodai ()	Shrub	Root	103	Easy delivery: Less pain delivery during childbirth (IR:81)	81	0.858	0.786	0.675	Decoction	Dried leaves boiled with water, then filter the decoction and taken orally	23
7.	Annona squamosa L. (Annonaceae) PHC-1353	Seettha ()	Tree	Root	64	Abortion: Avoid unnecessary pregnancy without any effects (IR:36)	36	0.533	0.562	0.300	Powder	Mixed with water, then taken orally during pregnancy	34
8.	Aristolochia indica L. (Aristolochiaceae) PHC-1366	Eeswaramuli ()	Climber	Root Root	89	Menstrual disorders: Irregular menstrual periods (IR:83) Over bleeding: Excessive flow of blood during menstrual periods (IR:49)	132	0.741	1.483	1.100	Powder Decoction	Mixed with ordinary water, then taken orally in the daily early morning 5–7 days Dried root boiled with water, then filter the decoction and taken orally	34
9.	Asparagus racemosus Wild. (Asparagaceae) PHC-1330	Ammalkodi ()	Climber	Tuber Root Stem	112	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk on the time of feeding to the child (IR:72) Uterine disorders: To Cure hormone imbalanced irregular menstrual disorders (IR:42) Excess Bleeding: To control excessive flow of blood during menstrual periods (IR:103)	217	0.933	1.937	1.808	Powder Paste Decoction	Mixed with honey in paste formation, then taken orally for 5–7 days. Dried leaves boiled with water, then filter the decoction and mixed ghee. Later, this product taken orally for 28 days daily. Dried leaves boiled with water, then filter the decoction and taken orally.	34
10.	Azadirachta indica A.Juss., (Meliaceae) PHC-1306	Vaembu ()	Tree	Fruit Bark		To control irregular menstrual cycle- (IR:117) Leucorrhoea: Due to the estrogen imbalance the reproductive organ is produced thick white and yellowish discharge (IR: 67)	184	0.991	1.546	0.975	Paste Decoction	Powdered fruit mixed with water, then stirred well until change paste and taken orally Dried bark is boiled in water until extract decoction well, then the honey mixed with decoction and drink daily morning 28 days	34 38
11.	Benincasa cerifera, L. (Cucurbitaceae) PHC-1341	Poosani ()	Climber	Fruit	77	Vulvodynia: To control the vulval burning region and soreness (IR: 59)	59	0.641	0.766	0.491	Juice	Fruit juice is mixed with honey, then drink daily morning	Not Reported
12.	Borassus flabellifer L. (Arecaceae) PHC-1322	Nungu ()	Tree	Male Inflorescence Root	106	Contraceptive: To avoid the unnecessary pregnancy (IR:102) To excessive or prolonged menstrual cycle-(IR:117)	219	0.883	2.066	1.825	Powder Paste	Fine powdered flower mixed with milk, then drink empty stomach Fresh root grinds paste form, then taken orally	34
13.	Boerhavia diffusa. L (Nyctaginaceae) PHC-1320	Mookarattai ()	Shrub	Whole plant Root	58	Leucorrhoea: White discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:52) To hasten the delivery -(IR:18)	70	0.483	1.206	0.583	Decoction Paste	Dried leaves boiled with water, then filter the decoction for a drink during reproductive problem Fresh root grinds to paste, then eaten	34
14.	Calotropis gigantea (L.) R. Br. ex Schult (Apocynaceae) PHC-1312	Erukku ()	Shrub	Root Latex	75	To avoid Irregular menstruation (IR:72) To induce uterine contraction during child birth (IR:43)	115	0.625	1.533	0.958	Decoction Raw	Dried root is boiled well until to extract the decoction, then taken orally Latex mixed with coconut oil, then apply topically	34
15.	Cardiospermum halicacabum. L. (Sapindaceae) PHC-1331	Mudakkatthaan ()	Climber	Leaves	64	To avoid high risk delivery pain (IR:63)	63	0.533	0.984	0.525	Decoction	Dried bark is boiled in water until extract decoction well, then drink	23
16.	Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don. (Apocynaceae) PHC-1323	Nithyakalyani ()	Herb	Leaves	99	Leucorrhoea: White discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:81) Menorrhagia: Excessive level of blood flow with long days (IR:92)	173	0.825	1.747	1.441	Juice	Fresh leaves crushed until extracts juice, then mixed with honey and drink	34
17.	Ceiba pentandra (L.). Gaertn. (Malvaceae) PHC-1355	Ilavam panju ()	Tree	Root	63	Gonorrheoa: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:61)	61	0.525	0.968	0.508	Paste	Fresh root grinds paste and add sugar, then taken orally	34
18.	Centella asiatica (L,) Urban. (Apiaceae) PHC-1361	Vallarai ()	Shrub	Leaves	77	Irregular menstrual cycle (IR:74)	74	0.641	0.961	0.641	Juice	Hand amount of leaves grinds well and mixed water until change like juice, then drink	34
19.	Cissus quadrangularis L. (Vitaceae) PHC-1309	Pirandai ()	Climber	Stem	78	Irregular menstruation (IR:76)	76	0.650	0.974	0.633	Juice	Fresh stem juice drinks daily 7–12 days morning empty stomach	34
20.	Cleome viscosa. L. (Capparidaceae) PHC-1351	Naaivaelai ()	Herb	Leaves	54	To control over bleeding during menstrual period (IR:49)	49	0.450	0.907	0.408	Paste	Hand amount of leaves grinds to make a paste and taken orally	23
21.	Clitoria ternatea L. (Fabaceae) PHC-1342	Sangupushpam ()	Climber	Root	97	Leucorrhoea: White discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:93) Urinal disorder: Iincrease the urination (IR:73)	166	0.808	1.711	1.383	Paste	4-5 healthy fresh leaves crushed and taken juice orally	34
22.	Coccinia indica. L. (voigt) (Cucurbitaceae) PHC-1313	Kovai ()	Climber	Leaves	88	Urinary obstruction (IR: 85)	85	0.733	0.966	0.708	Juice	Enough amount of leaves grinds to paste, then taken orally	23
23.	Commelina bengalensis, L. (Commelinaceae) PHC-1339	Kana vaalai ()	Herb	Leaves	27	Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:23)	23	0.225	0.851	0.191	Paste	7-8 dried leaves taken into the pot and burned, then respiratory through nasal	23
24.	Convolvulus gemellus. L. (Convolvulaceae) PHC-1324	Thaalikkeerai ()	Climber	Leaves	39	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk on the time of feeding to the child (IR: 37) Urinary tract infection (IR:68)	105	0.325	1.179	0.875	Fumes Paste	Hand amount of seed cotyledons juice with milk combination taken orally Fresh leaves grinds paste, then taken orally	23
25.	Cucurbita maxima, L. (Cucurbitaceae) PHC-1310	Parangi ()	Climber	Seed	27	Overactive bladder during the pregnancy period (IR:23)	23	0.225	0.851	0.191	Juice	Dried stem powder mixed with honey before treatment, then taken orally	23
26.	Cyclea peltata. Arn. ex wight (Menispermaceae) PHC-1307	Seenthilkodi ()	Herb	Stem	77	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk at the time of feeding to the child (IR:67)	67	0.641	0.870	0.558	Powder	Hand amount of fresh leaves grinds with water and making juice, then taken orally	23
27.	Cynodon dactylon, Pers., (Poaceae) PHC-1332	Arugam pull ()	Herb	Leaves	56	Irregular menstrual cycle (IR:114)	114	0.466	2.035	0.950	Juice	Dried 70gm of fruit powder mixed with honey, then taken orally	38
28.	Curculigo orchioides S. Gaerth (Amaryllidaceae) PHC-1365	Nilapanai ()	Herb	Tuber	93	Promoting sexual desire (IR:81)	81	0.775	0.870	1.033	Powder	50gm of healthy fresh fruit taken orally	37
29.	Emblica officinalis Gaertn.(T) (Phyllanthaceae) PHC-1343	Nelli ()	Tree	Fruit	76	Gonorrhea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:75)	75	0.633	0.986	0.625	Raw	70gm of dried leaf powder mixed with Ghee, then taken orally	34
30.	Euphorbia heterophylla, L. (Euphorbiaceae) PHC-1356	Paal perukki ()	Herb	Leaves	86	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk on the time of feeding to the child (IR:81)	81	0.716	0.941	0.675	Paste	75gm of dried powder is boiled with water until the extraction of decoction. Then the decoction mixed with Cow milk and taken orally	23
31.	Euphorbia hirta L. (Euphorbiaceae) PHC-1350	Chithrapaladai ()	Herb	Leaves	44	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk on the time of feeding to the child (IR:32)	32	0.366	0.727	0.266	Decoction	4-5 healthy, fresh leaves crushed and collected the juice, then drink	40
32.	Feronia elephantum, Corr. (Rutaceae) PHC-1325	Vilaa ()	Tree	Latex	72	Menorrhargia: Excessive level of blood flow with long days and Leucorrhoea: White discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:71)	71	0.600	0.986	0.591	Powder	Latex mixed honey, then drink Latex mixed honey, then drink	34
33.	Ficus benghalensis L. (Moraceae) PHC-1338	Aalam ()	Tree	Stem Bark Seed	53	Leucorrhoea: White discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:50) Menorrhagia: Excessive level of blood flow with long days (IR:49) Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk at the time of feeding to the child (IR:23)	122	0.441	2.301	1.016	Paste Decoction Paste	50gm of dried stem bark grinds to fine powder and make a paste with honey, then taken orally 70gm of dried bark is mixed with honey, then taken Orally Dried seeds grind to a fine powder then mixed with milk and drink	34
34.	Ficus racemosa L. (Moraceae) PHC-1333	Aththi ()	Tree	Bark Fruit	78	Contraceptive: To avoid the unnecessary pregnancy (IR:72) Gonorrhea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:42)	114	0.650	1.461	0.950	Juice Raw	Fresh bark juice taken orally Fresh fruit eaten daily morning and evening	37
35.	Ficus religiosa L. (Moraceae) PHC-1308	Arasam ()	Tree	Bark	51	To induce sterility in women (IR:27) Gonorrhea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:50)	77	0.425	1.509	0.641	Paste Decoction	Fresh bark grinds paste and taken orally Dried bark boiled in water, then taken orally	34
36.	Glinus latoides, Roefl. (Aizoaceae) PHC-1344	Siruseruppadai ()	Herb	Root	65	Gonorrhoea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:64)	64	0.541	0.984	0.533	Powder	Dried root powder mixed with honey and taken orally	23
37.	Hemidesmus indicus R.Br. (Asclepiadaceae) PHC-1362	Nannari ()	Climber	Root	29	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk on the time of feeding to the child (NI:23) Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (NI:17)	40	0.241	1.379	0.333	Paste Powder	Dried root powder mixed with ghee, then stirred until change paste and eaten Dried root powder mixed with water and drink	37 34
38.	Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. (Malvaceae) PHC-1301	Sembaruththi ()	Shrub	Bark Flower Root	67	Abortion (NI:49) Amenorrhea: The absence of menstrual period (IR:63) Over bleeding during menstrual period (IR:39)	151	0.558	2.253	1.258	Paste Paste Powder	Bark grinds to paste and eaten 6-8 fresh leaves grinds to paste and eaten daily morning Dried root powder mixed with honey and stirred well until change paste, then taken orally	34
39.	Ixora coccinea L. (Rubiaceae) PHC-1326	Idly poo ()	Shrub	Flower	29	Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:27)	27	0.241	0.931	0.225	Decoction	Dried flower boiled with water, then drink	41
40.	Jasminum angustifolium (L.) Willd (Combretaceae) PHC-1314	Kaattu malli ()	Climber	Flower	94	Clot of breast milk-Avoid the lactation production of breast (IR:93)	93	0.783	0.989	0.775	Paste	Fresh flower knot 6 h in topically in the breast region
41.	Lawsonia inermis, L. (Lythraceae) PHC-1334	Maruthaani ()	Shrub	Leaves	48	Gonorrhoea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:46)	46	0.400	0.958	0.383	Paste	Dried leaves powdered and mixed milk for making paste, then eaten	23
42.	Leucus aspera Link. (H) (Lamiaceae) PHC-1318	Thumbai ()	Herb	Leaves Flower	93	Dysmenorrhoea: painful periods (IR:86) Menstrual disorders: Excessive and irregular bleeding on menstrual time (IR:92)	178	0.775	1.913	1.483	Juice Decoction	Fresh leaves crushed and extracted juice mixed honey, then drink Dried flower boiled in water until extraction well, then drink	34
43.	Lippia nodiflora. Mich. (Verbenaceae) PHC-1357	Poduthalai ()	Shrub	Leaves	46	Gonorrhea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:42)	72	0.383	1.565	0.350	Paste	Dried flowers grinds and mixed ghee, then eaten	23
44.	Madhuca longifoila (L.) JFMacbr. (Sapotaceae) PHC-1345	Iluppai ()	Tree	Leaves	36	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk at the time of breastfeeding to the child (IR:30)	30	0.300	0.833	0.250	Paste	Fresh leaves grinds to paste, then apply topically in breast the region with coconut oil	Not Reported
45.	Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae) PHC- 1302	Maa ()	Tree	Bark Seed	63	To stop bleeding from uterus (IR:46) Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:52)	98	0.525	1.555	0.816	Decoction Powder	Dried bark boiled in water until to extract well, then drink Seed powder mixed with ghee, then eaten	34
46.	Marsilea minuta L. (Marsileaceae) PHC-1349	Aarakkerai ()	Herb	Leaves	83	Decrease breast milk (IR:82)	82	0.691	0.987	0.683	Paste	Fresh leaves grinds to paste and mixed ghee, then eaten	23
47.	Mimosa pudica L. (Mimosaceae) PHC-1327	Thottal sinungi $($$)$	Herb	Root Leaves	61	Vaginitis (IR:58) Prevent the excessive menstrual bleeding (IR:45)	103	0.508	1.688	0.858	Paste Juice	Fresh root grinds to well and mixed Ghee, then eaten Fresh leaves crushed until get juice. Thereafter mixed milk with juice, then drink	34
48.	Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae) PHC-1335	Pakarkaai ()	Climber	Leaves	61	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk at the time of breastfeeding to the child (IR:56)	56	0.508	0.918	0.466	Paste	Fresh leaves grinds to paste and mixed coconut oil, then apply topically in the region of the breast	Suresh et al., 2013
49.	Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) PHC-1315	Murungai ()	Tree	Root Bark Leaves Leaves	95	Treat some sexually transmitted diseases by the pathogenic microorganism (IR:73) Irregular menstrual period and painful bleeding (IR:78) Contraceptive: To avoid the unnecessary pregnancy (IR:73) Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk at the time of breastfeeding to the child (IR:83)	307	0.791	3.231	2.558	Powder Powder Paste Fumes	Dried root powder mixed with warm milk, then drink Dried bark mixed with honey, then taken orally Fresh leaves fry with Ghee, then taken orally Dried leaves burned with the inside of the pot, then respiratory the fumes
50.	Musa paradisiaca L. (Musaceae) PHC-1359	Vaazhai ()	Tree	Stem	52	Menorrhagia: Excessive level of blood flow with long days (IR:46)	46	0.433	0.884	0.383	Juice	Stem juice is taken orally in empty stomach	38
51.	Nelumbium speciosum, wild (Nymphaeaceae) PHC-1358	Thamarai ()	Aquatic Herb	Seed	64	Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:62)	62	0.533	0.968	0.516	Powder	Dried fruit powder mixed with honey and taken orally in empty stomach at morning	Not reported
52.	Ocimum basilicum, L. (Lamiaceae) PHC-1346	Thiruneetru pachilai $($$)$	Herb	Seed	89	Gonorrhea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:82)	82	0.741	0.921	0.683	Paste	Seed powder is mixed with water and stirred well until change paste, then taken orally	23
53.	Ocimum canum Sims. (Lamiaceae) PHC-1319	Naathulasi ()	Herb	Leaves	57	Gonorrhoea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:53)	53	0.475	0.929	0.441	Paste	Dried leaves mixed with Ghee, then taken orally	23
54.	Odina wodifer Roxb. FL (Anacardiaceae) PHC-1348	Odhiyam ()	Tree	Leaves	64	Menstrual disorders: Irregular period and excess bleeding with pain (IR:62)	62	0.533	0.968	0.516	Paste	3-4 leaves pinched and grind with Milk in paste, then taken orally	Not reported
55.	Pedalium murex L. (Pedaliaceae) PHC-1303	Perunerunchil ()	Herb	Seed Leaves	31	Amenorrhea: The absence of menstrual period (IR: 12) Dysmenorrhoea: Painful menstruation (IR:3)	15	0.258	0.483	0.125	Powder Juice	Seed powder is mixed with honey and taken orally in early morning daily Small amount of leaves, making juice mixed with water and taken orally
56.	Physalis minima L. (Solanaceae) PHC-1363	Sodakku thakkali $($$)$	Herb	Leaves	36	Lactation: To increase breast milk secretion during the deficiency of milk at the time of breastfeeding to the child (IR:7)	7	0.300	0.194	0.058	Decoction	Hand amount of dried leaves, making a decoction with water, then taken orally	Not Reported
57.	Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Wilde (Fabaceae) PHC-1328	Asokam ()	Tree	Bark Root	85	Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:52) Menstrual disorder: Avoid the irregular menstruation (IR:83)	135	0.708	1.588	1.125	Powder Decoction	Dried bark powder mixed with Water and then taken orally Boiled root juice taken orally in every morning	34 37
58.	Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae) PHC-1316	Aamanakku ()	Herb	Leaves	44	Menstrual problem: To promote menstruation (IR:43)	43	0.366	0.977	0.358	Juice	1-2 leaves juice taken orally in every morning daily	34
59.	Rosa damescena, L. (Rosaceae) PHC-1336	Roja ()	Herb	Flower Seed	65	Excess blood bleeding during menstrual periods (IR:62) Blood bleeding between menstrual time and bleeding after sex (IR:42)	104	0.541	1.600	0.866	Decoction Powder	Dried flower boiled with water, then taken orally Seed powder mixed with Honey, then taken orally	23
60.	Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poiret (Fabaceae) PHC-1364	Agaththi ()	Tree	Flower	18	To treat scanty menstruation (IR:12)	12	0.150	0.666	0.100	Paste	Dried flower is making on paste with Water, then taken orally	34
61.	Sida acuta Burm. F (Malvaceae) PHC-1352	Arivaalmanaipoondu $($$)$	Herb	Root	20	Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:52) (IR:13)	13	0.166	0.650	0.108	Powder	Dried root grinds fine, then taken orally with water	34
62.	Smilax zeylanica, L. (Liliaceae) PHC-1347	Kaattukkodi ()	Climber	Root Leaves	93	Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs (IR:52) Weakness during Monthly discharge (IR:92) Gonorrhoea: Control the painful urination and white discharge (IR:78)	262	0.775	2.183	2.183	Decoction Powder Juice	Boiled root decoction taken orally Dried leaves powder mixed with Honey, then taken orally 4–5 fresh leaves crushed and taken juice to drink orally	37
63.	Tamarindus indica,L. (Caesalpiniaceae) PHC-1317	Puliyam ()	Tree	Fruit	34	Contraceptive: To avoid the unnecessary pregnancy (IR:23)	23	0.283	0.676	0.191	Raw	Fresh fruit taken orally	34
64.	Tephrosia purpurea Pers. (Fabaceae) PHC-1329	Kattukkolinchi $($$)$	Herb	Root	69	Dysmenorrhoea: Painful menstruation during the menstrual periods (IR:67)	67	0.575	0.971	0.558	Powder	Dried root powdered mixed with Honey, then taken orally
65.	Terminalia arjuna W. & A. (Combretaceae) PHC-1337	Marutham ()	Tree	Bark	53	Leucorrhoea: White and yellowish discharge from the female reproductive organs and taken excessive bleeding during menstrual period (IR:42)	42	0.441	0.792	0.350	Paste	Dried bark powder stirred with water until change paste, then taken orally	34
66.	Tribulus terrestris. L. (Zygophyllaceae) PHC-1304	Nerinchil ()	Herb	Root	113	Treat some sexually transmitted diseases by the pathogenic microorganism (IR:92)	92	0.941	0.814	0.766	Juice	Fresh leaves grinds well and make juice, then drink	22

IP = informant participants, IR = informant response, UR = use-reports, RFC = relative frequency citation & CI = cultural index.

Table 3.

Percentage of plant families.

S. No.	Name of the Family	Number of species	Percentage of the species
1.	Fabaceae	5	7.57%
2.	Cucurbitacae	4	6.06%
3.	Malvaceae	4	6.06%
4.	Lamiaceae	3	4.54%
5.	Euphorbiacae	3	4.54%
6.	Moraceae	3	4.54%
7.	Apocynaceae	2	3.03%
8.	Anacardiaceae	2	3.03%
9.	Combretaceae	2	3.03%
10.	Liliaceae	2	3.03%
11.	Mimosaceae	2	3.03%
12.	Others	33	51.51%

Fig. 2.

Percentage of life forms on medicinal plants.

Fig. 3.

Percentage of parts used for gynaecological disorder.

Fig. 4.

Percentage of preparation for indigenous medicine.

Fig. 5.

Percentage of solvent used for preparation. 1). Water a. Both cool & hot water. 2). Milk a. Both fresh & warmed milk.

Fig. 6.

Percentage of administration.

Table 5.

Caterogorized some important commercial drugs and their side effects.

S. No.	Illness	Commercial drugs	Side effects
1.	Amenorrhoea	Provera oral medroxyprogesterone	Breast Tenderness or Discharge, Hives, Itching, Skin rash, Increased acne, Hair growth, Loss of scalp hair, Spotting changes in menstrual periods, Vaginal Itching or Discharge, Changes in appetite, Increased or Decreased weight, Nausea, stomach pain, Bloating, Fever, Sleep problems and Skin color changes.
		Prometrium	Dizziness, Spinning sensation, Abdominal pain, Headache, Breast pain or Tenderness, Musculoskeletal pain, Joint pain, Viral infection, Diarrhea, Nausea, Bloating, Fatigue, Hot Flashes, Cough, Acne, Changes in weight, Vaginal Itching/Dryness/Discharge, Blurred vision and Drowsiness
2.	Leucorrhoea	Femiforte Capsule	Nausea, Stomach upset, Skin rash and Acute toxicity
3.	Menorrhagia	tranexamic acid	Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Joint or muscle pain, Muscle cramps, Headache or migraine, Runny or stuffy nose, Stomach or abdominal pain
		Natazia	Mild nausea,Vomiting, Bloating, Stomach cramps; Breast pain or tenderness; Freckles or darkening of facial skin, acne; Problems with contact lenses Vaginal itching or discharge and very light menstrual periods
4.	Dysmenorrhoea	Ibuprofen	Upset stomach, Mild heartburn, Nausea, Vomiting, Bloating, Gas, Diarrhea, Constipation, Dizziness, Headache, Nervousness; Mild itching or rash and Ringing in your ears.
		Naproxen	Stomach Pain, Constipation, Diarrhea, Gas heartburn, Nausea and Vomiting dizziness
5.	Uterine disorders	Leuprolide	Redness/burning/stinging/pain/bruising at the injection site, Hot flashes (flushing), Increased sweating, Night sweats, Tiredness, Headache, Upset stomach and Nausea
6.	Abortion	Carboprost	Severe pelvic pain, cramping, or vaginal bleeding, High fever, A light-headed feeling, like you might pass out, Shortness of breath, Severe nausea, Vomiting, or Diarrhea;
		Dinoprostone	Unpleasant vaginal discharge, Continued fever, Chills and Shivering. Increase in vaginal bleeding several days after treatment, Chest pain or tightness, Skin rash, Hives and Difficulty breathing
7.	Over bleeding	Lynestrenol	Central Nervous System–Headache, migraine, dizziness, Nervousness, Changes in libido and Mental depression. Genitourinary - Breast tenderness and Pain, Swelling and Abnormal uterine bleeding spotting.
		Tranexamic Acid	Headache, Sinus and nasal symptoms, Back pain, Abdominal pain, Musculoskeletal pain, Joint pain, Muscle cramps, Migraine, Anemia and Fatigue.
8.	Lactation	Domperidone	Dry mouth, Abdominal cramps, Diarrhea, Nausea, Rash, Itching, Hives, and Hyperprolactinemia
		Metoclopramide	Feeling restless, Drowsy, Tired, or dizzy, headache, Sleep problems (insomnia), Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Breast tenderness or swelling and Changes in menstrual periods
9.	Excess Bleeding	Progesterone	Mild nausea, Diarrhea, Bloating, Stomach cramps; Dizziness, Spinning sensation, Hot flashes; Mild headache, Joint pain, Breast pain or tenderness and cough
10.	Vulvodynia	Gabapentin Effexor XR	Dizziness, Drowsiness, Weakness, Tired feeling, Nausea, Diarrhea, Constipation, Blurred vision, Headache, breast swelling, dry mouth, loss of balance or coordination
		Amitriptyline	Confusion, Numbness and tingling in your arms and legs, Headache, Constipation or diarrhea, Blurred vision, Skin rash, Swelling of your face and tongue and Nausea.
		Tramadol	headache, dizziness, drowsiness, tired feeling; constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain; r.feeling nervous or anxious; or. itching, sweating, flushing (warmth, redness, or tingly feeling)
		Topamax	Tiredness, Drowsiness, Dizziness, Nervousness, Numbness or tingly feeling, Coordination problems, Diarrhea and Weight loss
11.	Contraceptive	Elinest	Acne; breast tenderness or enlargement; changes in appetite; changes in weight; dizziness; headache; mild hair loss; nausea; nervousness; stomach cramps or bloating; vaginal spotting or breakthrough bleeding.
12.	Gonorrhea	Ceftriaxone	Nausea, Vomiting, Upset stomach, Headache, Dizziness, Overactive reflexes, Pain or swelling in your tongue, Sweating, Vaginal itching or discharge
		Azithromycin	Mild diarrhea, Vomiting, Constipation, Stomach pain or upset, Dizziness, Tired feeling, Mild headache, Nervous feeling, Sleep problems (insomnia), Vaginal itching or discharge, mild rash or itching, ringing in your ears, problems with hearing and Decreased sense of taste or smell.
		Doxycycline	Nausea, Vomiting, Upset stomach, Mild diarrhea, Skin rash or itching, Vaginal itching or discharge
13.	Menstrual disorder	Yaz tranexamic acid	Headache, Sinus and nasal symptoms, Back pain, Abdominal pain, Musculoskeletal pain, Joint pain, Muscle cramps, Migraine, Anemia and Fatigue.
		Norethindrone	Mild nausea, Vomiting, Bloating, Stomach cramps, Breast pain, Swelling, or Tenderness, Dizziness, Freckles or darkening of facial skin, Changes in weight, Vaginal itching or discharge and Skin itching or rash

Table 4.

Informant consensus factor (ICF) for ailments.

No.	Ailments	Nur	% of UR	Nt	% of taxa	ICF	ICF Rank
1.	Abortion	85	1.474	2	2.020	0.99	2nd
2.	Amenorrhea	233	4.042	4	4.040	0.99	2nd
3.	Clot of breast milk	93	1.613	1	1.010	1.00	1st
4.	Contraceptive	270	4.684	4	4.040	0.99	2nd
5.	Decrease breast milk	82	1.422	1	1.010	1.00	1st
6.	Delivery pain	63	1.092	1	1.010	1.00	1st
7.	Dysmenorrhea	219	3.799	4	4.040	0.99	2nd
8.	Easy delivery	173	3.001	2	2.020	0.99	2nd
9.	Gonorrhea	616	10.68	11	11.11	0.98	3rd
10.	Irregular menstruation	305	5.291	4	4.040	0.99	2nd
11.	Leucorrhoea	745	12.92	13	13.13	0.98	3rd
12.	Menorrhagia	234	4.059	4	4.040	0.99	2nd
13.	Menstrual disorders	640	11.10	9	9.090	0.99	2nd
15.	Promoting Sexual Desire	81	1.405	1	1.010	1.00	1st
16.	Strengthening	43	0.746	1	1.010	1.00	1st
17.	Control menstrual cycle	117	2.029	1	1.010	1.00	1st
18.	Control over bleeding after delivery	53	0.919	1	1.010	1.00	1st
19.	Excessive or prolonged menstrual cycle	117	2.029	1	1.010	1.00	1st
20.	Hasten the delivery	18	0.312	1	1.010	1.00	1st
21.	Induces sterility in women	27	0.468	1	1.010	1.00	1st
22.	Induce uterine contraction during child birth	43	0.746	1	1.010	1.00	1st
23.	Promote menstruation	43	0.746	1	1.010	1.00	1st
24.	Stop bleeding from uterus	46	0.798	1	1.010	1.00	1st
25.	Scanty menstruation	12	0.208	1	1.010	1.00	1st
26.	Over bleeding	137	2.376	3	3.030	1.00	1st
27.	Lactation	511	8.865	11	11.11	0.98	3rd
28.	Excess Bleeding	103	1.786	1	1.010	1.00	1st
29.	Urinal disorders	96	1.665	2	2.020	0.99	2nd
30.	Urinary obstruction	85	1.474	1	1.010	1.00	1st
31.	Urinary tract infection	68	1.179	1	1.010	1.00	1st
32.	Uterine disorders	157	2.723	3	3.030	0.97	4th
33.	Vaginitis	58	1.006	1	1.010	1.00	1st
34.	Venereal diseases	165	2.862	2	2.020	0.99	2nd
35.	Vulvodynia	59	1.023	1	1.010	1.00	1st
36.	Weakness during Monthly discharge	92	1.596	1	1.010	1.00	1st
	Total	5764	100%	99	100%

4. Discussion

Regarding the demography of the informants, both dominated middle aged practitioners and non-dominated other workers were documented in our studies. As indicated high male-female ratio, womens role as a traditional medical practitioner was less than male practitioner. Still it remains a male exclusive domain. Even in several previous works with traditional medical practitioners in India the same fact was recorded. Mati and De Boer¹⁵ conducted a study in Kurdish markets and reported that women occupied major of part consumers while men occupied major portion of the sellers of traditional medicine. But as far as our study is concerned, major portion of women involved in traditional medicine perform their service as birth attendants. Though the general figure showed a major portion of the practitioners were uneducated or poorly educated, cattle drovers, many of the young practitioners hold degree/diploma. Some of the practitioners also refer the patients to biomedical doctors/technician store view their health status and they are able to read and understand the reports of some basic lab-tests such as blood glucose levels. Some of them are also collecting these reports as a proof efficacy of their treatment. A major portion of the practitioners practice this medicine as a part time job. The consultation charges usually ranged between INR11–51and in some cases it was free.

In the present study Fabaceae having high number of plant species recorded. Similarly Prabhu et al¹⁶ and Prabhu and Vijayakumar¹⁷ reported the same findings. Fabaceae also known to have the highest number species, more than any other plant family in the world.¹⁸ The common use of herbaceous medicinal plants was also reported in other parts of the world and attributed to their wide range of bioactive ingredients.13, 19 Traditional practitioners used herbs and trees most commonly as medicine due to the availability in nature.20, 21 These plants can be found growing in home gardens, roadside, riverside, ponds side and inside of the jungle.

In this survey most of the plants are documented is home gardens and roadside. All over the world tribal communities, utilized for the preparation of herbal medicine using leaves.16, 22, 23, 24 The leaves were mostly used in traditional people because those aerial parts are collected very easily than underground parts. In scientific point of view, leaves are active in photosynthesis and production of secondary metabolites25, 26

According to the informants, preparation of paste for the treatment of ailments is a common method of the tribal communities in global level.22, 27, 28, 29 The paste was prepared by grinding the fresh or dried plant parts with oil or water. In some cases, the processing involves drying of the plant material followed by grinding into fine powder. The juice was taken as orally along with water or milk or honey, Raw (taken as raw plant parts orally), Decoction was obtained by boiling the plant parts in water until the volume of water reduce to required amount. Water is commonly used if a solvent is required for the preparation. Sometimes milk or honey is used as a matrix or added to increase a viscosity of the preparation.³⁰

Similar results were obtained in previous ethnobotanical surveys carried out in Cameroon and other part of the world 31, 32, 33, 34. Leucorrhoea is the highest number of use category recorded in our study. Similarly Bhatia et al³⁵ reported that gynaecological studies have shown in other parts of the India, the leucorrhoea (30.9%) is the first use category. The biomedical aspect of the Leucorrhea associates it with reproductive tract infections, which include local infections, as well as infections caused by sexual transmission. The various studies have reported a high prevalence of disease36, 37

According to Morvin et al²³ reported Moringa oleifera in treatment of uterine disorder and female contraception followed by Smailax zeylanica (262 use reports by 120 informants with UV of 2.183) Achyranthes aspera (246 use reports by 120 informants with a UV of 2.050). Generally, these plants were frequently used for gynaecological disorders of tribal peoples in Chhattisgarh, India.³⁸ The very low use value Physalis minima (7 use reports by 120 informants with UV of 0.058), Sesbania grandiflora (12 use reports by 120 informants with UV of 0.100) and Sida acuta (13 use reports by 120 informants with UV of 0.108). In our study Physalis minima were a new claim and also used in lactation, others are regularly using this plant in the treatment of scanty menstruation and leucorrhoea.³⁸

Similarly Islam et al³⁹ reported that plants in the study area leads to them low use value as Madhupur forest area, Bangladesh. In an ethnobotanical study of Udhampur District in Jammu Khasmir, similar to our study, informants had the highest level of agreement for most of the ailments (mean ICF = 0.94).³⁵ This shows the persistent use of traditional medicinal plants by local people in one part of India.⁴⁰ This point to the fact that although the local people have access to government health care systems, still medicinal plants have not lost their values among the people living. Also, high Fic values can be used to pinpoint interesting species in search of bioactive compounds⁴¹

5. Conclusion

The present study site has a rich diversity of medicinal plant knowledge among the traditional practitioners for the treatment of Gynaecological disorders. In total 66 plants were reported by 120 informants. The quantitative analysis of the data using RFC, CI, UV and ICF highlighted the most important plants used to cure various gynaecological disorders. The plants such as Moringa oleifera, Smailax zeylanica and Azadirachta indica were also need for further pharmacological analysis so that new drugs can be formulated. The high values of ICF also show a high degree of sharing of ethnogynaecological knowledge amongst the informants. By sharing, they assure the dispersal of this understanding and also increase the possibility of its documentation for the betterment of the future generations.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest concerning this article.

Appendix A.

• 1.Participant's name and surname.
• 2.Age and gender of the participant.
• 3.Name of the village.
• 4.Educational qualifications and occupation of the participant.
• 5.How long do you live in the residential place?
• 6.Name of the used medicinal plant.
• 7.What are the gynecological problems treated?
• 8.How you make the plants and their products with solvents for gynecological complaints?
• 9.Did you know how and when will you use the plant?
• 10.How to prepare traditional medicine?
• 12.Which problems, mostly occurred in this area?
• 13.How many people more experience in gynaecological treatment?
• 14.How many medicinal plants publicly known the gynecological complaints
• 15.Why you depend mostly on medicinal plants?

Appendix B.

• 1.How many plants used your parents and grandparents to this gynecological complaints?
• 2.How they use them?