Ethnomedicinal plants used by Primitive Nukha Dora tribes of G. Madugula Mandal, Alluri Sitaramaraju District, Andhra Pradesh, India

An ethnomedicinal survey was carried out from G. Madugula Mandal, Alluri Sitaramaraju District, Andhra Pradesh, India. For documentation of important ethnomedicinal plants and information from the local Nukha Dora primitive community about their medicinal uses. The traditional knowledge of the Nukha Dora primitive tribe's traditional uses was collected through questionnaires and personal interviews during field trips. The identification and nomenclature of the listed plants were based on the Flora of Andhra Pradesh. A total of 40 plant species belonging to 36 genera and 31 families were identified by a taxonomic description and locally by ethnomedicinal knowledge of people existing in the region.


Introduction
India is a treasure of biodiversity which host a large variety of plants and ranks tenth among plant-rich countries of the world and fourth among Asian countries. India is the largest producer of medicinal plants and is rightly called the "Botanical Garden of the World". In India, 45,000 plant species have been identified, out of which about 15, 20,000 plants are of good medicinal value. About 2,500 plant species belonging to more than 1,000 genera are used by traditional healers. Ethnological investigations have led to the documentation of a large number of wild plants used by tribes for meeting their multifarious requirements [1].
In India, an organized study on ethnobotany is of recent origin. Studies on ethnobotany were initiated by Janaki Ammal as an official program in the Economic Botany Section of the Botanical Survey of India (Howrah). She published a paper on the subsistence economy of India [2]. In 1960, Jain started intensive field studies among tribal areas of central India [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Ramarao Naidu et al. [10] dealt with the ethnomedicobotany of the Srikakulam district and reported 25 plant species belonging to 18 families used by the tribals for curing dental disorders. Rao and Reddi [11] reported 35 tuberous medicinal plant species used for a variety of ailments by certain tribal people of the Visakhapatnam district. Pragada et al., [12] reported 40 medicinal plants used for dysentery by tribal people of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The main objectives of the present investigation are the collection, identification, and documentation of the plants used by the tribal community, taxonomic analysis, and systematic evaluation of drug-yielding plants.

Study area
Ethnomedicinal information collected from G. Madugula Mandal, Alluri Sitaramaraju District, Andhra Pradesh, which belongs to the Eastern Ghats are located between 11° 31' and 22° N latitude and 76° 50' and 86° 30' E, longitude in a North-East to South-West strike. The Ghats cover an area of about 75,000 sq. Km within average width of 200 Km in the North and 100 Km in the South. Nukha Dora is divided into several exogamous clans such as Korra, Gemmela, Kakara, Sugara, Kinchoyi, etc. The name of the clan is prefixed to their names. The elders of the Mukha Dora community wear the sacred thread and Tulasi beads. They claim social status just below the Bagatas in the social hierarchy in tribal areas of the Alluri Sitaramaraju district.

Methodology
The survey was conducted by recording the information obtained from the questionnaires on medicinal plants with their local names, parts used, mode of preparation and administration with the aged farmers and local tribes. Intensive field surveys were carried out during 2021-2022, covering all the seasons. The collected specimens were identified only after a critical examination with the help of different floras like Flora of the Presidency of the Madras [13], Flora of Visakhapatnam District [14], and Flora of Vizianagaram District [15]. The voucher specimens were deposited at the Botany Department Herbarium (BDH), Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Data on ethnomedicine is arranged alphabetically by botanical names, family names, vernacular names, habits, useful parts, and diseases ( Table 1).

Results and discussion
The present investigation reveals that a total of 40 species belonging to 36 genera and 31 families were used for various purposes (Fig.1). The family-wise analysis of ethnomedicinal data revealed that of the 31 families, the dominant were Caesalpiniaceae represented by 6 species followed by Rubiaceae, Loganiaceae, Fabaceae and Apocynaceae each with 2 species, and remaining 25 families each one has single species (Table 1).  (17)

Conclusion
The new generation is not very much interested in the indigenous methods of treating diseases. They are even not very concerned about the importance of these herbal plants and their medicinal value. The growing disinterest in the use of folk medicinal plants and their significance among the younger generation of primitive tribals will lead to the disappearance of this practice. In the future, it is, therefore, very important to pursue steps that do not deviate from shifting the view of tribal people toward their indigenous belief in the treatment of healing to develop successful drugs or to discover new potential sources of drugs.