ethnomedicine is a traditional medical practice that concerns the cultural interpretation of health , disease , and illness . the practice of ethnomedicine is a complex multidisciplinary system constituting the use of plants in a spiritual way in the natural environment and has been the source of healing for people for millennia . many people use plants as alternative remedies in addition to visiting western health care practitioners . the extent of plant use differs with location  that is , it is area specific . india is rich in plant diversity and possesses almost 7% of the world 's flowering plants . the eastern ghats of india are endowed with an extensively rich variety of biological species , geological formations , and different ethnic tribes . ethnomedicinal studies in the eastern ghats of tamil nadu have been carried out previously by a number of researchers.2 , 3 however , there is not much information available on ethnoveterinary medicine in the eastern ghats of india . ethnoveterinary medicine is a scientific term for traditional animal health care that encompasses the knowledge , skills , methods , practices , and beliefs about animal health care found among community members . it comprises community - based local or indigenous knowledge on methods of preparation and administration of medicinal plants for the caring , healing , and managing of livestock . it also includes social practices and the ways in which livestock are incorporated into farming systems . since time immemorial , plants have been used for curing various diseases in man and animals . even today , in rural regions of india , where modern medicine is inaccessible , medicine based on folk plants is often used to treat humans and livestock . this knowledge has been developed through trial and error and also deliberate experimentation . keeping the aforesaid facts in view , the present study was undertaken to record the potential use of folk plants as prominent alternative medicine for cattle to cure various diseases in the shervaroy hills of the eastern ghats . the shervaroy hill range is situated 26  km north - east of salem and forms a major point of the eastern ghats . the hill range lies between 1148 and 7811 e longitude6 , 7 , 8 with an altitude of 1515  m above mean sea level . the malayali tribe is one of the 36 scheduled tribes of tamil nadu and they basically depend on agriculture and forest resources for their survival . the tribes belonging to the minor communities are among the least advanced socially and economically . many extensive and intensive field trips were undertaken between 2011 and 2012 in different seasons for the collection of plants and associated ethnomedicinal information from the shervaroy hills . the information gathered in this paper is based on a plant exploration study conducted at the shervaroy hills . a total of 1980 individuals of the malayali tribe community were approached , and we found that 1519 of them possessed traditional medicinal knowledge . however , seven respondents were practicing as vaidyars and a questionnaire was administrated to them . mr perumal ( fig .  1 ) of the malayali tribe , who was one of the folk practitioners , showed and explained the medicinal uses of plants during the treatment of cattle . each plant was taxonomically identified and representative samples were collected as voucher specimens at the school of biosciences and technology , vit university , vellore , india . 2 ) , it has been observed that plants in the shervaroy hills are used to cure various diseases such as mastitis , enteritis , arthritis , stomatitis , salivation from the mouth , wounding , and conjunctivitis in animals . table  1 shows the details of the folk medicine , their uses , and modes of preparation . one of the cases that we came across during the field visit was the treatment of a cow 's wound of a secretary organ , which generally occurs during sexual intercourse . in addition , during our field trips we observed the following unique features of the malayali tribe . ( 1 ) local medicine practitioners and other tribes have knowledge on medicinal plants , their uses , and also practice the same worship of nature before they start the treatment ( fig . ( 2 ) they know how to cure various diseases of cattle using traditional practices . ( 3 ) after giving medicine , they chant hymns ( locally known as  paadam padithal  ) and use a towel on the animal with circular movement to improve the effectiveness of the remedy ( fig .  5 ) . ( 4 ) members of the tribe are staunch vegetarians and also avoid food that is considered gastric ( locally known as  vayu  ) . ( 5 ) we observed that in the indigenous system of folk medicine practitioners do not use normal salt we believe that rock salt contains more potassium and less sodium , which could be useful for treatment . the plant species recorded in the present study are arranged in alphabetical order ( table  1 , table  2 ) . the botanical name of each plant is followed by the family , voucher specimen number , local name , parts used , and mode of preparation . a total of 21 medicinal plants belonging to 16 families were recorded to be used by the malayalis as ethnoveterinary medicine . literature on phyto - constituents and pharmacological studies of plants recorded in the present survey was extensively searched and reviewed in table  2 . these ethnomedicinal plants have been reported by various researchers to treat various aliments ( table  2 ) . we believe that these phyto - constituents could be responsible for curing various diseases in cattle . however , additional experimental studies and detailed investigation are required in order to confirm these observations . the traditional uses of medicinal plants in health care practices provide clues to new areas of research for novel biological compounds and discovery of new drugs . we believe this study could form a basis for further studies to test and validate the pharmacological bioactivity of these plants , and to characterize and isolate the active constituents . besides indigenous medicine , ethnic communities use forest products not only for household consumption but also for commercial purposes to generate community income ; the conservation of biological resources is integrated with regional and national economies.56 , 57 , 58 numerous plant species are found to have an important role in the everyday life of ethnic and local people.59 , 60 however , it is a matter of concern that the indigenous knowledge of extraction , processing , and practice of using medicinal plants has diminished to a great extent among the new generation of ethnic people . it has been observed that the traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicine is now confined only among the surviving older people and a few practitioners in the tribal communities of the shervaroy hills . unfortunately , no serious attempts have been made to document and preserve this immense treasure of traditional knowledge . lack of a focused conservation strategy could also cause a depletion of this valuable resource . the vanishing forest has had a cascading effect on the tribal population , which dwindles rapidly , and along with this the knowledge they hold . these tribal people are now mostly working as casual laborers in coffee estates and construction sites . it is time that steps are taken towards documenting the treasures of these indigenous knowledge systems . otherwise , we are bound to lose vital information on the utilization of the natural resources that surround us .
the eastern ghats of india is well known for its wealth of natural vegetation and shervaroy is a major hill range of the eastern ghats of tamil nadu . 
 ethnomedicinal studies in the eastern ghats of tamil nadu or the shervaroy hills have been carried out by various researchers . however , there is not much information available on ethnoveterinary medicine in the eastern ghats of india . 
 the aim of this study was to examine the potential use of folk plants as alternative medicine for cattle to cure various diseases in the shervaroy hills of the eastern ghats . based on interactions with traditional medicine practitioners 
 , it has been observed that a total of 21 medicinal plants belonging to 16 families are used to cure various diseases such as mastitis , enteritis , arthritis , stomatitis , salivation from the mouth , wounding , and conjunctivitis in animals . 
 it has been observed that the traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicine is now confined only among the surviving older people and a few practitioners in the tribal communities of the shervaroy hills . 
 unfortunately , no serious attempts have been made to document and preserve this immense treasure of traditional knowledge .