Medicinal plants used against jaundice in Thovalai Taluk, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu

Kanyakumari District consists of four taluksAgasteeswaram, Kalkulam, Thovalai and Vilavancode. People of this taluk traditionally are co-existing with their native environment and depend on plants and plant products for health and treatment of diseases. Jaundice is the commonest ailments affecting the citizens. An ethnobotanical survey of Plants used by the traditional healers for the treatment of Jaundice was conducted in the Thovalaitaluk. A total of 30 plants belonging to 29 genera and 21 families have been documented for their therapeutic use against jaundice. The study indicates that the local inhabitants rely on medicinal plants for treatment. This paper suggests that further clinical experimentation is needed to scientifically evaluate these widely used herbal remedies for possible bioactive effects.