ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDIES ON MEDICINAL PLANT UTILIZATION BY THE YANADHI TRIBE OF ANANTHASAGARAM MANDAL, NELLORE DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

Abstract: From the early days of the evolution, the journey of man was tied with Nature. Therefore, our ancestors have lived in harmony with nature and their demands were very limited. Primitive human societies like tribes and aboriginals depend on Nature for their livelihood and they are searching for drugs in Nature to treat the chronic diseases. In present days also, many tribes directly depend on plants for their medical requirements and health care. An ethnobotanical survey was carried out by Yanadhi Tribe of Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, India during September 2015 to June 2016. The present study mainly focused on to collect information from the Yandhi tribe of Ananthasagaram mandal of Nellore District. Only a few people are being practiced herbal therapy with the traditional knowledge which was transmitted from their elders. The plants used for medicinal purposes by the Yandhi tribes were collected through direct interviews during the field survey. The present study revealed that the Yanadhi tribe used nearly 41 plant species belonging to 28 families to treat various diseases like jaundice, leucoderma, bronchitis, scorpion bite, skin diseases, cough, pains, stomachache and head-ache etc. The plant parts like Leaves, Seeds, Stem, Bark and other parts are used in the medical treatment. The present paper mainly focused on the document the plants and herbs used in medical therapy by Yanadhi tribes of Ananthasagaram Mandal, Nellore district.

Keywords: Traditional Knowledge, Yanadhi tibe, Ethnomedicine, Nellore.