Ethnobotanical Analysis of Medicinal Plants Used by Kani Tribals of Tirunelveli District (Tamil Nadu, India) in Treating Respiratory Diseases

Introduction: Respiratory diseases have gained the attention of the scientific community due to their prevalence among people, and the search for new therapeutic drugs from natural sources for treating such diseases is increasing. So, there is a need for documenting the folk medicinal practices used in treating various respiratory-related diseases. Therefore, the present study aimed to document the folk medicinal plant knowledge of the Kani tribes of Tirunelveli district with respect to respiratory diseases.Methods: A semistructured questionnaire and field data sheet were employed to collect the ethnobotanical data from 13 informants. The recorded data were quantitatively analysed using use value (UV), frequency of citation, percentage of use frequency, and family UV.Results: A total of 70 plants distributed in 62 genera belonging to 40 families were recorded in the ethnobo-tanical survey. Lamiaceae was found as a dominant family with eight species, followed by Fabaceae (six spe-cies) and Rutaceae (five species). Ranunculaceae was recorded as the most important family with family UV of 1.0. The study has recorded herbs as the dominant life form and decoction as the most preferred formulation in treating respiratory diseases. Nine plant species were frequently used in treating respiratory diseases with UVs ranging from 0.92 to 1.0.Conclusions: The recorded data analysed with quantitative indices indicate a high level of medicinal knowledge on the plants available in the study area. The provided ethnobotanical information might serve as a basis for pharmacological studies aimed at finding effective medications to treat respiratory and related diseases.