ETHNOVETERINARY KNOWLEDGE OF FOLKLORE PEOPLE IN KAPPATHGUDDA REGION OF GADAGA DISTRICT, KARNATAKA, SOUTH INDIA

Parashurama T. R 1 .* and H. M. Shivakumar 2 . 1. Department of P. G. studies in Botany, Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari. 2. Department of P. G. studies in Botany, Davanagere University, Tholahunse. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

India is well known for significant geographical diversity, which has favored the formation of different habitats and vegetation types. India is enriched with 15 per cent (3000-3500) out of 20,000 medicinal plants all over the world. About 90 per cent of these are found growing wild in different climatic regions of the country (Chopra and Nayar, 1956). India is also home to many languages, cultures and beliefs, which have in turn contributed to high diversity of traditional knowledge. Large populations in India still rely on traditional herbal medicine (Dubey, 2004). In India, it is reported that traditional healers use 2500 plant species and 100 species of plants serve as regular sources of medicine (Pei, 2001). Ethno-botanical knowledge has been documented from various parts of the Indian subcontinent (Das and Tag, 2006;Prasad and Pandey, 1993;Udhyan et al., 2005). India has got great traditional knowledge in the field of ethnoveterinary medicines and practices, but the process of modernization, this knowledge is vanishing very rapidly (Devendrakumar and Anbazhagan, 2012). Several medicinal herbs are flourishing in the state, which has been in constant use by inhabitants in serving to cure the ailments of human and livestock as ethnomedicine (Bharati et al., 2009;Balakrishnan et al., 2009). Plants have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years and herbal medicines are much in demand throughout the world. The knowledge of medicinal plants has been accumulated in the course of many centuries based on different medicinal systems such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.
In Karnataka, many tribal groups and rural districts have been studied to document the ethno-medicinal value of plants used by them (Harsh 2002, Prakasha 2006 Parinitha et al., 2004 and particularly it is so in Kappathgudda of Gadaga district of Karnataka. Hence, an attempt has been made to collect and document the ethno-botanical knowledge of local herbal healers of different communities in the Kappathgudda region of Gadaga district. The main objective of this ethno botanical investigation is the identification and documentation of various plants, used for traditional veterinary uses among the folklore ethnic group from Kappathgudda region. The study also includes documentation of the part of the plant used, method of preparation and its dosage for medical purposes.

Materials and Methods:-
Kappathgudda region of Gadaga district located in central part of Karnataka state and lies between 75° 16" to 76° 03" E longitude and 14° 56" to 15° 53" N latitude. The Gadaga district is spread over an area of 4656 sq.km with a forest area of 326.14 sq.km. Vegetation -Hilly, deciduous, semi evergreen, scrubby types of forest supporting various species of flora and fauna. Rainfall -500 to 650 mm; the minimum temperature recorded during winter is 18°C (during December) and highest is 42.5°C. In Kappathgudda region the folklore people are giving medicine from about 1000 years ago. There are more than 5 families which are following this method and one of the family member should dedicate their lives to spiritual persuits.
In present work, the data collected by these folklore families by discussing with them and roaming all around the hills of Kappathgudda region along with photography and collection of medicinal parts of plants. Before going to the field survey, a rapport was established with the well-known persons of the village. Experienced people and knowledgeabble elder folklore people of the study area were contacted for collecting the information on their knowledge of medicinal treatment against veternary ailments. Plants were photographed, collected and identified by using the Flora of Madras Presidency (Gamble et al., 1935) and confirmed by eminent taxonomists and

Results and Discussion:-
Kappathgudda is a sacred groove, where so many folklore families are found all arond the hilly regions. In the present study, 33 medicinal plant species used for treatment of livestock ailments were collected. The presence of such a these medicinal plant species and associated ethno-medicinal knowledge in the district compared to number of species reported for other regions in Karnataka (Harsha, 2004;Bhandary et al., 1995Bhandary et al., , 1996 indicates that the area has good diversity of medicinal plant species including a rich source of indigenous knowledge. Ethno-botanical survey for the treatment of veterinary ailments, about 33 plants species belonging to 25 families have been documented in the present study, given in Table 1. Oil extracted from the bark and, is applied to nose and legs. 6 Intestinal worms Andrographis paniculata (N.Burman) Nelabevu, (Acanthaceae)

Herb Leaves
Leaf paste is mixed with water and given orally once in a day for 2 days.

Shrub Leaves
Leaf paste is mixed with water and given orally once in a day for 2 days. On analysis of families v/s number of species among the most represented families for the treatment of veterinary ailments in Kappathgudda region of Gadaga district among 33 plant species, 4 species were from Fabaceae, 3 from Rutaceae, 2 species each from Celastraceae and Sapindaceae. The family Fabaceae constituted the largest number or proportion in treating of veterinary ailments (Fig.1). Analysis of growth forms showed that in present work for the treatment of veterinary diseases and ailments among 33 medicinal plant species 47% were trees followed by 19% climbers, 19% shrubs and 15% herbs. The tree species constituted the largest number or proportion in treating of veterinary ailments (Fig.2). The most commonly used plant part to prepare the herbal remedies was leaf followed by 1635 bark, seed, root, fruit, stem, whole plant. In many case, more than one part of the same plant species is used in the treatment of different ailments. The use of plant material can also depend on its availability. The leaves and bark are always available and most of the healers prefer these parts for preparing herbal formulation (Fig.3). The less prefer parts of the plants were flower because they have short time of availability.
The present study revealed that the traditional herbal healers of different communities in Kappathgudda region have very good knowledge of medicinal plants, which could be used for treating a variety of diseases and disorders of veterinary animals. Documenting of the traditional knowledge of treatment with herbal formulations by folk herbal healers will help in the utilization of the locally available alternative healthcare systems in the larger interest of the society. A large number of ethnoformulations used for different ailments in the study area are new and note-worthy.