The present study deals with the documentation of ethnomedicinal plants used for curing hair disorders by the tribals of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. The study resulted in the documentation of 35 medicinal plant species belonging to 34 genera and 24 families used for hair wash, alopecia, dandruff, cooling effect, hair tonic, lice killing and hair tonic. Fabaceae is the dominant family followed by Malvaceae, Combretaceae, Rubiaceae and Sapindaceae

V. Seetharami Reddi, J. Suneetha, J. Koteswara Rao* and T.V.

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Journal of Experimental Sciences 2011, 2(8): 30-32 ISSN: 2218-1768 www.scholarjournals.org  www.jexpsciences.com 30  JES-Life Sciences Herbal Remedies for Hair Disorders by the Tribals of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh  J. Suneetha, J. Koteswara Rao* and T.V.V. Seetharami Reddi  Department of Botany, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530 003, India  Article Info  Abstract Article History  The present study deals with the documentation of ethnomedicinal plants used for curing hair disorders by the tribals of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. The study resulted in the documentation of 35 medicinal plant species belonging to 34 genera and 24 families used for hair wash, alopecia, dandruff, cooling effect, hair tonic, lice killing and hair tonic. Fabaceae is the dominant family followed by Malvaceae, Combretaceae, Rubiaceae and Sapindaceae.  Received : 13-05-2011  Revised : 16-08-2011  Accepted : 17-08-2011  *Corresponding Author  Tel : +91-9490209107       Email:  koteswararaojarra@yahoo.com   ©ScholarJournals, SSR  Key Words: Herbal remedies, Hair care, Tribals, East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh    Introduction Human beings are using herbal products for their healthcare since time immemorial. Though plenty of modern allopathic drugs are available in the market people are attracted to the herbal products since they believe that they are safer and proved elixir in the treatment of various ailments. Though there are many studies on ethnomedicine exclusive studies on hair disorders are not many [1-3]. East Godavari district lies between 16o 3' and 18° 20' of N and 81° 30' and 82° 36' of E. The total geographical area of the district is 10, 807 km2.  The average rainfall is 1137.6 mm. The total population of the district is 49, 01, 420 of which 1, 91, 561 are tribal inhabitants comprising 3.91% of the total population. Konda Reddi, Konda Dora, Konda Kammara, Konda Kapu, Manne Dora and Valmikis are the main tribal communities inhabiting the forest areas. The tribals have their own language, heritage, religious practices and customs.   Material and Methods The areas inhabited by different ethnic communities were surveyed during 2005-2007. The first hand information was obtained from aboriginals in 126 interior tribal pockets with good forest cover and cross checked with the local medicine men or vaidyas. The data generated from different villages and tribal tracts were carefully analysed, compared, verified and presented in this paper. The voucher specimens are deposited in the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Each plant is enumerated with a correct botanical name followed by the author, family, vernacular and English names. Enumeration Abrus precatorius L.  Fabaceae VN: Guriginja E: Indian liquorice  Seed paste is used for hair wash. Acacia sinuata (Lour.) Merr.   Fabaceae VN: Sikaya    E: Soap pod Dandruff: Seed paste is massaged on the scalp once a day for one week. Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boivin  Fabaceae VN: Narlinga    Leaf paste is used for hair wash. Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.  Liliaceae VN: Musambaramu E: Indian aloe   Leaf juice is used for hair wash to stimulate growth of hair, for hair fall and dandruff.  Annona squamosa L.  Annonaceae VN: Seethaphalam E: Custard apple To kill lice: Fifty g of dried seed powder mixed in 250 ml of coconut oil is applied to the scalp twice a week to kill lice.  Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr. Combretaceae VN: Chirumanu E: Gum ghatti Wood ash is used as detergent and for hair wash.  Azadirachta indica A. Juss.  Meliaceae VN: Yepa chettu  E: Margosa tree Dandruff: Leaf paste is applied on the scalp externally daily once for one hour before head bath for 3 days. Carica papaya L. Caricaceae VN: Boppayi E: Papaya  Alopecia: Flower paste is applied on the scalp daily once regularly for one week for luxuriant growth of hair.  Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.   Bombacaceae VN: Burugu   E: White silk cotton tree Tender leaves are used for hair wash.  Cleome viscosa L.  Cleomaceae VN: Kukka vaminta E: Wild mustard Eradication if lice: Seed paste mixed with coconut oil is used as hair oil. J. Suneetha et al./J Exp Sci 2 (2011) 30-32     31Cochlospermum religiosum (L.) Alston   Cochlospermaceae VN: Konda gogu E: Yellow- flowered cotton tree. Leaf decoction is used for hair wash.   Datura innoxia Mill.   Solanaceae VN: Tella ummetha E: Downy thorn apple   Alopecia: Leaf juice is applied to the scalp one hour before washing the hair. This is continued for 10 days. Eclipta prostrata L.   Asteraceae VN: Guntagalaraku E: Trailing Eclipta     Hair tonic: Whole plant and leaves of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum taken in equal quantities are ground. Paste is boiled in 500 g of coconut oil for one hour and incubates for one week and then oil is filtered and used as hair oil. Glycyrrhiza  glabra (Retz.) DC.   Fabaceae VN: Atimadhuramu E: Liquorice   Hair tonic: Root decoction is used as shampoo for growth of hair and also to control hair fall. Grewia tiliaefolia Vahl   Tiliaceae VN: Tada chettu Leaf paste is used for hair wash. Helicteres isora L.   Sterculiaceae VN: Nulikaya E: East-Indian screw tree Leaf paste is used for hair wash. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L.   Malvaceae VN: Dhasani E: Bimlipatam-Jute Hair tonic: Leaves with fruits of Terminalia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, leaves of Eclipta prostrata, Lawsonia inermis and seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum are taken in equal quantities and soaked in 2 Kgs of coconut oil for 20 days,  filtered and   applied to the scalp for vigorous growth of hair. Limonia acidissima L.  Rutaceae VN: Elikkaya E: Dog wood apple Tender fruit pulp is used for hair wash. Kydia calycina Roxb.   Malvaceae VN: Konda patti   Hair tonic: Stem bark with that of Albizia amara taken in equal quantities are ground and the paste is used as shampoo. Lawsonia inermis L. Lythraceae VN: Gorintaku E: Henna   Hair tonic: Leaves with those of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Eclipta prostrata and seeds of Abrus precatorius are taken in equal equantities and ground. Paste is soaked in sesame oil for 5 days and used as hair oil.  Madhuca indica J. F. Gmel.  Sapotaceae VN:  Ippa chettu E: Indian butter tree Oil extracted from seeds is used as hair oil. Maytenus emarginata (Willd.) Ding Hou  Celastraceae VN: Danti  Leaf paste is used for hair wash. Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. Rutaceae VN:  Karivepaku  E: Curry leaf Hair tonic: Leaves with that of Lawsonia inermis are taken in equal quantities and ground into paste. It is boiled with sesame oil and cooled. It is applied to the hair regularly.  Nyctanthes arbortristis L. Nyctaginaceae VN: Pagadamalti E: Night jasmine   Alopecia: Two spoonful of seed powder mixed with a spoonful of honey is taken orally   twice a day for 15 days. Meanwhile the paste is applied on the scaly patches. Phyllanthus emblica L.  Euphorbiaceae VN: Usirica E: Phyllanthus herb Hair tonic: Fruit juice mixed with sesame oil is applied to the scalp for long hair.  Sapindus emarginatus Vahl   Sapindaceae VN: Kunkudu E: Soapnut Fruits used as substitute for soap for washing hair, jewels etc. Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken.   Sapindaceae VN: Busi chettu E: Lac tree; honey tree  Seed oil is used as hair oil. Sesamum indicum L.   Pedaliaceae  VN: Nuvvulu E: Sesame Seed oil is used as hair oil. Strychnos potatorum L. f.    Loganiaceae VN: Induga, Chilla E: Clearing nut tree    Seed paste is used as detergent and for hair wash. Tamarindus indica L.  Fabaceae VN: Chinta E: Tamarind   Crushed tender fruits are used for hair wash.  Terminalia arjuna (Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn.    Combretaceae VN: Tella maddi E: Arjun mytralan   Wood ash and leaf paste are used as hair wash and detergent.  Terminalia coriacea (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.     Combretaceae VN: Nallamaddi  Leaf paste is used for hair wash. Trigonella foenum-graecum L.   Fabaceae VN: Menthulu E: Fenugreek  Seed paste is used for hair wash.  Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek    Fabaceae VN: Pesara E: Black gram    Leaf paste is used for hair wash. Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.    Rhamnaceae VN: Regu chettu E: Indian jujube  Lather from leaves is used for hair wash by women. Results and Discussion The present study gave detailed information on 35 plant species belonging to 34 genera and 24 families used as herbal remedies for hair disorders by the tribals of East Godavari district. The dominant family which contributed more species for curing hair disorders is Fabaceae (7 species) followed by Malvacee, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae and Combretaceae (2 each) and the rest represented by one species each. Aloe vera, Eclipta alba, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Phylanthus emblica are used for hair care in both Eastern and Western Ghats [1-3] and are also used by the tribals of the present study area for the same purpose. Most of the species are used for hair wash for curing dandruff, alopecia, cooling effect, hair tonic, eradication of lice, hair fall etc. These detergents used by the tribals are natural remedies with no side-effects and cheap with good results. However, scientific validation is required to prove their efficacy and ultimately to develop newer herbal shampoos for hair care. Acknowledgement The authors are grateful to the tribal people of the East Godavari district for sharing their valuable information on herbal medicine. JS and JKR are thankful to UGC for the J. Suneetha et al./J Exp Sci 2 (2011) 30-32     32award of fellowship under FIP and RFMS schemes, respectively. References [1] Balaji Rao, N.S., D. Rajasekhar and D.Chengal Raju. 1996. Folklore remedies for dandruff from Tirumala hills of Andhra Pradesh. Ancient Science of life, XV: 296-300  [2] Mitaliya, K.D., D.C.Bhatt, N.K. Patel and S.K.Dodia. 2003. Herbal remedies used for hair disorders by tribals and rural folk in Gujarat. Indian J. Trad. Knowl. 2: 389-392. [3] Sasi, R., A. Rajendran and V. Aravindhan. 2010. Ethno-hair tonic percepts in Velliangiri hills of South Western Ghats. Ethnobotany, 22: 107-110.   

Herbal Remedies for Hair Disorders by the Tribals of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh

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Herbal Remedies for Hair Disorders by the Tribals of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh

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