Poisonous plants of the southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan

Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 7(2), April 2008, pp. 269-272 Poisonous plants of the southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan SS Katewa*, PK Galav, Ambika Nag & Anita Jain Laboratory of Ethnobotany & Agrostology, Department of Botany, College of Science, ML Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001, Rajasthan E-mail: [email protected] Received 23 March 2006; revised 17 August 2006 Of about 18-20 thousand flowering plants present in our country, many plant species are utilized as food, fodder, medicine and fibre. Quite a few flowering plant species are poisonous. Knowledge on poisonous plants is important as some of them are used in medicine. The poisonous properties are due to toxic substances such as alkaloids, glucosides, saponins, amines, tannins, resins, etc. An account of 32 poisonous plants occurring on the Aravalli hills of Rajasthan has been presented. The information on the poisonous plant species has been gathered from the tribals during ethnobotanical field survey. The study suggests that the tribal people are not only aware of such poisonous plants and their harmful effects, but also use them judiciously for control of insect-pests, bugs, mosquitoes and many other harmful organisms. Keywords: Poisonous plants, Ethnomedicine, Bhil, Garasia, Kathodia, Menna, Parmar, Meghwal, Aravalli hills, Rajasthan IPC Int. Cl.8: A61K36/00, A61P1/04, A61P1/06, A61P1/10, A61P9/00, A61P9/04, A61P11/00, A61P15/00, A61P15/06, A61P27/14, A61P27/16 Poisonous plants are plants, which as a whole or part there of under all or certain conditions and in a manner and in amount likely to be taken or brought into contact with an organism will exert harmful effects or cause death either immediately or by reason of cumulative action of the toxic property due to presence of known or unknown chemical substances in it and not by mechanical action1. The poisonous nature of whole plant or any plant part may be due to production of toxic substances such as alkaloids, glucosides, amines, toxalbumins, picrotoxins, resins, saponins, tannins, essential oils, etc., many of which are harmful to man and animal life, at least under certain conditions. Rajasthan located in Northwestern part of the country lies between 23°3-30°12 longitudes and 69°30-78°17 latitudes. The Aravalli system of mountains dominates the southern part of Rajasthan. The climate of these hills is typically monsoonic in character. The tribal dominated southern part of Rajasthan harbour a great variety of vegetation. The main tribes are Bhil, Garasia, Damor, Gamati, Kathodia, Menna, Kharadi, Mohradi, Randhor, Parmar and Meghwal, etc. These tribes mainly depend upon their surrounding forests as a source of livelihood. These forests have been life supporting for tribal people since ages and their culture is deeply ___________ *Corresponding author related with forests. The poisonous plants of India have been described by few workers2-4. A lot of work has been done on the vegetation of Rajasthan and traditional uses of plants but no work has been done specifically on poisonous plants of Rajasthan5-18. Methodology Before launching into the fieldwork, rapport was established with one or two persons preferably the chief, whose guidance was sought and contacts were then established with other tribals of the locality. The local informants were the medicine men, men and women working in the field, village headman, priest and other community leaders. Study sites were visited with the local medicine men. The persons above the age of 60 yrs have accurate information regarding their old traditions. Generally, two types of interviews were taken, firstly of individual and secondly of groups. Of individuals, persons were selected at random on the way or entering a hut, finding out knowledgeable individuals from the village or also the bhopa (village priest) or the headman. In group interviews, more than one individual were approached, after explaining the purpose interviews were taken. Ethnobotanical field trips were conducted in different tribal areas and forest areas of southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan, during 2004-05. A large number of tribal people and medicine men of the villages knew about the poisonous plants. Information 270 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 7, No. 2, APRIL 2008 were recorded on these plants and plant parts, which they use for poisoning arrow heads, stupefying fishes, driving away the insects and bugs from hut and killing vermin, body lice and worms. To determine the authenticity of information collected during field work, the data were cross-checked from different informants. Thus, only the specific and reliable information cross-checked with at least 13 informants has been incorporated. The information provided by the tribals has been compared with the published literature8. The collected plants were identified at the Herbarium of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. All the collected specimens are deposited in the Herbarium of Laboratory of Ethnobotany and Agrostology, Department of Botany, College of Science, M L Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan for further reference. Enumeration The plants are arranged alphabetically, each by its botanical name, followed by name of the family and local names (Figs 1-6). The folk uses are described with details of part(s) used and notes on poisonous symptoms (Table 1). Table 1 — Uses of plants of the southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan Plant name Family Local name Use Abrus precatorius L. Papilionaceae Chirmi Alangium salvifolium (L.f.) Wang. Alangiaceae Ankol Argemone mexicana L. Papaveraceae Satyanashi Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. Balanitaceae Hingot Seed powder is given to cattle in case of constipation but if given in higher doses or seeds are consumed accidentally by cattle, it causes gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhoea, weakness, trembling of legs, etc. Root bark infusion administered orally in small doses causes transient fall in blood pressure, depresses heart; in higher dose produces irregular respiration, increases peristaltic movement of the intestine. Seeds are emetic and narcotic; poisonous if taken in large quantities. The plant when eaten by animals causes diarrhoea and sleepiness. Fruits are purgative and anthelmintic. Leaf decoction is used for washing hairs to get rid of lices by the tribals. The bark juice is considered poisonous. The other parts are also poisonous, when consumed in larger quantities. Contd — KATEWA et al.: POISONOUS PLANTS OF SOUTHERN ARAVALLI HILLS OF RAJASTHAN 271 Table 1 — Uses of plants of the southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan — Contd Plant name Family Local name Use Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. Calotropis procera (Ait) R. Br. Papilionacea Khankra Crushed seeds are used by the tribals as fish poison. Asclepiadaceae Akdo Catharanthus pusillus (Murr.) Don Catharanthus roseus (L.) Don Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. Apocynaceae Apocynaceae Jungli baramasi Baramasi Latex mixed with ammonium chloride is slowly heated on hot iron plate; very small quantity of the powder is given orally thrice a day for five days to cure tuberculosis. But if given in higher amount, causes poisoning. Intake of latex is fatal; injurious to eyes, causes blindness. It is also used as fish poison. Plant is toxic to cattle, causing temporary blindness or madness with rashes all over the body. Intake of plant juice is poisonous, acts as poison to heart. Cuscutaceae Amarbel Datura metal Linn. Solanaceae Dhatura Dioscorea bulbifera Linn. Dioscoreaceae Vahrikand Dioscorea pentaphylla Linn. Dioscoreaceae Kada kand Euphorbia hirta Linn. Euphorbiaceae Dudhi Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. Euphorbiaceae Dandathor Gloriosa superba Linn. Liliaceae Kalihari Holoptelea integrifolia Planch. Jatropha curcas Linn. Ulmaceae Bander bati Euphorbiaceae Ratanjot, Janglibadam Jatropha gossypifolia Linn. Lantana camara Linn. Euphorbiaceae Verbenaceae Ratanjot, Jamalgota Ghaneri Melia azedarach Linn. Meliaceae Bakain Moringa oleifera Lam. Moringaceae Sainjna Mucuna pruiens (Linn.) DC. Nerium indicum Mill. Fabaceae Kamach Apocynaceae Lal kaner (Asteraceae) Gajar ghas Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. Plant juice causes depression with nausea, vomiting and abortion. Tribals mix the plant with fodder to kill enemy’s livestock. Whole plant is toxic and narcotic; seeds are poisonous and used for committing crimes. Intake of the leaves, fruits and seeds causes fatal poisoning, dryness of throat, giddiness, hallucination and staggering; voice is unrecognizable and vision is affected and leads to coma. Tubers consumption in large quantities causes paralysis of respiratory system and even death. Creates severe irritation in mouth. Tribals cut the tuber and place overnight in running water and cook as vegetable. Tubers are acrid and cause inflammation of mucous membrane of mouth. Tribals cut the tuber and place overnight in running water and cook as vegetable. Plant extract has sedative effect on the mucous membrane of the respiratory and genitourinary tract. The latex is injurious to eyes. Latex is acrid, purgative and causes dermatitis. Latex is injurious to eyes. Root decoction is used as abortifacient. Tuber extract mixed with Solanum virginianum Linn. root extract is used as abortifacient. Intake of tubers is fatal, causes gastrointestinal irritance, vomiting and purgation. The crushed stem bark is used as fish poison. Seeds are strong purgative. When consumed accidentally by cattle or human beings especially children, induces nausea, vomiting and sense of burning in stomach. Over consumption of seeds leads to unconsciousness. Leaves and seeds are purgative and poisonous. If grazed by animals, causes severe vomiting and death. Grazing of cattle causes severe injury to liver, profuse salivation, copious lachrymation, loss of appetite and ultimately death. Poisoning most often results from ingestion of toxic fruits containing uncharacterized resinous fraction. It causes severe irritation, nausea and degeneration of the liver and kidney. Root bark extract causes severe skin inflammation and skin dermatitis. Root and stem bark are used as abortifacient. Pod hairs when come in contact with skin produce itching and sometimes cause blister and dermatitis. Root is poisonous; used for criminal and suicidal purposes; seeds are used to poison and kill enemy’s livestock. Seeds and plants cause eczema and allergic dermatitis on contact. If consumed by livestock, causes severe diarrhoea followed by death with severe ulceration in the liver, gastrointestinal tracts and kidney. It poses danger to the livestock particularly in drought condition. Contd — 272 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 7, No. 2, APRIL 2008 Table 1 — Uses of plants of the southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan — Contd Plant name Family Local name Use Plumbago zeylanica Linn. (Plumbaginaceae) Chitrak Ricinus communis Linn. (Euphorbiaceae) Arandi Solanum virginianum Linn. (Solanaceae) Ringni Urginea indica (Roxb.) Kunth (Liliaceae) Janglikanda Root extract is applied to cure several skin diseases; sometime causes vesication, inflammation and severe itching. Intake of higher doses of seed oil is fatal with symptoms of vomiting, colic, gastroenteritis and circulatory collapse; in small quantity cure constipation. Root decoction with jaggery is given to ladies in acbolis and for abortion of up to 5 months old foetus. More quantity is poisonous and causes death of mother. Excessive consumption of bulb is poisonous causing nausea, strangury and bloody urine, often suppression of urine, gastroenteritis, convulsion of heart and paralysis, followed by death. Conclusion The paper deals with 28 poisonous plant species belonging to 14 different families. The poisonous parts of majority of plant species were seeds, latex and root or root bark. Besides these, poisonous parts of some plants were fruits, stem bark, tubers or bulbs and sometimes whole plant also. Some plants causes poisoning to both human beings as well as livestock population, while some causes poisoning to human being only. The poisonous nature of plant or plant part depends mainly on the quantity consumed. In small quantity, plant shows their therapeutic value while in higher quantity, shows their poisonous effects. For example, Alangium salvifolium bark extract is used by the tribals to lower down the blood pressure but in higher dose it depresses the heart permanently and causes irregular respiration. Some plants e.g. Dioscorea bulbifera and Dioscorea pentaphylla can be used as food after processing (by washing or cooking), which is highly nutritious but if taken raw, causes severe irritation and inflammation of mucous membrane of mouth. The significance of the wild poisonous plants for their economic and toxicological value cannot be over rated. The study on the poisonous plants of southern Aravalli hills of Rajasthan indicates their economic, toxicological and therapeutic values. On one hand, these plants may cause serious health problems and sometimes death yet on the other many of them in regulated doses, may act as effective remedies for amelioration of diseases. Acknowledgement Authors are thankful to the DSIR, New Delhi for providing financial assistance and to the authorities of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Uttaranchal for consulting herbarium for final identification of poisonous plants. 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