SYSTEMATIC DOCUMENTATION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ON FUNGUS INFECTED ETHNOMEDICINALLY IMPORTANT PLANTS USED BY KANI TRIBES OF KERALA.

plant taxa etc were also calculated. The findings indicated a general agreement for the treatment among the tribal people and also exemplifies the utility of fungus infected ethnomedicinal plants in the development of novel drugs. This information would also be of much avail for the preservation of the traditional knowledge and also provides a baseline information for the development of novel drug. The present investigation concluded in such a way that the tribal claims documented would serve as a lead which often play a key role in the drug discovery and designing of novel drugs. avail (1) for the preservation of the traditional knowledge prevalent among the tribes for the use in the future (2) for validating the tribal claim as to the efficacy of fungus infected plants to combat various ailments (3) for providing a baseline information for the development of novel drug which may find useful in the treatment of various reproductive disorders. The present investigation concluded in such a way that the tribal information acquired through the ethnomycological documentation is valid. Such tribal claims serve as a lead which often play a key role in the drug discovery and designing of novel drugs.

Traditional Knowledge associated with biodiversity is a living body of functional knowledge system and the same is getting eroded rapidly because of the changing lifestyles of the people. The systematic documentation of traditional knowledge related to ethnobotanically important plants deserves utmost importance, and it appears this is particularly true with fungus infected plants. Based on the aforementioned issue, the major lines of work under taken in this investigation were a) Systematically Documented Traditional Knowledge related to fungus infected ethnobotanically important plants used by the Kani Tribes of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India b) Data accrued through the documentation were subjected to analysis for scientific validation. The study resulted in the systematic documentation of 114 formulations prepared using 74 fungus infected ethnomedicinal plants being used by Kani tribes. Also documented 101 fungal species infecting on 74 ethnomedicinally important plant species. Statistical analysis and the relative frequency of citation, informant consensus factor, usage value of plant taxa etc were also calculated. The findings indicated a general agreement for the treatment among the tribal people and also exemplifies the utility of fungus infected ethnomedicinal plants in the development of novel drugs. This information would also be of much avail for the preservation of the traditional knowledge and also provides a baseline information for the development of novel drug. The present investigation concluded in such a way that the tribal claims documented would serve as a lead which often play a key role in the drug discovery and designing of novel drugs.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Introduction:-
Traditional Knowledge associated with biodiversity is a living body of functional knowledge system that is developed, sustained, refined and passed on from generation to generations of people through continuous interaction, observation and experimentation with their surroundings. But this functional knowledge system is rapidly dwindling due to the influence of modern life styles, reduction in number of traditional healers and the lack of interest of younger generations to carry on with the tradition. Hence, the systematic documentation of traditional 396 knowledge related to ethnobotanically important plants deserves utmost importance, and it appears this is particularly true with fungus infected plants. Presently, documentation pertaining to the fungus infected plants are fragmentary and there exists a huge lacuna in this regard. In this context, scientific scrutiny and validation of the documented knowledge has become inevitable (Singh and Dubey, 2012;Henrique et al., 2014).
In the last few decades, the main strategy of drug development based on traditional medicine is of a single target, single compound, based on a super reductionism that involves mostly tests of compounds at the molecular level. We are now witnessing the entry of a new informational paradigm in the scientific validation of natural products. A more thoughtful approach by incorporating modern tools like reverse pharmacology, systems biology, proteomics, metabolomic sciences seems much more suited to confirm efficacy and to obtain information that might lead to understanding the mode of action. As an array of secondary metabolites are being triggered in fungus infected medicinal plants, comparable holistic approaches for the pharmacological investigation of fungus infected medicinal plants will surely bring out novel drug which may find useful in the treatment of various disorders.

Materials and Methods:-
Area selected for the present systematic ethnomycological investigation was Kani tribal settlements of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, India. Field investigation was conducted at different sites during the study. Frequent field trips were made to the study areas to observe ethnomedicinal plants used in the traditional health care system which are being infected with fungi. Field trips along with the traditional knowledge providers to find out the plants they have been using to cure various ailments has also been carried out. Data was collected with semistructured questionnaires through the participatory rural appraisal method (Kim and Song, 2008). To ensure the protection of Traditional Knowledge interviews were conducted in different tribal settlement/sample area after obtaining prior informed consent of the informants. The age group, sex, religion, occupation and addresses were noted. Plants used, useful part, method of preparation, mode of administration and disease condition for which they are administering drug were noted. Questionnaire covered the health problems treated, diagnosis and treatment methods, methods of application, threats to medicinal plants due to exploitation and conservation practices etc. The plants used in each medical preparation are separately arranged. The total number of plant species used by the tribes, number of fungus infected plant species used by them were spelt out. The statistical analysis and informant consensus factor (Kim and Song, 2011), relative frequency citation (Bano et al., 2014) were found out.
Field notes regarding host and fungus its pathogenicity, nature of colonies, nature of infection, locality, altitude etc. were recorded during collection. For each collection, a separate field number was assigned. The infected plant parts were pressed and dried in between blotting papers. Colonies in their natural condition was studied. A drop of high quality natural coloured or transparent nail polish, devoid of gilt but having the property of fast drying, was applied to the selected colonies and carefully thinned with the help of a fine brush without disturbing the colonies. Colonies with hyperparasites showed woolly nature were avoided. The treated colonies along with their host plants were kept in dust free chamber for half an hour. When the nail polish on the colonies dried fully, a thin, colourless "film or flip" was formed with the colonies firmly embedded in it. In case of soft host parts, a slight pressure on the opposite side of the leaves and just below the colonies lifts the flip up. In case of hard host parts, the flip was eased off from the edge with the help of a razor or scalpel. A drop of DPX was spread on a clean slide and the lifted flip was spread properly on it. One or two more drops of DPX were again added on the flip and a clean cover glass was placed over it. A gentle pressure on the cover glass brings out the excess DPX and it was easily removed after drying. Care was also taken to avoid air bubbles (Hosagoudar and Kapoor, 1985). The fungi infecting ethnobotanically important plants were identified with the help of experts of JNTBGRI and compared with the TBGT fungal herbarium. For the identification of fungi, secondary data available in the JNTBGRI fungal herbarium were used.

Discussion:-
All ancient civilizations of the world have its own signature in that most of them possess unique and diverse cultural expressions emerged by the combined action of multifarious factors like environmental condition, local resource availability, biodiversity richness etc. The close association between man and biodiversity resulted in the emergence of diverse functional knowledge systems of the world. These traditional knowledge systems are on the verge of extinction due to lack of proper record and investigations. Changes in lifestyle and attitude of people in keeping away from their traditional way of living make the situation worse. Hence, there is a dire need and necessity to systematically document and protect these traditional knowledge systems for the well being of the future generations.
In the present investigation, it has been observed that 74 ethnomedicinal plants used by the Kani tribe are being infected by different fungal species. They have been using 114 formulations/drugs prepared out of 74 plant species. It has also been noted that these 74 plant species get infected by 101 fungal species. Among these 98 fungal species appear to be highly host specific, two of them viz., Asterina tertia Racib. Anacardiaceae, Rutaceae and Acanthaceae contribute three each. Two species have been represented by 11 families where as the remaining great bulk of the families contribute a single species each. From the above data, it is evident that plants belonging to the family Fabaceae and Verbenaceae host more fungal species. This might be due to the abundance of species accommodated in these families. However, the physiological factors underlying the plant fungal association in this regard could not be completely ruled out. Of the various factors which determine the infection of the fungi on plants, the environmental condition and nature of the host occupies a key position. This assumes significance in that fungus predominenlty infects hosts during the month of November -December, during which period the cold condition prevails and this facilitates the fungal species to infect the plants. Also, the nature of the host plays a major role in infection.
Among the 74 species of fungus infected ethnomedicinal plants documented, 32 species have potential therapeutic value. This is supported by the relative frequency of citation of fungus infected ethnomedicinal plants which reveals high degree of user citation with more than 10 frequency of citation and more than 0.28 relative frequency of citation (Table -7). The informants consensus factor indicated in the study area reveals a general agreement for the treatments among the tribal people (Table -8). The consensus on the snake and other poisonous bites, cough, tooth ache, stomach ache jaundice and chest pain showed high score. All other disease treatments for single plant administration also showed relatively high degree of agreement between the informants and most of the diseases have shown more than 0.92 informant consensus factor. These statistical data exemplifies the utility of fungus infected ethnomedicinal plants in the development of novel drugs for the future. Also it can provide a baseline data for researchers and academicians concerned in pursuing their plant materials of interest for research.
Traditional knowledge (TK) related to fungus infected ethnobotanically important plants seems unique and rare.
Fungi have been occupying a prominent position in the biological world because of their diversity, economic and environmental importance. Fungus infection triggers the production of different classes of secondary metabolites in the ethnobotanically important plants. In many cases, the fungal association in plants affect efficacy and efficiency of the herbal preparations of the tribes. Hence a systematic documentation of fungus infected ethnomedicinally important plants assumes utmost significance. One excellent classical example which subtantiates the use of fungal infected leaves in curing ailments is that of the compound ergometrine produced by the fungus Claviceps purpurea upon infecting Secale cereale, used extensively in the treatment of various disorders including female reproductive ailments. There has been a general perception that herbal remedies employed in curing various ailments have adverse effects. This view has been ruled out by the work of many authors (Alves et al., 2007), and this apprehension could be completely eliminated by the scientific validation of tribal claims and herbal drugs. Traditional drugs and traditional medicine remain underexplored areas of research in terms of its therapeutic potential as has been pointed out by many (Anjaneyulu and sudarsanam, 2013;Prakash, 2005). In this context, the present work is significant. From the discussion it has emerged that there is a need to foster the successful integration of traditional knowledge with the frame work of scientific research which in turn might prove useful in drug development.

Summary and Conclusion:-
The This would indicate a general agreement for the treatment among the tribal people. Overall information accrued from the study have brought out to the profound potential of the ethnomycological data for future scientific validation. This information would also be of much avail (1) for the preservation of the traditional knowledge prevalent among the tribes for the use in the future (2) for validating the tribal claim as to the efficacy of fungus infected plants to combat various ailments (3) for providing a baseline information for the development of novel drug which may find useful in the treatment of various reproductive disorders. The present investigation concluded in such a way that the tribal information acquired through the ethnomycological documentation is valid. Such tribal claims serve as a lead which often play a key role in the drug discovery and designing of novel drugs.