Quantification of the Ethnomedicine Data Collected from the Kanikkars in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

This study aims to explore the traditional medicinal plants used by the Kanikkar community, which resides in 26 villages within the Petchiparai Panchayat area of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. These plants are crucial in treating various health issues the community faces. To gather ethnomedicinal information, we conducted interviews and group discussions with 252 participants, including 146 men and 106 women aged 20 to 60. Our research identified 215 species of medicinal plants belonging to 179 genera across 75 families, documenting each species and its medicinal uses. We analyzed the ethnomedicinal data using several quantitative metrics, including the Frequency of Citation Percentage (FC%), which tracks how often a plant is referenced for specific ailments; the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), which measures a plant's popularity; the Fidelity Level (FL), indicating the consistency of its use for certain conditions; and the Informant Consensus Factor (FIC), which assesses the agreement among informants regarding the uses of specific plants. We employed Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) and Preference Ranking (PR) techniques to emphasize the importance of various plant species. This comprehensive evaluation highlights the rich ethnomedical knowledge of the Kanikkar community and stresses the significance of protecting their traditional practices along with the biodiversity that supports them.