The Hindu : Karnataka News : Kodagu forests, a treasure trove of herbal plants

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Kodagu forests, a treasure trove of herbal plants

By K. Jeevan Chinnappa

Some of the medicinal plants grown in a nursery

MADIKERI, FEB. 1. Do people still repose faith in medicinal plants used extensively in the past to cure ailments? The answer is "yes" going by the efforts of the Karnataka Forest Department and others in Kodagu.

The forests in the district are a treasure trove of herbal plants with medicinal properties. The Western Ghats, comprising the Brahmagiri, Talacauvery and Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuaries, are known for their flora and fauna.

It was in the early 1990s that the first initiative began in Kodagu with the Bangalore-based Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) launching a programme aimed at conservation of medicinal plants in the Talacauvery wildlife sanctuary. Called the MPCA (medicinal plants conservation area), the agency, which worked in association with the Forest Department, developed a database of medicinal plants, their utility, number, the threatened species and so on. There are 12 such MPCAs in Karnataka among the 30 in South India. It is an in situ conservation project spanning 200 hectares.

The College of Forestry, Ponnampet, too is involved in raising medicinal plants and distributing them and also seedlings to farmers, said C.G. Kushalappa, Associate Professor, College of Forestry, Ponnampet. The college recently organised a training programme for 66 farmers from all over Kodagu on medicinal plants, Dr. Kushalappa said.

There is another medicinal plant project area in Talacauvery covering an area of 20 acres. The land belongs to the Forest Department, and the Coorg Foundation has fenced the entire project area. The project is managed by the College of Forestry, Ponnampet, and the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary at Wayanad in Kerala. The implementing agency is the Brahmagiri self-help group in Talacauvery. It is not only confined to medicinal plants but concerns six types of native species, including `amme,' `kuntunerale,' `manjarmani' and `karpachekke,' Dr. Kushalappa said. The project mainly focuses on eco-restoration, he said. The Forest Department has raised a nursery of medicinal plants in over five hectares at Chowdikatte in Thithimathi in Virajpet taluk. The nursery has more than 40 types of medicinal plants.

Plants such as `doddapatre', acorous root, longpepper, touch-me-not, basil, datura, nuxvomica, nettle, aloe, curry leaves, emblic plants, `bael' (bilva), `nari visa' and `gali maddu,' as they are called in local parlance, which have been found to cure many ailments, are being raised. The speciality is that each herb has a distinct aroma.

Farmers can buy medicinal plants from the Chowdikatte nursery at a concessional rate, and get information on how to grow them. That herbal medicines are without side-effects seem to have caught up well here. "The people's faith in herbal medicines seems to be growing. Basically, it is a question of faith," said Santosh, a "nati vaidya."

The medicinal property attributed to `gali maddu' is that it wards off evil forces from homes; `nari visa' is grown in homes to ward off snakes and other poisonous reptiles. `Doddapatre' juice is consumed and applied externally against measles. `Bael' or `bilva' is used to check obesity and longpepper is said to be a cure for cough and cold. There are herbal cures for many other forms of ailments such as herpes, allergy, kidney stones, jaundice, asthma, ulcer, and skin diseases too.

Can the cultivation of medicinal plants be a substitute for the fall in coffee prices to boost the sagging economy of Kodagu? Growing medicinal plants is no problem as Kodagu has tremendous potential but marketing could be difficult, says Dr. Kushalappa.

Some have taken to growing `safed musli,' a particular medicinal plant in Kodagu, on a large scale. An Ayurvedic medical camp was organised by the Forest Department at Gonicoppa in Virajpet taluk recently.

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