Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India

Abstract. MJ Bhandary. 2020. Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India. Biodiversitas 21: 1569-1577. The tribal and non-tribal indigenous communities of coastal districts of Karnataka use Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. for the treatment of various a...

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Autor principal:	M Jayakara Bhandary
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MBI & UNS Solo 2020
Materias:	alstonia scholaris, coastal karnataka, ethnomedicinal tradition, ethnoreligious plant, tree worship, herbal medicine Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1da46b32ee0746118d9fceca6accdd53
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1da46b32ee0746118d9fceca6accdd532021-11-22T00:34:39ZAlstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India1412-033X2085-472210.13057/biodiv/d210438https://doaj.org/article/1da46b32ee0746118d9fceca6accdd532020-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://smujo.id/biodiv/article/view/5433https://doaj.org/toc/1412-033Xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2085-4722Abstract. MJ Bhandary. 2020. Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India. Biodiversitas 21: 1569-1577. The tribal and non-tribal indigenous communities of coastal districts of Karnataka use Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. for the treatment of various ailments such as fever, asthma, leucorrhea, eczema, indigestion and also to heal spider bites. An annual health-related ritual of mass drinking of a bitter juice or decoction of the stem bark of this tree on the new moon (amavasya) day of ‘aati’ month of the traditional ‘tulu’ calendar coinciding with the rainy monsoon season is popularly followed in the study area, especially by the rural families. The underlying belief is that this drink keeps away all ailments and ensures wellbeing. The recorded ethnomedicinal uses and the traditional practice of mass drinking of the bitter juice appear to be scientifically meaningful when interpreted on the background of the ayurvedic uses and the wide range of curative properties ascribed to this plant, many of which have been confirmed by reported pharmaco-chemical studies. Studies have also indicated that the toxicity of the bark extract was minimum during monsoon season and the concentration of active principle was maximum in the bark juice collected on the particular new moon day. This further justifies the timing of the described annual medicine drinking event. In addition, some Tulu language-speaking indigenous communities consider this tree as the reincarnation of a mythological demon called Bali and worship its branch during the festival days of Deepavali, in honor of him. Thus, A. scholaris emerges as a plant of great ethnobotanical significance in the study area.M Jayakara BhandaryMBI & UNS Soloarticlealstonia scholaris, coastal karnataka, ethnomedicinal tradition, ethnoreligious plant, tree worship, herbal medicineBiology (General)QH301-705.5ENBiodiversitas, Vol 21, Iss 4 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	alstonia scholaris, coastal karnataka, ethnomedicinal tradition, ethnoreligious plant, tree worship, herbal medicine Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	alstonia scholaris, coastal karnataka, ethnomedicinal tradition, ethnoreligious plant, tree worship, herbal medicine Biology (General) QH301-705.5 M Jayakara Bhandary Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India
description	Abstract. MJ Bhandary. 2020. Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India. Biodiversitas 21: 1569-1577. The tribal and non-tribal indigenous communities of coastal districts of Karnataka use Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. for the treatment of various ailments such as fever, asthma, leucorrhea, eczema, indigestion and also to heal spider bites. An annual health-related ritual of mass drinking of a bitter juice or decoction of the stem bark of this tree on the new moon (amavasya) day of ‘aati’ month of the traditional ‘tulu’ calendar coinciding with the rainy monsoon season is popularly followed in the study area, especially by the rural families. The underlying belief is that this drink keeps away all ailments and ensures wellbeing. The recorded ethnomedicinal uses and the traditional practice of mass drinking of the bitter juice appear to be scientifically meaningful when interpreted on the background of the ayurvedic uses and the wide range of curative properties ascribed to this plant, many of which have been confirmed by reported pharmaco-chemical studies. Studies have also indicated that the toxicity of the bark extract was minimum during monsoon season and the concentration of active principle was maximum in the bark juice collected on the particular new moon day. This further justifies the timing of the described annual medicine drinking event. In addition, some Tulu language-speaking indigenous communities consider this tree as the reincarnation of a mythological demon called Bali and worship its branch during the festival days of Deepavali, in honor of him. Thus, A. scholaris emerges as a plant of great ethnobotanical significance in the study area.
format	article
author	M Jayakara Bhandary
author_facet	M Jayakara Bhandary
author_sort	M Jayakara Bhandary
title	Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India
title_short	Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India
title_full	Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India
title_fullStr	Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India
title_full_unstemmed	Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India
title_sort	alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of coastal karnataka, india
publisher	MBI & UNS Solo
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/1da46b32ee0746118d9fceca6accdd53
work_keys_str_mv	AT mjayakarabhandary alstoniascholarisintheethnomedicinalandreligioustraditionofcoastalkarnatakaindia
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Alstonia scholaris in the ethnomedicinal and religious tradition of Coastal Karnataka, India

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