Uses of Oxalis corniculata Linn as enhancer of breast milk by Kota tribe of Nilgiri hills, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Many ethnobotanical studies have revealed about the use of Innumerable floral species by ethnic communities as supplement to their diet. The present work deals with the practice of consumption of Oxalis corniculata Linn plant by the Kota tribal women to augment breast milk of new mothers. The plant is commonly known as creeping wood sorrel. Locally the plant is called 'Pulis'. This is the ever first reported finding from Nilgiri tribes specifically by the Kota tribe of Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

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Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies 2019; 7(1): 114-116
ISSN (E): 2320-3862
ISSN (P): 2394-0530
NAAS Rating: 3.53
JMPS 2019; 7(1): 114-116
© 2019 JMPS
Received: 26-11-2018
Accepted: 30-12-2018
Sarnali Dutta
Research Coordinator, Cultural
Research Institute, Backward
Classes Welfare and Tribal
Development Department,
Government of West Bengal,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Samiran Bisai
Deputy Director, Cultural
Research Institute, Backward
Classes Welfare and Tribal
Development Department,
Government of West Bengal,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Panneerselvam Subramaniam
Director, Tribal Research Center,
Government of Tamil Nadu,
Udhagamandalam, Nilgiri
District, Ooty, Tamil Nadu,
India
Correspondence
Samiran Bisai
Deputy Director, Cultural
Research Institute, Backward
Classes Welfare and Tribal
Development Department,
Government of West Bengal,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Uses of Oxalis corniculata Linn as enhancer of
breast milk by Kota tribe of Nilgiri hills, Tamil
Nadu, India
Sarnali Dutta, Samiran Bisai and Panneerselvam Subramaniam
Abstract
Many ethnobotanical studies have revealed about the use of Innumerable floral species by ethnic
communities as supplement to their diet. The present work deals with the practice of consumption of
Oxalis corniculata Linn plant by the Kota tribal women to augment breast milk of new mothers. The
plant is commonly known as creeping wood sorrel. Locally the plant is called ‘Pulis’. This is the ever
first reported finding from Nilgiri tribes specifically by the Kota tribe of Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Keywords: breast milk, ethnobotany, oxalis corniculata linn, kota, tribe
Introduction
Treating different diseases by using plant parts are age old practice of human society. Nature
offers us with a Pandora box, full of medicinal agents which can be used as primary healthcare
to human in need. An impressive number of the world’s inhabitants still rely on traditional
medicines. Mentions about the use of thousands of herbs for medicinal purposes can be found
in the Charaka Samhita, one of the earliest treatises of India. Many important lifesaving drugs
used in modern medicine are being extracted from different herbs. Ethnic communities, living
in undisturbed forest areas, still possessing their traditional food habit not only satisfy their
hunger by consuming wild edible plants, but also proves nutritious too.
Present study explores the use of Oxalis corniculata Linn plant (Fig 1) as breast milk
enhancer. Various studies done before on Oxalis corniculata Linn have shown the richness of
the leaves from nutritional point of view. Nutritional composition (per 100 g dry sample) of
leaves of Oxalis corniculata Linn shows high concentration of moisture (82.42± 0.5%),
carbohydrates (24.67± 0.4%), crude lipids (23.75± 0.5%), crude proteins (22.28± 0.5%),
nitrogen (3.56± 0.70%), calcium (2.5± 0.08%), potassium (2.17± 0.31%), Sodium (1.12±
0.02%) and Magnesium (0.25± 0.03%) [1]. According to review paper published in
International Journal of Phytomedicine, [2], it has been noticed that Oxalis corniculata Linn is
an endangered and medicinally important plant indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions.
It reveals a wide range of phytochemical constituents of the plant like flavonoids, tannins,
phytosterols, phenol, glycosides, galactoglycerolipid and volatile oil. It is a rich source of
essential fatty acids which possesses important activities like Antioxidant, Anticancer,
anthelmintic, Anti-flammatory, Analgesic, Steroidogenic, Antimicrobial, Antiamoebic,
Antifungal, Astringent, Depurative, Diuretic, Emmenagogue, Febrifuge, Cardiorelaxan,
stomachic and Styptic. The plant has got several medicinal uses. It is used for liver and
digestive problems. It is used as antivenom in Zairean pharmacopoeia and treats poisonous
snake bites [3]. The plant is well known as a good appetizer and removes anaemia, dyspepsia,
dementia, convulsion and piles [4, 5]. It recovers jaundice, indigestion and diarrhoea in children
if taken with buttermilk. It cures headache by the application of the leaves’ paste [6]. It also
reliefs from scorpion sting and are used to stop bleeding from wounds [7]. It is effective in skin
eruptions and diseases like warts and corns. It is a useful remedy for insomnia. The plant is
used in the treatment of scurvy. The phytoparisitic nematodes can also be treated by the
ethanolic extract of Oxalis corniculata Linn plant [8, 9]. As Oxalis corniculata Linn extracts
portray high antioxidant activities and possess numerous precursors of antimicrobial
compounds, it supports folkloric use as a cure for some human ailments [10].
Another study reports on the use of Oxalis corniculata Linn as alternative vegetable by some
tribes of central India [1]. The Sahariya tribe of Madhya Pradesh consume the plant either as

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Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies
raw in salad form or cook it for making sandwiches, pickles
etc [11].
The boro tribals of Assam use the herb juice as eye drop in
conjunctivitis [12]. The Tamang tribal people of
Kabhrepalanchok district of Nepal use paste of Oxalis
corniculata Linn plant and mixes with butter for the treatment
of muscular swelling caused by bruises [13]. In Nepal the plant
is also used for stomach ache. Oxalis corniculata Linn or
Jujur saang (as known in Nepali) is used as medicinal herb
[14]. People of Cameroon use the plant for the treatment of
gonorrhoea [15]. Dwellers from Chakwal Tehsil of Pakistan
use the plant sap for treating skin diseases. It is also used to
cure sensitivity of teeth [16]. A study done on ethnomedicinal
usage of different medicinal plants by the Apatani tribe of
Arunachal Pradesh has shown the use of shoot of Oxalis
corniculata Linn as an appetizer and in curing headache [17].
Fig 1: Leaves of Oxalis corniculata Linn.
Materials and Methods
A field visit was conducted from 19. 07.2018 to 21.07.2018
on the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of
Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu state of India. To study the
traditional healthcare practices, we have interviewed Kota
tribal women in a one-to-one manner and also held focus
group discussions on uses of locally available medicinal
plants.
Kota a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) of
Tamil Nadu
The Kota tribe is one of six PVTGs residing in the Nilgiri
hills of Tamil Nadu in South India. The Kotas are considered
to be the most ancient inhabitants of Nilgiri district. They
belong to the Indo-Dravidian Negroid racial group. Kotas
were mainly blacksmiths, making an array of implements
including big cooking vessels. Next only to ironsmithy is their
expertise on leather works. They collect the hides, cure them
and make a number of goods including parts of musical
instruments. Kotas are also experts in carpentry and basket
making. According to Caldwell (1856) [18], there language is
Dravidian, and he considers it as a branch of Kannada. The
Kotas live in seven settlements in Nilgiri district. These
villages are called as 'Kokkal' in their dialect, and the
outsiders call them as Kotagiri, meaning Kota hill. The
settlements are at Trichigadi, Sholur, Koliimalai, Kundah
Kotagiri, Aggal Kotagiri, Kil Kotagiri and Gudalur. Kundah
Kotagiri is 40 km away from Udhagamandalam towards
southwest. According to Kota puranas, Kundah is the first
Kota settlement.
Use of Oxalis corniculata Linn as enhancer of foetus size
and breast milk
The Kota tribal women of Kundah Kotagiri village eat the
leaves of Oxalis corniculata Linn which is known as ‘pulis’ in
their language and locally known as ‘pulchingay’, during
pregnancy for maintaining the good health of the foetus. They
believe that it enhances the growth of the foetus, gives
warmth and increase the immunity power. A thick paste of the
leaves is made with ‘rasam’ (soup made from tomato,
tamarind, curry leaves), and ginger and is given to pregnant
woman on her 4th and 6th month of pregnancy. It also helps to
augment breast milk of the lactating mother. They start the
dosage from the fourth day post-delivery and continue it up to
months after delivery. They even apply the paste of the ‘pulis’
leaves on the belly of the new mother to diminish the pain
after delivery. The plant is a bit delicate in appearance,
herbaceous low-growing in damp shady places. Leaves are
palmately compound, trifoliate. Petioles are green in colour
and somewhat sour in taste. It belongs to the Oxalidaceae
family of plant kingdom. It has got many synonyms in
different languages. In Sanskrit it is known as ‘Ambashta’, in
Hindi it is known as ‘Anboti’, in Bengali it is known as
‘Amrul’, in Kannada it is known as Teltuppi, in Malayalam it
is known as ‘Puliyaral’, in Marathi it is known as ‘Ambuti’, in
Tamil it is known as ‘Puliyarail’ or ‘Pallachinta’ [2]. The plant
is a good source of vitamin C and Carotene. The leaves of
Oxalis can be used as an alternative to vegetables as it
contains moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein, crude lipid
along with essential minerals like Sodium, Potassium,
Calcium, Nitrogen and Magnesium. Numerous papers and
reports have been published with ethnomedicinal claims of
Oxalis Corniculata Linn has been. But the knowledge of
using Oxalis leaves for breast milk augmentation is being
reported first by the Kota tribal women.
In conclusion, further study on the hormonal profile of Oxalis
corniculata Linn may be required to understand the assertive
impact on breast milk augmentation.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all subjects who participated
and share their traditional knowledge the present study. We
also gratefully acknowledge Mr. Ravi Chandran, Research
Associate, Tribal Research Center and Government of Tamil
Nadu for his local guidance and language interpretation.
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