ISSN 2278- 4136 ZDB-Number: 2668735-5 IC Journal No: 8192 Volume 2 Issue 1 Online Available at www.phytojournal.com Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry Vol. 2 No. 1 2013 www.phytojournal.com Page | 255 Natural products used by the Kanikkars of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India F. Brisca Renuga 1* and S. Mary Mettilda Bai 1 1. Holy Cross College Rd, Vattakarai, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, 629004, India [E-mail: brisrem@gmail.com] An attempt has been made to identify folklore medicinally important plants frequently used by the Kannikars tribal residing in the part of Kanyakumari Wild Life Sanctuary of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. Kannikars are the dominant tribal group in this region. The survey was conducted in eighteen Kannikars settlelment of Pechiparai Panchayat. Through general conversations with traditional healers the details of medicinal plants used, mode of treatments, methods of preparation and type of administration was collected and documented. About 38 plants belonging to 22 families are documented. The wild plants found in this region are used for treating skin diseases, fever and other ailments including bites of snakes, spiders and scorpions are enumerated in the present paper. Kannikars are mostly using the leaves of plants followed by roots sometimes the whole plants, seed and fruits. The common diseases treated by the herbal practitioner were asthma, digestive problems, animal bites and skin diseases. Most of the plants are belonging to Fabaceae followed by Asteraceae and Acanthaceae. Keyword: Ethno medicine, Kannikars, Kanykumari. 1. Introduction Since time immemorial man has used parts of plants in treatment and prevention of many ailments (Chah et al., 2006). Our ancestors made new discoveries of the healing power of plants through trial and error. Although some of the therapeutic properties attributed to plants have proven too erroneous, medicinal plant therapy is based on the empirical finding of hundreds and thousands of years (Gurib- Fakim, 2006). WHO has estimated that at least 80% of all the global inhabitants rely on traditional systems of medicine for their primary health needs and these systems are largely plant based. Ethno medicines have received renewed global attention of scientists in India and abroad because of their wide local acceptability, and providing leads to the discovery of new drugs of plant origin. India has a rich tradition in medicinal plant study and is one of the twelve mega biodiversity centers and eighteen hot spots in Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats apart from being known for ancient civilization and deep-rooted in tradition, is also known for its rich diversity, both cultural as well as biological (Ravikumar et al., 2000). Ethno biological surveys indicated that about 8000 species of medicinal plants are used as food, medicine, phytochemical, biocides and other products. The traditional healers are dwindling in numbers and the indigenous traditional knowledge of medicinal plants of various ethnic communities which has been transmitted orally for centuries is disappearing from the face of the earth due to the advent of modern technology, transformation of traditional culture (Ganesan et al., 2004) changing pattern of climatic conditions and scarcity of species due to over grazing by