Phytochemical and antioxidant activities of ethno- medicinal plants used by fisher folks of Chilika lagoon for Indigenous Phytotherapy

The present study examined indigenous phytotherapies use by fisher folks, living inside islands of Chilika lagoon. Fishing being the only livelihood, they have to be in salt water of Chilika for a long time and skin disease is the most common disease in this population in all age groups. Being inaccessible to the health care facilities in the mainland, they use frequently leaves of 13 medicinal plants for cure of various ailments. In vitro antioxidant activity and phytochemicals were analyzed with standard protocols. Canonical redundancy analysis was carried out to correlate the data obtained. Phytochemical and antioxidant activities of these plants revealed Heliotropium indicum and Plumbago zeylanica are having very good antioxidant activity. We have identified potential relationships between the medicinal plant species, their phytochemical variables and the ailments for which the local fisher folk uses them, using stepwise forward canonical redundancy analysis.