Antidote Botanicals for Snake Bites from Koyas of Warangal District, Telangana, India

Koyas, the indigenous ethnic tribe from the Godavari valley of Telangana, India, use several species of Magnoliophyta as antidotes to snake bite. The botanicals they use are usually a single aqueous extract or mixtures of extracts of roots (43.2%), tuber (9.6%), leaf (20%), stem bark (9.6%), whole plant (8%), and other parts, including latex (9.6%). The mode of administration and the dosage of antidote vary among the Koya hamlets, depending upon the availability of the plant species and the intensity of the bite. As per the traditional knowledge of the Koya tribe of Warangal district, Telangana, 125 flowering plant species were used for poisonous snake bites. These, as per Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III, largely (78.4%), the Lamiids (39), Fabids (37), and Malvids (22). The antidote species were randomly distributed amongst the Magnoliophytes.