Indian Medicinal Plants for Primary Health Care System
Keywords:
Medical Microbiology, Microbiology, Pathology, Botany, . Turmeric: A Neutraceutical Boon, Classification, Components, Nutritive value, Phytocomponents, Neutraceutical properties, Cardiovascular Diseases, Anti-Diabetic Effects, Zingiberaceae, Meghalaya, medicinal importance, Medicinal Plants, Primary Health Care, Chemical Constituents, Uses, Tinospora Cordifolia, Medicinal and Pharmacological Properties, Medicinal Plant of India, History and Ayurvedic Aspects, Anti-Cancer ActivitySynopsis
The paper presents history of medicinal plants with emphasis on Ayurveda, Unani and other systems. Various aspects such as plant part used in medicine, biodiversity & conservation, rare/threatened medicinal plants, biotechnological applications like
micropropogation, transgenic medicinal plants, in vitro biotransformation, antibodies and vaccines from transgenics are dealt with. Drugs and chemicals, isolation of drugs, National Medicinal Plants Boards, trade, antioxidants, nutraceutical, dermaceuticals, neurotransmitters in plants, medicinal mangroves, websites on medicinal plants are listed. Exhaustive list of about 200 references is appended.
The Ashwagandha is a customary plant found in the Indian subcontinent. It is customarily utilized for Ayurveda. The word Ashwagandha is gotten from the Sanskrit words Ashwa (pony) and Gandha (smell). This is on the grounds that its foundations smell like the perspiration of a pony. Ashwagandha helps in the administration of stress, uneasiness and diabetes because of its Rasayana (restoring) and Vata adjusting properties.
Turmeric is a curry spice that originated from India, which has attracted great interest in recent decades because it contains bioactive curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and isdemethoxycurcumin). Curcumin (1,7-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-hepta-1,6-diene-3,5-dione), a lipophilic polyphenol may work as an anticancer, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging agent as suggested by several in vitro, in vivo studies and clinical trials. However, poor aqueous solubility, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetic profiles limit curcumin’s therapeutic usage. To address these issues, several curcumin formulations have been developed.
The people of Meghalaya are very close to nature, and forests are one of the important natural resources in the state. The tribes of the state largely depend on forests for their livelihood and have acquired a vast knowledge about plant wealth and utilization of forest products. The present communication aims to document the traditional knowledge about wild edible plants used by tribal people of Meghalaya. During present investigation, a total of 249 species of wild edibles belonging to 153 genera and 82 families were inventorised. Among them 129 are trees, 54 shrubs, 37 herbs and 29 climbers.
Medicinal plants are considered as rich resources of ingredients which can be used in drug development pharmacopoeial, non-pharmacopoeial or synthetic drugs. A part from that, these plants play a critical role in the development of human cultures around the whole world.
Natural products with medicinal value are gradually gaining importance in clinical research due to their well-known property of no side effects as compared to drugs. Tinospora cordifolia commonly named as “Guduchi” is known for its immense application in the treatment of various diseases in the traditional ayurvedic literature.
Chapters
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Ashwagandha: A Medicinal Plant in the Context of Indian Medicine Treatment
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Turmeric: A Neutraceutical Boon
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Health-Related Restorative Potential of Zingeberaceae Members with Distribution in Meghalaya, India
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Medicinal Plants in Everyday Life for Primary Health Care
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Medicinal and Pharmacological Properties Tinospora Cordifolia- An Important Therapeutic Medicinal Plant of India
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Medicinal Plants Practiced by the Endemic Tribal and Bengali Healers of Tripura for Healing Gastrointestinal Diseases: An Ethnobotanical Study
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Significances of Medicinal Plants for the Betterment of Human Life
