Indian Medicinal Plants Database
Medicinal Plants or Medicinal herbs are
essence of Traditional medicine practice. Treatment using herbs
developed different parts of world in different names. Herbalism is
the systematic study of medicinal herbs and its botany. Mainly
focusing its medicinal uses.
Ethnomedicine is the study of traditional medicine.
Researchers identify and separate various active chemicals in the
medicinal plants.
Indian medicinal plants or
Ayurvedic medicinal Plants are the essence of Ayurveda and Ayurvedic
treatments. When used judicially and clocking with the basic
principles they produce miraculous effects. Their role cannot be
confined to mere curative of disease but they also used being of
human body. Hence, Ayurvedic drugs are rightly called the elixirs of
life. Ayurvedic Herbs played important role in Ayurvedic treatment,
from ancient time to this most modern time.
HISTORY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
The uses of medicinal plants can even see in
pre historic time from the Sumerian civilization. In Sumerian
civilization medicinal plants listed in clay. They mentioned about
100 medicinal plants. Ancient Egyptians documented about 800
medicinal plants in ‘Ebers Papyrus’.
‘Shennong Ben Cao Jing’ , is the Chinese pharmacopeia of
medicinal plants , which helped Chinese Traditional healers to treat
patients. ‘Dioscorides’ was a Greek physician ,
he wrote a pharmacopeia of medicinal plants called ‘De
materia medica’ . which described 600 medicinal plants and its
various combinations useful in treatments.
Aristotle's and his student,
Theophrastus wrote the first systematic botany text called
‘Historia plantarum’. That was the first book in botany which
classified plants into systematic groups.
In India, various traditional system of medicine are
developed. Ayurveda and Sidha are well known, now commonly called
Indian System of Medicine. Treatments based upon medicinal herbs and
herbo mineral combination are essence of Ayurveda and Sidha.
Modecinal plants listed in Ayurvedic text books or coming under
ayurveda listed as Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants. Ayurveda books
classified medicinal plants according to its uses and properties.
About 800 medicinal plants were listed.
Herbalism
From historical time, medicinal plants used
for medical purpose. It
is believed that about 50 thousand before herbalism existed. Written
history could be see in sumarien civilization, which was 5000 years
old. Herbalism may apply modern standards of effectiveness testing
to herbs and medicines derived from natural sources because many
modern medicine compounds are derived from plants. It referred as
phytomedicine, phytotherapy or paraherbalism. Nutrient
supplements prepared from herbs classified under phytotherapy.
According to WHO (World Health Organization)
80 % of Asian and African population uses herbal medicine due to its
low expense. About 25% of drugs using in USA derived from medicinal
plants. 7,000 medical compounds and 120 active compounds currently
isolated from herbs.
Herbal
preparations
Single plant or multiple plant combinations
are used. It Prepared in many form. Herbal juice extract, dry
powder, tea, decoction , Tinctures ,alcoholic preparation and oil or
ghee preparations are available.
Uses of herbal medicines by animals
My words
It is believed that traditional healers
started learning herbal medicine on observing the sick animals.
Ethnomedicine
Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the
traditional medicine based on bioactive chemicals
in the herbs and animals and
practiced by various ethnic groups. ethnobotany and medical
anthropology are the tools using in Ethnomedicine. The
purpose of the research is to
identify and develop a marketable pharmaceutical product. From
Chinese medicine ‘Yu’ identified
‘Artemisin’ named chemical compound useful in Malaria disease.
Phytochemicals
These are chemical compounds synthesized by
plants as its part of metabolism, may be part of defensive
mechanism.
Alkaloids, Glycosides, Glycosides, Terpenes are main
Phytochemicals. Alkaloids are bitter-tasting chemicals examples are
atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine, caffeine , cocaine, ephedrine
(Ephedra), morphine. Anthraquinone glycosides are
found in medicinal plants such as rhubarb, cascara, and Alexandrian
senna. Polyphenols of several classes of chemicals,
useful
defenses against plant
diseases and predators . examples are phytoestrogens and astringent
tannins. Terpenes and terpenoids are found in
resinous plants such as the conifers.
Cultivation
Cultivation may be traditional or
conservative agriculture
practices. World Health Organization recommends the use of rotation.
Study about Soil type, climate , temperature , humidity is needed to
obtain satisfactory yields.
Safety of Medicinal Plants
It is a blind belief that herbal medicines are
safe. Side effects are present for herbal medicines also. Wrong
prescription, wrong dosage, adulteration, quackery causes herbal
treatments more unsafe. Many governments started giving license
under strict order to
practice herbal medicine.
My
Note,
uses
of 30 important Indian Medicinal Plants and
its images
Tulasi - Ocimum tenuiflorum
Holly basil grown in houses, gardens and temples, known as Tulasi, Surasa, Bhuutaghni, Suravalli, Sulabha, etc. Read More about Tulasi-Ocimumtenuiflorum
- List of useful Medicinal Plants
- Plants Using in Folk Medicine
- Botanical dictionary
- Dictionary of Medicinal Plants
- Video Gallery of Medicinal Plants
- List of medicinal Plants ( sanskrit )
- Pdf download - Medicinal Plants
- Contact Us