Momordica charantia is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit.
Chinese herbology is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A Nature editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that the most obvious reason why it has not delivered many cures is that the majority of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action.
Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
Traditional medicine comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the era of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as "the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement and treatment of physical and mental illness". Traditional medicine is often contrasted with Evidence based medicine.
Lingzhi, Ganoderma sichuanense, also known as reishi or Ganoderma lingzhi is a polypore fungus native to East Asia belonging to the genus Ganoderma.
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Calotropis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1810. It is native to southern Asia and North Africa.
Centella asiatica, commonly known as Indian pennywort, Asiatic pennywort, spadeleaf, coinwort or gotu kola, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is consumed as a culinary vegetable and is used in traditional medicine.
Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus Artemisia. In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort. In East Asia the species Artemisia argyi is often called "Chinese mugwort" in the context of traditional Chinese medicine, Ngai Chou in Cantonese or àicǎo (艾草) for the whole plant in Mandarin, and àiyè (艾叶) for the leaf, which is used specifically in the practice of moxibustion. Artemisia princeps is a mugwort known in Korea as ssuk (쑥) and in Japan as yomogi (ヨモギ). While other species are sometimes referred to by more specific common names, they may be called simply "mugwort" in many contexts.
Andrographolide is a labdane diterpenoid that has been isolated from the stem and leaves of Andrographis paniculata. Andrographolide is an extremely bitter substance.
Alstonia scholaris, commonly called blackboard tree, scholar tree, milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tropical tree in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). It is native to southern China, tropical Asia and Australasia, where it is a common ornamental plant. It is a toxic plant, but is used traditionally for myriad diseases and complaints. It is called 'Saptaparna' in India and is the sacred tree of the 2nd Jain tirthankar Ajitnatha.
Wolfiporia extensa, commonly known as hoelen, poria, tuckahoe, China root, fu ling, or matsuhodo, is a fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is a wood-decay fungus but has a subterranean growth habit. It is notable in the development of a large, long-lasting underground sclerotium that resembles a small coconut. This sclerotium, known as Tuckahoe or fu-ling, is not the same as the true tuckahoe used as Indian bread by Native Americans, which is the arrow arum, Peltandra virginica, a flowering tuberous plant in the arum family.
Curculigo capitulata is a stout herb that belongs to the genus Curculigo. It is known by the common names palm grass, whale back, and weevil lily, and by various synonyms, including Molineria capitulata. It ranges from the Himalayas and eastern India through Indochina, southern China, Malesia, and New Guinea to Queensland and the Solomon Islands. The plant has yellow flowers and oblong, papery pleated leaves with very short stems. In China and India, the plant has traditional uses as medicine to treat diseases such as hemorrhoids, asthma, and consumptive cough. In Southeast Asia, the plant is also used as food wrapping and the fibres are used to make fishing nets, ropes and false hair. However, in recent years Molineria capitulata is more often used as ornamental plants in gardens. In recent studies, M. capitulata was also found to have potential in treating several chronic diseases due to its high antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities.
Tetrandrine, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, is a calcium channel blocker. It is isolated from the plant Stephania tetrandra, and other Chinese and Japanese herbs.
Blumea balsamifera is a flowering plant belonging to the genus Blumea of the family Asteraceae. It is also known as Ngai camphor and sambong.
Rheum australe, synonym Rheum emodi, is a flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is commonly known as Himalayan rhubarb, Indian rhubarb and Red-veined pie plant. It is a medicinal herb used in the Indian Unani system of medicine, and formerly in the European system of medicine where it was traded as Indian rhubarb. The plant is found in the sub-alpine and alpine Himalayas at an altitude of 4000 m.
Cuscuta chinensis Lam. is a stem holoparasite vine in the family Convolvulaceae. It was first described in China in 1786.
Clinacanthus nutans female is a species of plant in the family Acanthaceae. It is also known by the common names belalai gajah (Malay), phaya yo (Thai), Sabah snake grass, ki tajam (Sunda), and dandang gendis (Jawa). This plant is used in the traditional herbal medicines of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and China. It has been used in Indonesia in the treatment of dysentery and diabetes.
Xiyanping (喜炎平) is an anti-inflammatory and antiviral preparation developed and licensed for use in China. It is a semi-synthetic injectable product derived from the active component of the plant Andrographis paniculata, which is used in Traditional Chinese medicine. Xiyanping is primarily composed of 9-dehydro-17-hydro-andrographolide and sodium 9-dehydro-17-hydro-andrographolide-19-yl sulfate. It is used mainly in the treatment of hand, foot and mouth disease, diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infections and viral pneumonia, though one case report suggested it may also be useful in the treatment of Zika fever.
The medical ethnobotany of India is the study of Indian medicinal plants and their traditional uses. Plants have been used in the Indian subcontinent for treatment of disease and health maintenance for thousands of years, and remain important staples of health and folk medicine for millions. Indians today utilize plants for both primary medical care and as supplementary treatment alongside modern medical science. It is estimated that 70% of rural Indians use traditional plant based remedies for primary healthcare needs. This reliance of plants for medicine is consistent with trends widely observed in the developing world, where between 65% and 80% of people use medicinal plant remedies.
