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.
Pharmacognosy is the study of crude drugs obtained from medicinal plants, animals, fungi, and other natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources".
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.
Elettaria cardamomum, commonly known as green cardamom or true cardamom, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the ginger family, native to southern India. It is the most common of the species whose seeds are used as a spice called cardamom that has a sharp, strong, punchy aroma. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly naturalized in Réunion, Indochina, and Costa Rica.
Abutilon indicum is a small shrub in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. This plant is a valuable medicinal and ornamental plant, its roots and leaves being used for curing fevers. It has been widely introduced outside of its native range, and is considered invasive on certain tropical islands.
Andrographis paniculata, commonly known as creat or green chiretta, is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka.
Tinospora cordifolia is a herbaceous vine of the family Menispermaceae indigenous to tropical regions of the Indian subcontinent. It has been used in Ayurveda to treat various disorders.
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.
Cissus quadrangularis is a perennial plant of the grape family. It is commonly known as veldt grape, winged treebine or adamant creeper. The species is native to tropical Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa.
Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot, is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil derived from Nardostachys jatamansi, a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family which grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The oil has been used over centuries as a perfume, a traditional medicine, or in religious ceremonies across a wide territory from India to Europe. Historically, the name nard has also referred to essential oils derived from other species including the closely related valerian genus, as well as Spanish lavender; these cheaper, more common plants have been used in perfume-making, and sometimes to adulterate true spikenard.
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.
Hypericum mysorense is a species of flowering plant in the Hypericaceae family. It is primarily found at high elevations in the Western Ghats of India and the mountains of Sri Lanka, but was also reported from Socotra by Isaac Bayley Balfour in the 19th century. It was studied to improve understanding of endosperm formation in Hypericum, and the identification of a number of xanthone derivatives from this species contributed to the chemotaxonomic description of subfamily Hypericoideae.
The Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research is one of the 25 project directorates established by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. It was established as National Research Centre for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants on 24 November 1992 at Boriavi in Anand district of Gujarat for the quality production, development of new varieties and development of good agricultural practices of medicinal and aromatic plants. The mandate crops of the institute are Aloe barbadensis, Withania somnifera, Plantago ovata, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon martinii, Chlorophytum borivilianum and Cassia angustifolia.
Ch. Surender Singh Memorial Herbal Park, Tosham is a herbal and medicinal plants park in Tosham town of Bhiwani district in the Indian state of Haryana.
Senecio scandens, also known as climbing Senecio, is a climber in the family Asteraceae that is native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Pulok Kumar Mukherjee is an Indian scientist working as the Director of Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development, an autonomous Institute under Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Imphal, Manipur, India; as well as an Associate Editor of the Phytomedicine Plus; Consulting Editor of the Pharmacological Research published by Elsevier. He is the Professor of Pharmaceutical technology at the Jadavpur University and former Director of the School of Natural Product Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
The flora of Nepal is one of the richest in the world due to the diverse climate, topology and geography of the country. Research undertaken in the late 1970s and early 1980s documented 5067 species of which 5041 were angiosperms and the remaining 26 species were gymnosperms. The Terai area has hardwood, bamboo, palm, and sal trees. Notable plants include the garden angelica, Luculia gratissima, Meconopsis villosa, and Persicaria affinis. However, according to ICOMOS checklist, in the protected sites, there are 2,532 species of vascular plants under 1,034 genera and 199 families. The variation in figures is attributed to inadequate floral coverage filed studies. Some of the plants contain medicinal values. It contains certain chemical which is used to heal wound by There are 400 species of vascular plants which are endemic to Nepal. Of these, two in particular are orchids Pleione coronaria and Oreorchis porphyranthes. The most popular endemic plant of Nepal is rhododendron (arboreum) which in Nepali language is called lali guras.
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.
Ben-Erik van Wyk FAAS is a South African professor of indigenous botany and traditional African medicine at the University of Johannesburg.
