Solanum aculeastrum is commonly known as soda apple, sodaapple nightshade, goat apple, poison apple, or more ambiguously as "bitter-apple". It is a poisonous nightshade species from Africa and only distantly related to true apples. The term "soda apple" probably derives from "Sodom apple", modified due to the fruit's detergent properties.
Stigmasterol – a plant sterol (phytosterol) – is among the most abundant of plant sterols, having a major function to maintain the structure and physiology of cell membranes. In the European Union, it is a food additive listed with E number E499, and may be used in food manufacturing to increase the phytosterol content, potentially lowering the levels of LDL cholesterol.
Grapefruit seed extract (GSE), also known as citrus seed extract, is a liquid extract derived from the seeds, pulp, and white membranes of grapefruit. GSE is prepared by grinding the grapefruit seed and juiceless pulp, then mixing with glycerin. Commercially available GSEs sold to consumers are made from the seed, pulp, and glycerin blended together. GSE is sold as a dietary supplement and is used in cosmetics.
Nepenthes khasiana is an endangered tropical pitcher plant of the genus Nepenthes. It is the only Nepenthes species native to India. It is thought to attract prey by means of blue fluorescence.
Daidzein is a naturally occurring compound found exclusively in soybeans and other legumes and structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones. Daidzein and other isoflavones are produced in plants through the phenylpropanoid pathway of secondary metabolism and are used as signal carriers, and defense responses to pathogenic attacks. In humans, recent research has shown the viability of using daidzein in medicine for menopausal relief, osteoporosis, blood cholesterol, and lowering the risk of some hormone-related cancers, and heart disease. Despite the known health benefits, the use of both puerarin and daidzein is limited by their poor bioavailability and low water solubility.
Fumaria officinalis, the common fumitory, drug fumitory or earth smoke, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is the most common species of the genus Fumaria in Western and Central Europe.
Asparagus racemosus is a species of asparagus native from Africa through southern Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, to northern Australia. It grows 1–2 m tall and prefers to take root in gravelly, rocky soils high up in piedmont plains, at 1,300–1,400 m (4,300–4,600 ft) elevation. It was botanically described in 1799. Because of its multiple uses, the demand for Asparagus racemosus is constantly on the rise. Due to destructive harvesting, combined with habitat destruction, and deforestation, the plant is now considered "endangered" in its natural habitat.
Clerodendrum is a genus of flowering plants formerly placed in the family Verbenaceae, but now considered to belong to the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Its common names include glorybower, bagflower and bleeding-heart. It is currently classified in the subfamily Ajugoideae, being one of several genera transferred from Verbenaceae to Lamiaceae in the 1990s, based on phylogenetic analysis of morphological and molecular data.
Kielmeyera coriacea is a medicinal plant native to Cerrado and Pantanal vegetation in Brazil. It is also used as a honey plant.
Peperomia pellucida is an annual, shallow-rooted herb, usually growing to a height of about 15 to 45 cm, it is characterized by succulent stems, shiny, heart-shaped, fleshy leaves and tiny, dot-like seeds attached to several fruiting spikes. It has a mustard-like odor when crushed.
Formononetin is an O-methylated isoflavone.
Eryngium foetidum is a tropical perennial herb in the family Apiaceae. Common names include culantro (Panama), cimarrón,recao, chardon béni (France), Mexican coriander, bandhaniya, long coriander, Burmese coriander, sawtooth coriander, and ngò gai (Vietnam). It is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, but is cultivated worldwide, mostly in the tropics as a perennial, but sometimes in temperate climates as an annual.
Clerodendrum infortunatum, known as bhat or hill glory bower, is a perennial shrub belonging to the family Lamiaceae, also sometimes classified under Verbenaceae. It is the type species among ~150 species of Clerodendrum. It is one of the most well-known natural health remedies in traditional practices and siddha medicine.
Apo, apong, or poka is an alcohol drink commonly found among the tribes in the Northeast India states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. It is prepared by fermentation of rice. It is known by various names across different tribes in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Maesa lanceolata, the false assegai, is a tree species that is widespread in the Afrotropics, including Madagascar. It occurs from the southern Arabian Peninsula, southwards to the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It grows on stream verges, river banks and forest verges, where it is often a pioneer plant.
Hymenodictyon parvifolium Oliv. is a small rubiaceous African tree and is one of some 24 species in the genus, with a tropical African and Asian distribution. This species grows as a small tree to some 5 metres tall, or sometimes a liane or scrambler to 10.5 m, and is found in low-altitude woodland.
Vernonia arborea is a species of mid-level rainforest tree in the Composite, or Daisy family Asteraceae that is found in Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka and is also widespread in the East Indies. This tree, and Brachylaena are contenders for the tallest of all composite trees with the variety V. a. pilifera of Sumatra reaching a height of 117 feet. Another variety, V. a. javanica of Java almost as tall is up to 3 ft 5 in thick, the most massive of all composites. Its leaves contain a useful fungicide.
Tuticorin Raghavachari Govindachari FNA, FASc (1915–2001), popularly known as TRG, was an Indian natural product chemist, academic, institution builder and the principal of Presidency College, Chennai. He was known for his studies on the synthesis of isoquinolines and phenanthridines and his contributions in elucidating the structure of several plant constituents. He was an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy and was the nominator of Robert Burns Woodward who won the 1965 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1960, for his contributions to chemical sciences, making him the first recipient of the award in the chemical sciences category.
Crinum macowanii is a species of flowering plant in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is a deciduous bulbous plant species native to Africa that has been used in traditional medicine throughout southern Africa.
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.
