ISHS Acta Horticulturae 756: International Symposium on Medicinal and Nutraceutical Plants
FOLK MEDICINAL PLANTS USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF BRONCHIAL ASTHMA IN INDIA |
| Authors: | V.K. Singh, M.K. Siddiqui , Aminuddin |
| Keywords: | asthma, folk medicine, tribals |
| Abstract:
Thus far, asthma has no cure in modern medicine. There are, however, claims made by “tribal herbal medicine men” known as ‘Shariya’, ‘Chermule doctor’, ‘Bhagat’, ‘Guru’, etc. in different remote forest zones of India, to cure the disease by employing local flora and fauna. Twenty-two such selected folk recipes for the treatment of Asthma have been reported in this paper. But for one, all folk recipes are plant based. The information has been collected by ethno-medico-botanical explorations of forests in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, between 1970–1997 through interviewing tribals and other ethnic groups. The present report provides 22 folk prescriptions comprising 33 medicinal plants for treating asthma by tribals and other ethnic groups in India. Folk name of the drug along with its taxonomic determination, parts used, recipe, preparation of medicine, mode of application, dose, duration of treatment and precaution, if any, have been given for each claim. The data were compared with important ancient and recently published reports. Most of the uses reported here are contemporary and do not seem to have been reported earlier. Since information given are already in use for treatment of patients suffering from Asthma, it would be worthwhile to put these claims on scientific trials to validate the folk information recorded in the field. It is likely through such investigations new drugs of natural origin which may be very specific to combat the disease may be discovered. | |
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