A Review on Anesthetic Herbs

Abstract

An anesthitic or painkiller is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve analgesia, relief from pain, without losing consciousness. An analgesic is derived from Greek words: an-without and algia-pain. Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous system. They are distinct from Anaesthetics, which temporarily affect, and in some instances completely eliminate sensation. When choosing analgesics, the severity and response to other medications determines the choice of agent; the World Health Organization (WHO) pain ladder specifies mild analgesics as its first step. A wide variety of plants have been found to have analgesic or anesthetic effects, e.g. coca, clove and cinchona. Various natural anaesthetic herbs; (Local anaesthetic herbs: Coca, clove, cinchona & spilanthes) and (General anaesthetic herbs: Valerian, aloe vera, liquorice & tulsi) were discussed. This review gives information about different natural analgesics, along with their biological source, chemical composition and mechanism of action.