Economically Important Medicinal Plants in Traditional Polyherbal Formulations Prepared by Local Physicians of Rural Travancore

Abstract

In Ayurveda, polyherbal preparations appear to be an unavoidable medicinal approach. Many polyherbal medicines are prepared by local medical practitioners from rural regions of Thiruvananthapuram district, who follow their ethnic customs. The current study was an investigation of their medical system in order to determine the types of plants and plant parts that are used as main components in medicinal compositions. In this study, fifty plants from 34 distinct families were found to be used in the preparation of various Ayurvedic medicines. Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Zingiberaceae, and Piperaceae were the most important among the 34 families studied in terms of the number of herbal medications produced. The most prevalent constituent in 66 percent of currently investigated formulations is Zingiber officinale, followed by Piper longum and Aegle marmelos. The root was found to be the most commonly used plant portion, and harvesting the entire plant could lead to the natural depletion of supply materials. Many of the plants are also becoming threatened. This leads to drug adulteration, necessitating the development of procedures for detecting contaminated products.