Ethnopharmacological Survey of the Iranian Coastline of Makran based on the Unani Medicine

The present paper deals with the traditional knowledge of traditional herbal healers of Chhindwara and Betul districts of Madhya Pradesh, India regarding the use of plants for the treatment of various diseases prevalent in the tribal pockets. The herbal healers of these region use plant/plant parts of their suitable preparation for treating various ailment. Information collected from traditional tribal healers, medicine men etc has revealed that plant/plant parts of 77 species from Chhindwara district and 50 species from Betul district of forest origin are utilized as paste, powder, juice, decoction and extract for the treatment of various diseases of local people of the area. The knowledge of plants used by traditional herbal healers for ailments would be immense help to replace synthetic drugs. Key words: Traditional knowledge, herbal healers, medicinal plants, disease.

BackgroundMedicinal plants used by the local people in Xizang (Tibet) have been investigated since the 1960s. The others out of Xizang, however, have been less understood, although they may be easily and strongly influenced by the various local herbal practices, diverse environments, local religious beliefs and different prevalent types of diseases. In 2006, two ethnobotanical surveys were organized in the county of Shangri-la, Yunnan Province, SW China, to document the traditional medicinal plants used by the Tibetan people.MethodsAfter literature surveying, four local townships were selected to carry out the field investigation. Three local healers were interviewed as key informants. The methods of ethnobotany, anthropology and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) were used in the field surveys. Plant taxonomic approach was adopted for voucher specimen identification.ResultsSixty-eight medicinal plant species in 64 genera of 40 families were recorded and collected. Among them, 23 species were found to have medicinal values that have not been recorded in any existing Tibetan literatures before, and 31 species were recorded to have traditional prescriptions. Moreover, the traditional preparations of each species and some folk medicinal knowledge were recorded and analyzed. These traditional prescriptions, preparations, new medicinal plants and folk medicinal knowledge and principles were discovered and summarized by local traditional Tibetan healers through times of treatment practices, and were passed down from generation to generation.ConclusionAs a part of the cultural diversity of Tibetan community, these traditional medicinal knowledge and experiences may provide data and information basis for the sustainable utilization and development of Tibetan medicine, and may contribute to the local economic development. However, for many reasons, they are disappearing gradually as time goes by. Our study showed that there were abundant traditional Tibetan medicinal prescriptions and using methods. It implies that more Tibetan medicinal plants and traditional knowledge can be discovered. Further research should be done to save the wealth of these traditional medicinal knowledge and experiences before they are dying out.

Aim: Herbal medicine is widely practiced throughout the world from time im-memorable. The aim of the present study is to document available medicinal plants, methods of preparation and major uses in the villages of Thenpuranadu and Pachamalai; a part of Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Methods: Ethno medicinal survey was conducted among the villages of Thenpuranadu at Pachamalai a part of Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Results: Several medicinal plants were recognized as medicinal source to cure many diseases. Study has revealed 50 medicinal plant species belonging to 29 families that are frequently used for treatment of more than 20 diseases by local traditional healers. In that 90% of the medicinal plants are dicotyledons and the remaining 10% are monocotyledons. These 50 plants comprise trees (40%), shrubs (36%), and herbs (24%). Most predominantly used plant part is leaves (36%) followed by bark (26%) and other parts of plants. The families Leguminosae (14%), Verbenaceae (10%), Euphorbiaceae (10%) occupied dominantly from that 29 families. The local traditional practitioners commonly used medicinal preparative method was decoction (40%) followed by infusion (20%) and etc show on. The local traditional practitioners handling common diseases to dreadful diseases like malaria, asthma and etc. But most successful cases of diseases cured by traditional practitioners are common cold, fever, cough (30%) followed by stomach problems (16%). Conclusion: Tribal communities of Thenpuranadu, Pachamalai a part of Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India used and also followed natural medicinal system from long time. However, there is a need to conserve and document a scientific data concerning the use of the medicinal plants for future generation.

Background: Application of heat either generalised or localised is among various means employed in Unani medicine for promoting health, preventing as well as treating diseases. The concept of hotness (Ḥarārat) and application of physical heat have been in vogue during different periods of human civilization and it exists even today with certain modifications. Heating Modalities: Unani medicine offers various methods for the application of mild to moderate heat that includes Turkish bath (Ḥammām), massage (Dalk), cupping (Ḥijāma), sitz bath (Ābzan), inducing diaphoresis (Ta‘rīq), douche (Naṭūl), vapour bath (Inkibāb) and footbath (Pāshoya). Application of Heat: Heating modalities are commonly used by Unani physicians for relieving pain and stiffness, relaxing muscles, increasing blood circulation, liquefying the sticky and adherent humours lodged in the peripheral tissues and reducing inflammation. Application of severe heat also finds a place among various modes of treatment mentioned in Unani medicine. Cauterisation (Kayy) is the mode that is employed for the stoppage of bleeding, removing putrefactive matter and destroying lesions. Conclusion: Unani medicine offers classical methods and instruments for heat therapy used for centuries for the promotion of health, prevention and management of diseases. Heat therapy has been found considerably effective in managing certain health problems and diseases.

Traditional herbal treatment is one of treatment efforts beyond medical science which is currently quite popular among people in Denpasar. Seeking health care from traditional herbal healers is not only has a positive impact but also negative ones. Excessive promotion in various media causes people to be less rational in choosing health care services. This study aims to determine the association between knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and media information with the health care-seeking from traditional herbal healers. The study design was analytic cross-sectional. Sample was consecutively selected from the population involving 129 people who have met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected by using questionnaire. Chi-square results showed that all variables examined were significantly associated with health care-seeking from the traditional herbal healers. Results from logistic regression indicated that only belief was significantly associated with the level of patient visits to traditional herbal healers (RP=6.57; 95%CI: 1.43-8.84, p=0.006 and R2=49.5%). Denpasar City Health Office should improved guidance and control the traditional herbal healers so as to provide a sense of security to the community.

The study was conducted in pockets of Madhya Pradesh having pre-dominance of ethnic communities comprising of Gond, Baiga, Bediya, Bhil, Bhilala, Bhariya, Korku, Pardhi Kol, Mawasi, Patni (sub-group of Gond tribes) and Padwania (Sub group of Kol tribes) tribes, in districts of Jabalpur, Seoni, Hoshangabad and Chindwara to document plants prevalent in cure of Arthritis. Arthritis is the most common disease causing intolerable pain and inflammation due to abnormal metabolism of uric acid, which are deposited in the cartilage of joints with frequent pains and swelling of joints. The present investigation was carried out in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India during period 2013 September to 2016 February. The study was conducted by interviews and focus group discussions with local indigenous communities. During the visits a number of traditional herbal healers, elderly person of tribal communities, were contacted and information was collected through interview, observations and discussion held during field survey. The local traditional herbal healers (vaids) had specialized knowledge about availability of these plants (trees, shrubs, herbs, and climbers) as well as their seasonal availability, time of collection and collected roots, leaves, seeds and fruits in cure of ailments known as arthritis and prepared different herbal formulations which varied from locality to locality and one ethic community to other. The study revealed that plants from 32 genera comprising of 22 plant families with 22 prescriptions of herbal folk medicines were prevalent among different ethnic communities as documented from 18 Indigenous and traditional healers locally known as Vaidraj. These vaidraj used different prescription in different pockets within the tribal community as well as varied from one ethnic community to another based on species in abundance in forest and around forest fringes of their habitat. These healers were collecting plants from 32 genera with 22 plant families from 33 species. They used to collect roots, leaves, seeds, fruits, bark and rhizomes and were formulating powder, paste, extract, decoction, juice and oil and were administered on patients suffering from pain in order to cure ailment called as Arthritis. These elderly folk healers as well as members of ethnic communities had vast knowledge about these plants, mode of administration of dose and were using these information since several generations. But during the survey it was revealed that among the younger generation this vital knowledge was declining gradually. The study concludes that herbal folk medicines have been recognised as of great importance in primary health care of ethnic communities across the globe. Plant based traditional knowledge is being used as a tool for search for new sources of drugs in herbal medicines.

Abstrak: Pengobatan tradisional herbal merupakan salah satu upaya pengobatan di luar ilmu kedokteran yang saat ini cukup diminati masyarakat di Kota Denpasar. Pencarian pelayanan kesehatan pada pengobat tradisional herbal bukan saja membawa dampak positif akan tetapi juga membawa dampak negatif. Promosi yang berlebihan di berbagai media menyebabkan masyarakat menjadi kurang rasional dalam memilih pelayanan kesehatan. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui hubungan pengetahuan, sikap, kepercayaan dan media informasi dengan pencarian pelayanan kesehatan pada pengobat tradisional herbal. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan adalah analitik kuantitatif cross sectional. Penentuan sampel dilakukan dengan consecutive random sampling. Besar sampel adalah 129 orang yang telah memenuhi kriteria inklusi. Data dikumpulkan dengan panduan kuesioner. Hasil chi square menunjukkan semua variabel yang diteliti, berhubungan secara bermakna dengan pencarian layanan ke pengobat tradisional herbal. Lebih lanjut hasil uji regresi logistik menunjukkan hanya kepercayaan yang berhubungan secara bermakna dengan tingkat kunjungan pasien ke pengobat tradisional herbal (RP=6,57; 95%CI: 1,43-8,84; p=0.006 dan R2=49,5%). Disarankan agar Dinas Kesehatan Kota Denpasar meningkatkan pembinaan dan pengawasan kepada pengobat tradisional herbal sehingga memberikan rasa aman kepada masyarakat.

The administration of medicinal plants for treating human ailments is an age-old practice. Although several studies have been conducted, most of them focused on documentation of the medicinal plants and herbal knowledge. This study investigated why people use herbal medicine, from what conviction, and explains how the plants are collected, prepared and put to purpose. In order to get deeper information about the issue, both primary and secondary sources are consulted. Observation, semi structured interviews, and key informant interviews were used to collect the primary data.15 herbalists were used as informants to obtain information on knowledge acquisition, plant collection, drug preparation, preservation and administration. The study found that healers got the wisdom of herbal medicine from family; friends or relatives; as gift of God; and religious books. The study also uncovered that people visit herbal healers because of cost, cultural acceptability, easy accessibility, and dissatisfaction with modern medicine. Herbal healers are providing health services for a huge segment of the populations’ in spite of several challenges. Dominance of biomedicine, proliferation of quack healers, inheritance problems, absence of support from government authorities, and deforestation stand out as the major challenges for the progress and the very existence of indigenous medicine in general and herbal healers in particular.

Iran is the most populated country in the Middle East. As a part of its development plans, it needs to increase its energy resources and specifically invest in renewable energies. Wind, as one of the sources of renewable energy, has a special place in this regard. This is due to the geography and topography of the country. In this study, the fuzzy system analysis process was used to weigh climatological and environmental variables on the purpose of determining suitable locations for building a wind power plant in the north of Sistan and Baluchestan province. The environmental variables were evaluated based on their influence and importance in the site selection process. The results showed that the north of the province can be categorized into four locations where wind farms can be established. They include locations with excellent (7142.45 Km²), good (1304.12 Km²), average (1635.65 Km²) and low potentials (6388.29 Km²). As the findings suggest, depending on the arrangement of 100 KW wind turbines, 307106 turbines can be installed in the region. The investment return period was calculated and found to be six years and seven months.

Ethnomedicinal plants used in the treatment of skin diseases in Hyderabad Karnataka region, Karnataka, India

Transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge is needed for cultural preservation and biodiversity conservation. Nowadays, this is seriously threatened by globalization which is evident in tropical areas due to influence of Western culture leading to rapid change in indigenous individual and the community. Several factors were attributed and associated with the use of plants in the indigenous communities which includes biological, ecological and socio-cultural with the inclusion of techniques, practices, religion and age. Moreover, gender influences the ethnobotanical knowledge and the structure of local medical systems. The study aimed to assess the gender roles, sanitation practice, and lifestyle of Sambal-Bolinao in their traditional herbal healing. Specifically, it sought to determine the traditional herbal healers’ profile, gender roles; and sanitation practice and lifestyle. Descriptive research technique was employed in gathering data. All traditional herbal healers in the municipality of Bolinao were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 19 managtambal; 11 males and 8 females. The Sambal-Bolinao Roman Catholic believers appreciated the practice of traditional herbal healing. They extended their roles as plant gatherers, keepers of the plant parts gathered, washers of the plant parts prior to treatment, managers of the plant parts wastes and as plant conservationist either through plant propagation and personal campaign on plant conservation. Majority of women traditional herbal healers did not transmit their ethnobotanical knowledge to their children and relatives due to their multiple burden case and perceived economic difficulty for their children. Men traditional herbal healers were the one transmitting their ethnobotanical knowledge to their family members.

The efficacy of herbal system of medicine in the context of allopathic system in Indian Central Himalaya

Transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge is needed for cultural preservation and biodiversity conservation. Nowadays, this is seriously threatened by globalization which is evident in tropical areas due to influence of Western culture leading to rapid change in indigenous individual and the community. Several factors were attributed and associated with the use of plants in the indigenous communities which includes biological, ecological and socio-cultural with the inclusion of techniques, practices, religion and age. Moreover, gender influences the ethnobotanical knowledge and the structure of local medical systems. The study aimed to assess the gender roles, sanitation practice, and lifestyle of Sambal-Bolinao in their traditional herbal healing. Specifically, it sought to determine the traditional herbal healers’ profile, gender roles; and sanitation practice and lifestyle. Descriptive research technique was employed in gathering data. All traditional herbal healers in the municipality of Bolinao were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 19 managtambal; 11 males and 8 females. The Sambal-Bolinao Roman Catholic believers appreciated the practice of traditional herbal healing. They extended their roles as plant gatherers, keepers of the plant parts gathered, washers of the plant parts prior to treatment, managers of the plant parts wastes and as plant conservationist either through plant propagation and personal campaign on plant conservation. Majority of women traditional herbal healers did not transmit their ethnobotanical knowledge to their children and relatives due to their multiple burden case and perceived economic difficulty for their children. Men traditional herbal healers were the one transmitting their ethnobotanical knowledge to their family members.

Traditional medicines can play a major role in global health care, due to its indigenous nature, easy access, and cost effectiveness. However, knowledge of this intellectual property is in danger of being lost. It is either undocumented or if documented, it is inaccessible and local in context. World Health Organization signifies the necessity to preserve and maintain this knowledge. Unani medicines, a subfield of traditional medicines, have been continuously practiced in Asia for about 2500 years, and it is facing the same situation of knowledge lost. To preserve knowledge of Unani medicines, initial kind of an effort has been done but a formal semantic structure, that is machine readable and reusable, is required to preserve this knowledge efficiently and effectively. This research focuses on conceptual structure of Unani medicines by presenting domain ontology which includes core principles and philosophy of Unani medicines, diseases, symptoms, diagnosis, drugs, and treatment. Knowledge about fundamentals is captured from expert interviews and books and then this knowledge is converted into ontologies using Protege. Although it is not exhaustive domain ontology, however it may serve as a starting point for any knowledge based application of Unani medicines. In this research a semantic queries based case study along with a prototype expert system is also proposed.

Ethnodermatological use of medicinal plants in India: From ayurvedic formulations to clinical perspectives – A review