An integrated medicine of Bhutan: Sowa Rigpa concepts, botanical identification, and the recorded phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the eastern Himalayan medicinal plants

Development of quality control parameters for two Bhutanese medicinal plants (Aster flaccidus Bunge and Aster diplostephioides (DC.) Benth. ex C.B.Clarke) using traditional and modern pharmacognostical platforms

“…Monitoring the quality control practices involving the starting materials to detect adulteration or mishandling of drugs is a crucial physiochemical parameter to ensure the reproducible quality of herbal products [ 37 , 50 ]. The physicochemical analysis of two Aster species involves assessing the foreign matter, total ash, acid-insoluble, alcohol-soluble extractives, and loss on drying.…”

“…Medicinal plants play a crucial role as principal components in many traditional and indigenous medicine systems worldwide, providing primary health services to approximately 80 % of the global population [ 1 , 2 ]. In Bhutan, over 200 medicinal plants are used as main ingredients to produce more than 100 poly-ingredient medicinal formulations in their traditional medicine system [ 3 ]. This system is widely known as Sowa Rigpa (Wylie transliteration is gso-ba rig-pa), which means "science of healing" [ 4 ].…”

“…This system is widely known as Sowa Rigpa (Wylie transliteration is gso-ba rig-pa), which means "science of healing" [ 4 ]. This scholarly traditional medical system belongs to the larger corpus of Tibetan medicine and has been diligently passed down through canonical texts and oral teachings [ 3 ].…”

Phytochemical Screening and Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antibacterial Potential of Selected Species of Gentiana from Nepal Himalaya

“…Pills made from a mixture of dried powders from roots of G. depressa, G. ornata, G. phyllocalyx and G. tubiflora have been reported to be used to treat colds and headaches in Arunachal Pradesh (Chakraborty et al 2017). Young shoots of G.urnula are also vegetables in Bhutan (Yeshi et al 2019). Similarly, flowers of G. urnula are used as one of the ingredients in Mustang Tea, one of the herbal teas made by following the 'Sowa Rigpa' art of traditional formulations (https://himalayasherpaherbs.net/en/teas.…”

Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Medicinal Plants Used by the Tenggerese Society in Java Island of Indonesia

“…Most of the Asian medicinal plant knowledge is passed down uninterrupted from father to son using oral communication, or from master to apprentices using written scholarly traditions. The most popular scholarly medical traditions are Chinese traditional medicine [3], Indian Ayurvedic medicine [4] and Sowa Rigpa medicine (also practiced in Bhutan) [5]. The former oral traditions, which are predominantly practiced by remote tribes, are prone to disappearance or extinction [6,7].…”