Traditional herbal medicine in Far-west Nepal: a pharmacological appraisal

Abstract

BackgroundPlant species have long been used as principal ingredients of traditional medicine in far-west Nepal. The medicinal plants with ethnomedicinal values are currently being screened for their therapeutic potential but their data and information are inadequately compared and analyzed with the Ayurveda and the phytochemical findings.MethodsThe present study evaluated ethnomedicinal plants and their uses following literature review, comparison, field observations, and analysis. Comparison was made against earlier standard literature of medicinal plants and ethnomedicine of the same area, the common uses of the Ayurveda and the latest common phytochemical findings. The field study for primary data collection was carried out from 2006-2008.ResultsThe herbal medicine in far-west Nepal is the basis of treatment of most illness through traditional knowledge. The medicine is made available via ancient, natural health care practices such as tribal lore, home herbal remedy, and the Baidhya, Ayurveda and Amchi systems. The traditional herbal medicine has not only survived but also thrived in the trans-cultural environment with its intermixture of ethnic traditions and beliefs. The present assessment showed that traditional herbal medicine has flourished in rural areas where modern medicine is parsimoniously accessed because of the high cost and long travel time to health center. Of the 48 Nepalese medicinal plants assessed in the present communication, about half of the species showed affinity with the common uses of the Ayurveda, earlier studies and the latest phytochemical findings. The folk uses of Acacia catechu for cold and cough, Aconitum spicatum as an analgesic, Aesculus indica for joint pain, Andrographis paniculata for fever, Anisomeles indica for urinary affections, Azadirachta indica for fever, Euphorbia hirta for asthma, Taxus wallichiana for tumor control, and Tinospora sinensis for diabetes are consistent with the latest pharmacological findings, common Ayurvedic and earlier uses.ConclusionsAlthough traditional herbal medicine is only a primary means of health care in far-west Nepal, the medicine has been pursued indigenously with complementing pharmacology and the Ayurveda. Therefore, further pharmacological evaluation of traditional herbal medicine deserves more attention.

Medico-ethnobotany of Magar Community in Salija VDC of Parbat District, Central Nepal

“…The root of P. fulgens is cut into small pieces and chewed to treat toothache. Manandhar (1995), Subedi (1998), Joshi and Joshi (2000) and Kunwar et al (2010) reported the use of Potentilla fulgens in dental problems similar to the present finding. The flower of Woodfordia fruticosa was also reported to be used in curing dysentery by Manandhar (1990), Manandhar (1992), Acharya (1996), and Oli et al (2005).…”

Medicinal Plants as a Source of Antipyretic Agent in Terai Region of Western Nepal

“…However, the use of various plants for fever has been mentioned in the ethnomedicinal studies in Nepal by various workers (Coburn, 1984;Shrestha, 1985;Manandhar, 1985Manandhar, , 1993Manandhar, , 1998Mahato, 1998;Dangol and Gurung, 2000;Devkota and Karmacharya, 2003;Shrestha and Dhillion, 2003;Oli, 2003;Rai, 2003;Panthi and Chaudhary, 2003;Rai, 2004;Acharya and Rokaya, 2005;Watanabe et al, 2005;Acharya and Pokhrel, 2006;Baral and Kurmi, 2006;Bhattarai et al, 2006Bhattarai et al, , 2009Burlakoti and Kunwar, 2008;Dangol, 2008;Joshi, 2008;Dhami, 2008;Sapkota, 2008;Acharya and Acharya, 2009;Ghimire and Bastakoti, 2009;Joshi and Singh, 2010;Kunwar et al, 2010;Rokaya et al, 2010;Uprety et al, 2010;Joshi et al, 2011;Singh et al, 2011 a, b, c and2012;). Pharsatikar, P. Amuwa, and Devdaha) in Rupandehi district.…”

Insights into the in vitro germicidal activities of Acalypha indica

“…It is also used to treat skin disease, snake bite, and jaundice. 15,16 In the present study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of various organic extracts of A. indica against several human pathogenic bacteria. To this end, the chemical composition of the essential oil from A. indica was investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with an emphasis on the possible future use of extracts of this plant as alternatives to chemically synthesized antibiotics and/or as substances for generic drug design.…”