Human beings have to depend on Nature for sustenance and survival. The traditional system of medicine in India dates back to the age of the Rigveda (2500 to 1600 B.C.).
Ayurveda is the Indian indigenous system of medicine dating back to the Vedic period. The term Ayurveda means Science of Life (Ayur = life, veda = knowledge). The entire system of ancient Indian medicine is based on the relationship between man and Nature.
With the development of science, many new drugs of synthetic origin have come into existence and with the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical industry the value and use of the herbal medicines has come down in the recent past.
In the colonial period, Ayurveda sunk in India to the status of the poor man's medicine. Though the knowledge survived it had no prestige. Those who had money preferred western medicine and the immediate cure for isolated symptoms appealed to people. At the present moment Ayurveda is enjoying yet another revival, because of the side effects or long term health hazards of Allopathic medicine.
The important herbs must be cultured either in the laboratory or outside in nurseries and gardens.
The propagation of plants has been a fundamental operation of mankind. When new kinds of plants have to be conserved or propagated, we need to develop knowledge and techniques to propagate them. An appropriate propagation technology can be selected for each kind of medicinal plant depending upon plant growth.
Apart from propagating medicinal plants, villagers can be encouraged to set up kitchen gardens of medicinal plants for their domestic use as shown below :
Organic farming with medicinal plants as botanical pesticides can be encouraged as a practice to replace chemical pesticides among farmers. A gene pool of herbal and medicinal plants can be established. Conservation strategies based on present demands and immediate future needs to be prioritized.
The conservation of medicinal plants does not end here. The community should also play a major role to conserve medicinal plants. People should be taught to identify the locally available species which are over-exploited and whose exploitation should be checked and regulated.
A separate package for community development/conservation can also be taken up by setting up a small community garden by distributing 50 to 100 useful plants for a primary health centre which the local community could maintain. Seed banks and nurseries can also be developed by the community to generate income. Medicinal plant species can be planted under the wasteland development programme.
If all this has to be done, an awareness programme should be conducted stressing the importance of medicinal herbs and their identification and utilisation for treating diseases in human beings and animals. The message of identification, utilisation and conservation of medicinal plants can be spread through local, traditional folk media, distribution of booklets and handouts.
There are more than 100 commonly used medicinal plants in our life. Some of the plants with usage are listed below:
COMMON MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN OUR DAILY LIVES |
|||
No |
Common Name (in Tamil) |
Botanical Name |
Application |
1 |
Agathi |
Sesbania grandiflora |
fever, kills intestinal worms |
2 |
Amukkira |
fever |
|
3 |
Avuri |
Indiagofera tinctoria |
kills intestinal worms |
4 |
Adu theenda palai |
Aristolochia bractiata |
kills intestinal worms |
5 |
Annasi |
Ananas comosus |
stimulant for hunger, for constipation, promotes digestion |
6 |
Adatodai |
Adhatoda vasica |
diseases of |
7 |
Echchu |
Phoenix sylvestris |
diabetes, fever |
8 |
Ell |
Sesamum indicum |
increases milk secretion |
9 |
Garlic |
Alium sativum |
stimulant, expectorant |
10 |
Inji |
Zingiber officinale |
promotes digestion |
11 |
Kaliyana murungai |
Erythrina indica |
increases milk secretion |
12 |
Karuvel |
Acacia nilotica |
diseases of respiratory tract |
13 |
Karisalankanni |
for constipation |
|
14 |
Kuppaimeni |
Acalypha indica |
cold and cough, kills intestinal worms |
15 |
Karisalankanni |
Eclipta prostrata |
strengthens liver |
16 |
Mavilingu |
Crataeva religiosa |
fever |
17 |
Malai vembu |
Melia azadirach |
kills intestinal worms |
18 |
Mathulai |
Punica granatum |
kills intestinal worms |
19 |
Ma |
Mangifera indica |
kills intestinal worms |
20 |
Milagu |
Piper nigrum |
cold and cough |
21 |
Manjal |
Curcuma longa |
cold and cough |
22 |
Nelli |
Phyllanthus emblica |
decreases body temperature |
23 |
Naval |
Eugenia jambusa |
diabetes |
24 |
Nuna |
Morinda tinctoria |
fever |
25 |
Nochchi |
Vitex negundo |
fever |
26 |
Nanthiyavattam |
Tabernaemontana divaricata |
kills intestinal worms |
27 |
Pagarkai |
Memordica charntia |
kills intestinal worms |
28 |
Seetha |
Annona squamoza |
wounds / ulcers |
29 |
Seiyakkai |
Acacia concina |
cold and cough wounds / ulcers |
30 |
Sundai |
Solanum torvum |
cold and cough |
31 |
Sarakkonrai |
Cassia fistula |
fever |
32 |
Musumusukhai |
Mukia maderaspatana |
vertigo, asthma, ulcer |
33 |
Thumbai |
Leucus aspera |
cold and cough |
34 |
Thoothuvalai |
Solanum trilobatum |
cold and cough |
35 |
Thulasi |
Ocimum sanctum |
diseases of the respiratory tract |
36 |
Sirukurinjan |
Gymnema sylvestris |
stimulant for hunger |
37 |
Vilvam |
fever, digestion |
|
38 |
Vishnukrandi |
fever |
|
39 |
Vembu |
Azadirachta indica |
intestinal worms malerial fever skin diseases |
40 |
Vellarikkai |
Cucumis sativus |
descreases body temperature |
41 |
Vengayam |
Allium cepa |
cold and cough |
42 |
Vengai |
wounds / ulcers |
|
43 |
Vendayam |
Trigonella feenugracum |
increases milk secretion |
44 |
Alari |
Nerium odoratum |
for constipation |
45 |
Amman pachcharisi |
Euphorbia hirta |
decreases body temperature |
46 |
Illuppai |
Bassia longifolia |
decreases body temperature |
47 |
Karunjchirakam |
Nigella sativa |
induces labour pain during delivery |
48 |
Mulmoongil |
Bambusa arundinacea |
for leprosy, skin diseases, astringent, laxative, cooling |
49 |
Vaagai, Siridam |
Albizzia lebbeck |
astringent, asthma, expectorant, leprosy |
50 |
Thekku |
Tectona grandis |
astringent, cooling, constipation, bronchitis, hyper- acidity |
51 |
Kattuchirakam, cittilai |
Vernonia anthelmintica |
astringent, anti-inflammatory, fever, expectorant |
52 |
Karpuram |
Cinnamomum camphora |
aphrodisiac, anti- inflammatory, asthma, expectorant, diarhoea |
53 |
Elumitchai |
Citrus limon |
aids digestion, for constipation, cough, laxative, antiseptic, bronchitis |
54 |
Korai |
Cyperus rotundus |
cooling, astringent, anti inflammatory, scabies, skin disease |
55 |
Sooriyakanthi |
Helianthus annus |
strengthening teeth, leprosy, ulcer, skin diseases, bronchitis |
56 |
Pushkaramoolam |
Inula racemosa |
antiseptic, digestion ulcer, cough, asthma, bronchitis |
57 |
Vellaikadambu |
Neolamarckia cadamba |
astringent, ulcer, digestive, diarrhoea, expectorant, fever, vomiting |
58 |
Perichangai |
Phoenix dactylifera |
expectorant, cooling, bronchitis, cough, burning sensation |
59 |
Vettiver |
Vetiveria zizanioides |
water purifier |
60 |
Marudhani |
Lawsonia inermis |
leprosy, skin diseases, premature falling & greying of hair |
PLANTS WHICH CAN BE GROWN IN THE HILLS AND THEIR USES |
|||
No |
Common Name |
Botanical Name |
Application |
1 |
Sadhapilai |
Ruta graveolens |
Ruta graveolens |
2 |
Elakkai Elettaria |
cardamomum |
stimulant,expectorant |
3 |
Pirandai |
Cissus quadrangularis |
Chronic Ulcers |
4 |
Pudhina |
Mentha arvensis |
digestion, cough |
5 |
Lemon grass |
Cymbopogon caesius |
insect bites |
6 |
Karumilagu |
Piper nigrum |
cold and cough |
7 |
Thippili |
cold and cough, fever |
|
8 |
Sukku |
Zingiber officianale |
headache, dry cough |
9 |
Krishna thulasi |
Ocimum americanum |
bronchitis |
10 |
Lavangam |
Eugenia caryophyllata |
aphrodisiac, expectorant, toothache |
11 |
Jathikkai |
Myristica fragrans |
constipation |
12 |
Vasambu |
Acorus calamus |
stimulant, decongestant |
Last Modified : 9/14/2023
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