Public Health

Commiphora mukul(Hook. ex Stocks) Engl. syn. Balsamodendron mukul Hook. ex Stocks syn Commiphora wightii (Arn.)Bhandari( Burseraceae)Used Part is Gum A small tree or shrub with spinescent branches occurring in the arid rocky tracts of Rajputana, Khandesh, Berar, Mysore, Sind, and Baluchistan. An Ayurvedic preparation "Thyrocap" having guggul as one of the constituents is used to control simple and diffuse goitre very effectively. During the treatment, T4 and T8 cells increase in the serum of patients. "Kanchanar guggul", also a composite preparation containing this…

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. commonly known as Gorkha mundi (Inflorescence)An aromatic herb, found abundantly in damp situations in the plains all over India, ascending to an altitude of c. 1,500 m. in the hills, especially as a weed in the rice-fields. All parts of the plant find medicinal uses. The drug may consist of the whole plant or only capitula (inflorescences). It is mostly administered in the form of its steam- distillate. The juice of the plant is styptic and said to be useful in liver and gastric disorders. The paste of the herb, made with oil, is applied in…

Obesity is on the rise and one cause for that may be that young people do even less on the weekend than they do during the week - the number of those with inactive lifestyles goes up 100% when they're out of school.   Instead, boys primarily play video games and teenage girls prefer to surf the Internet. The research, which forms part of the European HELENA study, has shown how the proportion of young people who watch television and play on the computer for more than two hours per day doubles at the weekend. They analyzed the prevalence of sedentary behavior in 3,278 adolescents (1,537…

The rich biodiversity of eastern Himalaya including Bhutan, comprises most of the aforesaid types of forests except for the ones described at Sl. no. 4, 5 and 6 in preceding paras. The Himalaya is inhabited by a large population, often with their distinct way of life, beliefs, traditions, dialects and cultural heritage (Bennet, 1983). The Himalaya has bestowed them with vast, varied and even endemic plants. The tribals have learnt to utilise indigenous plants in various ways; many of these plants have come to be used in the treatment of different diseases after centuries of trials. The…

Suddenly the prevalence of obesity in the last 25 years in rich and not so rich nations cant be attributed to the genetic factors. At present more than one billion adults worldwide are overweight and at least 300 million of them are clinically obese (WHO 2009). Among the two strategies to reduce obesity are (1) reduce the levels of pancreatic lipase which may help in reducing the absorption. (2) Reduce the appetite . Both are not the correct approach and could have side effects. Its not to reduce intake or absorption but it is to take proper food . Plants listed by Yun (2010) are important…

Genomics , proteomics and metabolomics and now “felobomics.” More than often people go to doctor and complain “I am not feeling good” “I am feeling bad” The science of feelings if you permit me to coin a new word I coin this word as “felobomics”. Its all a matter of feelings between two individuals which makes them life partner or enemy . The same applies to nations and world. “Feel good “. In past King Ashoka the great, King Siddarth the Lord had no good feelings about their present and they decided to contemplate for future. Renunciation feeling is common in east. West has different…

Obesity is increasing in India, Europe, America all over the world in that sense and its painful to see young children having disproportionate body. Obesity could cause hypertension, diabetes and blood pressure. It reduces the quality of life also . An Obese person faces day to day problem of living including travel in air or movement on earth. Indian medicine has always provided taking some herbals could reduce weight. Its not reducing the diet its replacing the diet with "proper” diet Body has natural system of dealing with herbs and perhaps recognizes iron present in vegetables, or…

 To be at peace with inner self for a man something different then being healthy . Being at peace with oneself is a great achievement. Man aspires to achieve what he can not achieve, unachieved goals lead to frustration, man takes to alcohol or depression or gives up life in remorse. The worst is when one feels attached to earthly objects  Indian system of medicine lays much emphasis on peace of mind and tranquility. Many people land in India in search of peace.  One of the things written on heart disease control items to be followed was never aspire for perfection. If we aspire too high…

Soybean cookies sound pretty disgusting, right?   Soybeans and soybean oil were among the many approaches to healthier unhealthy food once it was discovered that saturated fats, which can be found in foods such as cream, cheese and butter, were bad for the heart. But soybean oil spoiled when heated so producers had to hydrogenate the oil to keep it stable, thus creating trans fats.   Guess what turned out to also be bad for you?    But soybeans are not out of it yet and through natural pollination procedures, Kristin Bilyeu, a researcher with the USDA Agriculture Research…

Euphorbia tirucalli L. (Family, Euphorbiacae) a succulent cactus-like plant growing to a height of about 10 m, was introduced from Africa as a garden plant. E. tirucalli Grows in arid zones as well as zones that are more mesophytic, the species makes a good living fence post. The plant grows well in dry regions or land that is not suitable for growing food. E. tirucalli is called petroleum plant because it produces a hydrocarbon substance very much like gasoline. Whole plant harvesting is worthwhile from energy point-of-view with rubber, petroleum, and alcohol as energy products and resins,…