Public Health

Scientific Name Rubia cordifolia Linn. Family Rubiaceae Used Part Root. Distribution Area A, prickly creeper or climber, common throughout India , ascending to an altitude of 3,750 m. Common Uses . The Indian madder of commerce consists of short rootstocks with numerous cylindrical, smooth and straight roots, about the size of a quill. These are covered with a thin, brownish cork, which peels off in flakes, exposing a red-brown bark marked by longitudinal furrows. The root is sweetish, followed by acrid and hitter taste. The plant is a constituent of many…

According to a 2007 press release by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, every year 33.1 million people are injured by consumer products in the home. No one is safe and constant vigilance is required to avoid maiming and/or death (paraphrased). Here are the prime offenders: 1. Magnets: If a child eats your wedding ring, it will pass. If the same child eats both your wedding ring and a magnet, the two might attract through intestinal walls, creating a massive kink and making it very difficult to retrieve your ring. 2. Recalled Products: At cspc.gov, you can sign up for e-mail notification…

Scientific Name Didymocarpus albicalyx C.B. Clarke Family Gesneriaceae. Used Part Dried leaves Distribution Area In eastern Himalayan region of Nepal Common Uses . Cure of stones of kidney and bladder. Therapeutic uses on Disease or Syndrome: Stones of kidney and bladder Frequency Common Similar crude drugs Shila pushpa (Didymocarpus pedicellata R. Br.) It occurs in the sub-tropical western Himalayas from Chamba to Kumaon at altitudes of 2,500-5,500 ft. The dry leaves have a characteristic spicy odour and appear dusted with reddish colouring matter. They are used in indigenous…

Scientific Name Apium graveolens Linn. Family Apiaceae; Umbelliferae   Used Part Fruits Distribution Area   An erect, annual or biennial herb, occurring wild in the foot-hills of north-western Himalayas and the outlying hills of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar  Pradesh. Common Uses .   Celery seeds are credited with stimulant and carminative properties    and are prescribed as nervine sedative and tonic. The seeds are simulative, cordial tonic, carminative diuretic emmenogauge, used in bronchitis.  Their decoction is a popular…

According to an upcoming study in the March Issue of Alcoholism: Clinical&Experimental Research, alcohol and marijuana use may be explained by the same genetic factors, lending support to the notion that there are common mechanisms underlying all addictions, the authors say. Researchers examined 6,257 individuals (2,761 complete twin pairs and 735 singletons) listed in the Australian Twin Registry, 24 to 36 years of age.  Alcohol and marijuana use histories were gathered in telephone diagnostic interviews and used to derive levels of alcohol consumption, frequency of marijuana use,…

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is quickly becoming one of the world’s deadliest viruses and it is currently the most significant infectious pathogen with devastating consequences. Since the description of HIV as the causative agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), HIV has produced a worldwide pandemic. According to the recent report of UNAIDS and WHO, in Dec. 2007, over 6800 person become infected with HIV and over 5700 persons die from AIDS everyday, and besides millions of people are living with HIV infection world wide. The spread of HIV worldwide from the year…

Scientific Name Leucas cephalotes (Roth) Spreng. Family Lamiaceae Used Part Inflorescence Distribution Area Himalayan and Madesh and Terai region of Nepal at 100 to 200 m and ascending up to 1,800 m. in the Himalayas. Common Uses The flowers are administered in the form of a syrup as a domestic remedy for coughs and colds. Kaccordi oil, Lasunaghrtam, Pathadigulika, Kompancadi gulika, are some of the preparations using this durg. Used in “Vata” and “Pitta”, in coughs and colds, anorexia, dyspepsia, fever, helminthic manifestations, jaundice, psoriasis, respiratory diseases and skin…

Scientific Name Polyalthia. longifolia (Soon)Thwaitea. Family Annonaceae Used Part Bark Distribution Area Considered to be a native of the drier parts of Ceylon, very commonly cultivated all over India, in gardens and avenues. Common Uses . The bark is bitter, acrid,cooling,febrigue and antihelmintic. It is useful in fever, skin diseases, diabetes, hypertension, helminthiasis and vitiated conditions of vata and pitta. The bark is also used as a febrifuge in some parts of India. Similar crude drugs Polyalthia longifolia bark is used a adultrant to asoka tree Saraca asoca (Roxb) De…

Scientific Name Ajuga bracteosa Wall ex. Benth. Family Lamiaceae Used Part Leaves. Distribution Area Distrubuted from Kashmir to Nepal at an altitude of 2,000 m. It is also found in the sub-Himalayan tract, plains of Punjab and the upper Gangetic plain. Common Uses . The herb has been in use since ancient times and is mentioned Ayurvedic literature. A bitter astringent given in fevers. An aromatic tonic, specially useful in ague. On salt range it is used to kill lice, and is regarded as depurative. It is credited with astringent, febrifugal, stimulant, aperient, tonic, diuretic and…

Scientific Name Mentha spicata Linn. emend. Nathh. syn. M. spicata var. viridis Linn; M. virdis Linn. Family Lamiaceae Used Part Whole shoot Distribution Area It is cultivated in Indian gardens. Common Uses . The leaves are given in fever and bronchitis and decoction is used as a lotion in aphthae. The herb is stimulatn, carminative and antispasmodic. For infentile troubles generally sweetened infusion is an excellent remedy. A distilled water is made which will relieve hiccough and flatulence as well as the giddiness of indigestion. Green leaves of the plant are used for…