Public Health

Scientific Name Baliospermum montanum (Willd.) Muell. Family Euphorbiaceae Used Part Root Distribution Area Distributed almost throughout India from Kashmir eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh, up to an elevation of 1,000 m and southwards into peninsular India, ascending to an altitude of 1,800 m in the hills of Kerala. Common Uses . The powdered seeds are used as a drastic purgative, one seed being the dose for an adult. But in large doses, they act as an acronarcotic poison. Externally, they are used as a stimultant and rubefacient. The seeds are sometimes substituted for those…

Scientific Name Caesalpinia bonduc (Linn.) Roxb. emend. Dandy & Exell; Baker (Fl Br Ind) syn. C. bonducella (Linn.) Flem.; C. jayabo Naza; C. rista L. Family Fabaceae Used Part Seeds Distribution Area An armed liana found wild throughout the plains of India and up to an altitude of 1,000 m in the Himalayas; it is also found in the deltaic regions of western, eastern and southern India. Common Uses . The root bark is emmenagogue, febrigue expectorant, anthelmintic and stomachic. Bonduc nuts have been used as an antiperiodic for a long time. Pharmacological trials have…

Last week I talked about some H1N1 numbers from the CDC. The numbers I highlighted were by and large from either the CDC's focused surveillance sites, or based on reports voluntarily submitted by various hospitals, providers, etc.  Carl Zimmer has highlighted the CDC's effort to estimate the big picture - total infections, hospitalizations, and deaths nationwide. At this point, the CDC says there has been no seasonal flu - almost all flu cases have been H1N1. Here is the estimate of the big H1N1 picture from April to mid-November: • CDC estimates that between 34 million and 67 million…

Even though the FDA doesn't actually know how many underage smokers choose flavored cigarettes, a new study claims that thrill-seeking teenagers are especially susceptible to fruit-flavored cigarettes and the federal government was right to outlaw the flavorful smokes last September. "We found that those teens who gravitate toward novel experiences were especially drawn to cigarettes described as having an appealing, sweet flavor, such as cherry," says lead author Kenneth Manning with Colorado State University. If you have any doubts about the objectivity of the research, don't worry. The…

Scientific Name Baliospermum montanum (Willd.) Muell. Family Euphorbiaceae Used Part Root Distribution Area Distributed almost throughout India from Kashmir eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh, up to an elevation of 1,000 m and southwards into peninsular India, ascending to an altitude of 1,800 m in the hills of Kerala. Common Uses . The powdered seeds are used as a drastic purgative, one seed being the dose for an adult. But in large doses, they act as an acronarcotic poison. Externally, they are used as a stimultant and rubefacient. The seeds are sometimes substituted for those…

Scientific Name Nardostachys grandiflora DC. (=N. jatamansi DC.) Family Valerianaceae Used Part Rhizome Distribution Area Found in the alpine Himalayas from Punjab to Sikkim and Bhutan, at altitudes of 3,000-5,000 m. Common Uses . The roots are acrid, bitter with a flour; flattening, tonic cooling, antipyretic, alexipharmic,cure tridosha, kapha and biliousness, dieseases of the blood, burning sensation, erysipelas, leprosy,skin diseases, throat troubles, ulcers, improve the complexion. Traditionally the drug has been used as a herbal CNS drug in epilepsy, hysteria, and convulsions.…

Scientific Name Berberis aristata Family Berberidaceae Used Part Gum Distribution Area It is found in Nepal. Common Uses . It is one of the chief sources of the drug (rasaut ) sold in the Indian market. The acidic flower buds are made into a sauce. The plant is an emmenagogue and is useful in the treatment of jaundice, enlargement of spleen, etc. The fresh berries are laxative and antiscorbutic and useful in piles, sores and eye diseases, particularly conjunctivitis. Mixed with the bark of Cinnamomum tamala Nees & Eberm. and honey, they are prescribed in…

By Preeti Malhotra, India Syndicate, 07/12/2009Yes, legalise sex trade, but then also legitimise graft Few years back as a practicing advocate, I made a suggestion to a senior bureaucrat in the Delhi Development Authority. I asked him to display 'bribe rate cards' behind each table in his office. Back then I was speaking on behalf of my clients who would come back to me cribbing about how converting their lease hold properties to free hold came with an 'unspecified' price tag. Nobody knew how much the clerk, the officer, the department head would ask for, unless they actually quoted a price.…

Via Chris Mooney, I learn that Rush Limbaugh, whose ability to smell out a conspiracy is on par with the ability of the male silk moth to sniff out the presence of a female from miles away, has called the whole H1N1 thing a hoax: A bogus pandemic!  You combine this with the UK story and we can see what's happened here, a manufactured, phony crisis.  Hoax and change.  The media loved this BS story, but you were a problem.  I was a problem, actually.  I wasn't going to get a vaccine for a phony emergency, and I told Kathleen Sebelius to stuff it publicly on this program…

The holidays are challenging for most everyone's midsection but are they a factor in actual obesity rather than seasonal weight gain?   And are weekends just as detrimental? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University say yes to both.  Even weekend eating patterns can have a significant impact. J. Jeffrey Inman, a University of Pittsburgh professor of marketing and associate dean for research in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, and coauthor Adwait Khare, Quinnipiac University professor of marketing, studied two years' worth of data on…