Public Health

Scientific Name Valeriana jatamansi Jones syn. V. wallichii DC. Family Valerianaceae Used Part Rhizome, roots. Distribution Area A sligtly hairy, tufted herb, found in the temperate Himalayas at an altitude of c. 3,000 m., and in the Khasi and Jaintia hills between 1,500 and 1,800 m. Common Uses . Indian valerian dull yellowish brown pieces of rhizomes, 4-8 cm. long x 5-12 mm. thick, sub-cylindrical, somewhat flattened, taste bitter. The dried rhizomes are used in perfumes and hair preparations, and as incense, and to a lesser extent in medicine. Indian valerian is…

How would you know if your water in space were infected with something?  Water is easy enough to clean but it requires some precision and current methods only examine water cleanliness after the fact.    University of Utah chemists developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months of tests aboard the International Space Station. The new method involves sampling space station or space shuttle galley water with syringes, forcing the water through a chemical-imbued disk-shaped membrane, and then reading the color of the membrane with a…

Scientific Name Bambusa arundinacea (Retz) Willd. ( B. arundinacea (Retz.) Roxb.; syn. B. bambos Druce) Family Poaceae Used Part Bamboo manna. Distribution Area Distributed throughout the moist parts of India, up to an altitude of 1,250 m, also cultivated in the plains of North-West India, and on the hills of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Common Uses . The "Bamboo mana" is the siliceous secretion found in the internodes of the stems of various species of bamboo. It occurs in fragments or masses, and is translucent or transparent and of bluish white color. It is…

Scientific Name Woodfordia fruticosa (L.)Kurz. (W. fruticosa Kurz syn. W.floribunda Salisb.) Family Lythraceae Used Part Flowers. Distribution Area A shrub, commonly occurring throughout North India, ascending to an altitude of c. 1,500 m. in the Himalayas, but rather scarce in South India. Common Uses . The dried flowers are credited with stimulant and astringent properties, and are available in the market. They are often added to the Ayurvedic Arishtasto cause alcoholic fermentation. The commercial drug consists of dried fruits, flowers, buds and broken…

Lucrative alternative All this, says Ibrahim, is good news for Malawi, where most people live on less than US$1 a day. He says jatropha could be a lucrative alternative to tobacco, Malawi's agricultural mainstay and principal source of foreign exchange. As global demand for tobacco falls, and the cost of inputs such as fertilisers increases, many farmers in Malawi are feeling the squeeze. "The biodiesel crop campaign has come at the right time, just as the country is looking for an alternative to tobacco," says Alic Kafasalire, a capacity building specialist for the Coordination Unit for the…

Folk Medicine According to Hartwell, the extracts are used in folk remedies for cancer. Reported to be abortifacient, anodyne, antiseptic, cicatrizant, depurative, diuretic, emetic, hemostat, lactagogue, narcotic, purgative, rubefacient, styptic, vermifuge, and vulnerary, physic nut is a folk remedy for alopecia, anasorca, ascites, burns, carbuncles, convulsions, cough, dermatitis, diarrhea, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, eczema, erysipelas, fever, gonorrhea, hernia, incontinence, inflammation, jaundice, neuralgia, paralysis, parturition, pleurisy, pneumonia, rash, rheumatism, scabies,…

Out of the total 4,20,000 flowering plants reported from the world Govaerts, 2001) more than 50,000 are used for medicinal purposes (Schippmann, Leaman and Cunninghan, 2002). In India, more than 43% of the total flowering plants are reported to be of medicinal importance (Pushpangdan, 1995). Utilization of plants for medicinal purposes in India has been documented long back in ancient literature (Charak, 1996; Tulsidas, 1631 Samvat). However, organized studies in this direction were initiated in 1956 (Rao, 1996) and off late such studies are gaining recognition and popularity due to loss of…

Scientific Name Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.= T. cuneata Roth Family Combretaceae Used Part Bark. Distribution Area A large, evergreen tree, common in most parts of India. . It is rare in the Karnatic, but is fairly plentiful in Tirunelveli and on the west coast. It extends north- wards to the sub-Himalayan tract, where it is distributed along the banks of streams; in Punjab, it is a cultivated tree. It is common in Chota Nagpur, Orissa and in the Northern Circars. Common Uses .The bark is astringent,sweet, acrid,cooling aphrodisiac, demulcent, cardiotonic,…

Scientific Name Operculina turpethum (Linn.) Silva Manso syn. Ipomoea turpethum R. Br. Family Convolvulaceae Used Part Stem. Distribution Area A large perennial twiner in Himalayan, Madesh,and Terai region upto 900m in Nepal and it is occasionally grown in gardens for ornament. Common Uses . The root purgative and prescribed in scorpion sting and snake bite. The roots are bitter, acrid, sweet, thermogenic, purgative, carminative, anthelmintic, expectorant, antipyretic, hepatic, stimulant and hydragogue. They are useful in colic constipation, dropsy, vitiated conditions of vata,…

Scientific Name Cyanodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers. Family Poaceae Used Part Whole grass. Distribution Area The grass grows throughout India ascending up to 8,000 ft. Common Uses The plant is astringent, sweet, cooling,haemostatic, depurative, vulnerary, constipating, diuretic and tonic, and is useful in vitiated conditions of pitta and kapha, hyperdispsia, burning sensation, haemoptysis, haematuria, erysipelas, leprosy, skin diseases, vomiting, diarrhoea, dysentery, strangury, colporrhagia, abortion and general debility. The plant is acrid,sweet cooling, useful in biliousness, thirst,…