Traditional Herbal Knowledge among the Inhabitants: A Case Study in Urgam Valley of Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Singh, Ankit; Hart, Robbie; Chandra, Sudeep; Nautiyal, M. C.; Sayok, Alexander K.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5656925

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

On this page

Abstract Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion Conclusion Appendix Data Availability Conflicts of Interest Acknowledgments References Copyright Related Articles

Research Article | Open Access

Volume 2019 | Article ID 5656925 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5656925

Traditional Herbal Knowledge among the Inhabitants: A Case Study in Urgam Valley of Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Ankit Singh,¹Robbie Hart,²Sudeep Chandra,¹M. C. Nautiyal,¹and Alexander K. Sayok³

Academic Editor: Nunziatina De Tommasi

Received23 Jan 2019

Accepted02 May 2019

Published03 Jun 2019

Abstract

The Indian Himalaya is rich in plant species, including many medicinal plants, greatly valued by local inhabitants for health care needs. The study in Urgam Valley of Uttarakhand, India, is to identity and document traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. The study revealed high consensus on medicinal plant usage, with 51 species belonging to 31 families used for local health care. Number of species and uses known increases with age, and elders and specialist healers retain higher levels of traditional medicinal plant knowledge, having unique knowledge of medicinal plants and their uses as well as preparation.

1. Introduction

India is rich in floral diversity, with more than 17,000 angiosperm species, 64 gymnosperms, 1,200 pteridophytes, 2,850 bryophytes, and 2,021 lichens [1]. Out of the total, 7,500 species have been reported to have medicinal uses [2]. Diverse topography and climatic conditions provide the Indian Himalaya with an especially rich medicinal plants, whereby alpine areas being the major source of important medicinal plants.

Inhabitants of rural and remote areas still rely on plants as a major component of their health care systems. Indigenous medicines provide considerable economic benefits to local people [3]. The World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned that about 25% of modern medicines are developed from plant sources used traditionally; and research on traditional medicinal herbal plants leads to discovery of 75% of herbal drugs [3, 4]

Locals acquire knowledge of the economic values and medicinal properties of many plants through need, observation, trial and error, and the transmitted experiences of elders. Often, knowledge is concentrated in specialist healers. Most diseases cured by local herbalist are common problems such as respiratory diseases, aches and pains, wounds, and musculoskeletal ailments. Inhabitants often use local medicinal plants without prior advice of local traditional healers because they are using these plants since generations [5]. This knowledge may be passed secretively from one generation to the next through word of mouth [6] or inherited via medico-spiritual manuscripts [7]. Although knowledge of these valuable plants is often restricted within lineages or in other ways, ensuring that the younger generations in these areas acquire this knowledge is essential to its continuity in use and sustainability. Medicinal plant richness of the Indian Himalaya is exemplified in Garhwal Himalaya, within northwestern India. This study focused on traditional herbal medicines of Urgam, a mountain valley in the Garhwal Himalaya rich in medicinal plants which are still used by local inhabitants and specialist healers.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. The Study Area

Urgam Valley (30°30′20.93′′ to 30°34′12.35′′N and 79°26′14.02′′ to 79°30′17.26′′ E) is located in north-eastern Chamoli district in Uttarakhand, India (Figure 1). The valley joins the Kalp Ganga Valley at 1,300 m amsl to the surrounding mountain tops above 3,000 m amsl. Crops consist mainly of three types, namely, Rabi, Kharif, and Zaid. The main Rabi crops of the region are Wheat and Mustard and Kharif crop are Rice, Maize, Finger millet, Barnyard grasses, and Amaranthus. Zaid crops include Beans, Cucumber, and pumpkin. Among the fruits are Apple, Peach, Cherry, and Walnut. Annual rainfall ranges from 2000 to 2500 mm while temperature ranges from 15 to 35°C during summer and -2 to 15°C in winter. Urgam Valley spans over a wide spread of topographic and climatic conditions, namely, alpine, subalpine, and temperate zones provide a range of plant habitats.

2.2. Field Survey and Data Collection

Local surveys including uses of medicinal plants of Urgam Valley were done between August 2015 and July 2016. Ninety-six informants were randomly selected in 11 villages. After giving prior informed consent, informants answered questionnaires (see the Appendix) in the local language (Garhwali), with photos of 110 medicinal plants as references. Answers were elicited based on plant species (“what do you know about [plants name]?” and based on disease condition (“which plants you use when suffering from [disease name]?”).

The questionnaires were then compiled detailed information for each plant on local name, life form, local uses, method of use or drug preparation, and amount of use (dose). Apart from the general population survey of villagers and shepherds, local male (Vaidyas) and female specialists (Daai) were also sought to compare their knowledge to that of the general population.

2.3. Plant Collection and Identification

Voucher specimens were prepared for the traditionally used plants documented in this study. Specimens were identified using Flora of District Garhwal [8] and Flora of Chamoli [9] and in comparison with the specimens of Garhwal University Herbarium, Srinagar Garhwal (GUH). Plant specimens were mounted on herbarium sheets and preserved in HAPPRC Herbarium. Plant names reported here were matched using The Plant List [10].

2.4. Data Analysis

2.4.1. Comparing Consensus in Plant Use across Categories of Use

An informant consensus factor (ICF) was used to measure the consensus in plant use for a given illness treatment in the study area. To develop this consensus, all treated diseases were grouped into nine categories: (a) gastrointestinal disorders, (b) fever and aches, (c) diseases of the skin, (d) remove weakness, immunomodulator, anaemia, (e) ophthalmologic complaints, (f) poisonous bite, (g) dental problems, (h) ear ache, and (i) hearing problems. Within these categories, ICF was calculated according to the following formula [11]:where Nur refers to the number of use-reports for a particular ailment category and Ntaxa refers to the number of taxa used for a particular ailment category by all informants. ICF value ranges from 0 to 1. A high ICF value (close to 1.0) indicates “consensus” indicating relatively few taxa is reported by a large proportion of informants for an ailment category.

2.4.2. Comparing Plants and Uses across Informants

To test whether the traditional medicinal plant knowledge varied with age, the total plants or total uses reported by each informant (excluding healers) were summed up and ran linear regressions and natural spline regressions, using the package splines [12] in the R statistical framework (Version 3.3.0).

To test whether healers reported a different set of plants and uses altogether, the 89 informants who had reported more than 10 species were compared. A matrix with plants as columns and informants were constructed as rows, calculated Bray-Curtis distances among each pair of informants based on how similar their answers were, and used nonmetric multidimensional scaling to plot informants based on these distances. To calculate the significance of specialist healer status, the fit of this factor on the location of informants in the ordination space was compared to that of 999 randomized shuffles using the R package vegan [13].

3. Results

3.1. Demographic Features of Informants

A total of 96 people were interviewed consisting of seven local healers from both female (Daai) and male (Vaidyas healers). Most (48 participants or 50%) were 41-60 years old with 27 informants or 28.1% were 40 years old and younger. Seventeen were illiterate, while 4 young practitioners held a tertiary education (degree/diploma) (Table 1).

3.2. Traditional Medicinal Plants Diversity

Fifty-one species representing 31 families are used by local inhabitants of Urgam Valley in Chamoli Garhwal for local health care (see Table 2). Out of 31 families, most (21 families) were dicotyledons, 9 were monocotyledons, and 1 was gymnosperm. The most represented families were asteraceae (7 species), followed by lamiaceae, amaryllidaceae, and apiaceae (3 species each) (Figure 2). Most species (39 species, 77%) were herbaceous plants, though trees (7 species, 14%), climbers (3 species, 6%), and shrubs (2 species, 4%) were also included.

3.3. Plant Part Use and Drug Preparation

Plant parts used were mostly roots (18 species, 32%) and leaves (13 species, 23%). Also recorded were aerial parts (7 species, 13%), seeds (4 species, 7%), fruits, rhizome, bark, and whole plants each two species (5%) (Figure 3).

The different type of formulations prepared by local inhabitants of Urgam recorded during the study was primarily plant powder (42% of formulations). Other preparations are paste (23%), extract/juice (17%), decoction and raw (7%), and herbal tea (2%) (Figure 4). All formulations are prepared by local practitioner (Vaidyas), elders, or those with more experience in herbal medicines.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j)

(k)

(l)

3.4. Informant Consensus Factor

The highest consensus among informants (ICF) is found for Aconitum balfourii Stapf for poisonous bite (PB) followed by Berberis aristata DC. and Berberis lycium Royle for ophtalmologic complaints (OP), and Potentilla lineata Trevor for dental problems (DP) (0.99) (Table 3).

3.5. Comparing Plants and Uses across Informants

Inhabitants of Urgam Valley have a generally strong knowledge of medicinal plants, with informants reporting on average 18 plant species and 13 uses. This knowledge increases with age: linear regressions on age significantly increase for uses (y=0.18age+5.3, p<0.01, r-squared = 0.39) and for plant species (y=0.24age+5.5, p<0.01, r-squared = 0.37). The natural spline regressions show that this effect is less steep at higher ages (significantly nonlinear): that is, there is less increase in knowledge after about age 50 (Figure 6(a)). Healers, who were excluded from this analysis, report more plants and more uses than the average predicted value for their age (Figure 6(b)). Elders also tend more to report learning from their parents as a source of knowledge and tend to easily identify plants and their localities and characters, while some younger informants struggled to give information.

(a)

(b)

Ordinations show similarity between informants by plotting those who reported more similar lists of plants or more similar lists of species are closer together (Figure 7). Although there is a great deal of overlap, specialist healers do report a significantly different set of plants (p=0.01, r-squared=0.06) and uses (p<0.01, r-squared=0.07) than nonspecialists. For instance, Dioscorea bulbifera, Polygonatum verticillatum, Jurinea macrocephala, and Prunus persica were only reported by healers; Bergenia ciliata, Allium cepa, and Cinnamomum tamala were more widely reported, but most frequently by healers (all healers reported these plants, compared to only <50% of nonhealers). Likewise, infection after breakage of hair in body “Baaltod” was only reported by healers, and Control blood pressure' and “Ear ache” were reported more widely, but much more frequently by healers (all healers reported these uses, compared to <50% of nonhealers).

(a)

(b)

4. Discussion

Medicinal plants are globally used in local health care by ethnic communities of the world and the knowledge of folk medicine is being documented throughout the world.

Our results show strong consensus on plant uses in Urgam Valley, with high informant consensus values across all categories. Further, we show that knowledge of traditional uses and of medicinal plants is higher in elders (bujurg), who learnt this knowledge from their parents or forefathers and associated plant medicine with positive attitudes, but also with regular practice of identifying and using plants to treat different ailments. We also showed that specialists tend to report different and unique species and were associated with some species that were widely reported, but most consistently reported by specialist. For instance, Bergenia ciliata (Haworth) Sternberg was reported here used for stones by every healer. This is a widely used plant, with similar use citations reported locally [8, 105] but also across the greater Himalayan region for a variety of uses [106]

Most commonly mentioned plants across the general population have also been reported previously for similar uses from the region. For instance, Picrorhiza kurrooa Benth., which was reported by nearly every informant, is used for fever similar to Bhat et al. [107], where it was reported for fever and stomach ache. Zanthoxylum armatum DC., reported by 95 informants for cleaning teeth and toothache, was reported for similar uses locally [108] and more distantly by Abbasi et al. [109]. Berberis lycium Royle DC., reported by 92 informants for conjunctivitis, was also reported by Gaur [8] for ophthalmia and Bhat et al. [107] for eye irritation. Aconitum heterophyllum Wall.ex Royle root powder, reported by 69 informants for stomach ache and fever, was also reported elsewhere [107, 108] for the same uses. More distantly, the species is also reported for dysentery [106] in Northern Pakistan. Juglans regia L., reported by 56 for cleaning teeth and treatment of skin diseases, was also reported for similar uses from Northern Pakistan [106, 110] while, in Uttarakhand, Gaur [8] reported its use as fishery, dye, fungicide, and insecticide. Dactylorhiza hatagirea (Don.) Soo., reported by 39 for cut and wounds and stomach ache, was also reported for similar uses locally [107]. Aconitum balfourii Stapt., which was uncommonly reported for snake bites in this study, was reported previously for similar uses: use in poisonous skin diseases [107], as antidote of snake and scorpion sting, and for rheumatism, arthritis and paralysis from Nanda Devi Biosphere reserve [111], and leprosy [108].

5. Conclusion

The study suggests that while there remains a rich knowledge of medicinal plants in Urgam Valley, most knowledge is held by elders (bujurg) and specialist healers (vaidyas and daai). Knowledge of medicinal plants is important and frequently used by local inhabitants to support their health care. Pharmacological activity on most of the plants is yet unknown so medicinal plants use in Urgam might be helpful in new drug discovery and pharmacological properties. Most of the highly useful plants of Himalaya are threatened with overexploitation and irregular harvesting and now limited to few pockets. Ex situ and in situ conservation should be implemented to conserve biodiversity and these valuable medicinal plants. Cultivation, rather than wild-harvest, of threatened valuable medicinal plants may support the traditional uses documented here, while also protecting wild populations.

Appendix

Questionnaires

Informants’ Details(1)What is your name? Gender: Male/Female(2)How old are you?(3)What is your Education?: Illiterate//High school/Intermediates/graduation(4)What is your occupation?(5)Location/residence(6)Altitude(7)Do you know about medicinal plants? Yes/no If yes(8)Which plants do you know? (8.1) Plant (Local name) (8.2) Habit (Tree/ Herb/ Shrub/Climber) (8.3) Number /name of disease (s) treated? (8.4) How you identify particular disease: Symptoms? (8.5) Plant part used (Root/leaves/ stem/ flowers/ fruit/ aerial part/whole plants) (8.6) Method of crude drug preparation and administration? (8.7) Dosage (8.8) How you collect and stored medicinal herbs and their preparation? (8.9) How much time we can use these stored preparation? (About expiry date ) (8.10) Have you ever used this or just you knowledge from forefather or elsewhere? (8.11) Other importance? (8.12) Cultivated/ Wild (8.13) Wild availability:Common/scattered/ rare/ very rare (8.14) Natural location: High altitude/ middle altitude/ lower altitude/ every where (8.15) Natural pockets where you seen or collected? (Place name) (8.16) Availability of particular medicinal plants increases or decreases? If increases/decreases (8.17) What is your opinion for why increase or decrease? (8.18) Conservation required? Yes/No If yes (8.19) How can we conserve these important species?

Remarks Plants identified as ………………………………………… (Botanical name and family) Signature of Researcher

Informants’ Consent I..................................................... (Informants name) declare that information given by me is true, complete and accurate and I am fully consent for it. Date........................................ (Signature/Thumb impression of Informant)(i) Photographic base survey (N=110)(9)To show one by one photograph to informants and ask have ever saw this plants? If informants know about plants (Repeat from (8.1) to (8.19))(ii) List of medicinal plants with local name(10)What do you know about…. plants? (Local name) If informants know about plants (Repeat from (8.1) to (8.19))(iii) Disease base information(11)What do you know about….(diseases name)? If they know and use some medicinal plant for particular diseases The diseases list used to collect information is shown in Table 4. (Repeat (8.1) to (8.19)) Plant list (see Table 5)

Data Availability

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to local inhabitants of Urgam for sharing their valuable knowledge with us.

References

B. Joshi and S. C. Pant, “Ethnobotanical study of some common plants used among the tribal communities of Kashipur, Uttarakhand,” Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources (IJNPR), vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 262–266, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
M. P. Shiva, Inventory of Forestry Resources for Sustainable Management and Biodiversity Conservation, Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi, India, 1996.
B. Malla, D. P. Gauchan, and R. B. Chhetri, “An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by ethnic people in Parbat district of western Nepal,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 165, pp. 103–117, 2015.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO), WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland, 2002.
A. Singh, M. C. Nautiyal, R. M. Kunwar, and R. W. Bussmann, “Ethnomedicinal plants used by local inhabitants of Jakholi block, Rudraprayag district, western Himalaya, India,” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, vol. 13, no. 49, pp. 1–29, 2017.
View at: Google Scholar
P. C. M. Jansen, Spices, Condiments and Medicinal Plants in Ethiopia: Their Taxonomic and Agricultural Significance, Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, Netherlands, 1981.
T. Teklehaymanot and M. Giday, “Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by people in Zegie Peninsula, Northwestern Ethiopia,” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, vol. 3, no. 12, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
R. D. Gaur, Flora of the District Garhwal Northwest Himalayas (With Ethnobotanical Notes), Transmedia: Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, 1999.
B. D. Naithani, Flora of Chamoli, vol. 1 & 2, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah, India, 1985.
http://www.theplantlist.org./.
M. Heinrich, A. Ankli, B. Frei, C. Weimann, and O. Sticher, “Medicinal plants in Mexico: healers’ consensus and cultural importance,” Social Science & Medicine, vol. 47, no. 11, pp. 1859–1871, 1998.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
D. M. Bates and W. N. Venables, Splines, R package version 3.3-0, 2016, https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/splines/index.html.
J. Oksanen, B. F. Guillaume, R. Kindt et al., Vegan: Community Ecology Package, R package version 2.3-0, 2016, http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan.
M. C. Nautiyal and B. P. Nautiyal, Agrotechniques for High Altitude Medicinal Aromatic Plants, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 2004.
O. Stapf, The Aconites of India. A Monograph, Bengal Secretariats Press, Calcutta, India, 1905.
S. Verma, S. Ojha, and M. Raish, “Anti-inflammatory activity of Aconitum heterophyllum on cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats,” Journal of Medical Plants Research, vol. 4, no. 15, pp. 1566–1569, 2010.
View at: Google Scholar
M. Ahmad, W. Ahmad, M. Ahmad, M. Zeeshan, and F. Shaheen, “Norditerpenoid alkaloids from the roots of Aconitum heterophyllum Wall with antibacterial activity,” Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1018–1022, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. Nagarajan, G. R. Kuruvilla, K. S. Kumar, and P. Venkatasubramanian, “Pharmacology of Ativisha, Musta and their substitutes,” Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 121–133, 2015.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. K. Subash and A. Augustine, “Hypolipidemic effect of methanol fraction of Aconitum heterophyllum wall ex Royle and the mechanism of action in diet-induced obese rats,” Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 224–228, 2012.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
T. Baytop, Therapy with Medicinal Plants (Past and Present), Istanbul University Publications, Istanbul, Turkey, 1984.
M. Wessner, B. Champion, J.-P. Girault, N. Kaouadji, B. Saidi, and R. Lafont, “Ecdysteroids from Ajuga iva,” Phytochemistry, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 3785–3788, 1992.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. Helen, K. Krishnakumar, P. L. Vijayammal, and K. T. Augusti, “Antioxidant effect of onion oil (Allium cepa. Linn) on the damages induced by nicotine in rats as compared to alpha-tocopherol,” Toxicology Letters, vol. 116, no. 1-2, pp. 61–68, 2000.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. W. Lampe, “Health effects of vegetables and fruit: assessing mechanisms of action in human experimental studies,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 475–490, 1999.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. A. E. Mahmood, “Efficacy of crude extracts of garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) against nosocomial Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniea and Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, vol. 3, pp. 179–185, 2009.
View at: Google Scholar
J. Bhandari, B. Muhammad, P. Thapa, and B. G. Shrestha, “Study of phytochemical, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer properties of Allium wallichii,” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 17, no. 102, pp. 1–9, 2017.
View at: Google Scholar
M. Irshad, Habib-Ur-Rehman, M. Shahid, S. Aziz, and T. Ghous, “Antioxidant, antimicrobial and phytotoxic activities of essential oil of angelica glauca,” Asian Journal of Chemistry, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 1947–1951, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
J. Suresh, N. Mahesh, J. Ahuja, and K. Santilna, “Review on Artemisia nilagirica (Clarke) Pamp,” Journal of Biologically Active Products from Nature, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 97–104, 2011.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. Shilpi, M. Ashish, T. Mayank, S. Ajay, and S. Alok, “Investigations on hypolipidemic activity of Asparagus filicinus Buch-Ham ex D. Don,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Research, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 813–818, 2017.
View at: Google Scholar
M. M. Papiya, S. Das, S. Das, and M. K. Das, “Phyto-pharmacology of Berberis aristata DC: a review,” Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 46–50, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
A. Shabbir, M. Shahzad, Y. Arfat et al., “Berberis lycium royle: a review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology,” African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, vol. 6, no. 31, pp. 2346–2353, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
R. Chauhan, K. Ruby, and J. Dwivedi, “Bergenia ciliata mine of medicinal properties: a review,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 20–23, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
K. M. Ruby, R. Chauhan, S. Sharma, and J. Dwivedi, “Polypharmacological activities of bergenia species,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 100–110, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
M. H. V. Kumar and Y. K. Gupta, “Effect of different extracts of Centella asiatica on cognition and markers of oxidative stress in rats,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 79, no. 2, pp. 253–260, 2002.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
B. M. Hausen, “Centella asiatica (Indian pennywort), an effective therapeutic but a weak sensitizer,” Contact Dermatitis, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 175–179, 1993.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. N. Somchit, M. R. Sulaiman, A. Zuraini et al., “Antinociceptive and antiinflammatory effects of Centella asiatica,” Indian Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 377–380, 2004.
View at: Google Scholar
M. Shah and M. Panchal, “Ethnopharmacological properties of Cinnamomum tamala - A review,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 141–144, 2010.
View at: Google Scholar
A.-U. Hassan, M. Ajaib, M. Anjum, S. Z. Siddiqui, and N. Z. Malik, “Investigation of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of cirsium wallichii DC,” Biologia (Pakistan), vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 297–304, 2016.
View at: Google Scholar
S. Gopalakrishnan and T. Kalaiarasi, “Determination of biologically active constituents of the fruits of Cucumis sativus linn. Using gc- ms analysis,” International Journal of Biology and Pharmaceutical Research, vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 523–527, 2013.
View at: Google Scholar
C. C. Araújo and L. L. Leon, Biological Activities of Curcuma longa L, vol. 96, Memoir Institute Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2001.
View at: Publisher Site
S. Ghosh, S. P. Vijay, M. Piyush, D. D. Dilip, and A. C. Balu, “Phytochemistry and therapeutic potential of medicinal plant: Dioscorea bulbifera,” Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 160–172, 2015.
View at: Google Scholar
S. K. Mandal, R. Boominathan, B. Parimaladevi, S. Dewanjee, and S. C. Mandal, “Analgesic activity of methanol extract of Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng. Leaves,” Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (IJEB), vol. 43, no. 7, pp. 662-663, 2005.
View at: Google Scholar
A. Kundu, S. Saha, S. Walia, N. A. Shakil, J. Kumar, and K. Annapurna, “Cadinene sesquiterpenes from Eupatorium adenophorum and their antifungal activity,” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B: Pesticides, Food Contaminants, and Agricultural Wastes, vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 516–522, 2013.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
P. M. Njogu, G. N. Thoithi, J. W. Mwangi et al., “Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Investigation of Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis (Urticaceae),” East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 14, pp. 89–94, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
T. Kaur, G. Singh, and D. K. Kapoor, “A review on pharmacognostic, phytochemical and pharmacological data of various species of Hippophae (Sea buckthorn),” International Journal of Green Pharmacy, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 62–75, 2017.
View at: Google Scholar
K. J. Anderson, S. S. Teuber, A. Gobeille, P. Cremin, A. L. Waterhouse, and F. M. Steinberg, “Walnut polyphenolics inhibit in vitro human plasma and LDL oxidation,” Journal of Nutrition, vol. 131, no. 11, pp. 2837–2842, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. Carvalho, P. J. Ferreira, V. S. Mendes et al., “Human cancer cell anti proliferative and antioxidant activities of Juglans regia L,” Food and Chemical Toxicology, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 441–447, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
I. Oliveira, A. Sousa, I. C. F. R. Ferreira, A. Bento, L. Estevinho, and J. A. Pereira, “Total phenols, antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of Walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husks,” Food and Chemical Toxicology, vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 2326–2331, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
P. Singh, R. Singh, N. Satib, O. P. Satia, and N. Kumar, “Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of jurinea dolomiaea boiss extracts,” International Journal of Life Sciences and Scientific Research, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 74–78, 2015.
View at: Google Scholar
H. B. Parmar, S. K. Das, and K. J. Gohil, “Hepatoprotective activity of Macrotyloma uniflorum. seed extract on paracetamol and d-galactosamine induced liver toxicity in albino rats,” International Journal of Pharmacological Research, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 86–91, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
S. Bhuvaneshwari, D. K. Sushmitha, and G. V. Shastri, “Influence of hot extract of Dolichos biflorus (Horse gram) on body weight in overweight or obese human volunteers,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Archives, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 29–32, 2014.
View at: Google Scholar
A. Peshin and S. K. Singla, “Anticalcifying properties of Dolichos biflorus (Horse gram) seeds,” Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (IJEB), vol. 32, no. 12, pp. 889–891, 1995.
View at: Google Scholar
L. H. Gupta, S. L. Badole, S. L. Bodhankar, and S. G. Sabharwal, “Antidiabetic potential of α-amylase inhibitor from the seeds of Macrotyloma uniflorum in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic mice,” Pharmaceutical Biology, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 182–189, 2011.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
B. Basak, S. G. Majumdar, U. Bhattacharya, S. Laskar, A. Bandopadhyay, and S. K. Sen, “Effect of different fractions of methanolic extract of the seeds of Dolichos biflorus on some microorganisms,” Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 32, no. 12, pp. 889–891, 1994.
View at: Google Scholar
M. Mahboubi and N. Kazempour, “Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) Essential oil,” Songklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 83–87, 2014.
View at: Google Scholar
M. J. Martínez, J. Betancourt, N. Alonso-González, and A. Jauregui, “Screening of some Cuban medicinal plants for antimicrobial activity,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 171–174, 1996.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
G. Amatya and V. M. Sthapit, “A note on Nardostachys jatamansi,” Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 39–47, 1994.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. Ali, K. A. Ansari, M. A. Jafry, H. Kabeer, and G. Diwakar, “Nardostachys jatamansi protects against liver damage induced by thioacetamide in rats,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 359–363, 2000.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
R. Subashini, S. Yogeeta, A. Gnanapragasam, and T. Devaki, “Protective effect of Nardostachys jatamansi on oxidative injury and cellular abnormalities during doxorubicin-induced cardiac damage in rats,” Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 257–262, 2006.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. S. Rahman, M. M. H. Khan, and M. A. H. M. Jamal, “Anti-bacterial evaluation and minimum inhibitory concentration analysis of Oxalis corniculata and Ocimum sanctum against bacterial pathogens,” Biotechnology, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 533–536, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. Rahman, R. Islam, M. Kamruzzaman, A. Khasrul, and H. M. J. Abu, “Ocimum sanctum L. A review of photochemical and pharmacological profile,” American Journal of Drug Discovery and Development, pp. 1–15, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
K. J. Achola, J. W. Mwangi, and R. W. Munenge, “Pharmacological activity of oxalis corniculata,” Pharmaceutical Biology, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 247–249, 1995.
View at: Google Scholar
K. R. Kīrtikara and B. D. Basu, Indian Medicinal Plants, The Indian Press, Allahaba, India, 1st edition, 1988.
View at: Publisher Site
M. P. Raghavendra, S. Satish, and A. Raveesha, “Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of Oxalis corniculata, a known medicinal plant,” Mycological Science, vol. 1, pp. 72–78, 2006.
View at: Google Scholar
Z. K. Shinwari, A. A. Khan, and T. Nakaike, Medicinal and Other Useful Plants of District Swat, Pakistan, Al-Aziz Communications, Peshawar, Pakistan, 2003.
A. Gupta, A. Khajuria, J. Singh et al., “Immunomodulatory activity of biopolymeric fraction RLJ-NE-205 from Picrorhiza kurroa,” International Immunopharmacology, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 1543–1549, 2006.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
P. C. Verma, V. Basu, V. Gupta, G. Saxena, and L. U. Rahman, “Pharmacology and chemistry of a potent hepatoprotective compound picroliv isolated from the roots and rhizomes of picrorhiza kurroa royle ex benth (Kutki),” Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1–9, 2009.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Khan, M. Saeed, A. H. Gilani et al., “Bronchodilator activity of aerial parts of Polygonatum verticillatum augmented by anti-inflammatory activity: attenuation of Ca2+ channels and lipoxygenase,” Phytotherapy Research, vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 1288–1292, 2013.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Khan, M. Saeed, A.-H. Gilani et al., “Antispasmodic and antidiarrheal activities of rhizomes of Polygonatum verticillatum maneuvered predominately through activation of K+ channels: components identification through TLC,” Toxicology & Industrial Health, pp. 1–9, 2013.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Khan, M. Saeed, M. A. Khan et al., “Antimalarial and free radical scavenging activities of rhizomes of Polygonatum verticillatum supported by isolated metabolites,” Medicinal Chemistry Research, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 1278–1282, 2012.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Khan, M. Saeed, N. Muhammad, and S. Perviz, “Phytochemical analysis, antibacterial, and antifungal assessment of aerial parts of Polygonatum verticillatum,” Toxicology & Industrial Health, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 841–847, 2016.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
B. Roy, A. Swargiary, D. Syiem, and V. Tandon, “Potentilla fulgens (Family Rosaceae), a medicinal plant of north-east India: A natural anthelmintic?” Journal of Parasitic Diseases, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 83–88, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
K. R. Kritikar and B. D. Basu, Indian Medicinal Plants, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India, 1984.
A. R. M. R. Amin, O. Kucuk, F. R. Khuri, and D. M. Shin, “Perspectives for cancer prevention with natural compounds,” Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol. 27, no. 16, pp. 2712–2725, 2009.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
N. Arun and D. P. Singh, “Punica granatum: a review on pharmacological and therapeutic properties,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Research, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 1240–1245, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
S. P. D. Dwivedi, V. B. Pandey, A. H. Shah, and Y. B. Rao, “Chemical constituents of Rhamnus procumbens and pharmacological actions of emodin,” Phytotherapy Research, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 51–53, 1988.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. Paudel, S. Panthee, S. Shakya, S. Amatya, T. Shrestha, and M. Amatya, “Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and other pharmacological activities of methanol extract of rhododendron campanulatum from Nepal,” European Journal of Medicinal Plants, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1–7, 2016.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. J. Mungole and A. Chaturvedi, “Determination of antioxidant activity of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and Rumex nepalensis spreng,” International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 120–127, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
R. Gautam, K. V. Karkhile, K. K. Bhutani, and S. M. Jachak, “Anti-inflammatory, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, COX-1 inhibitory, and free radical scavenging effects of Rumex nepalensis,” Planta Medica, vol. 76, no. 14, pp. 1564–1569, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
L. Ghosh, J. R. Gayen, T. Murugesan, S. Sinha, M. Pal, and B. P. Saha, “Evaluation of purgative activity of roots of Rumex nepalensis,” Fitoterapia, vol. 74, no. 4, pp. 372–374, 2003.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M.-G. Lee, K.-T. Lee, S.-G. Chi, and J.-H. Park, “Costunolide induces apoptosis by ROS-mediated mitochondrial permeability transition and cytochrome C release,” Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 303–306, 2001.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. M. Pandey, S. Rastogi, and A. K. S. Rawat, “Saussurea costus: botanical, chemical and pharmacological review of an ayurvedic medicinal plant,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 110, no. 3, pp. 379–390, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
P. Semwal and S. Painuli, “Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and GC-MS profiling of Saussurea obvallata (Brahma Kamal) from Uttarakhand Himalaya,” Clinical Phytoscience, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 1–11, 2019.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
D. Joshi, A. B. Melkani, M. Nailwal, L. Bisht, and R. Prasad, “Selinum vaginatum c. b. clarke: terpenoid composition and antibacterial activity of whole aerial parts and root essential oil,” Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1176–1185, 2018.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. Laxmi, S. Siddhartha, and M. Archana, “Antimicrobial screening of methanol and aqueous extracts of Swertia Chirata,” International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 142–146, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
S. Medda, S. Mukhopadhyay, and M. K. Basu, “Evaluation of the in-vivo activity and toxicity of amarogentin, an antileishmanial agent, in both liposomal and niosomal forms,” Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 791–794, 1999.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. Banerjee, T. K. Sur, S. Mandal, P. C. Das, and S. Sikdar, “Assessment of the anti-inflammatory effects of Swertia chirata in acute and chronic experimental models in male albino rats,” Indian Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 21–24, 2000.
View at: Google Scholar
J. K. Grover, S. Yadav, and V. Vats, “Medicinal plants of India with anti-diabetic potential,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 81, no. 1, pp. 81–100, 2002.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Verma, P. Patil, R. Kolhapure, and V. Gopalkrishna, “Antiviral activity of the Indian medicinal plant extract, Swertia chirata against herpes simplex viruses: a study by in-vitro and molecular approach,” Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 322–326, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
D. Chandra, K. Prasad, G. Kohli, M. K. Devrani, G. Bisht, and B. Pandey, “Antifungal activity of Swertia ciliata (Family-Gentianaceae), Acorus calamus (Family-Araceae) and Viola serpens (Family-Violaceae) from Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand Himalayas, India,” Journal of Medicinal Plant Studies, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 06–10, 2017.
View at: Google Scholar
J. L. Shetty, M. S. Farouk, K. Al-Obaidy, J. P. Mohammed, and S. Hidayatullah, “A brief review on medicinal plant Tagetes erecta Linn,” Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 091–095, 2015.
View at: Google Scholar
M. Khan, S. C. Verma, S. K. Srivastava et al., “Essential oil composition of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. from the Northern Himalayan region of India,” Flavour and Fragrance Journal, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 772–775, 2006.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. Qayum, M. Nisar, M. R. Shah et al., “Analgesic and antiinflammatory activities of taxoids from Taxus wallichiana Zucc,” Phytotherapy Research, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 552–556, 2012.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Ali and S. Dixit, “Extraction optimization of Tinospora cordifolia and assessment of the anticancer activity of its alkaloid palmatine,” The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2013, Article ID 376216, 10 pages, 2013.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
N. M. Reddy and R. N. Reddy, “Tinospora cordifolia chemical constituents and medicinal properties: a review,” Scholars Academic Journal of Pharmacy, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 364–369, 2015.
View at: Google Scholar
U. Sharma, M. Bala, N. Kumar, B. Singh, R. K. Munshi, and S. Bhalerao, “Immunomodulatory active compounds from Tinospora cordifolia,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 141, no. 3, pp. 918–926, 2012.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. Bnouham, F.-Z. Merhfour, A. Ziyyat, H. Mekhfi, M. Aziz, and A. Legssyer, “Antihyperglycemic activity of the aqueous extract of Urtica dioica,” Fitoterapia, vol. 74, no. 7-8, pp. 677–681, 2003.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. S. Kataki, V. Murugamani, A. Rajkumari, P. S. Mehra, D. Awasthi, and R. S. Yadav, “Antioxidant, hepatoprotective and anthelmintic activities of methanol extract of Urtica dioica L. Leaves,” Pharmaceutical Crops, vol. 3, p. 3846, 2012.
View at: Google Scholar
J. Balzarini, J. Neyts, D. Schols et al., “The mannosespecific plant lectins from Cymbidium hybrid and Epipactis helleborine and the (Nacetylglucosamine) nspecific plant lectin from Urtica dioica are potent and selective inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus and cytomegalovirus replication in vitro,” Antiviral Research, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 191–207, 1992.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. Brantner and E. Grein, “Antibacterial activity of plant extracts used externally in traditional medicine,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 35–40, 1994.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
E. R. Guler, “Investigation of chemoprevent properties of Urtica dioica L. in MCF7 and MDA 231 breast cancer cell lines,” New Journal of Medicine, vol. 30, p. 503, 2013.
View at: Google Scholar
U. S. Harput, I. Saracoglu, and Y. Ogihara, “Stimulation of lymphocyte proliferation and inhibition of nitric oxide production by aqueous Urtica dioica extract,” Phytotherapy Research, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 346–348, 2005.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
T. P. Singh and O. M. Singh, “Phytochemical and pharmacological profile of Zanthoxylum armatum DC.—an overview,” Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources (IJNPR), vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 275–285, 2011.
View at: Google Scholar
A. T. Peana, P. S. D’Aquila, F. Panin, G. Serra, P. Pippia, and M. D. L. Moretti, “Anti-inflammatory activity of linalool and linalyl acetate constituents of essential oils,” Phytomedicine, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 721–726, 2002.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. Khan, M. Rahman, and M. S. Islam, “Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities of 3, 5-diacetyltambulin isolated from Amorphophallus campanulatus Blume ex Decne,” DARU Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 239–244, 2008.
View at: Google Scholar
B. Uniyal and V. Shiva, “Traditional knowledge among medicinal plants among rural women of the Garhwal Himalaya Uttrakhand,” Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 259–266, 2005.
View at: Google Scholar
H. Sher, R. W. Bussmann, R. Hart, and H. J. De Boer, “Traditional use of medicinal plants among Kalasha, Ismaeli and Sunni groups in Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 188, pp. 57–69, 2016.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. A. Bhat, M. Kumar, A. K. Negi, and N. P. Todaria, “Informants consensus on ethnomedicinal plants in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary of Indian Himalayas,” Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 148–154, 2013.
View at: Google Scholar
P. C. Phondani, R. K. Maikhuri, L. S. Rawat et al., “Ethnobotanical uses of plants among the Bhotiya tribal communities of niti valley in central Himalaya, India,” Ethnobotany Research and Applications, vol. 8, pp. 233–244, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. M. Abbasi, M. A. Khan, M. Ahmed, and M. Zafar, “Herbal medicines used to cure various ailments by the inhabitants of Abbottabad district, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan,” Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 175–183, 2010.
View at: Google Scholar
H. Sher, A. Aldosari, A. Ali, and H. J. De Boer, “Indigenous knowledge of folk medicines among tribal minorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwestern Pakistan,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 166, pp. 157–167, 2015.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. C. Rana, K. J. Tiwari, R. L. Dangwal, and S. Gairola, “Faith herbal healer knowledge documents of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Uttrakhand India,” Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, vol. 2, pp. 308–314, 2013.
View at: Google Scholar

Copyright

Copyright © 2019 Ankit Singh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PDF Download Citation

Download other formats

Order printed copies