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Medicinal Plants

Human beings have to depend on Nature for sustenance and survival. The traditional system of medicine in India dates back to the age of the Rigveda (2500 to 1600 B.C.).

Ayurveda is the Indian indigenous system of medicine dating back to the Vedic period. The term Ayurveda means Science of Life (Ayur = life, veda = knowledge). The entire system of ancient Indian medicine is based on the relationship between man and Nature.

With the development of science, many new drugs of synthetic origin have come into existence and with the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical industry the value and use of the herbal medicines has come down in the recent past.

In the colonial period, Ayurveda sunk in India to the status of the poor man's medicine. Though the knowledge survived it had no prestige. Those who had money preferred western medicine and the immediate cure for isolated symptoms appealed to people. At the present moment Ayurveda is enjoying yet another revival, because of the side effects or long term health hazards of Allopathic medicine.

The important herbs must be cultured either in the laboratory or outside in nurseries and gardens.

Conservation of medicinal plants

The propagation of plants has been a fundamental operation of mankind. When new kinds of plants have to be conserved or propagated, we need to develop knowledge and techniques to propagate them. An appropriate propagation technology can be selected for each kind of medicinal plant depending upon plant growth.

Apart from propagating medicinal plants, villagers can be encouraged to set up kitchen gardens of medicinal plants for their domestic use as shown below :

Organic farming with medicinal plants as botanical pesticides can be encouraged as a practice to replace chemical pesticides among farmers. A gene pool of herbal and medicinal plants can be established. Conservation strategies based on present demands and immediate future needs to be prioritized.

The conservation of medicinal plants does not end here. The community should also play a major role to conserve medicinal plants. People should be taught to identify the locally available species which are over-exploited and whose exploitation should be checked and regulated.

A separate package for community development/conservation can also be taken up by setting up a small community garden by distributing 50 to 100 useful plants for a primary health centre which the local community could maintain. Seed banks and nurseries can also be developed by the community to generate income. Medicinal plant species can be planted under the wasteland development programme.

If all this has to be done, an awareness programme should be conducted stressing the importance of medicinal herbs and their identification and utilisation for treating diseases in human beings and animals. The message of identification, utilisation and conservation of medicinal plants can be spread through local, traditional folk media, distribution of booklets and handouts.

There are more than 100 commonly used medicinal plants in our life. Some of the plants with usage are listed below:

COMMON MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN OUR DAILY LIVES
PLANTS WHICH CAN BE GROWN IN THE PLAINS AND THEIR USES

No

Common Name (in Tamil)

Botanical Name

Application

1

Agathi

Sesbania grandiflora

fever, kills intestinal worms

2

Amukkira

Withania somnifera

fever

3

Avuri

Indiagofera tinctoria

kills intestinal worms

4

Adu theenda palai

Aristolochia bractiata

kills intestinal worms

5

Annasi

Ananas comosus

stimulant for hunger, for constipation, promotes digestion

6

Adatodai

Adhatoda vasica

diseases of

7

Echchu

Phoenix sylvestris

diabetes, fever

8

Ell

Sesamum indicum

increases milk secretion

9

Garlic

Alium sativum

stimulant, expectorant

10

Inji

Zingiber officinale

promotes digestion

11

Kaliyana murungai

Erythrina indica

increases milk secretion

12

Karuvel

Acacia nilotica

diseases of respiratory tract

13

Karisalankanni

Eclipta alba

for constipation

14

Kuppaimeni

Acalypha indica

cold and cough, kills intestinal worms

15

Karisalankanni

Eclipta prostrata

strengthens liver

16

Mavilingu

Crataeva religiosa

fever

17

Malai vembu

Melia azadirach

kills intestinal worms

18

Mathulai

Punica granatum

kills intestinal worms

19

Ma

Mangifera indica

kills intestinal worms

20

Milagu

Piper nigrum

cold and cough

21

Manjal

Curcuma longa

cold and cough

22

Nelli

Phyllanthus emblica

decreases body temperature

23

Naval

Eugenia jambusa

diabetes

24

Nuna

Morinda tinctoria

fever

25

Nochchi

Vitex negundo

fever

26

Nanthiyavattam

Tabernaemontana divaricata

kills intestinal worms

27

Pagarkai

Memordica charntia

kills intestinal worms

28

Seetha

Annona squamoza

wounds / ulcers

29

Seiyakkai

Acacia concina

cold and cough wounds / ulcers

30

Sundai

Solanum torvum

cold and cough

31

Sarakkonrai

Cassia fistula

fever

32

Musumusukhai

Mukia maderaspatana

vertigo, asthma, ulcer

33

Thumbai

Leucus aspera

cold and cough

34

Thoothuvalai

Solanum trilobatum

cold and cough

35

Thulasi

Ocimum sanctum

diseases of the respiratory tract

36

Sirukurinjan

Gymnema sylvestris

stimulant for hunger

37

Vilvam

Aegle marmelos

fever, digestion

38

Vishnukrandi

Evolvulus alsinoides

fever

39

Vembu

Azadirachta indica

intestinal worms malerial fever skin diseases

40

Vellarikkai

Cucumis sativus

descreases body temperature

41

Vengayam

Allium cepa

cold and cough

42

Vengai

Pterocarpus marsupium

wounds / ulcers

43

Vendayam

Trigonella feenugracum

increases milk secretion

44

Alari

Nerium odoratum

for constipation

45

Amman pachcharisi

Euphorbia hirta

decreases body temperature

46

Illuppai

Bassia longifolia

decreases body temperature

47

Karunjchirakam

Nigella sativa

induces labour pain during delivery

48

Mulmoongil

Bambusa arundinacea

for leprosy, skin diseases, astringent, laxative, cooling

49

Vaagai, Siridam

Albizzia lebbeck

astringent, asthma, expectorant, leprosy

50

Thekku

Tectona grandis

astringent, cooling, constipation, bronchitis, hyper- acidity

51

Kattuchirakam, cittilai

Vernonia anthelmintica

astringent, anti-inflammatory, fever, expectorant

52

Karpuram

Cinnamomum camphora

aphrodisiac, anti- inflammatory, asthma, expectorant, diarhoea

53

Elumitchai

Citrus limon

aids digestion, for constipation, cough, laxative, antiseptic, bronchitis

54

Korai

Cyperus rotundus

cooling, astringent, anti inflammatory, scabies, skin disease

55

Sooriyakanthi

Helianthus annus

strengthening teeth, leprosy, ulcer, skin diseases, bronchitis

56

Pushkaramoolam

Inula racemosa

antiseptic, digestion ulcer, cough, asthma, bronchitis

57

Vellaikadambu

Neolamarckia cadamba

astringent, ulcer, digestive, diarrhoea, expectorant, fever, vomiting

58

Perichangai

Phoenix dactylifera

expectorant, cooling, bronchitis, cough, burning sensation

59

Vettiver

Vetiveria zizanioides

water purifier

60

Marudhani

Lawsonia inermis

leprosy, skin diseases, premature falling & greying of hair

PLANTS WHICH CAN BE GROWN IN THE HILLS AND THEIR USES

No

Common Name

Botanical Name

Application

1

Sadhapilai

Ruta graveolens

Ruta graveolens

2

Elakkai Elettaria

cardamomum

stimulant,expectorant

3

Pirandai

Cissus quadrangularis

Chronic Ulcers

4

Pudhina

Mentha arvensis

digestion, cough

5

Lemon grass

Cymbopogon caesius

insect bites

6

Karumilagu

Piper nigrum

cold and cough

7

Thippili

Piper longum

cold and cough, fever

8

Sukku

Zingiber officianale

headache, dry cough

9

Krishna thulasi

Ocimum americanum

bronchitis

10

Lavangam

Eugenia caryophyllata

aphrodisiac, expectorant, toothache

11

Jathikkai

Myristica fragrans

constipation

12

Vasambu

Acorus calamus

stimulant, decongestant

Related resources

Source : CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai

Last Modified : 9/14/2023



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