Ethno-medicinal plants used by Bengali communities in Tripura,northeast India

Northeastern India has high medicinal plant diversity due to variance in topography and physiognomy. We documented the uses of various medicinal plants by the Bengali people of West district and South district of Tripura state for their own health care as well as for domesti-cated animals. Based on semi structured interviews, group discussions and information from local informants, a total of 93 species of medicinal plants of 52 families and 83 genera were documented. These plants were used to treat more than 55 different human diseases and 6 diseases of livestock. Sixty-eight plant species were used singly and the rest were used in combination with other species for therapeutic formulations of various diseases. Leaves of plants were most often used for most of the ethnobotanical preparations. Maximum consensus value of 96% was recorded for Chromolaena odorata （L.） King ＆amp;H. Rob., and the mini-mum was 15%for Bambusa balcooa Robx. Of the 93 plant species, 75 species showed pharmacological properties. Prospects for augmenting existing knowledge and enhancing the use of traditional medicinal plants are discussed.     

Ethnomedicinal knowledge and healthcare practices among the Tharus of Nawalparasi district in central Nepal

Documentation of ethnomedicinal use of plants has been considered a high priority to support the discovery of new drugs to benefit mankind. This paper deals with the field observations recorded on the use of medicinal plants in traditional health care systems of the Tharus of three Villages of Nawalparasi district of central Nepal. The Tharus are isolated forest dwellers who have lived harmoniously with nature over the centuries and accumulated a vast knowledge of plant use to cure various ailments. First-hand information on the ethnomedicinal uses of 110 plants species belonging to 52 families were documented from the study. These plant species are used by the Tharus to treat ailments ranging from fever and headache to cough and cold, rheumatic pain and fracture to urinary tract infection and menstrual disorders. The scientific names of these plants are presented in tabular format according to alphabetic order, family, parts used, medicine preparation process and use and method of application. Increasing accessibility of modern health care facilities, low recognition of traditional healers and decreasing interest amongst the young generation has resulted in declining trends in the use of traditional medicine among the Tharus. Thus, the documentation of such knowledge is an important step for preservation of traditional knowledge, conservation and management of valuable plant resources and commercialization of ethnomedicines.     

Folklore medicinal plants of North Andaman Islands, India

The rural folk of North Andaman, India use the traditional medicine for their primary health care. Folklore medicinal uses of 72 interesting medicinal plant species along with botanical name, local name, family, habit, part used, disease for which the drug is administrated, mode of administration are presented. These 72 plant species which provide the crude drugs pertain to 67 genera and 43 families of Magnoliophyta from tropical rainforests. These plants used to cure 40 ailments. Most remedies were taken orally, accounting for 76% of medicinal use. Most of the remedies were reported to have been from trees (55.6%) and herb (22.2%) species. The most widely sought after plant parts in the preparation of remedies in the areas are the stem bark (33.8%) and root (23.9%).     

Towards exploration of plant-based ethno-medicinal knowledge of rural community: basis for biodiversity conservation in Bangladesh

Because lack of data impedes the assessment of the conservation of medicinal plants, ethno-medicinal studies are important to fill this gap. This study considered the traditional use of plants for health care by the rural communities in two forested and non-forested regions of Bangladesh. A total of 230 respondents were interviewed accompanied by field observation and voucher specimen collection. Altogether, 68 species of medicinal plants belonging to 38 families distributing over 58 genera were recorded, of which 22 species were common in both regions. Trees were the most commonly utilized growth form and leaves were the most commonly used plant part. Forests and homesteads were the major sources of medicinal plants in forested and non-forested regions, respectively. High use versatility (Relative Importance >1) was represented by 14 species; Emblica officinale L. and Allium sativum L. were the most versatile species. Forty-one individual ailments were treated with the medicinal plants recorded. The ailment categories ‘respiratory problems’ and ‘sexual problems’ received the highest score from the calculation of informants’ consensus factor (F _ic) in forested and non-forested regions, respectively. The findings could contribute in the pharmaceutical sector by directing further investigation of bio-active compounds in medicinal plants. Secondly, results could inform the clues for conservation strategies of forest resources in that region.     

云南铜壁关省级自然保护区药用植物资源多样性研究

以云南铜壁关省级自然保护区2009—2010年最新一次科学考察报告为基础,分析药用植物资源的多样性。结果表明,保护区有药用植物73科169属220种,其中单种科和单种属占优势,单种科占总科数的50.68%,单种属占总属数的79.88%;保护区大多数药用植物海拔分布高差为400 m以下,占药用植物种数的75.45%;保护区药用植物生活型以草本为主,主要药用部位为全草和根;保护区药用植物中有许多珍稀濒危植物种,还有一部分属于德宏州景颇族传统药用植物。     

米仓山南麓野生药用植物资源及其多样性分析

为了摸清米仓山南麓野生药用植物资源及其分布规律,分析其多样性特征,为该区域野生药用植物资源的保护和开发利用提供科学依据。结合第四次全国中药资源普查,采用样方调查法,通过开展野外调查,对米仓山南麓的野生药用植物的多样性进行了分析。结果表明,该区域的野生药用植物共有95科223属290种。科属构成丰富多样,科的构成上寡种科最多,有44科136种,分别占总科数的46.3%,占总种数的46.9%;属的构成上单种属占绝对优势,有178属,占总属数的79.8%,占总种数的61.4%。该区域野生药用植物的生长类型以草本药用植物略占优势,占总种数的53.1%。解毒和清热是该区域野生药用植物的主要功效,分别占总种数的44.5%和42.1%。该区域的野生药用植物以全草或全株和根与根茎入药为主,分别占总种数的33.6%和22.3%。综上所述,米仓山南麓的野生药用植物种类丰富,药用植物生长类型、功效、药用部位等类型多样,但缺乏规范的保护和利用计划,建议制定野生中药材的保护和利用规划,为该区域内中药材资源地保护和可持续利用奠定基础。     

Analysis of essential oils from wild and micropropagated plants of damiana (Turnera diffusa)

Damiana is a medicinal plant with many traditional uses and a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Essential oils produced by this plant are used in traditional medicine, and for the preparation of liquors and tea. The composition of essential oils from wild damiana, plants grown with micropropagated methods involving cell suspension, and explants in solid medium, is presented. Relevant differences are observed in oils coming from wild and micropropagated plants, where micropropagated plants being more uniform with respect to quality and quantity. The most abundant constituents of the oils were caryophyllene oxide, caryophyllene, delta-cadinene, elemene and 1,8-cineol.     

Allelopathic behaviour of three medicinal plant species on traditional agriculture crops of Garhwal Himalaya,India

Allelopathic behaviour of three medicinal herbs viz. Rheum emodi, Saussaurea lappa and Potentilla fulgens, on some traditional food crops was examined. Germination of all the traditional food crops was reduced significantly under aqueous extracts of S. lappa and P. fulgens but radicle and plumule growth of Amaranthus caudatus and Eleusine coracana was reduced significantly under aqueous extracts of all three medicinal species. For marginal farmers sole medicinal plants cultivation is not possible, therefore, medicinal plants based agroforestry is being propagated.     

Medicinal plants popularly used in the Brazilian Tropical Atlantic Forest

A survey of medicinal plants used by rural and urban inhabitants of the three cities of the Tropical Atlantic Forest, Region of Vale do Ribeira, State of S?o Paulo, Brazil was performed by means of 200 interviews with medicinal plant users and extractors and, traditional healers. One hundred fourteen herbal remedies were recorded and the following information reported: Latin, vernacular and English names, plant part used, forms of preparation and application of the herbal remedies, medicinal or food uses, areas of plant collection, economic importance (when available) and other data.     

Ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants used in the Bustillo Province of the Potosi Department,Bolivia

A survey of medicinal plants used by rural communities in the Bustillo Province of the Potosi Department in Bolivia is reported in this article. Fifty-six plant species belonging to 24 families and 46 different genera were included. Their botanical and vernacular names, plant part used, popular medicinal use, forms of preparation and applications of the herbal remedies are given.     

广东韶关国家森林公园药用植物资源分析

通过植物资源野外调查、标本采集和鉴定,对广东韶关国家森林公园药用植物资源进行了统 计分析。结果表明,广东韶关国家森林公园共有药用植物 507 种,隶属 122 科 343 属;其中蕨类药用植 物 18 科 21 属 30 种,裸子植物 1 科 1 属 1 种,被子植物 103 科 321 属 476 种;全草类、性凉类和清热类 分别在按用药部位、药性和功效分类中种数占比最高;整理了当地常见药用植物名录,并对该园野生药 用植物资源的保护和利用提出了建议,如建立野生药用植物数据库、建立小药园或开发相关旅游产品等。     

林药间作系统中药用植物光合生理适应性规律研究

通过设置不同毛白杨行距梯度,观测了不同毛白杨行距以及同一行距下的不同林地位置间作的甘草,桔梗,天南星3种耐荫性不同的药用植物的叶绿素荧光参数的差异,分析了3种药用植物的光合日进程和日平均净光合速率的变化规律,从而得出了不同药用植物对间作环境适应的生理生态学机制,为林区开展多种经营以及我国西部退耕还林还草工程区发展林药间作模式提供必要的理论依据。     

迪庆州藏药文化与药用植物多样性保护

介绍藏医药学的理论、重要著作、特色疗法,以及藏药植物种类、生长环境、药用价值.分析认为,藏药植物资源面临着生态环境脆弱,市场需求量日益加大,相关研究欠缺等挑战.藉此,提出了加强藏药知识产权保护,加强研究机制建设,就地保护,坚持传统的采收原则,提高综合利用率等藏医药文化及药用植物多样性保护的对策.     

湖北省金银花产业发展现状及思路

金银花是我国传统的名贵中药材,是集保健、药用、观赏及生态功能于一体的经济植物。本文介绍了金银花的生态和药用价值以及生产加工现状,分析了湖北省金银花产业发展的现状及存在的问题,提出了金银花产业化发展思路。     

Medicinal plants useful for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Current status and future perspectives

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health problem. The current therapies are inadequate and have numerous adverse effects. There is an acute need of potential alternative therapies. Medicinal plants are classical and most widespread form of medication for treating various human ailments throughout the world. For COPD also, various plants are practiced in many countries. We have surveyed the literatures for the medicinal plants which are used in obstructive lung diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema. These plants were segregated into two categories. Firstly, the plants which are used for obstructive lung diseases based on various traditional recommendations only. Secondly, the plants or their formulations which have been studied grossly in COPD patients and animal models for their scientific validation. Further, we have described some known cellular and molecular factors involved in COPD and their modulation by plant-derived compounds. Certain future perspectives have also been discussed.     

Shifting contestation into cooperation: Strategy to incorporate different interest of actors in medicinal plants in Meru Betiri National Park,Indonesia

Meru Betiri National Park (MBNP) is home to a variety of medicinal plants that local communities collect for individual use and sale. In MBNP, a variety of actors are interested in medicinal plants for different reasons. This paper analyzes the interest and influence of ten important actors related to medicinal plant collection and use in MBNP: national park management, the Plantation and Forestry Office of Jember District, farmer groups (jaket resi), medicinal plant collectors (pendarung), medicinal plants purchasers (pengepul), small-scale medicinal plant industries of the Toga Sumber Waras, Bandealit plantation company, a conservation NGO (LSM KAIL), loggers (blandong), and log buyers (borek kayu). To examine and map the position of different interests and influences of actors involved in medicinal plant usage, this paper uses a power grid matrix. The analysis confirms that five of the ten aforementioned actors play a direct role in the medicinal plant policy process, while five actors do not and can be categorized as context setters, subjects, or crowd. This paper ends by recommending a strategy for considering policy options that promote shared interests and minimize anticipated objection from actors concerning the harvest of medicinal plants in MBNP. It concludes that the utilization of medicinal plants in MBNP, together with protection of natural resources, should become an integral part of the park's conservation strategy.     

纳西族东巴文化与生物多样性保护

从东巴文化和造纸植物、纳西族传统生态信仰、纳西族信仰的圣山、圣境信仰与东巴文化、纳西族对神树和神兽的崇拜与保护、纳西族传统药用植物及其保护几方面论述纳西族传统文化与生物多样性的关系,认为上述这些传统文化促进了生物多样性及生态环境的保护.     

Ethnobotany of medicinal plants from Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve of Northeast India

A survey of medicinal plants used by the ethnic communities of Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve in Northeast India has been reported. Fifty-five plant species belonging to 34 families and 52 different genera were included. For each plant species, botanical name, vernacular name, part(s) used, popular medicinal use, forms of preparation and applications of the herbal remedies are provided.     

丹东地区野生药用植物资源多样性分析

对丹东地区野生药用植物资源进行了调查分析。结果表明,丹东地区野生药用植物共有126科407属794种,分别占中国药用植物科、属、种的34%、18%和7%,其中双子叶植物666种,占本区药用植物84%;多年生草本药用植物487种,占61%;全草/全株类、根(根皮)及根茎类和果实/种子类药用植物分别占51%、43%和14%;优势科主要为菊科、毛茛科、蔷薇科和唇形科;优势属为蓼属、堇菜属和乌头属,调查结果为本地区药用植物资源的合理开发利用提供了依据。     

沉香山药用植物资源初步调查

沉香山位于粤西沿海地区,地处重要的南药产地,区内植物资源丰富.经初步调查发现,药用植物种类达406种(其中苏铁蕨、土沉香、金毛狗等属珍稀濒危物种),分属106科;植物的药用范围十分广泛,遍及19大类.