Yash Pal Sharma

Ethnomedicinal plants used by the villagers of district Udhampur, J&K, India

UNLABELLED Plants are an integral part of life in many indigenous communities. Besides, being the source of food, fodder, fuel, etc., the use of plants as herbal medicines in curing several ailments goes parallel to the human civilization. Ethnopharmacology involves the investigation of the plants used by the traditional communities and further understand the pharmacological basis of these culturally important medicinal plants. Present study was conducted to enlist the medicinal plants used by the local inhabitants of Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS Direct interviews of the 182 informants were conducted. The data generated through interviews was analysed using quantitative tools like use-value, factor informant consensus and fidelity level. RESULTS A total of 166 species of flowering plants belonging to 63 families and 145 genera were observed to be medicinal and used to cure 78 ailments. Medicinal plants were mainly from Asteraceae, Solanaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae and Amaranthaceae families. Leaves were the most used plant part in the medicinal preparations. The most important medicinal species of the present study site as per the use-value (UV) were: Achyranthes aspera, Zanthoxylum armatum, Acorus calamus, Syzygium cumini, Phyllanthus emblica, Plumbago zeylanica etc. The important ailment categories classified on the basis of factor informant consensus (Fic) were diabetes, external parasite, liver complaints and gastrointestinal disorders. The maximum number of species was utilized to cure gastrointestinal and dermatological ailments. Important species for each ailment category were also assessed using fidelity level. It was found that the older informants provided more information about the ethnomedicinal plants, but this valuable treasure of traditional knowledge is depleting significantly with the decrease in age and increase in educational level. CONCLUSION The results of present ethnobotanical survey reveal the rich wealth of indigenous knowledge associated with the villagers of Udhampur district. A number of plants with a high citation values have given some leads for the further pharmocological research. Apart from these highly cited plants, studies need to be done on some other promising plants like Anagallis arvensis, Euphorbia hirta, Ficus benghalensis, Fumaria indica, Prunus persica, Rubus ellipticus, Taraxacum officinale, Tribulus terrestris etc.

Ethnomedicinal plants used to treat skin diseases by Tharu community of district Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Tharu community is the largest primitive indigenous community of the Uttarakhand, India. In this article we have scientifically enumerated medicinal plants and herbal preparations used by the Tharu community to treat various skin diseases, and discussed dermatological properties of these plants in the light of previous ethnomedicinal, microbiological, pharmacological, toxicological, phytochemical and clinical studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ethnomedicinal survey was conducted in different villages of Tharu community located in district Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India. Ethnomedicinal information on plants used to treat various skin diseases was collected from 122 individuals (93 males and 29 females), including 35 experienced herbal practitioners and 87 local villagers. For each of the recorded plant species the use value (UV) and fidelity level (FL) was calculated. The informant consensus factor (Fic) was also calculated to find out the homogeneity in the information given by the informants. RESULTS A total of 90 plant species belonging to 86 genera and 48 families were used by the Tharu community to treat various skin diseases viz., wounds (38 spp.), boils (32 spp.), cuts (18 spp.), leprosy (11 spp.), eczema (10 spp.), itching (7 spp.), ringworm (5 spp.), burns (4 spp.), leucoderma (4 spp.), cracked heels (2 spp.), dandruff (3 spp.), body infection (2 spp.), chilblains (2 spp.), hair fall (2 spp.) and toes infection (2 spp.). Information on botanical name, family, vernacular name, ailments treated, mode and dose of herbal preparations, UV and FL values are provided for each of the recorded species. According to UV value most preferred plant species used to treat skin diseases by Tharu community was Ricinus communis L. followed by Tridax procumbens (L.) L., Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Ageratum conyzoides and Allium cepa L. CONCLUSIONS The present study has revealed significant information on various medicinal plants used to treat skin diseases by Tharu community. Literature review has confirmed most of the claims made by the Tharu community regarding treatment of various skin diseases by the reported plants. The literature review has also revealed that products from very few of the reported plants are available in market, while most of the reported plants are still under preclinical or clinical trials. There are various known phytochemicals, and antibiotic, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents present in these plants which may be synthesized or transformed to make pharmaceuticals. Some of the reported plants have shown promising results in preclinical trails and there is a need of clinical trials to see their safety and efficacy in treating various skin diseases. These plants may be targeted for development of new medicines, ointments or drugs for the treatment of skin diseases. However further toxicological, preclinical and clinical studies are needed to validate claims about little worked out plant species reported in the present study viz., Sida cordata (Burm. F.) Borss. Waalk., Millettia extensa (Benth.) Baker, Caesulia axillaris Roxb., Ehretia laevis Roxb., Vanda tessellate (Roxb.) Hook. Ex G.Don. and Eualaliopsis binata (Retz.) C.E. Hubb. Further studies on these plants are recommended to assess their potential in development of new skin care products.

Traditional phytoremedies for the treatment of menstrual disorders in district Udhampur, J&K, India.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Herbal remedies form an integral part of healing and are considered to be the oldest forms of health care known to mankind. The present study aims to document traditional phytoremedies for the treatment of menstrual disorders in Udhampur district of J&K, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS The informants were interviewed directly and information was gathered about plants used in different menstrual disorders. The data was further analyzed for use-value (UV), factor informant consensus (Fic) and fidelity level (Fl). RESULTS In all, 62 informants were interviewed. Most of the informants (66%) were females. The patients prefer female healers over male vaids and hakims. A total of 50 plants were used to cure different menstrual disorders. Seeds were found to be of utmost medicinal importance (43.8%) followed by leaves (20.8%) and fruits (16.7%). Oral administration was observed to be the main mode (90.0%) of intake of medicine. The plants with high use-value were Triticum aestivum (UV=1.76), Taraxacum officinale (UV=1.16), Citrus limon (UV=0.95), Allium cepa (UV=0.79), Cicer arietinum (UV=0.77), Trigonella foenum-graecum (UV=0.66), Rubia manjith (UV=0.56), Ocimum tenuiflorum (UV=0.56) and Oryza sativa (UV=0.52). The various menstrual disorders were classified into 7 categories. The values of Fic varied between 0.96 (dysmenorrhea, itching and foul smell) and 0.92 (menorrhagia). The 100% Fl value was scored by 20 plants. Leucorrhea reported the highest 5 plants with 100% Fl. Nearly 40% of the formulations had two or more plants. CONCLUSION Plants used for the treatment of different menstrual disorders were documented and analyzed for ethnogynecological problems. The study revealed some plants like Triticum aestivum, Rubia manjith, Dalbergia sissoo, Raphanus sativus, Citrus limon, Allium cepa, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Elettaria cardamomum etc. to be of great importance vis a vis menstrual disorders. Further pharmacological studies of these plants may provide some important drugs for the treatment of common menstrual disorders.

Incidence of aflatoxin producing strains and aflatoxin contamination in dry fruit slices of quinces (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) from the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir

An investigation was undertaken to obtain data on the occurrence of aflatoxins and the aflatoxin producing potential of Aspergillus flavus strains isolated from dry fruit slices of quinces produced in jammu and Kashmir, India. A total of 147 A. flavus isolates recovered from dr fruit slices were grown in liquid rice flour medium and screened for the production of various aflatoxins by thin layer chromatography. The results showed that 23.14% of the tested isolates were aflatoxigenic, producing aflatoxins B1and B2 in varying amounts. Aflatoxins G1 and G2 were not detected. All 25 of the investigated market samples were also found to be aflatoxin B1 positive and the level of contamination ranged from 96 to 8164 μg/kg of the dry fruit which is quite high in comparison to the permissible level of 30 ppb. As per these results biochemical composition of dry fruit slices of quinces, along with climatic conditions seem to be very favourable for aflatoxin production by the toxigenic A. flavus strains. Therefore,monitoring of aflatoxins in dry fruit slices of quincesis recommended for this region.

Ethnomedicinal plants of Shankaracharya Hill, Srinagar, J&K, India.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Primitive human societies have always relied on plants and plant products for various remedies. In certain areas, these folk medical prescriptions are endemic and have survived through ages from one generation to the next through word of mouth. They do not exist as written knowledge. The present study was undertaken with an objective of documenting the ethnobotanical information of medicinal plants of Shankaracharya Hill by taking the help of local herbalists, elderly and knowledgeable people. MATERIAL AND METHODS The data was quantitatively analysed using use-value (UV), informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (Fl%) indices. RESULTS Total 130 plant species from 57 families and 111 genera were ethno-medicinally utilized by the 103 informants interviewed in the present study. The most used families were Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae and Brassicaceae. The medicinal plants were mainly herbs (79.2%). Leaves were the most used (27.6%) plant part followed by whole plant (14.8%), root (11.4%) and seed (10.5%). The most important species on the basis of UV were Viola odorata, Taraxacum campylodes, Aesculus hippocastanum, Artemisia absinthium, Daucus carota, Thymus serphyllum, Ephedra gerardiana and Salvia moorcroftiana. The values ICF ranged between 0.93 and 0.76. Only Epilobium hirsutum recorded 100% Fl. Some of the most important medicinal plants with high Fl values were Tribulus terrestris, Asparagus officinalis, Trifolium repens, Anemone biflora, Melia azedarach, A. absinthium, Lonicera quinquelocularis, Rosa webbiana, D. carota, Oxalis corniculata and Potentilla reptans. CONCLUSION The contribution of plant parts collected through destructive methods was 29.5%. Harvesting of roots, rhizomes, bulbs and corm kills the parent plant and could be a severe threat for survival of the often rare and slowly reproducing medicinal plants, and therefore need sustainable utilization and conservation strategies. Ethnomedicinal species like A. absinthium, A. hippocastanum, D. carota, M. azedarach, T. campylodes, T. serphyllum, T. terrestris having high number of citations, UV and FL should be analyzed for phytochemicals and pharmacology.

Association of Patulin With Market Samples of Dry Fruit Slices of Quinces (Cydonia Oblonga Mill.) from Jammu and Kashmir, India

Patulin, also known as expansin, penicidin, leucopin, tercinin, clavacin, claviformin and clavatin, is a mycotoxin that was first isolated by Chain et al. (1942) and was originally investigated because of its potential as an antibiotic. All the mycotoxins are, in general, important environmental pollutants synthesised by moulds as secondary metabolites possessing low molecular weight, non-antigenic properties and capable of eliciting a toxic response in man and animals. It is known that most of the antibiotics are in practice mycotoxins, the difference being one of degree rather than of kind. Although patulin does possess some desirable antimicrobial properties, it has also been found to be toxic to a wide range of other biological systems (rats, cats, mice and rabbits), on account of which its use as an antibiotic was abandoned (Stott and Bullerman, 1975).

Effect of decapitation and spacing on growth and yield of Swertia chirayita: A critically endangered medicinal plant

Swertia chirayita is highly prized critically endangered medicinal plant of temperate Himalayas belonging to family Gentianaceae. Because of high demand in international and national market, crude drug supplies still collected from the wild sources and negligible efforts have been done in developing proper agro techniques. An attempt have been made to enhance growth and yield of the plant under different decapitation and spacing experiments. The results of the present investigation indicates that decapitation of Swertia chirayita greatly influence the growth and yield parameters. Decapitation of plants at 60 cm height resulted in maximum fresh aerial biomass/plant (65.34 g), dry aerial biomass/plant (23.16 g), fresh root biomass/plant (5.53 g), dry root biomass/plant (1.76 g), whole plant fresh biomass/plant (70.87 g) and whole plant dry biomass/plant (24.92 g). Among all the spacings, whole plant fresh biomass per plant (56.77g) and whole plant dry biomass per plant (19.98g) was recorded maximum under medium spacing of 30 x 45 cm.

Impact of gamma rays on amarogentin and amaroswerin content in M1 generation of Swertia chirayita (Roxb. Ex Fleming)H. Karst.

Amarogentin and amaroswerin are therapeutically most important bio-compounds present in medicinally important endangered temperate medicinal plant species, Swertia chirayita. In the absence of any known elite strains in S. chirayita so far, strains with enhanced biocompounds are needed as this species is under focus for large scale cultivation due to widespread demand for its raw material. Present studies have demonstrated the potential of gamma rays in enhancing these bio-compounds.

Medicinal plants of family Asteraceae used by Gujjar-Bakerwal community in district Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Gujjar-Bakerwal community is one of the most important indigenous communities of Jammu and Kashmir State of India. The present study reports significant ethnomedicinal information on plants belonging to family Asteraceae used by the Gujjar-Bakerwal community in district Rajouri of Jammu and Kashmir. Field trips in different parts of the study area were conducted between February 2012 and January 2013, and information on ethnomedicinal uses of members of family Asteraceae was collected through semi-structured interviews. An attempt has also been made to generate folk taxonomy (vernacular names with their meanings) of family Asteraceae in the study area. A total of 50 medicinal plant species of family Asteraceae were identi fied, which were used by the community to treat various human health related ailments viz., wound, arthritis, jaundice, fever, respi ratory problems, skin problems and gastrointestinal disorders. Most frequently used plant parts were leaves (36.0%) and roots (32.7%). Present study showed that the Gujjar-Bakerwal community of the study area has valuable ethnomedicinal knowledge about medicinal plants used to treat various ai lments. Further chemical and pharmacological studies on the reported medicinal plants are suggested for discovery of novel phytochemicals and drugs.