Ethnobotanical Uses of Medicinal Plants for the Treatment of Herniated Disc in Turkish Traditional Medicine

Humans have known the therapeutic properties and plant origin poisons of many plant species since ancient times. Ancient people who had no real and scientific knowledge on diseases and treatments tried to find solutions to these problems by the opportunities they had and the theories they could produce. Plants are the most important source of traditional folk medicine. People around the world have benefited from plants grown in their environment for this purpose. In these drugs, whole plant or various plant organs or secondary substances were used. Over the years, several therapies have emerged to treat herniated disc, ranging from conservative treatment to minimally invasive and percutaneous techniques to open surgical methods. This chapter examines the recent studies to form a compilation on ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants for the treatment of herniated disc and their local names, parts, and usage forms in Turkish traditional medicine.

Ethnic Use, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology of Cyperus rotundus

Cyperus rotundus (nut grass in English) is a perennial erect sedge plant and is distributed in over 90 countries of the world, where it has been mostly classified as a highly invasive weed. Despite this classification, the plant has been considered from traditional times to be medicinally important. The traditional uses of the plant in various countries include uses against various gastrointestinal tract disorders, skin diseases, leprosy, fever, and neurological disorders. Evaluation of the plant and especially its rhizomes in a scientific manner has revealed the presence of numerous phytochemicals and wide-ranging pharmacological activities, which include anti-microbial, gastrointestinal, wound healing, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-malarial, anti-obesity, hepatoprotective, and anti-pyretic activity. The scientific validation of a number of traditional uses strongly indicates that the plant may prove useful in the discovery of a number of lead compounds and novel drugs.

Plant Species Used by Locals as Ethno-Medicine in Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary, Kashmir Himalaya (India)

Villages in the Indian Himalayan Region have a rich repository of the indigenous knowledge and practices. Documentation of such knowledge is urgently required in view of the advent of modernization. Therefore, an attempt is made to document the indigenous uses and practices of the plants utilized by the local inhabitants of the Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary, Jammu and Kashmir., India. A total of 48 plant species belonging to 46 genera and 25 families are used traditionally to cure various diseases. Various plant parts of these species are used to cure cold, cough, fever, liver disorder, kidney stones, skin diseases, and eye and ear complaints. Such kinds of studies will help in developing a comprehensive database of the plants used traditionally, strengthening the health care system in the villages, and conserving traditional knowledge for the future.

A Review of Traditional Medicinal Plants Used for Treatment of Leucorrhoea in India

Leucorrhoea is a common disorder that is prevalent in females. Ethnic communities still treat leucorrhoea with plants that grow in their surroundings due to lack of sufficient medical facilities and/or costly modern treatment. Therefore, the author tried to look for plants used in traditional ethno-medicine and Ayurvedic systems of medicine for treatment of leucorrhoea in India. This review reveals the use of 345 plants by various folk communities and 31 unique plants from Ayurveda, which gives a figure of 376 plant species prevalent in Indian traditional medicine for treatment of leucorrhoea. Further analysis revealed maximum use of roots followed by the leaves and the stem bark of these plants. The chapter indicates 29 highly credible ethnomedicinal plant species with a rating of 5. This review shall prove helpful in screening of potential ethnomedicinal plant species for carrying out further scientific validation studies to assess their efficacy in leucorrhoea, which may contribute to the development of novel phyto-therapeutic molecules for effective treatment.

Ethnobotanical Wealth of Home Gardens

The use of ethnomedicinal plants of home gardens has played an important role in treating minor illnesses related to physical and psychological wellbeing among rural folks. Local healers often use plants from their home garden or nearby forest. In this chapter, the traditional uses of medicinal plants using various tools with sample data have been used to facilitate ethnobotanical research on home gardens. Samples measuring the relative importance of species through quantitative analysis are tabulated. These tools, if applied during in-situ data collection, would help generate reliable information on characteristics of home gardens and medicinal plants. Conservation of medicinal plants from the perspective of home gardening is important. To document how medicinal plants are used to treat different diseases, their use value and ethical considerations would be significant for bioprospecting of medicinal plants and protecting intellectual right of the associated traditional knowledge.

Wild Plants Used as a Forest Ecosystem Services by the Local Inhabitants of Champawat District of Uttarakhand to the Subsistence of Their Livelihood

This chapter deals with scientific information about the wild socioeconomic plants used by the local inhabitants of the Champawat district of Uttarakhand for the enhancement of their livelihood. During this entire study, it was observed and documented that poor rural people of this area are educationally and financially backward, and they do not have any permanent source of income; due to this reason they are unable to fulfill their necessary requirements. Therefore, they are totally dependent on various forest ecosystem services, viz., selling prepared herbal medicines, wild edible fruits, and wild ornamental plants, etc., which shares approximately 45-50% of their total annual income and plays a vital role for the upliftment of their livelihood. During this research work, a total of 63 plant species belonging to 58 genera under 46 families have been documented, which are being used as livelihood resources by the locals of this area.

Ethnopharmacological Properties of Family Asteraceae

From ancient time, plants have been utilized as a great source of medicinal products for several types of diseases and disorders. Traditional knowledge is an important source for the development of new drugs. Several studies revealed that traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is being practised among several tribes throughout the world. Many researchers have been evaluated the authenticity of this information. Family Asteraceae got an important place among this medicinal heritage. This is one of the widely distributed families and large numbers of plants have been utilized in various skin-related problems. This chapter highlights the ethnopharmacological properties of this family.

Ethnobotanical Assessment of Endangered Allium stracheyi (Baker)

Ethnobotanical and economic studies endorse Allium stracheyi Baker, of the Alliaceae family, for future food and health security. The species is important to the socio-cultural, spiritual, and medicinal lives of the indigenous Himalayan people and those in the surrounding urban and peri-urban areas. The species is used by the indigenous Bhotiya people as a flavoring, spice/condiment (Jambu Faran), and a remedy for colds/coughs, jaundice, stomachaches, and various other ailments. A perennial, medicinal, and aromatic plant (MAP) species, A. stracheyi is harvested two or three times annually and is categorized as an endemic and endangered species. It has a high value and represents an important cultural element in the lives of indigenous Bhotiya folk living in the mountains of Central Himalaya, India. Among medicinal and aromatic plants, A. stracheyi is an economic indicator of the plant-based economy and tradition of Bhotiya ethnic groups in the Niti and Mana Valleys of Uttarakhand, India.

Ethnobotanical, Phytochemical, and Pharmacological Aspects of Hemidesmus indicus

Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. is commonly known as Indian Sarsaparilla or Anantmula. Traditionally, it has been utilised as a vital herb for the treatment of several disorders. Indian Sarsaparilla is rich in a wide range of phytoconstituents such as pregnane glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, aromatic aldehydes, lignans, saponins, flavonoids and aliphatic acids which may further contribute to its pharmacological properties. This chapter gathers and compiles the traditional ethnobotanical and ayurvedic aspects of H. indicus and recently updated knowledge regarding the pharmacology, phytochemistry, adulteration, and current trends of this medicinally important herb in the field of modern phytomedicine. It also presents the ayurvedic pharmacology of this herb and summarizes the biomedical researches in as much as it helps glean a better understanding of H. indicus safety and effectiveness in humans, and describes the various natural products and polyherbal medicines containing H. indicus.

The Therapeutic Potential of Ethnobotanical Plants in the Treatment of Different Diseases

This is an overview of plant use for medicinal applications, a practice from old civilizations still used around the world. According to WHO, nearly 80% of people use herbal medicine plant extracts as their primary health solution. Ethnobotany emerges as a research field to document and understand the traditional knowledge about plants and their roles in society. Diseases like diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and cancer are the predominant challenges to global health, chronic diseases accounting for two-thirds of deaths worldwide. This document discusses ethnobotanical studies on many medicinal plants affecting these diseases.