Monday, April 27, 2009
RAVI'S MEDIPLANTS CORNER
MEDICINAL PLANTS- NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND
Medicinal Plants- History starts ~ 60 million years BP (Before the present ): Flowering plants emerge – evolve phytochemical defenses against phytovores
~ 6 million BP: primates evolve into primitive man-
~ 50,000 BP: Man learns the art of cooking (meat).
~18000 BP: Man crosses the Bering Bridge , opening up the New World, comes into contact with the new world spp. Such as Capsicum, Osmorrhiza, Sassafras etc.
~8000 BP: Indus-valley Civilization, cultivation of many crops including sesamum. ~6000 BP: Sumerians used licorice and opium; Fenugreek identified in
In
~5000 BP: Charak codifies the Ayurvedic system – Charak samhitha
INDIAN SCENARIO
Medicinal Plants : in ancient
Medicinal Plants Classification by Charaka
50 Groups (Vargas)
1. Jeevaneeyam – Promoting life – 10 plants
2. Brimhaneeyam – Promoting growth – 10 plants
3. Lekhaniyam – Reducing growth – 10 plants
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50. Vayasthaapana – Imparting youthfulness – 10 plants
Classification by Susrutha- 38 ganas
1. Vidaarandhyadigana – counteracts vata and pitta (19 Nos.)
2. Aaragwadhaadigana – checks kapha and poison (20 Nos.)
3. Varunadigana – checks kapha and medas (22 Nos.)
35. Dasamoola - 5 Kaneeyapanchamoola + 5 Mahapanchamoola -
checks kapha, pitta and vayu, curative of all ‘jwaras’
38. Trinapanchamoola – cures disorders of urine & raktapitta
Classification of Vagbhata 33 Groups (Ganas)
1. Vamanoushadhagana – Emetics (21 Nos.)
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Syaamaadigana – checks gulma, visha, aruchi, kapha, hridroga and mootrakrichra (16 Nos.)
Ayurvedic MPs- scenario in India
•No. of plants used in Ayurveda – 1769
•Plants having direct Med. use – 7500
•New claims and leads – 950
•Used as pesticides and allied uses – 350
•Used as biopesticides – 175
•App. 4635 Ethnic communities of India use about 9500 plants for healthcare
India has the richest, oldest and most diverse cultural traditions in the use of MPs.
BIODIVERSITY IN RELATION TO MEDI.PLANTS
India – One of the 12 mega diversity regionsF
8% of the global Bd.
45000 plant spp.
16 Agroclimatic zones
10 Vegetation zones
426 unique habitats
# 30 m. (guesstimate) microorganismsF
15 biotic provinces
India- 2 hot spots;
Hot spot concept IS based on endemism- hotspots have high concentration of endemic species facing imminent habitat destruction.
315 flowering plant families occur in
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