Academic literature on the topic 'Traditional use of medicinal plants'

Mangrove plants are specialized timbered plants growing in the swamps of tidal coastal areas and stream deltas of tropical and subtropical parts of the world. They have been utilized for medicinal and traditional purposes by the coastal folks over the years. A large number of mangrove plants grows natural and exploited especially, for use in indigenous pharmaceutical houses. Several mangroves genus produce expensive drugs which have high export potential. The utilization of plants and plant products as medicines could be traced as far back as the commencement of human civilization. Mangrove plants have been used in folklore medicines and extracts from mangrove species have prove inhibitory activity against human, animal and plant pathogens. Traditionally, the mangroves have been exploited for firewood and charcoal. Exploit has been found for mangroves in the manufacture of dwellings, furniture, boats and fishing gear, tannins for dyeing and leather production. The mangroves afford food and wide variety of traditional products and artefacts for the mangrove dwellers. The present review deals with the pharmacological activity, medicinal, traditional and produce bioactive compounds of mangrove medicinal plants.
 Keywords: Mangroves, Medicinal, Pharmacological, Recourses, Traditional.

Background: Native Americans have had a rich ethnobotanical heritage for treating diseases, ailments, and injuries. Cherokee traditional medicine has provided numerous aromatic and medicinal plants that not only were used by the Cherokee people, but were also adopted for use by European settlers in North America. Methods: The aim of this review was to examine the Cherokee ethnobotanical literature and the published phytochemical investigations on Cherokee medicinal plants and to correlate phytochemical constituents with traditional uses and biological activities. Results: Several Cherokee medicinal plants are still in use today as herbal medicines, including, for example, yarrow (Achillea millefolium), black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), and blue skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). This review presents a summary of the traditional uses, phytochemical constituents, and biological activities of Cherokee aromatic and medicinal plants. Conclusions: The list is not complete, however, as there is still much work needed in phytochemical investigation and pharmacological evaluation of many traditional herbal medicines.

The work gives an account of the use of twenty plant species in Saudi traditional medicine and their main chemical constituents. The botanical name, local name or names (in Arabic language), family, mode of administration and voucher herbarium numbers are recorded. Such a study is not only to document the current status of traditional uses of medicinal plants in Saudi Arabia, but also to give awareness of possible new drug resources.

The problem centers on the loss of empirical knowledge of the use of medicinal plants as a source of alternative medicine. The objective of the work is to carry out a study aimed at establishing the current state of local knowledge about the use of medicinal plants in rural parishes and 1 urban one of the Portoviejo canton. The method was based on the literature review on the subject and as techniques, the population survey was used on the knowledge and importance of medicinal plants. The main results of the research included the recovery of the use of medicinal plants as an alternative medicine use. As a result, it was obtained that the inhabitants of these parishes of average age between 35-59 years, had a high impact on the applied surveys of 39.1% of the use of medicinal plants and that the lowest ignorance of the use of medicinal plants as an alternative in medicine it was obtained by people of average age between 60 and over, but this is due to memory loss. It is concluded that knowledge about medicinal plants is regular since their inhabitants do not maintain continuity in their use.

This is an extensive review on epiphytic plants that have been used traditionally as medicines. It provides information on 185 epiphytes and their traditional medicinal uses, regions where Indigenous people use the plants, parts of the plants used as medicines and their preparation, and their reported phytochemical properties and pharmacological properties aligned with their traditional uses. These epiphytic medicinal plants are able to produce a range of secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, and a total of 842 phytochemicals have been identified to date. As many as 71 epiphytic medicinal plants were studied for their biological activities, showing promising pharmacological activities, including as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer agents. There are several species that were not investigated for their activities and are worthy of exploration. These epipythes have the potential to furnish drug lead compounds, especially for treating cancers, and thus warrant indepth investigations.

Since ancient times, plants with medicinal properties possessing no or little toxicological potentials have been relevant for the treatment of several diseases and healing purposes. Medicinal plants serve as important therapeutic agents and valuable resources for manufacturing numerous modern and traditional medicines. Many developing nations still rely on herbal remedies as their mainstay of health-care. This review study is aimed to report the trado-medicinal values of some ethnobotanical plants commonly used in traditional formulations as well as the scientific investigations of these plants for their acclaimed use in traditional practices. Essential phytochemicals and bioactive compounds of these plants are also reviewed.

Introdução: Plantas medicinais são comumente utilizadas pelas populações desde a antiguidade. O uso dessas plantas pelos seres humanos tem sido objeto de estudo de vários levantamentos etnobotânicos. Objetivos: O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar o conhecimento tradicional da população da Vila DNIT (Porto Velho, Rondônia), relacionado ao uso de plantas medicinais. Materiais e Métodos: Este trabalho foi conduzido em agosto de 2017, constando de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Foram aplicados questonários em 26 residências da localidade Vila DNIT. Resultados: Foram listadas 17 espécies, classificadas em 14 famílias botânicas. As famílias botânicas mais citadas pelos moradores foram Lamiaceae, Chenopodiaceae e Poaceae. Os males citados tratados com o uso de plantas medicinais foram os dos sistemas respiratório e digestório, dores no corpo e inflamações. A folha foi a parte mais utilizada das plantas pelos moradores, sendo o fervimento e a infusão os principais modos de preparo. Conclusão: As pessoas da comunidade analisada fazem uso das plantas medicinais de modo a complementar seus cuidados com a saúde, sendo seus conhecimentos obtidos de geração para geração. O boldo (Plectranthus barbatus) foi a principal planta medicinal mencionada pelos moradores. Introduction: Medicinal plants are commonly used by populations since antiquity. The use of these plants by humans has been the object of study of several ethnobotanical surveys. Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the traditional knowledge of the population of Vila DNIT (Porto Velho, Rondônia), related to the use of medicinal plants. Materials and Methods: This work was conducted in August 2017, consisting of semi-structured interviews. Questionnaires were applied to 26 residences in Vila DNIT. Results: 17 species were identified, classified into 14 botanical families. The botanical families most cited by the residents were Lamiaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Poaceae. The mentioned evils treated with the use of medicinal plants were those of the respiratory and digestive systems, pains in the body and inflammations. The leaf was the most used part of the plants by the inhabitants, and the boiling and the infusion the main modes of preparation. Conclusion: People in the analyzed community use the medicinal plants to complement their healthcare, and their knowledge is obtained from generation to generation. The Boldo (Plectranthus barbatus) was the main medicinal plant mentioned by the residents.

Mexico has a rich tradition in medicinal plant use within its diverse traditional healing practices. Many people have used medicinal herbs to treat a variety of diseases and ailments for many generations. Located in the northeast, Monterrey is Mexico’s third largest city and one of the most industrialized cities in Latin America. In spite of widespread use of modern pharmaceuticals, and the availability of "scientific" or mainstream medicine in this city, many people still rely on traditional healers, as well as the use medicinal plants to combat illness. This study was undertaken in order to obtain information regarding the most popular medicinal plants used in Monterrey, as well as their uses, forms of application, and origin. Thirteen herbal providers voluntarily accepted to be interviewed within 2 of the city’s largest popular herbal marketplaces. A questionnaire written in the Spanish language was provided to all interviewees, regarding their years in business, their source of information or expertise in recommending herbs, as well as the type of herbs employed for the treatment of various diseases or afflictions. Fifty-six medicinal plants belonging to 27 botanical families, mostly sold as crude herbs, were mentioned by the herbal providers as being the most commonly used to treat various ailments.

A total of 43 plant species belonging to 40 genera and 29 families have been recorded as medicinal plants used traditionally by Raji people of Nepal for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Different parts of medicinal plants in different forms were reported to be used for treatment of 16 types of gastrointestinal disorders. The traditional healers and elderly people were well experienced in traditional method of using medicinal plants but they were worried about negligence of people towards such traditional use of valuable medicinal plants.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/on.v11i2.9645 Our Nature 2013, 11(2): 177-186