Folk remedies

Khellin is a natural product closely related to the psoralens in which a chromone ring has been substituted for the cou-marin. The plant material has been used since ancient times as a folk remedy modern pharmacologic work has confirmed the bronchio-dilating and antispasmodic activity of khellin. The synthesis outlined below, it should be noted, is selected from a half-dozen or so reported within the last quarter century. 

Ephedra is a genus of 40-50 species widespread in Old World and New World desert areas. Preparations of many different species have been used in folk remedies for a very long time. The physiological effects of these preparations are very likely... 

Many non-Westem folk remedies used to treat diarrhea or other ailments may contain substantial amounts of lead. Examples of these include Alarcon, Ghasard, Alkohl, Greta, Azarcon, Liga, Bali Goli, Pay-loo-ah, Coral, and Rueda. In addition, an adult case of lead poisoning was recently attributed to an Asian remedy for menstrual cramps known as Koo Sar. The pills contained lead at levels as high as 12 ppm (CDC 1998). The source of the lead was thought to be in the red dye used to color the pills. 

Accidental or intentional ingestion of folk remedies containing lead (discussed in Section 5.5) represents another source for potential lead-poisoning in children. Acute lead encephalopathy in early infancy has been reported in a Middle Eastern study for 14 infants following the use of Bint al Thahab, a traditional... 

Yesilada E, Gurbuz 1, Shibata H. (1999) Screening of Turkish antiulcero-genic folk remedies for mti-Helicobacter pylori activity. J. Ethnopharmacol 66 289-293. 

Native to tropical America, sweet potato (I. batatas) is a perennial morning glory vine that has been cultivated for over 5,000 years for its edible tubers in Mexico, Central and lowland South America, and the West Indies. Today, sweet potato is cultivated around the world, especially in developing countries (Plate 4). A decoction made from the leaves of this plant is used in folk remedies as a gargle to treat mouth and throat tumors, and poultices are prepared for inflammatory tumors (64). In Mexico, leaf decoctions are considered to be of cold nature , to reduce excessive body heat, contemporarily defined as such illnesses as diarrhea, dysentery, heart disease, stomach distress, fever, and gastrointestinal infection. In Chinese traditional medicine, the tubers have been used as a medicinal herb to eliminate secretion in perceived abnormal quantities of blood or other body fluids (79). 

Elemental mercury is used industrially in electric lamps and switches, gauges and controls (e.g. thermometers, barometers, thermostats), battery production, nuclear weapons production, and the specialty chemical industry, including the production of caustic soda. Because elemental mercury has a high affinity for gold and silver, it has been, and continues to be, used in precious metal extraction from ore. Elemental mercury has been used for over one hundred years in mercury-silver amalgam preparations to repair dental caries. Mercury continues to be used in folk remedies and in certain cultural practices, with unknown public health implications. 

ZO090 Morton, ]. F. Current folk remedies of northern Venezuela. Q J Crude Drug Res 1975 13 97-121. 

N.A. Jutrophine, emetic, purgative oil, diterpene jatrophone, isovitexin, resins, isophytosterol, tannin, cyanidin, apigenin, histamine.145-146 This herb is toxic. A folk remedy for cancer. Treat asthma, constipation, diabetes, diarrhea. It is a disinfectant, laxative. Externally applied to piles and bums. 

N.A. Carotene, thiamine, nicotinic acid, riboflavin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, glutamic acid, serine, glycine, aminobutyric acid, globulin, amino acids.100 An antiseptic, aperient, depurative, digestive, pectoral, a folk remedy for asthma. 

Sheng Jiang and Cong Bai are often used in the initial stage of wind-cold syndrome in either excess or deficiency conditions. In China, a briefly cooked decoction of Sheng Jiang and Cong Bai is a commonly used folk remedy to treat the common cold. 

Many of these so-called natural products were first used without any knowledge of their chemical composition. As organic chemistry developed, though, chemists learned how to work out the structures of the compounds in natural products. The disease-curing properties of limes and other citrus fruits, for example, were known for centuries but the chemical structure of vitamin C, the active ingredient, was not determined until 1933. Today there is a revival of interest in folk remedies, and a large effort is being made to identify medicinally important chemical compounds found in plants. 

Passion flowers contain harmine and harmaline, which have been used in the treatment of Parkinson s disease. Folk remedies use passion flower to treat depression and insomnia (see Chapter 65). 

Live-long has proven immunostimulant and anti-inflammatory properties because of the presence of two major polysaccharides. These polysaccharides may help inhibit tumors and increase the action of phagocytes, which effectively kill bacteria and viruses. Live-long is been used as a popular folk remedy for diarrhea. 

Many of the herbal drugs used in the United Sates and Europe are derived from traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine in India. These traditions are thousands of years old, and they rely heavily on plant-based prescriptions to treat various illnesses. Many other herbal drugs are folk remedies from other cultures. Historians of medicine note that every culture has its own tradition of folk medicine treatments or cures widely believed to be effective, based on information gathered from trial and error on the curative properties of plants and passed down through generations. 

Worldwide, more than 80% of the population uses herbal and folk remedies. In developing countries where many people do not have access to modem health care, traditional folk medicine is the only option. 

Natural sources are still important sources of lead compounds and new drugs. However, the large diversity of potential natural sources in the world makes the technique of random screening a rather hit or miss process. The screening of local folk remedies (ethnopharmacology) offers the basis of a more systematic approach. In the past this has led to the discovery of many important therapeutic agents, for example, the antimalarial quinine from cinchona bark, the... 

Y3fiez L, Batres L, Carrizales L, Santoyo M, Escalante V, Diaz-Barriga F (1994) Toxicological assessment of azarcon, a lead salt used as a folk remedy in Mexico. I. Oral toxicity in rats. J Ethnopharmacol, 41 91-97. 

Indian folk remedies suggest that ajowan seed with a little rock salt mixture daily after meals improves indigestion and... 

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