India: traditional medicine

Mother Nature still continues to be a resource of novel chemotypes and pharmacophores, and an impressive number of modem drugs have been isolated from natural sources, many based on their uses in traditional medicine systems. " To a large extent, the use of natural products in drug design represents the natural evolution of this old tradition. It has been extensively documented that the traditional medicine systems of many cultures worldwide are based on plants,for example in countries like China and India where plants have formed the basis for traditional systems of medicines. According to Kim and Park, natural... 

A point that is often forgotten in westernized medicine is that of the approximate 7 billion people in the world at this moment, more than 80% of them do not have routine access to drugs as they are defined in Western medicine, but rely upon predominately plant-based therapies as their sources of medicinal agents. Even in areas of the world where single agent drugs are available, traditional therapeutic regimens such as Ayurveda in India, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Japanese and Korean herbals are still the major source of medicinals. 

TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USES India. Decoctions of the dried and fresh buds and leaves are taken orally for headache and fever " . Powder or decoction of the dried leaf is applied to teeth to prevent tooth decay S Fresh leaf juice is taken orally for abortion , and as a contraceptive and hemostatic b Mexico. Hot water extract of the leaf is taken orally by nursing mothers to increase milk production " . 

TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USES India. Decoction of dried seeds is taken orally for diarrhea " " and as a demul-cent . Seeds are taken externally as an emollient poultice, for constipations, and for gastric complaints " . 

Traditional or indigenous medicinal therapeutics has developed since before history in all societies. It comprises a mass of practices varying from the worthless to highly effective remedies, e.g. digitalis (England), quinine (South America), reserpine (India), atropine (various countries). It is the task of science to find the gems and to discard the dross, and at the same time to leave intact socially valuable supportive aspects of traditional medicine. 

Yoshikawa, M, Murakami, T, Shimada, H, Matsuda, H, Yamahara, J, Tanabe, G, Muraoka, O, Salacinol, potent antidiabetic principle with unique thiosugar sulfonium sulfate structure from the ayurvedic traditional medicine Salacia reticulata in Sri Lanka and India, Tetrahedron Lett., 38, 8367-8370, 1997. 

Some Myrica species, also common in India, are well known ingredients of traditional medicine in the Far East and their piscidal activity has been reported (86). 

Phyllanthus niruri L., a small plant which grows mainly in tropical and subtropical regions in Central and South American countries, and in India, is one of the most important traditional medicines used for the treatment of Jaundice, asthma, hepatitis and urolitic disease. Intensive chemical examinations of this plant have been carried out and several constituents such as lignans (79-81), alkaloids (82-84), flavonoids (85), tannins (86) and phthalic acid (87) have been identified. In addition, especially in this decade, several pharmacological experiments have also been reported (88, 89). In spite of many phytochemical and biochemical investigations, there have been only a few reports on tissue culture of this plant. 

With populations and markets as large as these, India and China cannot be ignored by pharmaceutical companies. In China, home of well-regarded traditional medicines. Western medicines now outsell traditional remedies three- to four-fold. The Chinese growth in Western pharmaceutical sales is the fastest in the world (estimated at 15% annually or US 24 billion) and is predicted to rank fifth in 2010. India s pharmaceutical market is estimated at US 5 billion, with more than US 1.2 billion exported as APIs, representing more than 60% of the total API output. 

Dysoxylum malabaricum stembark is used in traditional medicine in India for rheumatoid arthritis and bioassay guided fractionation for antiinflammatory activity of the stem bark of the related species D. binectariferum led to the isolation of rohitukine (7) as the major active component [16]. This compound showed good activity in a variety of animal models and led to the production of many analogues [13]. The most active of these could be termed flavonoids and are discussed above... 

Garcinol is a PBD isolated from G. indica and other species. The dried rind of G. indica (Kokum) which is used as a garnish for curry and in traditional medicine in India contains 2-3% of garcinol by weight. 

Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) is the most revered of all sacred medicinal plants in India. In traditional medicine, it is cherished for its holistic healing properties to restore healthy living by warding off imbalances in the body and mind. In Indian herbal medicine, it is used as a remedy for bronchitis, gastric disorders, hepatic disorders, and skin diseases. Tulsi is also considered to be a diaphoretic, an antiperiodic, an anthelmintic, a cardiotonic, and an antipyretic as well as a blood purifier and an anti-inflammatory ... 

Plants have catered to the medical needs of human civilization since prehistoric times, but it is only during the last 100 years that mankind has begun to scientifically characterize their active principles and put them to use in modem medicine. According to the World Health Organization, up to 80% of the world s population relies mainly on herbal medicine for primary health care. In countries like India, the practitioners of traditional medicine outnumber registered doctors. 

The practice of traditional medicine is widespread in Asian societies such as India, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Some 70 to 85 % of the population is dependent on traditional medicine in these countries. In Japan, preparations made from herbal dmgs (i.e., the kampo system of medicine) are more in demand than mainstream pharmaceutical products. Similarly, the traditional system of medicine is very popular on the African continent, which is very rich in medicinal herbs. Even in European countries, 1500 plant species of aromatic and medicinal plants are presently being used in countries such as Albania, Croatia, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and United Kingdom. 

Of two authoritative English-language texts on traditional Chinese medicine, one indicates that purslane should not be used during pregnancy (standard dose listed is 9-15 grams of dried purslane, approx. 195-326 g fresh) (Bensky et al. 2004) while the second text does not (Chen and Chen 2004). Texts on traditional medicine from India do not indicate any concern for use of purslane in pregnancy (Khory and Katrak 1887 Nadkarni 1954). 

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