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Medical Ethnobotany Of India
The medical ethnobotany of India is the study of Indian medicinal plants and their traditional uses. Plants have been used in India for treatment of disease and health maintenance for thousands of years, and remain important staples of health and folk medicine for millions. Indians today utilize plants for both primary medical care (principally in Rural and undeserved areas) and as supplementary treatment alongside modern Healthcare in India, medical science. It is estimated that 70% of rural Indians use traditional plant based remedies for primary healthcare needs. This reliance of plants for medicine is consistent with trends widely observed in the Developing country, developing world, where between 65% and 80% of people use medicinal plant remedies. Herbal medicine in India is largely guided by folk medicine, both in codified cultural practices shared widely (Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, Siddha, Unani medicine, Unani), and highly localized practices unique to individual tribes or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for many aspects of life, such as plants as medicines, foods, intoxicants and clothing. Richard Evans Schultes, often referred to as the "father of ethnobotany", explained the discipline in this way: Ethnobotany simply means ... investigating plants used by societies in various parts of the world. Since the time of Schultes, the field of ethnobotany has grown from simply acquiring ethnobotanical knowledge to that of applying it to a modern society, primarily in the form of pharmaceuticals. Intellectual property rights and benefit-sharing arrangements are important issues in ethnobotany. History The idea of ethnobotany was first proposed by the early 20th century botanist John William Harshberger. While Harshberger did perform ethnobotanical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nighantu
( sa, निघण्टु, ) is a Sanskrit term for a traditional collection of words, grouped into thematic categories, often with brief annotations. Such collections share characteristics with glossaries and thesauri, but are not true lexicons, such as the kośa of Sanskrit literature. Particular collections are also called . While a number of nighantavas devoted to specialized subjects exist, the eponymous Nighantu of the genre is an ancient collection, handed down from Vedic times. It was the subject of the Nirukta ''Nirukta'' ( sa, निरुक्त, , "explained, interpreted") is one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Nirukta" in The Illustrated Encyclope ..., a commentary, together with a treatise on etymology, by Yaska. Technically, Yaska's Nirukta should designate his commentary only, but traditionally the Nighantu has been understood to be included in it. The T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enzyme Inhibitor
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and blocks its activity. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions necessary for life, in which substrate molecules are converted into products. An enzyme facilitates a specific chemical reaction by binding the substrate to its active site, a specialized area on the enzyme that accelerates the most difficult step of the reaction. An enzyme inhibitor stops ("inhibits") this process, either by binding to the enzyme's active site (thus preventing the substrate itself from binding) or by binding to another site on the enzyme such that the enzyme's catalysis of the reaction is blocked. Enzyme inhibitors may bind reversibly or irreversibly. Irreversible inhibitors form a chemical bond with the enzyme such that the enzyme is inhibited until the chemical bond is broken. By contrast, reversible inhibitors bind non-covalently and may spontaneously leave the enzyme, allowing the enzyme to resume its function. Reve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytochrome P450
Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a Protein superfamily, superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are important for the clearance (pharmacology), clearance of various compounds, as well as for hormone synthesis and breakdown. In 1963, Ronald W. Estabrook, Estabrook, David Y. Cooper, Cooper, and Otto Rosenthal, Rosenthal described the role of CYP as a catalyst in steroid hormone synthesis and drug metabolism. In plants, these proteins are important for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolite, defensive compounds, fatty acids, and hormones. CYP enzymes have been identified in all kingdom (biology), kingdoms of life: animals, plants, fungus, fungi, protists, bacteria, and archaea, as well as in viruses. However, they are not omnipresent; for example, they have not been found in ''Escherichia coli''. , more than 300,000 distinct CYP proteins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medication
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on pharmacy for appropriate management. Drugs are classified in multiple ways. One of the key divisions is by level of control, which distinguishes prescription drugs (those that a pharmacist dispenses only on the order of a physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse) from over-the-counter drugs (those that consumers can order for themselves). Another key distinction is between traditional small molecule drugs, usually derived from chemical synthesis, and biopharmaceuticals, which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically (such as IVIG), gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies and cell therapy (for instance, stem cell therapies) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioavailability
In pharmacology, bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption and is the fraction (%) of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation. By definition, when a medication is administered intravenously, its bioavailability is 100%. However, when a medication is administered via routes other than intravenous, its bioavailability is generally lower than that of intravenous due to intestinal endothelium absorption and first-pass metabolism. Thereby, mathematically, bioavailability equals the ratio of comparing the area under the plasma drug concentration curve versus time (AUC) for the extravascular formulation to the AUC for the intravascular formulation. AUC is used because AUC is proportional to the dose that has entered the systemic circulation. Bioavailability of a drug is an average value; to take population variability into account, deviation range is shown as ±. To ensure that the drug taker who has poor absorption is dosed appropriately, the bottom value o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as ''pepper'', or more precisely as ''black pepper'' (cooked and dried unripe fruit), ''green pepper'' (dried unripe fruit), or ''white pepper'' (ripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India, and the Malabar pepper is extensively cultivated there and in other tropical regions. Ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world's most traded spice, and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Pepper
Long pepper (''Piper longum''), sometimes called Indian long pepper or ''thippali'', is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper has a taste similar to, but hotter than, that of its close relative ''Piper nigrum'' – from which black, green and white pepper are obtained. The fruit of the pepper consists of many minuscule fruits – each about the size of a poppy seed – embedded in the surface of a flower spike that closely resembles a hazel tree catkin. Like ''Piper nigrum'', the fruits contain the alkaloid piperine, which contributes to their pungency. Another species of long pepper, ''Piper retrofractum'', is native to Java, Indonesia. The fruits of this plant are often confused with chili peppers, which belong to the genus ''Capsicum'', originally from the Americas. History The oldest known reference to long pepper comes from ancient Indian textbooks of Ayurveda, where its me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spice ... and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots. Ginger is in the family (taxonomy), family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric (''Curcuma longa''), cardamom (''Elettaria cardamomum''), and galangal. Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia and was likely domesticated first by the Austronesian peoples. It was transported with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyherbal Formulation
Polyherbal formulation (PHF) is the use of more than one herb in a medicinal preparation. The concept is found in Ayurvedic and other traditional medicinal systems where multiple herbs in a particular ratio may be used in the treatment of illness. It is used in these systems for the treatment of many diseases, including diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap .... Historically, the Ayurvedic literature “Sarangdhar Samhita” dated centuries ago in 1300 A. D. has highlighted the concept of polyherbalism in this ancient medicinal system. In the traditional system of Indian medicine, plant formulations and combined extracts of plants are chosen rather than individual ones. It is known that Ayurvedic herbals are prepared in a number of dosage forms, in which mostly all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fruit Preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method of preparation, type of fruit used, and place in a meal. Sweet fruit preserves such as jams, jellies, and marmalades are often eaten at breakfast with bread or as an ingredient of a pastry or dessert, whereas more savory and acidic preserves made from " vegetable fruits" such as tomato, squash or zucchini, are eaten alongside savory foods such as cheese, cold meats, and curries. Techniques There are several techniques of making jam, with or without added water. One factor depends on the natural pectin content of the ingredients. When making jam with low pectin fruits like strawberries either high pectin fruit like orange can be added, or additional pectin in the form of pectin powder, citric acid or citrus peels. Often the fruit will be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decoction
Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. Decoction involves first drying the plant material; then mashing, slicing, or cutting the material to allow for maximum dissolution; and finally boiling in water to extract oils, volatile organic compounds and other various chemical substances. Occasionally, aqueous ethanol or glycerol may be used instead of water. Decoction can be used to make tisanes, tinctures and similar solutions. Decoctions and infusions may produce liquids with differing chemical properties, as the temperature or preparation difference may result in more oil-soluble chemicals in decoctions versus infusions. The process can also be applied to meats and vegetables to prepare bouillon or stock, though the term is typically only used to describe boiled plant extracts, usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
