Traditional herbal medicine in Far-west Nepal: a pharmacological appraisal.
Ripu M Kunwar1*, Keshab P Shrestha2 and Rainer W Bussmann3
* Corresponding author: Ripu M Kunwar
ripukunwar@gmail.com
Author Affiliations
1 Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal, GPO Box 5220, Kathmandu, Nepal
2 Natural History Museum, Swayambhu, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
3 William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2010, 6:35 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-6-35
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at:
http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/6/1/35
© 2010 Kunwar et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract.
Background.
Plant species have long been used as principal ingredients of traditional medicine in far-west Nepal. The medicinal plants with ethnomedicinal values are currently being screened for their therapeutic potential but their data and information are inadequately compared and analyzed with the Ayurveda and the phytochemical findings.
Methods.
The present study evaluated ethnomedicinal plants and their uses following literature review, comparison, field observations, and analysis. Comparison was made against earlier standard literature of medicinal plants and ethnomedicine of the same area, the common uses of the Ayurveda and the latest common phytochemical findings. The field study for primary data collection was carried out from 2006-2008.
Results.
The herbal medicine in far-west Nepal is the basis of treatment of most illness through traditional knowledge. The medicine is made available via ancient, natural health care practices such as tribal lore, home herbal remedy, and the Baidhya, Ayurveda and Amchi systems. The traditional herbal medicine has not only survived but also thrived in the trans-cultural environment with its intermixture of ethnic traditions and beliefs. The present assessment showed that traditional herbal medicine has flourished in rural areas where modern medicine is parsimoniously accessed because of the high cost and long travel time to health center. Of the 48 Nepalese medicinal plants assessed in the present communication, about half of the species showed affinity with the common uses of the Ayurveda, earlier studies and the latest phytochemical findings. The folk uses of Acacia catechu for cold and cough, Aconitum spicatum as an analgesic, Aesculus indica for joint pain, Andrographis paniculata for fever, Anisomeles indica for urinary affections, Azadirachta indica for fever, Euphorbia hirta for asthma, Taxus wallichiana for tumor control, and Tinospora sinensis for diabetes are consistent with the latest pharmacological findings, common Ayurvedic and earlier uses.
Conclusions.
Although traditional herbal medicine is only a primary means of health care in far-west Nepal, the medicine has been pursued indigenously with complementing pharmacology and the Ayurveda. Therefore, further pharmacological evaluation of traditional herbal medicine deserves more attention.
Background.
Current estimates suggest that, in many developing countries, about two thirds of the population relies heavily on traditional practitioners and medicinal plants to meet primary health care needs [1] . Although modern medicine may be available in these countries, traditional herbal medicine is often been used for historical, cultural, and ecological reasons, in particular this is due to continued availability [2] , better compatibility [3] and high acceptance [4] . Traditional herbal medicine possesses greater significance in Nepal Himalaya hence interest in herbal medicine has gradually increased in recent years [5] . As a result, the medicine all over the world is nowadays revalued by extensive researches on base materials plant species and their therapeutic principles, however to date only about five percent of the total plant species have been thoroughly investigated [6-8] to ascertain safety and efficacy of traditional medicines.
Plant species have long been the principal ingredients of traditional medicine [9] and their use dates back to the beginning of human civilization [10] . Herbal medicine has clearly recognizable therapeutic effects [11] as well as some toxic side-effects [12] . Thus, Nepalese medicinal plants with ethnomedicinal properties are being screened for their active pharmacological effects [13] . The present study therefore evaluated the ethnomedicinal uses of the selected 48 second priority medicinal plants of Baitadi, Dadeldhura and Darchula districts of far-west Nepal and comparatively assessed their uses against earlier standard literature on medicinal plants of the same area, the common uses of the Ayurveda (an ancient traditional system of herbal medicine in the Himalaya) and the latest phytochemical findings.
Materials and methods.
The field study for primary data collection was carried out in the Baitadi, Dadeldhura, and Darchula districts of far-west Nepal from 2006-2008. The districts stretch between 29°01' and 30°15'N latitude, 80°03' and 81°09'E longitude and 357 m - 7132 m altitude. The study sites were Anarkholi, Dasharathchand, Jhulaghat, Khodpe, Kulau, Pancheswor, Patan, Salena, and Sera (Baitadi); Brikham, Jakh, Jogbudha, Patram, and Rupal (Dadeldhura), and Dumling, Gokule, Joljibi, Khalanga, Khar (Figure 1), Lali, and Uku (Darchula). All three districts are situated along the western borders of the country and lie adjacent to India. Due to variations in altitude, topography, and bio-climate within the districts, the diversity of medicinal plants and knowledge of utilization are vast. The subsistence use is profound particularly for home herbal healing [5,14] . There are a number of diverse ethnic groups in the area. The largest ethnic group is the Chhetri (more than 50%), followed by Brahmin (about 20%), Dalits (about 10%), Thakuri (7%), Magar (2 %), and a few other groups. The first two groups are considered privileged and the rest are considered ethnic (Janajati) and disadvantaged (Dalits). Ethnic and disadvantaged groups have easy access opportunities provided by the government.