Current Traditional Medicine - Volume 6, Issue 3, 2020

Introduction and Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In the Indian Vedic literature, Charakasamhita and Sushritasamhita, the Ajwain is known as Bhootika and in the charaksamhita commentaries, it is termed as Yavanika. The medicinal role of Ajwain fruit is claimed to be very important in the treatment of many ailments in humans. The plant Trachyspermum ammi Linn. is a grassy, aromatic annual plant, which falls in the family Umbelliferae. This plant is grown in India, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. for its medicinal benefits. Tribals of India use it for the treatment of diarrhea, arthritis, colic and gastrointestinal problems. In the traditional preparations, Indian Vaidya guru’s (Ayurveda Guru’s), the ajwain extract is used as “Admoda Arka”. The Ayurveda doctors, hakims and Vaidya gurus recommend ajwain for treating headaches, cold, flu and even during painful menstrual periods. Aim of the Study: The review paper has compiled the researches conducted on Trachyspermum ammi, which will help in presenting a collective data of the authentic researches conducted on the plant worldwide. It will also present information about the phytoconstituents which can be useful for building up new researches in near future. Materials and Methods: This paper has been prepared by collecting all the information available on the following platforms and the papers were searched from 1975 to 2019. The databases and electronic journals were well searched including Wiley, Springer link, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Pubmed. The key terms used for the search were Ajwain, C. copticum, Trachyspermum ammi and other synonyms of the plant. The search was also done by the names of chemical constituents present in the plant and the pharmacological effect of the plant. Results: The multiple uses of T. ammi are due to the active constituents present in it. As per the phytochemical studies on the fruits of T. ammi, the presence of various phytoconstituents has been found such as saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, fixed oils, thymenes, cumenes, tannins, amino acids, p-cymene, c-terpinene, steroids, etc. Conclusion: This paper is focused on presenting a detailed review on the literature, pharmacological properties, physicochemical studies and the newest researches on the plant. In this paper, we have also compiled the traditional uses of the herb used by Indian peopleon recommendations from their Hakims, Vaidya and use of the herbs by many tribes all across India and Pakistan.

Background: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is one of the most prevalent liver diseases regarded as the primary cause of chronic liver disease, which may lead to hepatic failure. Despite the recent developments in the treatment of NAFLD, the necessity to find more efficient treatments has led to investigation on medicinal plants. Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) is one of the oldest medical schools in the world. For treatment of NAFLD, different medicinal plants have been employed in TPM. Objective: Considering the public welcome for herbal medicines, the current evidence-based review study is conducted to investigate herbal remedies for NAFLD in TPM. Methods: Medicinal plants for treating NFALD were extracted according to three famous textbooks of Persian medicine. Then anti-obesity, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, antioxidative and hepatoprotective effects of these medicinal plants were investigated according to modern medicine. For this purpose, databases including Scopus, web of sciences, Pubmed, Google scholar and science direct were searched. Results: Investigations of Persian medicine textbooks resulted in deriving 53 herbs, which are useful for treating NAFLD. Searching through aforesaid databases showed that most of these plants can help to treat this disease in at least 2 ways. 25 herbs are effective in all 5 mentioned effects. Conclusion: It should be considered that in Persian medicine, first-line treatment is correction of life style, then if necessary, herbs are prescribed. However, this study showed that many herbs mentioned in Persian medicine for treatment of NAFLD might have a potential to aid patient with this disease.

Background: The present study aims to portray the herbal practices commonly used by the locals of Chhattisgarh, India, for their primary healthcare needs and correlate them with the available scientific evidence. Since ancient times, herbs or plants have been an important part of the preventive and curative medications used in commonly across the globe. Methods: Indian Traditional Medicines (ITM) can be categorized as Classical Health Traditions (CHT) like Ayurveda and Siddha and as Oral Heath Traditions (OHT). CHT are the codified forms of the medicinal system, whereas OHT exclusively encompass the undocumented form of knowledge, evolved through the experiences of their practitioners and passed on in improved form over the generations. This medicinal knowledge is prevalent in the rural and tribal areas due to non-accessibility and high cost of modern healthcare. Their importance is evident from the sustainable use over the years and the scientific studies supporting their medicinal potential. Results: The present study aims to quantitatively analyse various plants and herbal preparations used by the tribals, traditional knowledge holders and grassroots innovators of Chhattisgarh, India, for the treatment of various human ailments. The study identified 81 practices belonging to 42 different plant families. Pain, inflammation and skin diseases were found to be the most prominent conditions. A large number of scientific studies have been conducted by researchers on the plants used by traditional knowledge holders to evaluate their potential in different animal models and/or clinical studies. Corroboration of traditional usage for 51% of the practices was found in the scientific literature. Of the total, only 20% of the traditional medicines were found to be clinically evaluated in human subjects. Active phyto-constituents were found to be identified in 12% of the cases. Many unexplored practices with no state of the art for particular indications were also found. Conclusion: This study illustrates the potential and applicability of Indian traditional medicinal knowledge in disease management and utilization of these resources towards the development of better therapeutics.

Introduction: Medicinal plants and ethnomedicinal studies continue playing a significant role in herbal products development and traditional knowledge conservation. Calls for ethnomedicinal studies have increased recently to unleash the potential in medicinal plants and document verbal traditional knowledge. This study recorded the medicinal plants administered by traditional practitioners in the Traditional Authority Chikowi area of Zomba district in Malawi. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted for 2 weeks in September 2017. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to traditional medicine practitioners using snowball sampling in the company of botany personnel from the National Herbarium and Botanical Gardens (NHBG). Data collected included plant local names, medicinal uses, parts used, preparation methods and administration methods to clients. Some species were photographed and identified in the field by the NHBG officers. Results: Five traditional practitioners were interviewed. Fifty-nine medicinal plant species belonging to 38 families were used as prophylaxis and treatment for 27 communicable and non-communicable diseases/conditions. Fabaceae family (papilionoideae 11.9%, mimosoideae 5.1%, caesalpinioideae 1.7%) had the largest percentage of species (18.6%). Preparation methods ranged from infusion (38.0%) to cream (2.0%). Of these, 86.0%, 12.0% and 2.0% were administered orally, topically and rectally respectively. Roots were the most used part (60.8%) while the least used was flowers (1.3%). Nearly two-thirds were trees or shrubs (32.2% each). Conclusion: The area has a rich biodiversity of medicinal plant species and knowledge scientists can use as a baseline for identification of plant species, bioactive compounds and preparations with useful medicinal properties.

Background: Temperament (mizaj), prakruti and zheng are equivalent basic concepts in different traditional medical schools. In Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM), Liver distemperament is one of the liver diseases not yet objectively defined. Objectives: The present study aims to explain the concept of dry liver dystemperament in Iranian Traditional Medicine. Methods: This study is a qualitative research based on a hybrid model of concept analysis. In literature review, 11 major academic textbooks of PhD students of ITM as well as, recent investigations were reviewed. In addition, 16 ITM experts were interviewed to collect empirical data. The data were analyzed using MAXQDA10 software and categorized based on conventional content analysis. Result: Here, dry dystemperament of the liver was classified into three main themes of systemic, local, and Para-clinical symptoms and 10 categories. Phenotypic features, skin color, dryness or stiffness in mucus, skin and subcutaneous tissue touch, general or gastrointestinal dysfunction; especially thirst and systemic impressibility speed were the most important clinical diagnostic criteria. Conclusion: In this study, a new definition was presented for dry liver dystemperament. Based on the results, there were some scattered symptoms in textbooks, which were of the same importance. However, in empirical phase, the experts of traditional medicine stated that in clinical diagnosis, some signs or symptoms are more important for them. The concept of dry liver dystemperament was classified into 10 categories which were the same as dysfunction in 10 categories that mentioned for general temperament.

Introduction: Ayurveda is one of the most renowned traditional systems of medicine and is widely practiced in India. Self-medication of these ayurvedic medicines (AM’s) may elicit more or less similar type of adverse reactions as synthetic drugs. Methods: We present a case report on toxic epidermal necrolysis due to self-medication of ayurvedic medicine. Case Report: The present case is of a patient who used Singhnad Guggulu for 20 days and developed Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) followed by toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). The patient was treated with steroids and antihistamines. The patient recovered completely following seven days of treatment and discharged. Results: After ruling out the provisional diagnosis, the patient was diagnosed with druginduced SJS/TEN. The World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Center (WHOUMC) causality assessment scale was used by taking into consideration the temporal relationship and other relevant parameters and adverse drug reaction (ADR) was found to be ‘certain’. Conclusion: To our knowledge, the present case study is the first report of SJS/TEN that was caused by “Singhnad Guggulu” suggesting clinicians to be vigilant about the possibility of SJS/TEN occurrences with AM. Also, consumers should be advised to use these drugs only on the prescription of the institutionally qualified ayurvedic practitioners.