Transcript Medicinal Plants of Sikkim Himalaya

Medicinal Plants of Sikkim Himalaya
National Institute of Technology
Government of India
Ravongla, South Sikkim
Lecture presentation by: Shri. Laydong Lepcha,
Information Officer
Bioinformatics Centre, SSCS&T
PLANTS INEVITABLE ATTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS
MEDICAL SCIENCE:
• Almost all Medicines (Allopathic etc) are the products of
medicinal plants.
• 25% of the preserved human medicine are derived from
plants.
• Among plants of economic importance Medicinal and
Aromatic plants have played a inevitable.
• Vital role in alleviating human sufferings (Baquar, 2001).
Baquar S. R (2001) Textbook of Economic Botany (Ist Edition)
Published in Pakistan by Ferozsons (Pvt) Ltd., Lahore
• Plants are utilized as therapeutic agents since time
immemorial in both organized (Ayurveda, Unani) and
unorganized (folk, tribal, native) form (Girach et al 2003).
• An impressive number of modern drugs have been isolated or derived from
natural sources, based on their use in traditional medicine (Cragg and Newman,
2001)
•Plants have formed a basis for traditional medicine systems that have been used
for thousands of years in countries with ancient civilizations such as China
(Chang and But 1986), India (Kapoor, 1990) and Thailand (Subchareon 1998).
•Plant-based systems continue to play an essential role in healthcare and it has
been estimated by the WHO that approximately 80% of the world’s inhabitants
rely mainly on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare (Farnsworth et al.
1985).
•119 chemical substances derived from 90 plant species can be considered as
important drugs currently in use in one or more countries (Farnsworth et al.
1985).
Some important BIOACTIVITIES need to be
understand:
Cholagogue
= An agent which promotes the discharge of bile from
the gall bladder into the duodenum.
Emetic
= Causing vomiting.
Therapeutic
= Process Relating to the healing of disease
Rheumatism
= Any disease marked by inflammation and pain in the
joints, muscles, or fibrous tissue.
Tonic
= A medicinal substance taken to give a feeling of vigor
or well-being.
Spasm
= A sudden involuntary muscular contraction or
convulsive movement.
Cholera
= An infectious and often fatal bacterial disease of the
small intestine,caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
Palpitation
= A noticeably rapid, strong, or irregular heartbeat due to
agitation, exertion, or illness.
Anthelmintic
= Agent (drugs) that expel parasitic worms (helminths)
Astringent
= A substance that causes the contraction of body tissues,
typically used to reduce bleeding from minor abrasions.
Bitter
= Having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet.
Laxative
= A food or drug that stimulates evacuation of the bowels
(via loose motion).
Dropsy
= Swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells,
tissues, or serous cavities.
Dyspepsia
= Painful, difficult, or disturbed digestion, which may be
accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting,
heartburn.
Melancholia
= Depression. A mental condition marked by persistent
depression and ill-founded fears.
Sciatica
= Pain affecting the back, hip, and outer side of the leg,
caused by compression of a spinal nerve root in the lower
back.
= Bleeding: the flow of blood from a ruptured blood vessel.
Haemorrhage
Ethnotraditional plants of Sikkim:
• There are about 400 species of medicinal
plants.
• 420 medicinal valued plants (Ashok Kumar
Panda, Medicinal plants of Sikkim in
Ayurvedic practice, Regional Research
Institute(Ay), Tadong, Gangtok(Sikkim).
• 200 medicinal plants
(Bioinformatics Centre,SSCST)
Some of the major medicinal
species of Sikkim
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Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex. Royle
Nardostachys jatamansi DC.
Bergenia ciliata Sternb
Swertia chirata Buch-Ham
Picrorhiza kurooa Royles ex Benth.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Family
: Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex. Royle
: Bikh, Atish (Nep)
: Ranunculaceae
There are about 24 species of
aconites in the Himalayan region
Out of which the best known
species is Aconitum hetrophyllum.
Habitat
: A herb 0.3-1.2 m tall. Grown in open grassy slopes
and Rhododendron shrubs of sub alpine and alpine
Himalaya.
Distribution
: Distributed in sub- alpine and alpine Himalaya
between 2,750- 3700 m and also from Indus to
Kumoan at the height of 6000- 15000 ft.
In Sikkim
: Memenchu Lake, Tamjay, Kyongnosla, Thangu,
Green Lake Dzongri, Nathang, Lachung, and Lachen.
Morphological
: A herb 0.3 - 1.2 m tall. Roots biennial
tuberous, paired, whitish or green.
Leaves ovate- cordate to rounded, the
upper ones clasp the stem.
Lowest leaves deeply lobed and long
stalked.
Flowers bright blue usually in lax spike
like cluster with very variable bracts
greenish purple conspicuously dark
veined.
Follicles 5, 16- 8 mm long, shortly hairy
erect.Seeds
obpyramidal,
blackish
brown.
Parts used
: Roots
Phytochemistry
: Four new diterpenoid alkaloids- 15
deacetylvakognavine, palmadine, palmasine and 6acetylheteravisine isolated along with vakognavine,
heteravisine, isoatisine and hitidine, structures of new
compounds elucidated (Tetrahedron Lett.
1988,29,1875).
Medicinal
: Tuber extract is medicinally used for high fever and
stomach troubles and the root like quinine is intensely
bitter, used in combination with long pepper for
vomiting, diarrhoea and bowel complaints. Externally it
is used as an application for rheumatism, sharp cuts
and wounds. It is also used as a tonic.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Family
: Nardostachys jatamansi DC.
: Jatamasi (Nep)
: Valerianaceae
Habitat
: It is an aromatic perennial herb grows at heights up to 5000
m in the eastern Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim.
Distribution
: It is widely grown in the alpine zones of central and eastern
Himalayas.
In Sikkim
: Kupup, Nathang, Tamsay, Kyongnosla- Tamsay, ChanguTamsay, Kisheong, Baba Mandir, Thongu-Green lake,Dzongri.
Morphological
: Perennial herb up to 60 cm tall, with long woody rootstock.
Rhizomes thick, dark grey, crowned with reddish brown
tufted,fibrous remains of petioles of radical leaves. Leaves
elliptic- lenceolate or spathulate. Flowers rose-purple to whitish
in dense heads borne in terminal clusters, sepal coloured, 5lobed; petal 5, rounded. Fruit obovate flattened. Seeds
obovate, compressed.
Parts used
: Rhizomes and root.
Phytochemistry : Revised structure of nardostachone (Tetrahedron Lett. 1970,
413); structure of jatasmansic acid (Arch. Pharm.1974, 307,
791; Chem. Abstr. 1975, 82, 4423f); seychellende and
seychelane isolated; seychalane found to be mixture of two
epimers (Indian J.Chem. 1974, 12, 1221; phytochemistry
1976, 15, 224); norseychelanone patchoili alcohol and K and patchoulenes isolated from roots.
(Phytochemistry 1976,15, 224); actinidine isolated from
rhizomes (Shoyakugaku Zasshi 1978, 32, 121, Chem. Abstr.
1979, 90, 51471v).
It has been recorded that plant has a host of
pharmacognostical properties such as myocardial infarction,
antispasmodic, laxative
Medicinal
: Acting as the popular valerian, it is administered as a
stimulant and an anti-spasmodic in hysteria and epilepsy. The
dried root is used in epileptic bits, cholera, palpitation and also
during hair loss.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Family
: Bergenia ciliata Sternb
: Pakhanbeth (Nep)
: Saxifragaceae
Habitat
: Found on rocks, ledges and cliffs.
Distribution
: Distributed to temperate and sub -alpine region.
In Sikkim
: Kyongnosla, Changu, Karponanag, Lachen to Thongu,
Nathang,Prekchu -Tsokha, Pangolakha- Subaney Dara, Gangtok
(domesticated).
Morphological
:Leaves sub orbicular or broadly obovate, 15x4-14 cm, rounded
at base and apex, margin finely denticulate and densely ciliate,
leaves otherwise glaborous. Flowers 1–20; calyx 7–12
mm,green, lobes acute, denticulate near apex; petals obovate,
11-15 x 7 -13 mm, white tinged pink; stamens 6 -12 mm.
Parts used
: Root
Phytochemistry :
Medicinal
: Used in fever, pulmonary infections, diarrhoea and scurvy.
Decoction of the root is made and taken orally.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Family
: Swertia chirata Buch-Ham
: Chirata (Nep), Rungkyon (Lep)
: Gentianaceae
Habitat
: It is a branched robust annual or perennial herb up to 1.5 m
tall. The plant grows wild in temperate region. The plant is
found generally at cool and humid areas.
Distribution
: Distributed in temperate-sub alpine region.
In Sikkim
: Chungthang, Dentam, Pemayantse, Kyongnosla, Rabong,
Bakhim to Tsokha, Karponang, 6th mile (East Sikkim),
Lachung-Sarchok, Nathang, Phadamchen, Dzongu.
Morphological
: Erect herb; up to 1.5 m tall. Roots 5-10 cm long, light brown,
somewhat twisted and gradually tapering. Stems more or less
4-sided. Leaves opposite, broadly lanceolate, acute.
Corymbose cymes. Flowers greenish-yellow tinged with
purple in. Capsules sessile, oblong, many sided.
Seeds smooth many angled.
: Whole plant.
Parts used
Phytochemistry : Isolation and structure determination of a new dimeric
xanthone-chiratanin; a new triterpene- swertanone isolated
from aerial parts and its structure elucidated.
Medicinal
: Used as powder, infusion or as an extract, antidiarrhoeal,
antimalarial, anthelmintic, astringent, bitter. Laxative,
stomachic and tonic used as a special remedy for franchial
asthma and liver disorders; beneficial in cough, dropsy,
dyspepsia, melancholia, sciatica and skin diseases; given with
sandal wood paste to stop internal haemorrhage in the
stomach.
Ethnotraditional : The decoction of whole dried plant (around 200-250 ml)
taken daily in the morning before taking breakfast could
be the good remedies against high fever, cough and malarial
fever (Project Report 1999, Common System).
The root extract taken daily in the morning in an empty
stomach to keep fit and healthy. The juice of fresh plants or
infusion of dry plants is prescribed as blood purifier in skin
diseases, bitter tonic for fevers and indigestion. The infusion
prepared from chirayita. Dried peels of orange and lemon and
alcohol (25%) by maceration official in I.P and its 0 dose is 2 to
4 ml.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Family
: Picrorhiza kurooa Royle ex Benth.
: Kutki (Nep)
: Scrophulariaceae
Habitat
: A Perennial, hairy herb in rocky slopes of alpine Himalaya.
Distribution
: Distributed in alpine Himalayas from Kashmir to Sikkim
at the height of 2700-4500 m.
In Sikkim
:Thansing, Muguthang, Dzongri (3600-4000 m), Kupup,
Changu, Baba Mandir, Memenchu, Jalepla, Pangolakha,
Lhonak valley, Yumay-Samdong, Kishong, Yumthang and
above.
Morphological
: A hairy perennial herb with up to 0.5 cm thick rootstock
covered with the base of the withered leaves. Leaves almost
radical, spathulate, base narrowed into winged sheathing
petiole. Flowers white or blue, flowering stem longer than the
leaves. Spike 5-10 cm long sub-cylindric, many flowered.
Capsule is about 1cm long and egg shaped.
Parts used
: Roots and rhizome
Phytochemistry
: Structure of kutkin isolated from roots; apocynin
(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyacetophenone) isolated a new
iridoid glucoside- picroside I- isolted and
characterized as 6'- O- trans- cinnamoyl- catalpol;
crystalline kutkin shown to be a stable mixed crystal
of picroside I and a new glucoside- kutkoside;
structure of latter elucidated as 10- 0
vanilloylcatapol; a new iridoid glucoside- picroside
II-isolated and characterized as 6-vanniloylcatapol;
picrosdie III isolated and characterized as 6’ -(4hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamoyl) catapol.
Medicinal
: The roots of the plant is bitter in taste and the dried
roots are used orally in malaria. The roots are used
as bitter tonic, cathartic, stomachic, given in fever,
dyspepsia, as strong purgative and also applied in
scorpion and other insect bites.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Family
: Podophyllum hexandrum Royal
: Panchpatey
: Podophylaceae
Habitat
: It grows at the lower alpine regions and has been in medicinal
usage since ancient days. Now the plant has been
experimentally cultivated at higher altitudes between 1500w3000m amsl (Ashok kumar Panda, Medicinal Plants of Sikkim
Ayurvedic practice, Regional Research Institute, Tadong).
Medicinal
: The roots are used as emetic (Vomiting), cholagogue
(promotes the discharge of bile), blood purifier,purgative and
alterative. It is considered as a cardiac tonic in small doses. It
also finds use as a stimulant in peristalsis, allergy and skin
inflammations.
Latest Journal Publications on Medicinal plants
of Sikkim (2011 and 2012):
• L. Lepcha1*, S. Guha Roy2, A. Sarkar3, B. C. Basistha4, M. L.
Arrawatia (2011). Documentation of Medicinally Important
Plants from the Landslide Prone Areas of East Sikkim, India: A
Survey Report. Journal of Phytology 2011, 3(7): 01-07 ISSN:
2075-6240.
• Laydong Lepcha*, B.C. Basistha, K.B. Subba, Rajdeep Gurung,
N.P. Sharma. A reckon on the conservation and sustainability
of Abroma augusta Linn of Sikkim Himalaya (2012). Journal
of Medical Science and Research (Accepted).
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