Some Plants used in Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Medicine

Traditional medicines are used by about 60% of the world’s population. These are used for primary health care, not only in rural areas of developing nations but they are also used in the developed countries where modern medicine are pre dominantly used. In the western world the use of medicinal herbs is continuously growing, approximately 40% of the population is using herbs for medical illness due to increased incidences of adverse effects of allopathic medicine. There are about 45000 plant species in India, Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats and Andman and Nicobar Islands are the hot spot for medicinal plants. Officially documented plants with medicinal potential are 3000 but traditional practitioner use more than 6000. Seventy percent of the population in the rural India is dependent on the ayurvedic system of medicine. Most of the drugs used in modern medicine and ancient Indian medicinal system are of plant origin. Beside plants many minerals, salts and animal products are used in Ayurvedic medicines. Homoeopathy originated in west, German physician Samuel Hanemann was the father of homoeopathy (1796), the homeopathic remedies are prepared by successive dilution followed by shaking forcefully. Homoeopathy uses animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its remedies. Arsenicum album (arsenic oxide), Natrum muriaticum (sodium chloride), opium (plant), and thyroidinum (thyroid hormone) are some of the homoeopathic medicines extracted from different sources.