Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered

and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times.
Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for functions
including defense against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous
mammals. Numerous phytochemicals with potential or established
biological activity have been identified. However, since a single plant
contains widely diverse phytochemicals, the effects of using a whole
plant as medicine are uncertain. Further, the phytochemical content
and pharmacological actions, if any, of many plants having medicinal
potential remain unassisted by rigorous scientific research to define
efficacy and safety.

The earliest historical records of herbs are found from the Sumerian
civilization, where hundreds of medicinal plants including opium are
listed on clay tablets, c. 3000 BC. The Ebers Papyrus from ancient
Egypt, c. 1550 BC, describes over 850 plant medicines. The Greek
physician Dioscorides, who worked in the Roman army, documented
over 1000 recipes for medicines using over 600 medicinal plants in
De materia medica, c. 60 AD; this formed the basis of
pharmacopoeias for some 1500 years. Drug research sometimes
makes use of ethnobotany to search for pharmacologically active
substances, and this approach has yielded hundreds of useful
compounds. These include the common drugs aspirin, dioxin, quinine,
and opium. The compounds found in plants are of many kinds, but
most are in four major biochemical classes: alkaloids, glycosides,
polyphenols, and terpenes.

Medicinal plants are widely used in non-industrialized societies,

mainly because they are readily available and cheaper than modern
medicines. The annual global export value of the thousands of types
of plants with medicinal properties was estimated to be US$2.2 billion
in 2012. In 2017, the potential global market for botanical extracts
and medicines was estimated at several hundred billion dollars. In
many countries, there is little regulation of traditional medicine, but
the World Health Organization coordinates a network to encourage
safe and rational usage. Medicinal plants face both general threats,
such as climate change and habitat destruction, and the specific 1
threat of over-collection to meet market demand
 Contents
1. History
a. Prehistoric times
b. Ancient times
c. Middle Ages Early Modern
d. 19th and 20th centuries
2. Context
3. phytochemical basis
a. Alkaloids
b. Glycosides
c. Polyphenols
d. Terpenes
4. In practice
a. Cultivation
b. Preparation
c. Usage
d. Effectiveness
e. Regulation
f. Drug discovery
g. Safety
h. Quality, advertising, and labeling
5. The Significance of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants
a. Abstract
6. Actions of Foods, Spices, and Medicinal Plants
a. The role of food
b. The action of Indian spices
c. Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants
7. Ayurveda Branding as Teas
8. Ayurvedic Plants: Misuse and Self-Medication
9. Threats
10. Conclusion
11. Bibliography
2
History
Prehistoric times
Plants, including many now used as culinary herbs and spices, have
been used as medicines, not necessarily effectively, from prehistoric
times. Spices have been used partly to counter food spoilage bacteria,
especially in hot climates, and especially in meat dishes which spoil
more readily. Angiosperms (flowering plants) were the original
source of most plant medicines. Human settlements are often
surrounded by weeds used as herbal medicines, such as nettle,
dandelion and chickweed. Humans were not alone in using herbs as
medicines: some animals such as non-human primates, monarch
butterflies and sheep ingest medicinal plants when they are ill. Plant
samples from prehistoric burial sites are among the lines of evidence
that Paleolithic peoples had knowledge of herbal medicine. For
instance, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal burial site, "Shanidar IV", in
northern Iraq has yielded large amounts of pollen from eight plant
species, seven of which are used now as herbal remedies. Also, a
mushroom was found in the personal effects of Ötzi the Iceman,
whose body was frozen in the Ötztal Alps for more than 5,000 years.
The mushroom was probably used against whipworm

Ancient times
In ancient Sumeria, hundreds of medicinal plants including myrrh and
opium are listed on clay tablets from around 3000 BC. The ancient
Egyptian Ebers Papyrus lists over 800 plant medicines such as aloe,
cannabis, castor bean, garlic, juniper, and mandrake.[14][15]

From ancient times to the present, Ayurvedic medicine as

documented in the Atharva Veda, the Rig Veda and the Sushruta
Samhita has used hundreds of pharmacologically active herbs and
spices such as turmeric, which contains curcumin. The Chinese
pharmacopoeia, the Shennong Ben Cao Jing records plant medicines
such as chaulmoogra for leprosy, ephedra, and hemp. This was
expanded in the Tang Dynasty Yaoxing Lun. In the fourth century BC,
Aristotle's pupil Theophrastus wrote the first systematic botany text,
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Historia plantarum. In around 60 AD, the Greek physician Pedanius
Dioscorides, working for the Roman army, documented over 1000
recipes for medicines using over 600 medicinal plants in De materia
medica. The book remained the authoritative reference on herbalism
for over 1500 years, into the seventeenth century.

Middle Ages
In the Early Middle Ages, Benedictine monasteries preserved medical
knowledge in Europe, translating and copying classical texts and
maintaining herb gardens. Hildegard of Bingen wrote Causae et
Curae ("Causes and Cures") on medicine. In the Islamic Golden Age,
scholars translated many classical Greek texts including Dioscorides
into Arabic, adding their own commentaries. Herbalism flourished in
the Islamic world, particularly in Baghdad and in Al-Andalus. Among
many works on medicinal plants, Abulcasis (936–1013) of Cordoba
wrote The Book of Simples, and Ibn al-Baitar (1197–1248) recorded
hundreds of medicinal herbs such as Aconitum, nux vomica, and
tamarind in his Corpus of Simples. Avicenna included many plants in
his 1025 The Canon of Medicine. Abu-Rayhan Biruni, Ibn Zuhr, Peter
of Spain, and John of St Amand wrote further pharmacopoeias.

Early Modern
The Early Modern period saw the flourishing of illustrated herbals
across Europe, starting with the 1526 Grete Herball. John Gerard
wrote his famous The Herball or General History of Plants in 1597,
based on Rembert Dodoens, and Nicholas Culpeper published his The
English Physician Enlarged. Many new plant medicines arrived in
Europe as products of Early Modern exploration and the resulting
Columbian Exchange, in which livestock, crops and technologies
were transferred between the Old World and the Americas in the 15th
and 16th centuries. Medicinal herbs arriving in the Americas included
garlic, ginger, and turmeric; coffee, tobacco and coca travelled in the
other direction. In Mexico, the sixteenth century Badianus
Manuscript described medicinal plants available in Central America.

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19th and 20th centuries
The place of plants in medicine was radically altered in the 19th
century by the application of chemical analysis. Alkaloids were
isolated from a succession of medicinal plants, starting with morphine
from the poppy in 1806, and soon followed by ipecacuanha and
strychnos in 1817, quinine from the cinchona tree, and then many
others. As chemistry progressed, additional classes of
pharmacologically active substances were discovered in medicinal
plants. Commercial extraction of purified alkaloids including
morphine from medicinal plants began at Merck in 1826. Synthesis of
a substance first discovered in a medicinal plant began with salicylic
acid in 1853. Around the end of the 19th century, the mood of
pharmacy turned against medicinal plants, as enzymes often modified
the active ingredients when whole plants were dried, and alkaloids
and glycosides purified from plant material started to be preferred.
Drug discovery from plants continued to be important through the
20th century and into the 21st, with important anti-cancer drugs from
yew and Madagascar periwinkle.

5
Context
Medicinal plants are used with the intention of maintaining health, to
be administered for a specific condition, or both, whether in modern
medicine or in traditional medicine. The Food and Agriculture
Organization estimated in 2002 that over 50,000 medicinal plants are
used across the world. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew more
conservatively estimated in 2016 that 17,810 plant species have a
medicinal use, out of some 30,000 plants for which a use of any kind
is documented.

In modern medicine, around a quarter of the drugs prescribed to

patients are derived from medicinal plants, and they are rigorously
tested. In other systems of medicine, medicinal plants may constitute
the majority of what are often informal attempted treatments, not
tested scientifically. The World Health Organization estimates,
without reliable data, that some 80 percent of the world's population
depends mainly on traditional medicine (including but not limited to
plants), perhaps some two billion people are largely reliant on
medicinal plants. The use of plant-based materials including herbal or
natural health products with supposed health benefits is increasing in
developed countries. This brings attendant risks of toxicity and other
effects on human health, despite the safe image of herbal remedies.
Herbal medicines have been in use since long before modern
medicine existed; there was and often still is little or no knowledge of
the pharmacological basis of their actions, if any, or of their safety.
The World Health Organization formulated a policy on traditional
medicine in 1991, and since then has published guidelines for them,
with a series of monographs on widely used herbal medicines.

Medicinal plants may provide three main kinds of benefit: health

benefits to the people who consume them as medicines; financial
benefits to people who harvest, process, and distribute them for sale;
and society-wide benefits, such as job opportunities, taxation income,
and a healthier labour force. However, development of plants or
extracts having potential medicinal uses is blunted by weak scientific

6
evidence, poor practices in the process of drug development, and
insufficient financing.

Phytochemical basis
All plants produce chemical compounds which give them an
evolutionary advantage, such as defending against herbivores or, in
the example of salicylic acid, as a hormone in plant defenses. These
phytochemicals have potential for use as drugs, and the content and
known pharmacological activity of these substances in medicinal
plants is the scientific basis for their use in modern medicine, if
scientifically confirmed. For instance, daffodils (Narcissus) contain
nine groups of alkaloids including galantamine, licensed for use
against Alzheimer's disease. The alkaloids are bitter-tasting and toxic,
and concentrated in the parts of the plant such as the stem most likely
to be eaten by herbivores; they may also protect against parasites.

Modern knowledge of medicinal plants is being systematised in the

Medicinal Plant Transcriptomics Database, which by 2011 provided a
sequence reference for the transcriptome of some thirty species. The
major classes of pharmacologically active phytochemicals are
described below, with examples of medicinal plants that contain them.

7
Alkaloids
Alkaloids are bitter-tasting chemicals, very widespread in nature, and
often toxic, found in many medicinal plants. There are several classes
with different modes of action as drugs, both recreational and
pharmaceutical. Medicines of different classes include atropine,
scopolamine, and hyoscyamine (all from nightshade), the traditional
medicine berberine (from plants such as Berberis and Mahonia),
caffeine (Coffea), cocaine (Coca), ephedrine (Ephedra), morphine
(opium poppy), nicotine (tobacco), reserpine (Rauvolfia serpentina),
quinidine and quinine (Cinchona), vincamine (Vinca minor), and
vincristine (Catharanthus roseus).

Glycosides
Anthraquinone glycosides are found in medicinal plants such as
rhubarb, cascara, and Alexandrian senna. Anthraquinone glycosides
are found in medicinal plants such as rhubarb, cascara, and
Alexandrian senna. Plant-based laxatives made from such plants
include senna, rhubarb and Aloe.
The cardiac glycosides are powerful drugs from medicinal plants
including foxglove and lily of the valley. They include digoxin and
digitoxin which support the beating of the heart, and act as diuretics.

Polyphenols
Polyphenols of several classes are widespread in plants, having
diverse roles in defenses against plant diseases and predators. They
include hormone-mimicking phytoestrogens and astringent tannins.
Plants containing phytoestrogens have been administered for centuries
for gynecological disorders, such as fertility, menstrual, and
menopausal problems. Among these plants are Pueraria mirifica,
kudzu, angelica, fennel, and anise.

Many polyphenolic extracts, such as from grape seeds, olives or

maritime pine bark, are sold as dietary supplements and cosmetics
without proof or legal health claims for beneficial health effects. In
Ayurveda, the astringent rind of the pomegranate, containing
polyphenols called punicalagins, is used as a medicine.
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Terpenes
Terpenes and terpenoids of many kinds are found in a variety of
medicinal plants, and in resinous plants such as the conifers. They are
strongly aromatic and serve to repel herbivores. Their scent makes
them useful in essential oils, whether for perfumes such as rose and
lavender, or for aromatherapy. Some have medicinal uses: for
example, thymol is an antiseptic and was once used as a vermifuge
(anti-worm medicine).

In practice
Cultivation
Medicinal plants demand intensive management. Different species
each require their own distinct conditions of cultivation. The World
Health Organization recommends the use of rotation to minimise
problems with pests and plant diseases. Cultivation may be traditional
or may make use of conservation agriculture practices to maintain
organic matter in the soil and to conserve water, for example with no-
till farming systems. In many medicinal and aromatic plants, plant
characteristics vary widely with soil type and cropping strategy, so
care is required to obtain satisfactory yields.

Preparation
Medicinal plants are often tough and fibrous, requiring some form of
preparation to make them convenient to administer. According to the
Institute for Traditional Medicine, common methods for the
preparation of herbal medicines include decoction, powdering, and
extraction with alcohol, in each case yielding a mixture of substances.
Decoction involves crushing and then boiling the plant material in
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water to produce a liquid extract that can be taken orally or applied
topically. Powdering involves drying the plant material and then
crushing it to yield a powder that can be compressed into tablets.
Alcohol extraction involves soaking the plant material in cold wine or
distilled spirit to form a tincture.

Traditional poultices were made by boiling medicinal plants,

wrapping them in a cloth, and applying the resulting parcel externally
to the affected part of the body.

When modern medicine has identified a drug in a medicinal plant,

commercial quantities of the drug may either be synthesised or
extracted from plant material, yielding a pure chemical. Extraction
can be practical when the compound in question is complex.

Usage
Plant medicines are in wide use around the world. In most of the
developing world, especially in rural areas, local traditional medicine,
including herbalism, is the only source of health care for people,
while in the developed world, alternative medicine including use of
dietary supplements is marketed aggressively using the claims of
traditional medicine. As of 2015, most products made from medicinal
plants had not been tested for their safety and efficacy, and products
that were marketed in developed economies and provided in the
undeveloped world by traditional healers were of uneven quality,
sometimes containing dangerous contaminants. Traditional Chinese
medicine makes use of a wide variety of plants, among other
materials and techniques. Researchers from Kew Gardens found 104
species used for diabetes in Central America, of which seven had been
identified in at least three separate studies. The Yanomami of the
Brazilian Amazon, assisted by researchers, have described 101 plant
species used for traditional medicines.

Drugs derived from plants including opiates, cocaine and cannabis

have both medical and recreational uses. Different countries have at
various times made use of illegal drugs, partly on the basis of the risks
involved in taking psychoactive drugs.

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Effectiveness
Plant medicines have often not been tested systematically, but have
come into use informally over the centuries. By 2007, clinical trials
had demonstrated potentially useful activity in nearly 16% of herbal
medicines; there was limited in vitro or in vivo evidence for roughly
half the medicines; there was only phytochemical evidence for around
20%; 0.5% were allergenic or toxic; and some 12% had basically
never been studied scientifically. Cancer Research UK cautions that
there is no reliable evidence for the effectiveness of herbal remedies
for cancer.

A 2012 phylogenetic study built a family tree down to genus level

using 20,000 species to compare the medicinal plants of three regions,
Nepal, New Zealand and the Cape of South Africa. It discovered that
the species used traditionally to treat the same types of condition
belonged to the same groups of plants in all three regions, giving a
"strong phylogenetic signal". Since many plants that yield
pharmaceutical drugs belong to just these groups, and the groups were
independently used in three different world regions, the results were
taken to mean:

1) That these plant groups do have potential for medicinal efficacy

2) That undefined pharmacological activity is associated with use in

traditional medicine,

3) That the use of phylogenetic groups for medicines in one region

may predict their use in the other regions.

Regulation
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been coordinating a
network called the International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal
Medicines to try to improve the quality of medical products made
from medicinal plants and the claims made for them. In 2015, only
around 20% of countries had well-functioning regulatory agencies,
while 30% had none, and around half had limited regulatory capacity.
In India, where Ayurveda has been practised for centuries, herbal
11
remedies are the responsibility of a government department, AYUSH,
under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

WHO has set out a strategy for traditional medicines with four
objectives: to integrate them as policy into national healthcare
systems; to provide knowledge and guidance on their safety, efficacy,
and quality; to increase their availability and affordability; and to
promote their rational, therapeutically sounds usage. WHO notes in
the strategy that countries are experiencing seven challenges to such
implementation, namely in developing and enforcing policy; in
integration; in safety and quality, especially in assessment of products
and qualification of practitioners; in controlling advertising, in
research and development, in education and training, and in the
sharing of information.

Drug discovery
The pharmaceutical industry has roots in the apothecary shops of
Europe in the 1800s, where pharmacists provided local traditional
medicines to customers, which included extracts like morphine,
quinine, and strychnine. Therapeutically important drugs like
camptothecin (from Camptotheca acuminata, used in traditional
Chinese medicine) and taxol (from the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia)
were derived from medicinal plants. The Vinca alkaloids vincristine
and vinblastine, used as anti-cancer drugs, were discovered in the
1950s from the Madagascar periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus.

Hundreds of compounds have been identified using ethnobotany,

investigating plants used by indigenous peoples for possible medical
applications. Some important phytochemicals, including curcumin,
epigallocatechin gallate, genistein and resveratrol are pan-assay
interference compounds, meaning that in vitro studies of their activity
often provide unreliable data. As a result, phytochemicals have
frequently proven unsuitable as the lead substances in drug discovery.
In the United States over the period 1999 to 2012, despite several
hundred applications for new drug status, only two botanical drug
candidates had sufficient evidence of medicinal value to be approved
by the Food and Drug Administration.

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The pharmaceutical industry has remained interested in mining
traditional uses of medicinal plants in its drug discovery efforts. Of
the 1073 small-molecule drugs approved in the period 1981 to 2010,
over half were either directly derived from or inspired by natural
substances. Among cancer treatments, of 185 small-molecule drugs
approved in the period from 1981 to 2019, 65% were derived from or
inspired by natural substances.

Safety
Plant medicines can cause adverse effects and even death, whether by
side-effects of their active substances, by adulteration or
contamination, by overdose, or by inappropriate prescription. Many
such effects are known, while others remain to be explored
scientifically. There is no reason to presume that because a product
comes from nature it must be safe: the existence of powerful natural
poisons like atropine and nicotine shows this to be untrue. Further, the
high standards applied to conventional medicines do not always apply
to plant medicines, and dose can vary widely depending on the
growth conditions of plants: older plants may be much more toxic
than young ones, for instance.

Pharmacologically active plant extracts can interact with conventional

drugs, both because they may provide an increased dose of similar
compounds, and because some phytochemicals interfere with the
body's systems that metabolize drugs in the liver including the
cytochrome P450 system, making the drugs last longer in the body
and have a more powerful cumulative effect. Plant medicines can be
dangerous during pregnancy. Since plants may contain many different
substances, plant extracts may have complex effects on the human
body.

Quality, advertising, and labelling

Herbal medicine and dietary supplement products have been criticized
as not having sufficient standards or scientific evidence to confirm
their contents, safety, and presumed efficacy. A 2013 study found that
one-third of herbal products sampled contained no trace of the herb

13
listed on the label, and other products were adulterated with unlisted
fillers including potential allergens.

The Significance of Ayurvedic

Medicinal Plants
Abstract
Traditional Indian medicine (ayurveda) is becoming increasingly
popular, with many chronic conditions responding to it well. Most
patients begin to take conventional medications as soon as their
diagnoses are made, so ayurvedic treatments are usually undergone
alongside and/or after conventional medical approaches. A detailed
knowledge of the action of food, spices, and medicinal plants is
needed in order to understand their potential influence fully. While
societal use of ayurvedic plants and Indian spices is commonplace,
without ill effect, the use of more concentrated products made from
single plants, often in the form of teas or tablets, is of more concern.
The mechanisms by which polyherbal drugs and their extracts act
differ in many respects from the actions of single substances or
synthetic drugs. Despite the fact that ayurvedic medicines are based
on natural herbal materials, their safety depends on their method of
administration, taking into account individuals’ needs and their
specific disease conditions. Traditional Indian medicine (or ayurveda)
14
is becoming increasingly popular in Europe, with many chronic
conditions responding to it well. While conventional medicine
dominates many fields in this market, it does not always outperform
traditional ayurvedic approaches. Conventional medicine frequently
relies on lifelong medication, on which patients come to depend.
Many medications have side-effects, and withdrawal symptoms that,
if the medications are later discontinued, can become problematic. In
such circumstances, ayurveda has much to offer. Patients generally
respond well to ayurvedic treatments, experiencing a reduction, and
sometimes even a cessation, of their symptoms. Most patients begin
to take conventional medications as soon as their diagnoses are made,
so ayurvedic treatments are usually undergone alongside and/or after
conventional medical approaches. Patients therefore tend to
experience ayurveda once their conditions have progressed. Despite
this, much can be done to minimize conditions’ symptoms and control
their progress. Ayurveda can help improve patients’ symptoms by
reducing their cortisone and analgesic usage, thereby enhancing their
quality of life.

The public constantly seeks out new health care approaches. In this
situation, ayurveda is an easy target for bogus health claims. Many of
the available books are inauthentic—a product of unqualified authors’
ideas and fantasies. Short-term courses similarly vary greatly in the
quality of the teaching provided and the qualifications thereby
obtained. While ayurveda is becoming increasingly popular, which is
a positive development, care must be taken against its
mismanagement, especially given the vast array of spurious
“ayurvedic” products currently on the market.

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Actions of Foods, Spices, and
Medicinal Plants
The Role of Food
Food plays a major role in ayurvedic practice by supporting the
body’s healing processes. Metabolic diseases and diseases of the
gastrointestinal tract are directly influenced by food. Food can also
indirectly affect diseases of the skin, muscles, and joints, as well as
neurological, gynecological, and psychological disease.

Infrequent consumption is unlikely to cause a problem, but frequent

consumption of inappropriate foods will cause disease or worsen
existing disease. Advice on food depends not only on the disease but
also on the disease condition and the dosha involved. Because of this,
food advice may change throughout the course of a disease,
depending on the stage reached. Interactions between foods and
medicines are a major issue. The advice given with regard to food
must take account of the medicines prescribed, otherwise potential
interactions may worsen patients’ conditions.

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The Action of Indian Spices
The second strongest influence on patients’ doshas, after food, is
spices. Many spices are strong by nature. Spices are obtained from the
roots, flowers, fruits, seeds, or bark of plants or herbs. Spices are
native to warm, tropical climates. Coming from woody or herbaceous
plants, spices have a different active principle, which gives them
specific characters. These active principles have specific functions
within the body. The phytochemicals within spices are secondary
metabolites, which serve to protect the plants from damage by insects,
animals, fungi, pathogens, and parasites. Before consumption, most
spices are dried to degrade these chemicals. Drying also increases the
resulting spices’ shelf life and potency.

The action of spices within the body differs according to the ways that
they are used. Spices are mostly used for their natural flavor and
aroma in processing food. In addition to adding taste, some spices
(cumin, ginger, coriander) also have preventative effects, aiding
digestion through the production of digestive enzymes. When mixed
with digestive juices, these substances aid absorption. Such spices
have individual effects, their actions depending on the constitution of
the person concerned and their disease. Indian food is becoming
increasingly popular and is often seen as healthy. From an ayurvedic
perspective, healthy food is food that is used in a healthy way. From
this viewpoint, spicy and pungent foods are not necessarily “good”
foods. Indian food is not automatically ayurvedic, because the latter
insists that individual’s health situation be taken into account. People
with gastric hyperacidity or gastric or intestinal inflammation may
find their health worsened by exposure to some Indian spices.

Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants

Ayurveda first seeks to diagnose patients’ conditions before treating
them with internal preparations, diet, and habit restrictions. Plant-
based preparations play a major role in the ayurvedic healing process.
In broad terms, there is no substance in the world that cannot be used
as a potential medicine. Traditional ayurvedic texts warn against the
use of substances that are not adequately understood.Any plant,
17
animal, or mineral substance can be incorporated into the ayurvedic
pharmacopeia, but only if it is understood fully, in terms of its
nomenclature, identity, properties, and applications. The texts also
warn against the abuse of well-known medicines, emphasizing the
point that even poisons can have medicinal properties when used
appropriately, whereas the best of medicines can be harmful if
improperly used. Of nearly 10 000 plants used for medicinal purposes
in the Indian subcontinent, only 1200 to 1500 have been incorporated
into the official ayurvedic pharmacopeia in more than 3000 years. All
plants must be studied thoroughly before becoming part of the
ayurvedic pharmacopeia.

Approximately 90% of ayurvedic preparations are plant based.

Ayurvedic plants have a stronger action on the body than either food
or spices. Such actions enable the plant to reverse pathophysiological
processes and stabilize the doshas. For this reason, one should use
such plants with caution. Classical ayurvedic preparations, made from
such plants, are known as “yoga” in Sanskrit. Yogas have developed
following years’ of practical experience combining plants to get the
optimal effect.

Polyherbal combinations have also proven lastingly effective than

single herbs. In ayurveda, most of the classical preparations are
polyherbal, with a combination of 3 to 30 plants involved. These
constituents are combined accurately, in such a way that the formula
is balanced and reproducible. One or two of the plants in these
combinations will be active and the others will play a supporting role.
The supporting herbs will each have different actions, acting as
catalysts to help proper absorption, transportation, and to reduce
toxicity. If an ideal combination is delivered, then the result can be
excellent, but such outcomes are based on thorough plant knowledge.

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Ayurveda Branding as Teas
Classified as vata, pitta, or kapha teas, these products are marketed
for their supposed beneficial effects on individuals’ corresponding
dosha problems. From an ayurvedic perspective, diseases certainly
seem to arise from the improper function of these 3 doshas. Ancient
texts list 80 vata diseases, 40 pitta diseases, and 20 kapha diseases.
The more recent recognition of new diseases should make this
number even higher. The complex pathophysiology of modern disease
means that the symptoms that individuals experience are always a
combination of 2 or 3 doshas. This complexity means that ayurvedic
preparations must be equally complex. In the classics, 63 major
combinations of doshas have been listed and this complexity needs to
be considered to elicit therapeutic effects. For example, migraine, low
back pain, or arthritis of the knee can occur from vata imbalance.
These diseases have different pathophysiological mechanisms,
manifesting themselves in different body regions. To treat these
conditions, drugs that act on the selected region are chosen.
Compounds made from groups of plants are then combined in
prescribed ways to achieve the desired effects. This means that
undifferentiated concepts of vata-, pitta-, and kapha-related teas are
nonsensical. Most of the above-mentioned teas contain a variety of
nonspecific, commonly used, spices. While these teas can certainly be
consumed for refreshment purposes, they will not cure disease.

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 Ayurvedic Plants: Misuse and Self-
Medication
While societal use of ayurvedic plants and Indian spices is
commonplace, without ill effect, the use of more concentrated
products made from single plants, often in the form of teas or tablets,
is of more concern. Ayurvedic plants are generally seen as safe and
free from side effects, which is not always true. Some of the common
plants sold in the market are tulsi, guduchi, and pippali. Lists of some
effects and side effects of Commonly Propagated Ayurvedic Herbs in
the Market are as follows:

Herbs/ Ayurvedic Results of Improper Usage

Plants Perspective
Curcuma/  Anti-inflammatory and  It dries out patients’ stools.
anticarcinogenic actions
turmeric  Not to be given in vata conditions,
 Pungent and bitter in taste with overuse drying out the body
(katu, tikta), dry in quality and intestine, leading to
(guna), hot in potency constipation.
(veerya), and pungent in its
postdigestive taste  Very high doses of oleoresin of
(vipaka). It is used in Curcuma, given over 3 to 4 months,
vitiated states of kapha and shows a dose-dependent increase in
pitta. the weight of recipients’ liver and
thyroid glands, as well as epithelial
changes in their bladders and
kidneys.

 Contraindicated in patients with

thrombocytopenia, platelet
disorders, and gallstones and those
receiving aspirin and warfarin.

 High doses or prolonged use can

cause digestive problems, including
stomach irritation, heartburn,
nausea, or diarrhea; even ulcers.

 Can also make gallbladder

problems worse, especially in
conditions like bile duct obstruction
and gallstone disease.

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  Slows blood clotting, increasing the
risk of bruising and bleeding in
people with bleeding disorders.

 Spices contain many chemically

active compounds. Most owe their
flavoring properties to volatile oils,
and some to fixed oils and small
amount of resin, known as
oleoresins. Spices’ flavor is due to a
blend of compounds, including
alcohols, phenols, esters, terpenes,
organic acids, resins, alkaloids, and
sulfur-containing compounds, in
various proportions. In addition to
these flavoring components, each
spice contains components such as
proteins, carbohydrates, fiber,
minerals, tannins, and polyphenols.
Some of the phytochemicals in
commonly used spices are toxic to
humans, unless the spices
concerned are first dried under
shade or sun. Drying serves to
evaporate volatile phytochemicals.

 Turmeric should not be used in raw

form, for this reason. It has been
found to control a variety of
agricultural and animal pests—its
bioactive constituents interfering
with insect behavior and growth.
Products containing turmeric have
also been found useful as insect
repellents and insecticides.

Ginger  Pungent taste, be light and  People, who take ginger regularly,
in pitta condition, or having pitta
unctuous in quality, hot in
potency and sweet prakruti, may develop pitta-related
postdigestion; help reduce problems. This may, in turn, lead to
patients’ kapha and vata inflammatory skin problems or to
and increases their pitta. gastrointestinal diseases such as
hyperacidity, intestinal
inflammation, hemorrhoids. Long-
term use may also cause
constipation.

 It can also interact with anti-

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 inflammatory medications like
ibuprofen as well as anticoagulants
such as aspirin, warfarin, and
heparin. Side effects include
increased bleeding, as well as the
development of rashes, itching, and
swelling of the tongue, lips, and/or
throat.

Aloe vera  Bitter and a sweet taste, a  Improper use may cause
heavy, unctuous and slimy complications, producing problems
quality, a cold potency, and arising from kapha and ama
a pungent postdigestive (metabolic toxins).
taste. It is good in vitiated
conditions of pitta and  Long-term use of the latex form of
vata. Used in various Aloe vera can result in potassium
inflammatory diseases, as deficiency.
well as in skin and liver
disease.  It should not be taken orally in
inflammatory intestinal diseases
like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative
colitis, or appendicitis, nor used
during pregnancy.

 Oral ingestion has been shown to

be unsafe, especially at high doses,
with evidence that some of its
constituents may be carcinogenic.

 Latex form, can also harm the

kidneys, potentially causing serious
kidney disease and even death.

 The US Food and Drug

Administration became concerned
about the safety of Aloe Vera latex,
which was an ingredient in many
laxative products.

Tulsi  Taste both pungent and  Improper and excessive use may
bitter aggravate pitta, causing pitta- and
(Ocimum blood-related disorders.
sanctum)  Light and dry in quality,
hot in potency, and  Its marked antifertility action
pungent in its postdigestive makes its prolonged use in male

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 taste. and female sterility contraindicated.
For example, an extract of fresh
 Increases pitta and tulsi leaves, containing benzene,
decreases both kapha and fed to male rats reduced their total
vata. sperm count, sperm motility, and
the weight of their testes.
 Administered against
worms and parasites, insect  A 3-month program of feeding tulsi
poisoning, and in cases of leaves (200 and 400 mg/kg) to adult
toxicity. male and female albino rats, along
with a normal diet, decreased the
former’s sperm count, sperm
motility, and the weight of their
reproductive organs.

 Among the 7 tissues (dhatus)

mentioned in ayurveda,
reproductive tissue is noted as the
last, with a direct relation with ojus.
Ojus relates to the body’s
immunity, arising from the strength
of all the body tissues, especially
the sukra (male or female
reproductive tissue). A plant that
affects the sukra will also affect the
ojus, depleting the body’s
immunity.

Moringa  Moringa is mostly grown  Produces burning sensation due to

in the south of India, where an increase in pitta. Excessive use
(Moringa its fruits and leaves are may cause constipation.
oleifera) used as a vegetable.
 It is not advised in pregnant
 Ayurveda uses the plants’ women, as some studies show an
roots and bark for abortifacient effect.8
medicinal purposes. It is
sweet and bitter in taste,  These factors make it generally ill-
sharp and light in quality, advised to consume moringa
hot in potency, and regularly, or in large doses.
pungent in postdigestion. It
is seen to pacify kapha

Guduchi/  It has a bitter taste, is  It causes mild constipation in some

heavy in quality, hot in people.
Amrut potency, and sweet in
(Tinospora postdigestion.  It increases the force of ventricular
cordifolia) contraction, produces bradycardia,
and causes a marked but transient
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  It pacifies all 3 of the fall in blood pressure.
body’s doshas.
 It is also mild diuretic, significantly
decreasing blood urea levels in
uremic patients.

Pippali  Bioavailability enhancer  Being misunderstood as a form of

pepper
(Piper  It is seen to be sweet and
longum) pungent in taste, unctuous  Not used in cooking
in quality, hot in potency,
and sweet in postdigestive  Excessive use of pippali creates a
action. It pacifies vata and burning sensation.
kapha, increases pitta, and
is slightly laxative.  As a rasayana treatment, pippali is
taken with milk, to reduce its after-
 An immune modulatory effects.
plant.
 Pippali also has a potent antifertility
activity and should not be used in
the first trimester of pregnancy.

Aswagandha  Bitter and astringent in  Extracts from its roots are known to
taste, light and unctuous in have both hypnotic and sedative
(Withania quality, hot in potency, and effects, due to the presence of the
somnifera) sweet in postdigestive alkaloid somniferin.
action. It pacifies vata and
kapha, and increases pitta.  It is contraindicated in pregnancy
and in arterial congestion. Large
 Its actions on the central dose may cause diarrhea and
nervous system mean that vomiting.
it is mostly used in patients
with mental health
conditions.

Triphala:  A combination from 3  Administered during increased

plants fruit. body toxins results in symptoms
Terminalia like headaches, rashes, nausea,
chebula  It drives out body toxins by gastric disturbances, such as flatus
(Haritaki), unblocking the body’s and diarrhea, and dehydration.
channels (srothus).
Terminalia  In people taking blood-thinning
bellirica medications, and is not advised in
(Bibhitaki), conditions like diarrhea or loose or
sluggish stools.
Emblica
officinalis  Pregnant women and lactating
(Amalaki) mothers should also consult their
doctors before taking or continuing

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 it.

 Wrongly prescribed and consumed,

triphala can cause mucus
destruction in the intestines.

 Long-term use can also lead to

drying of the intestinal flora in
some patients.

 Assessment of the in vitro effects of

triphala has shown that these
compounds may inhibit the actions
of drug metabolizing enzymes.

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Threats
Where medicinal plants are harvested from the wild rather than
cultivated, they are subject to both general and specific threats.
General threats include climate change and habitat loss to
development and agriculture. A specific threat is over-collection to
meet rising demand for medicines. A case in point was the pressure
on wild populations of the Pacific yew soon after news of taxol's
effectiveness became public. The threat from over-collection could be
addressed by cultivation of some medicinal plants, or by a system of
certification to make wild harvesting sustainable. A report in 2020 by
the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew identifies 723 medicinal plants as
being at risk of extinction, caused partly by over-collection

26
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that many factors must be
considered in prescribing or taking ayurvedic medicine. Although
ayurvedic medications are based on natural herbal materials, their
safety depends on their administration method, considering
individuals’ needs and their specific disease conditions. The unguided
consumption of ayurvedic preparations in the mistaken belief that
spices and herbs will necessarily be safe may lead to serious health
issues. A thorough awareness of these plant's actions is needed for
their safe selection and consumption.

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