Domestic Herbal Remedies

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It gives me a great pleasure to write a few lines by way of Foreword for this book.

The author Dr. Madhur Gupta, a very brilliant student of mine, has shown interest in ancient culture and naturopathy, in particular, during the ancient Vedic period, drawing heavily on the healthy and simple living of our ancestors which besides being scientific was based upon Ayurvedic Herbal remedies.

Dr. Madhur’s attempt to highlight the basic principles and the practical application of domestic herbal remedies is highly commendable.

I am conscious of the fact that most people are not conscious of the need of its application in the modern system of medicine and medical practice which are easily available.

Therefore, I advise the readers always to consult their respective physician before attempting any holistic! Herbal home treatment! Remedies.

The readers will find that the presentation is the result of in- depth study of varied aspects of the subject depicting originality with clarity.

I wish dear Madhur success in all her future endeavours.

Preface

India enjoys the privilege of having time tested traditional systems of medicines based on natural products. Plants based products have been in use for medicinal, therapeutic or other purposes. The traditional remedies of the ancient world were all based on natural products, e.g. morphine from opium for use as narcotic and analgesic, latex exuded from the poppy seed for gout, cocaine from cocoa leaf as potential local anesthetic, ergot for obstetric use, castor oil etc. as laxatives, turmeric as an antiseptic, garlic and onion for blood and heart remedies to mention just a few.

The traditional Indian system of medicine, namely, Ayurveda which involves dispensing of herbal and plant products in various forms such as powders, extracts, decoction etc. dates back to the Vedic period, when the first mention of diseases and drugs is found in Rigveda and Yajurveda’ (i.e. around 2000 B.C.) and the earliest comprehensive description of Ayurveda is available in the Atharva Veda (i.e. 1600- 1000 B.C.), which contains inter alia description of human anatomy, rudiments of classifications of diseases and reference of herbal medicines.

Ayurvedic practice is health oriented and has an approach of holistic psychosomatic constituents of human body essential for health. Ayurveda is thus gaining prominence as the natural system of health care all over the world. Today this system of medicine is being practised in our neighbouring countries i.e. Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, while the traditional system of medicine in other countries of the region like Tibet, Mangolia and Thailand appear to be derived from Ayurveda. Phytomedicines are also being increasingly used in Western Europe. The US Government has established the “Office of Alternative Medicine” at the National Institute of Health at Bethesda and its support to alternative medicines includes basic and applied research in traditional system of medicines such as Chinese, Ayurvedic etc, with a view to assisting the possible integration of effective treatments with modern medicines. It is estimated that the global market for herbal drugs is nearly Rs. 800 crores per year.

The impact of Ayurvedic practices is established. The knowledge of this traditional medicinal system, which is mostly plant based is tremendous, but the science of Ayurveda is not established. A major lacuna is the lack of drug standardisation, information and quality control. Most of the Ayurvedic medicines are in the form of crude extracts, which are a mixture of several ingredients, and the active principles when isolated individually fail to give the desired activity.

This only implies that the activity of the extract is the synergic effect of various components. In the absence of pharmacopic data on the various plant, extracts, it is not possible to isolate or standardise the active contents having the desired effects. Thus Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia.6 compiled on modern lines and updated periodically is an urgent requirement.

I strongly advise the readers to consult Physician before attempting or taking any holistic home treatment.

Back of the Book

Ayurveda is gaining prominence as the natural system of healthcare all over the world. Among which, India enjoys the privilege of having time tested traditional systems of medicines based on natural products.

The authors have highlighted the basic principles and the practical application of domestic herbal remedies highly commendable. The readers will find this presentation the result of in-depth study of varied aspects of the subject depicting originality with clarity.

Prof. (Dr.) B.B. Puri is multifaceted personality and he is a Senior Practicing Architect, Research Scholar, Author and Vastu Advisor. He is associated with numerous professional organizations. His achievements underscore his versatility. Author has added a new research dimension and scientific approach to Vedic Culture making it a modern concept.

Dr. Madhur Gupta is Doctor of Philosophy in Herbal Remedies, 2005. She is active member of Research Institute of Vedic Culture and World Academy of Spiritual Sciences (WASS). Her mission is to propagate new dimension to Natural Health and get due recognition in the field of Food industry & home remedies.