Himalayan Medicinal Plants

Contributed articles presented at the Workshop on "Himalayan Medicinal Plants: Potential and Prospects" organized by G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development Kosi-Katarmal, Almora from 5-7 November, 1988.

The Himalayan Region is a mega hot spot for biological diversity. It supports over 1,748 plants species of known medicinal value. This title focuses on origin and distribution of Himalayan herbs, their medicinal potential, industrial significance, and research advancements pertaining to molecular breeding and omics-based approaches. Discusses evolved secondary biochemical pathways often in response to specific environmental stimuli Reviews conservation efforts Presents an in-depth analysis of 12 key species

This life is the outcome of author's field studies and provides scientific information on 111 selected medicinal plants occurring in Kashmir and Ladakh. A chapter on traditional knowledge on healing properties of plants giving ethno-medical uses of 291 plants is included.

Covering 100 medicinal plant species of the Lesser Himalayas including Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms, this book reviews ethnobotanical aspects, marketing and anthropogenic pressures, and also includes scientific description and traditional uses.

Himalayan Phytochemicals: Sustainable Options for Sourcing and Developing Bioactive Compounds provides a detailed review of the important medicinal plants which have already been discovered in the Himalayan region, outlining their discovery, activity and underlying chemistry. In addition, it supports a global shift towards sustainable sourcing of natural products from delicate ecosystems. Across the world, environmental destruction and overharvesting of medicinal plants are reducing and destroying multiple important sources and potential leads before researchers have the chance to discover, explore or synthesize them effectively. By identifying this problem and discussing its impact on the Himalayan region, Himalayan Phytochemicals: Sustainable Options for Sourcing and Developing Bioactive Compounds frames the ongoing global struggle and highlights the key factors that must be considered and addressed when working with phytochemicals from endemic plant sources. Reviews both well-known and recently discovered plants of this region Highlights methods for phytochemical extraction and analysis Provides context to support a shift towards sustainable sourcing of natural products

Ethnobotany of India: Volume 4: Western and Central Himalayas is the 4th volume of the 5-volume set, an informative book series on the ethnobotanical aspects of India. The books cover different regions, including Volume 1: Eastern Ghats and Deccan Volume 2: Western Ghats and West Coast of Peninsular India Volume 3: North-East India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Volume 4: Western and Central Himalayas Volume 5: The Indo-Gangetic Region Each volume looks at the important ethnic plants of the specific region. Volume 4 covers the Western and Central Himalayas, the well-known mountain range on the Indian subcontinent. The unique flora and fauna of the Himalayas are varied, affected by climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils, and are vulnerable to impacts from climate change. The editors espouse that because indigenous non-Western societies form the vast majority of people now as well as in the past, a study of their plant interrelationships is necessary, and India is one of the most important regions of the old world for its ancient and culturally rich and diverse knowledge of ethnobotany. With this in mind, these volumes share a great deal of information that will be valuable to plant botanists and others working in and interested in ethnobotany. This important volume covers the ethnobotanical aspects of many plants of the region. It looks at ethnic diversity of people ethnic food plants and food preparation ethnomedical aspects of plants psychedelic plants and their possible link to soma, a vedic ritual drink whose plant origins are a mystery ethnoveterinary medicinal plants ethno-conservation practices biodiversity heritage sites The volume includes the details of the plants used, their scientific names, the parts used, and how the plants are used, providing the what, how, and why of plant usage. The book is well illustrated with 20 color and 67 b/w illustrations. Together, the five volumes in the Ethnobotany of India series presents the available ethnobotanical knowledge of India in one place. India’s ancient and culturally rich and diverse information and use of ethnobotany will be valuable to those in the fields of botany and plant sciences, pharmacognosy and pharmacology, nutraceuticals, and others. The books also consider the threat to plant biodiversity imposed by environmental degradation, which impacts cultural diversity.

The Silk Road, a complex network of trade routes linking China with the rest of the Eurasian continent by land and sea, fostered transformation of the ethnic, cultural, and religious identities of diverse peoples. In Natural Products of Silk Road Plants there is a treasury of plants, many indigenous to countries along the trading routes of the Silk Road, that yielded medicines, cereals, spices, beverages, dyes, and euphoric and exotic compounds previously unknown to the rest of the world. This entry in the Natural Products Chemistry of Global Plants series has been prepared for university students of chemistry and ethnobotany and for those wishing to broaden their knowledge. It opens a window on a vast region of Asia not well described for its flora and provides new and fresh insights on: Significant plants, some endangered Traditional and modern applications of extracts The biochemical and pharmacological properties of extracts Contains over 150 full colour figures The significance of the Silk Road is being revived today through immense investment by China and other eastern countries in major schemes of transport infrastructure.

Himalayan Phytochemicals: Sustainable Options for Sourcing and Developing Bioactive Compounds provides a detailed review of the important medicinal plants which have already been discovered in the Himalayan region, outlining their discovery, activity and underlying chemistry. In addition, it supports a global shift towards sustainable sourcing of natural products from delicate ecosystems. Across the world, environmental destruction and overharvesting of medicinal plants are reducing and destroying multiple important sources and potential leads before researchers have the chance to discover, explore or synthesize them effectively. By identifying this problem and discussing its impact on the Himalayan region, Himalayan Phytochemicals: Sustainable Options for Sourcing and Developing Bioactive Compounds frames the ongoing global struggle and highlights the key factors that must be considered and addressed when working with phytochemicals from endemic plant sources. Reviews both well-known and recently discovered plants of this region Highlights methods for phytochemical extraction and analysis Provides context to support a shift towards sustainable sourcing of natural products

Increased research is going on to explore the new cleaner options for the utilization of natural resources. This book aims to provide the scientific knowhow and orientation in the area of the emerging technologies for utilization of natural resources for sustainable development to the readers. The book includes production of energy and lifesaving drugs using natural resources as well as reduction of wastage of resources like water and energy for sustainable development in both technological as well as modeling aspects.

Since the beginning of human civilization, plants have been our true companions. Plants contribute not only to our existence but also serve us through discovery, design and the treatment of various diseases where there is no satisfactory cure in modern medicine. This has focused Natural Product Chemists to unravel plants therapeutic potential in the light of modern analytical and pharmacological understandings. Presence of multiple active phytochemicals in medicinal plants offers exciting opportunity for the development of novel therapeutics, providing scientific justification for their use in traditional medicines. Non-food plants have been recognized as biofactories for the production of eco-friendly value added materials including agricultural, food products, enzymes, nutraceuticals etc. They have also been widely explored for personal care, industrial products and sources of energy generation. The proven efficacy of botanicals has been appreciated by the scientific community and strengthened plant-human relationship. The synergism in the Phytoproducts, the result of the interaction of two or more moieties, is not simply additive but multiplicative. Recent acceptance of the Food and Drug Administration (US) for herbal-medicine based preparation has renewed interest in Natural Product Research. The year 2011 is declared as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) by the United Nations Assembly. On this occasion, the present conference CPHEE 2011 aims to offer chemists from diverse areas to come to a common platform to share the knowledge and unveil the chemistry and magic potentials of phytoproducts for the mankind.

To remain healthy and to live longer, man is using herbal medicines from prehistoric time. The enormous potentiality Himalayan herbs brought up two important methods of practicing medicine for preventing and curing diseases in south. They are Ayurvedic medicines originated in the south of Himalayas and Tibetan medicines originated in the north of Himalayas. Both of these medicines are considered to be as old as the beginning of human civilization. They are being popularly used in India, Nepal, Tibet, and neighboring countries since their inception. In recent years, their popularity has been grown widely and rapidly throughout the globe for its persistent effects and having little or no side effects. With the view of providing valuable information on these herbs with their names, descriptions, distributions, conservation status, and medicinal uses, this book is prepared. Most of the plants included in this book are indigenous to Great Himalayas. However, a very few of them are exotic but naturalized in Himalayan countries and are being used in local herbal medicines since long. This book is expected to be very useful to the students of pharmacognosy, Ayurvedic medicines, Amchis (the doctors of Tibetan medicine), ethnobotany, research workers, and trekkers in Himalayas. It is a good start of preserving traditional knowledge of herbal medicine of Tibet and Nepal Himalayas from the part of the authors.