At a time when Karnataka is engaged in setting up the first biodiversity medicinal park at Harangi in Kodagu, NITTE University’s K.S. Hegde Medical Academy’s compendium about the rare medicinal plants found in the coastal area of the state should prove very useful. Karnataka is within the Western Ghats region, which besides Eastern Himalayan region and Andamans in India, is among 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world. India is estimated to have 45,000 medicinal plant species, many of which are used for preparation of ayurvedic and other traditional medicines and health supplements.
Rivalling the Amazon rainforest in biodiversity, the Western Ghats “contain some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical rainforests anywhere”, according to UNESCO.
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Research conducted in last few decades on plants, mentioned in ancient literature or used traditionally, have shown various health benefits of medicinal plants, fruits, berries and flowers.
The book “Kshema Herbal Garden” is a compilation of 125 herbs native to Karnataka, some of which are on the verge of extinction. B. Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, Editor-in-Chief and Dean of K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, describes the ready reckoner as “a book on the medicinal plants in the herbal garden of the academy.
The 125 plants and their produce featured in the book have been well described. The descriptions include the botanical names and species, their pharmacological activities, the common uses for various ailments, their names in five other Indian languages, their major chemical constituents, which part of the plant is used for medicinal purpose. The description along with photographs also gives information about the habitats where each herb/ medicinal plant can be found across the globe.
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N.V. Hegde, Chancellor, NIITE University and President, NIITE Education Trust, writes in the Foreword that “this is not a mere compilation but an analytically testified information as some of them have been studied scientifically for their medicinal value at the central research laboratory of the college. This not only enhances the authenticity and correctness of the information given about these plants but also the usefulness.” The scientific studies included study of the anti-oxidant and radio protective properties using animal models with the support of the government run Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS).
The photo and accompanying details have been compiled with the help of the Department of Pharmacology and botanists.
As editors at the university prepare to compile more such useful information, for the policy makers and administrators the book is a timely reminder that many of the species of medicinal plants face extinction due to over exploitation, lack of proper conservation efforts and illegal mining and quarrying in ecologically sensitive areas. The book emphasizes the need for more scientific research to establish the medicinal properties of various preparations and benefits of these herbal plants, fruits, berries, flowers and leaves.
The 251 page book, priced at INR 851, is worth having at home if you truly believe in various natural cures for various ailments. The common names of the plants and the fact that they are being nurtured in the herbal gardens of the college serves as a reminder that the common man too can participate in cultivating and preserving some of the dying species. In 2011, the forest department of Karnataka had identified 14 species of plants that were on the verge of extinction.
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