Social Reserch Foundation

P: ISSN No. 2394-0344	RNI No. UPBIL/2016/67980	VOL.- IX , ISSUE- IV July - 2024
E: ISSN No. 2455-0817	Remarking An Analisation

Traditional treatment of Rheumatism in Sonbhadra District, Uttar Pradesh, India

Paper Id : 19096 Submission Date : 2024-07-18 Acceptance Date : 2024-07-22 Publication Date : 2024-07-25
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DOI:10.5281/zenodo.13149583

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Juhi Singh
Associate Professor
Botany Department
Deen Dayal Upadhyay Government P.G. College
Saidabad ,Prayagraj, U.P., India

Abstract

Medicinal plants show promising role in modern medicine system due to presence of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, glycosides and terpene. Aborigines or the natives in the forest are not very well connected to the modern day medicines and are found to be costly. They are generally dependent on the surrounding flora for their livelihood and medicines. The present study was undertaken to document the plants used to treat rheumatoid arthritis which is a very common ailment among them. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease which occurs due to bone damage, cartilage destruction, inflammation and deformity of joint. The paper reveals 24 plants belonging to 20 families by the tribal communities of Sonbhadra district which are found promising and effective to treat RA. The medicinal formulations are prepared in the form of decoction, paste, powder and ethnic knowledge of Gond and Baiga tribes are presented as documentary evidence for plant based natural product research.

Keywords

Secondary Metabolites, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ethnic Knowledge.

Introduction

Ethnobotanical research has gained importance since it is helpful in discovery of new drugs. It has been reported that 35% to 50% of the modern-day drugs are developed from natural products (Suresh Kumar et al., 2021). According to World Health Organization (WHO) mostly in poor and less developed countries, people depend on traditional and plant-based medicines for their primary health care needs (Mistry et al., 2003; Bajaj & Williams, 1995; WHO, 1993). It is noticeable that the plant based medicines are easily available have simple application and are economical (Rahman et al,.2019; Jadeja et al., 2006).

Objective of study

This study discusses about the 24 plants belonging to 20 families by the tribal communities of Sonbhadra district which are found promising and effective to treat RA.

Review of Literature

Rheumatoid arthritis is common chronic inflammatory disease that lead to severe damage and destruction of cartilage and bone (Baxet al., 2014; Van Deft Mam and Huizinga., 2020). During ethnobotanical exploration on tribals and rural inhabitants of Sonbhadra district which is also considered to be largest district of Uttar Pradesh, valuable information was collected about medicinal plants used for treatment of RA by the adivasis like Gonds, Baigas and rurals.The district Sonbhadra is known to have rich flora of medicinal plants and it occupies the southernmost part of Uttar Pradesh, surrounded in the north by Mirzapur and Varanasi district of U.P., in the south by Surguja district of Chattisgarh, in south east by Palamu district of Jharkhand. The district lies in the Vindhyan plateau between 23 ̊45’ to 24 ̊34’N Latitude and 82 ̊45’to 83 ̊23’ Longitude. The elevation above the mean sea level ranges between 315m to 485m (Singh and Singh, 1992). The ethnobotanical and floristic exploration have been conducted by many till date (Bhattacharya, 1963, 1964; Maheshwari and Singh, 1986; Jain, 1991; Singh et al 2002; Narain and Singh, 2006; Narain et al, 2005, 2006; Singh et al 2010; Singh and Narain, 2010; Lata and Singh, 2015; Singh, 2017)

Analysis

In this direction during the survey in 2024 the author collected number of plant specimens. The species were identified with the help of various published worldwide flora (Hooker, 1872-1897; Duthie, 1903-1929; Verma et al.1994; Mudgal et al.1997; Singh et al., 2001; Srivastava, 1995). The identity of these species are confirmed by comparing with authentically identified specimens of herbarium of Botanical Survey of India, Central Circle, Allahabad and Duthie Herbarium, Department of Botany, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Correct nomenclature of each species with citation, description of the plant and ethnomedicinal documentation has been provided in this research paper. Structured questionnaire survey method was employed and documentation of traditional ethnomedicinal practice of tribal communities for rheumatism has been recorded. The uses of plants for rheumatism has been given in the tabular form.

S.N.	Botanical name	Family	Common name	Part used	Applicati-on
1.	Allium cepa L.	Amaryllidaceae	Pyaj	Bulb	Paste of bulb applied on affected area for relief.
2.	Alpinia galanga Willd.	Zingiberaceae	Kulanjan	Bulb	Warm compres-ses are used to get relief in pain.
3.	Alstonia scholaris R.Br	Apocyanaceae	Saptparni	Bark	Bark powder is given along with milk to get relief in pain.
4.	Butea monosperma (Roxb.)	Fabaceae	Palas	Root and leaf	Warm leaf paste is applied along with mustard oil to get relief in pain.
5.	Bacopa monneiri (Linn.) Pen-nell	Scrophulariaceae	Brahmi	Whole plant	Fine paste is applied on the affected area to get relief in pain.
6.	Bauhinia purpurea Linn.	Caesalpiniaceae	Kachnar	Bark	Dried bark paste is applied over the affected area to get relief from pain.
7.	Biophytum sensitivum (Linn.) DC	Oxalidaceae	Lajwanti	Leaf	About 25 gm paste of leaf is taken orally for two months.
8.	Carissa carandas L.	Apocyanaceae	Karonda	Seed, Root	Warm compresses used to get relief in pain.
9.	Cleome gynandra (Linn.)	Cleomaceae	Hulia	Herb	Leaf paste is used to get relief in pain.
10.	Datura metel Linn.	Solanaceae	Kala Datura	Leaf	Leaf is tied on the affected are and warm compres-s is given to get relief from pain.
11.	Euphorbia nivulia Buch-Ham.	Euphorbiaceae	Sehur	Latex	Latex is applied on finger joints for pain relief.
12.	Helioptrium indicum L.	Boraginaceae	Siriyari	Infloresecence, whole plant	Paste of plant is applied on affected area.
13.	Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch.	Ulmaceae	Chilbil	Bark, Leaf	Paste of bark and leaves is kept in sunlight and applied on the affected area.
14.	Murraya koenigii(Linn.) Spreng	Rutaceae	Meethi neem	Leaf	Leaves are boiled in water and the decoction is given turmeric (Haldi) paste.
15.	Peristrophe paniculata (Forsk.)Burm.f.	Acanthaceae	Chirchiri	Whole plant	Paste of whole plant applied over affected area.
16.	Pygmeopermna herbaceae (Roxb.) Mold	Verbenaceae	Root, Leaf	Gathiavaad	Leves and root are dried and paste is applied over the affected area.
17.	Pueraria tuberosa (Wild.)DC.	Cucurbitaceae	Patarkohda	Tuber	Cooked tuber is given regularly for month.
18.	Riccinus communis L.	Euphorbiaceae	Arandi Rendi	Leaf Seed	Paste of leaves and seed are applied over affected area to get relief from pain.
19.	Schleichera oleosa (Lour.)Oken	Sapindaceae	Kusum	Stem	Stem paste is applied over affected area.
20.	Tinospora cordifolia (Linn.) Merr.	Menispermaceae	Giloy	Whole plant	Decoctio-n of whole plant is given for two months.
21.	Trigonella foenum graceum (Linn.)	Fabaceae	Menthi	Seed	Dried seed powder is taken orally for 6 months to get relief from pain.
22.	Vanda tessellate (Roxb.) Hook.ex G.Don	Orchidaceae	Vanda	Aerial root	Aerial root tied over affected area to get relief from pain.
23.	Withania somnifera Dunal	Solanaceae	Ashwagandha	Root	Root is tied in neck for a month to get relief from pain.
24.	Zinziber officinale (Roxb.)	Zinziberaceae	Adrak	Stem	Crushed rhizome is applied over affected area with turmeric paste to get relief from pain.

Conclusion

Ethnobotanical research has gained much importance in recent days because it opens new avenue for the discovery of effective drug. The present ethnomedicinal documentation reveals that aborigines have great expertise with plants of their own environment. This study is documenting ethnomedicinal uses of 24 plant species belonging to 20 families for treating rheumatism. Rheumatism is condition arising from immune system dysregulation commonly occurring between 40 to 60 age group. Noteworthy among the plants listed are Zinziber officinale and Curcuma longa (Haldi) which have been reported as highly favoured species because they have been reported to boast robust anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory attributes (Sekkout et al., 2024). Plants contain phytochemicals in almost every part which makes them suitable for use against varying ailments (Sukumaran et al.2020). District Sonbhadra is also rich in plant diversity. The use of medicinal plants in treating rheumatic problems on the basis of traditional knowledge they have acquired from their ancestors has become an area of interest because the treatment is quite cost affective. The area needs to be explored and traditional knowledge should be documented. This may lead to further developing effective drug against chronic illness.

Acknowledgement

The author is thankful to Principal Prof. Ashish Joshi for extending logistic support for conducting study.

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