Cholera: From 5 Different Sources
The ancient disease cholera resurfaces from time to time. Thousands still die each year. It is an acute infectious disease caused by vibrio cholerae and is notifiable under the Public Heath (Control of Diseases) Act 1984. Human Carriers maintain infection. Incubation may be from a few hours to a number of days. See: NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.
It is spread by polluted water as in the case of the composer, Tchaikovsky, who died imprudently drinking unboiled water during a cholera epidemic, despite warnings of his friends. It is transmitted also by milk, shellfish and by the faeces of infected people.
Symptoms. Profuse rice-water diarrhoea, vomiting and shock from severe loss of body fluids. Muscle cramps, cyanosis, stupor.
Alternatives. Powders. Formula: Tormentil root 2; Ginger 8; Poplar bark 2; Ipecacuanha half; Gum Myrrh quarter; Cloves; Cayenne quarter; Slippery Elm 5. (Reformed School of Medicine, W. Beach MD, USA) No dosage recorded. Suggested hourly dose: Liquid Extract: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 2 teaspoons. Powders: 500mg.
Tinctures. Formula No 1. Turkey Rhubarb 3; Hops 2; Peppermint 1. Dose: 1-2 teaspoons in water hourly, as tolerated.
Tinctures. Formula No 2. Turkey Rhubarb 2; Camphor (spirits) 1; Capsicum quarter; Peppermint quarter. Dose: 1-2 teaspoons hourly, as tolerated.
Orange berries. (Maeso lanceolata) Tea drunk by natives before visiting cholera epidemic areas. (Dr Isno Kufo, University of California, Berkeley)
Barberry. Berberine alkaloid. (Indian Journal of Medical Research, 50. 732, 1962)
Camphor. In the Cholera epidemic of 1831, a Russian Consol-General reported 70 cases in two places, all were cured. Elsewhere, of 1270 cases only 108 died. Practitioner use: Spirits of Camphor (10 per cent Camphor in 90 per cent brandy, gin or Vodka). 0.3 to 2ml (5 to 30 drops). Effective in the early stages. Also, rub into soles of feet and use as an inhalant.
Calamint. Old European remedy.
Enema. Bring 2 pints (1 litre) water to boiling point. Allow to cool. Add 20 drops Goldenseal and 20 drops Tincture Myrrh; for soothing and healing injection.
Diet. During an outbreak of cholera: avoid unboiled or unbottled water, uncooked seafood, vegetables and fruit unless fruit can be peeled.
Strict sanitary hygiene. Wash hands frequently.
Recovery period. Replacement of body fluids: glasses of boiled water to which 2-3 teaspoons cider vinegar has been added. Make up potassium loss with 3-4 bananas daily. Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium. Multivitamins.
Alternative rehydration therapy: spring or bottled water with sugar and salt; salt to replace water in the blood, sugar to promote absorption. Glass of water to contain 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons sugar.
To be treated by a general medical practitioner or hospital specialist.
CHOLERETIC. An agent which reduces cholesterol levels by excreting cholesterol. It also causes bile to flow freely. Differs from a cholagogue in that the latter increases the flow of bile (Artichoke).
An infection of the small intestine by the bacterium VIBRIO CHOLERAE causing profuse watery diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and death. Infection is acquired by ingesting contaminated food or water. Outbreaks of cholera occur regularly in northeast India, but worldwide the disease is controlled by sanitation. Treatment is with water containing salts and sugar (see oral rehydration therapy) and, in severe cases, intravenous infusion. Antibiotic drugs can shorten the period of diarrhoea and infectiousness. With adequate rehydration, affected people usually make a full recovery from the infection.
A severe infectious epidemic disease due to Vibrio cholerae
Bacterial infection caused by Vibrio cholerae. The patient suffers profuse watery DIARRHOEA, and resultant dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Formerly known as the Asiatic cholera, the disease has occurred in epidemics and pandemics for many centuries. When it entered Europe in 1853, Dr John Snow, a London anaesthetist, carried out seminal epidemiological work in Soho, London, which established that the source of infection was contaminated drinking water derived from the Broad Street pump. Several smaller epidemics involved Europe in the latter years of the 19th century, but none has arisen in Britain or the United States for many years. In 1971, the El Tor biotype of V. cholerae emerged, replacing much of the classical infection in Asia and, to a much lesser extent, Europe; parts of Africa were seriously affected. Recently a non-01 strain has arisen and is causing much disease in Asia. Cholera remains a major health problem (this is technically the seventh pandemic) in many countries of Asia, Africa and South America. It is one of three quarantinable infections.
Incubation period varies from a few hours to ?ve days. Watery diarrhoea may be torrential and the resultant dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, complicated by cardiac failure, commonly causes death. The victim’s skin elasticity is lost, the eyes are sunken, and the radial pulse may be barely perceptible. Urine production may be completely suppressed. Diagnosis is by detection of V. cholerae in a faecal sample. Treatment consists of rapid rehydration. Whereas the intravenous route may be required in a severe case, in the vast majority of patients oral rehydration (using an appropriate solution containing sodium chloride, glucose, sodium bicarbonate, and potassium) gives satisfactory results. Proprietary rehydration ?uids do not always contain adequate sodium for rehydration in a severe case. ANTIBIOTICS, for example, tetracycline and doxycycline, reduce the period during which V. cholerae is excreted (in children and pregnant women, furazolidone is safer); in an epidemic, rapid resistance to these, and other antibiotics, has been clearly demonstrated. Prevention consists of improving public health infrastructure – in particular, the quality of drinking water. When supplies of the latter are satisfactory, the infection fails to thrive. Though there have recently been large epidemics of cholera in much of South America and parts of central Africa and the Indian subcontinent, the risk of tourists and travellers contracting the disease is low if they take simple precautions. These include eating safe food (avoid raw or undercooked seafood, and wash vegetables in clean water) and drinking clean water. There is no cholera vaccine at present available in the UK as it provides little protection and cannot control spread of the disease. Those travelling to countries where it exists should pay scrupulous attention to food and water cleanliness and to personal hygiene.
n. an acute infection of the small intestine by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea (known as ricewater stools) leading to dehydration. The disease is contracted from food or drinking water contaminated by faeces from a patient. Cholera often occurs in epidemics; outbreaks are rare in good sanitary conditions. After an incubation period of 1–5 days symptoms commence suddenly; the resulting dehydration and the imbalance in the concentration of body fluids can cause death within 24 hours in severe cases if untreated. Initial treatment involves replacing the fluid loss by *oral rehydration therapy; tetracycline eradicates the bacteria and hastens recovery. The mortality rate in untreated cases is over 50%. Vaccination against cholera is effective for only 6–9 months.
(Singular: bacterium.) Simple, single-celled, primitive organisms which are widely distributed throughout the world in air, water, soil, plants and animals including humans. Many are bene?cial to the environment and other living organisms, but some cause harm to their hosts and can be lethal.
Bacteria are classi?ed according to their shape: BACILLUS (rod-like), coccus (spherical – see COCCI), SPIROCHAETE (corkscrew and spiral-shaped), VIBRIO (comma-shaped), and pleomorphic (variable shapes). Some are mobile, possessing slender hairs (?agellae) on the surfaces. As well as having characteristic shapes, the arrangement of the organisms is signi?cant: some occur in chains (streptococci) and some in pairs (see DIPLOCOCCUS), while a few have a ?lamentous grouping. The size of bacteria ranges from around 0.2 to 5 µm and the smallest (MYCOPLASMA) are roughly the same size as the largest viruses (poxviruses – see VIRUS). They are the smallest organisms capable of existing outside their hosts. The longest, rod-shaped bacilli are slightly smaller than the human erythrocyte blood cell (7 µm).
Bacterial cells are surrounded by an outer capsule within which lie the cell wall and plasma membrane; cytoplasm ?lls much of the interior and this contains genetic nucleoid structures containing DNA, mesosomes (invaginations of the cell wall) and ribosomes, containing RNA and proteins. (See illustration.)
Reproduction is usually asexual, each cell dividing into two, these two into four, and so on. In favourable conditions reproduction can be very rapid, with one bacterium multiplying to 250,000 within six hours. This means that bacteria can change their characteristics by evolution relatively quickly, and many bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus, have developed resistance to successive generations of antibiotics produced by man. (METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA)) is a serious hazard in some hospitals.
Bacteria may live as single organisms or congregate in colonies. In arduous conditions some bacteria can convert to an inert, cystic state, remaining in their resting form until the environment becomes more favourable. Bacteria have recently been discovered in an inert state in ice estimated to have been formed 250 million years ago.
Bacteria were ?rst discovered by Antonj van Leewenhoek in the 17th century, but it was not until the middle of the 19th century that Louis Pasteur, the famous French scientist, identi?ed bacteria as the cause of many diseases. Some act as harmful PATHOGENS as soon as they enter a host; others may have a neutral or benign e?ect on the host unless the host’s natural immune defence system is damaged (see IMMUNOLOGY) so that it becomes vulnerable to any previously well-behaved parasites. Various benign bacteria that permanently reside in the human body are called normal ?ora and are found at certain sites, especially the SKIN, OROPHARYNX, COLON and VAGINA. The body’s internal organs are usually sterile, as are the blood and cerebrospinal ?uid.
Bacteria are responsible for many human diseases ranging from the relatively minor – for example, a boil or infected ?nger – to the potentially lethal such as CHOLERA, PLAGUE or TUBERCULOSIS. Infectious bacteria enter the body through broken skin or by its ori?ces: by nose and mouth into the lungs or intestinal tract; by the URETHRA into the URINARY TRACT and KIDNEYS; by the vagina into the UTERUS and FALLOPIAN TUBES. Harmful bacteria then cause disease by producing poisonous endotoxins or exotoxins, and by provoking INFLAMMATION in the tissues – for example, abscess or cellulitis. Many, but not all, bacterial infections are communicable – namely, spread from host to host. For example, tuberculosis is spread by airborne droplets, produced by coughing.
Infections caused by bacteria are commonly treated with antibiotics, which were widely introduced in the 1950s. However, the con?ict between science and harmful bacteria remains unresolved, with the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in medicine, veterinary medicine and the animal food industry contributing to the evolution of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. (See also MICROBIOLOGY.)... bacteria
The study of disease as it affects groups of people. Originating in the study of epidemics of diseases like CHOLERA, PLAGUE and SMALLPOX, epidemiology is an important discipline which contributes to the control not only of infectious diseases but also of conditions such as heart disease and cancer. Their distributions in populations can provide important pointers to possible causes. The relation between the environment and disease is an essential part of epidemiology. (See ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH; PUBLIC HEALTH.)... epidemiology
A bacterium with a curved shape, such as the vibrio of CHOLERA.... vibrio
The name applied generally to dead or attenuated living infectious material introduced into the body, with the object of increasing its power to resist or to get rid of a disease. (See also IMMUNITY.)
Healthy people are inoculated with vaccine as a protection against a particular disease; this produces ANTIBODIES which will confer immunity against a subsequent attack of the disease. (See IMMUNISATION for programme of immunisation during childhood.)
Vaccines may be divided into two classes: stock vaccines, prepared from micro-organisms known to cause a particular disease and kept in readiness for use against that disease; and autogenous vaccines, prepared from microorganisms which are already in the patient’s body and to which the disease is due. Vaccines intended to protect against the onset of disease are of the former variety.
Autogenous vaccines are prepared by cultivating bacteria found in SPUTUM, URINE and FAECES, and in areas of in?ammation such as BOILS (FURUNCULOSIS). This type of vaccine was introduced by Wright about 1903.
Anthrax vaccine was introduced in 1882 for the protection of sheep and cattle against this disease. A safe and e?ective vaccine for use in human beings has now been evolved. (See ANTHRAX.)
BCG vaccine is used to provide protection against TUBERCULOSIS. (See also separate entry on BCG VACCINE.)
Cholera vaccine was introduced in India about 1894. Two injections are given at an interval of at least a week; this gives a varying degree of immunity for six months. (See CHOLERA.)
Diphtheria vaccine is available in several forms. It is usually given along with tetanus and pertussis vaccine (see below) in what is known as TRIPLE VACCINE. This is given in three doses: the ?rst at the age of two months; the second at three months; and the third at four months, with a booster dose at the age of ?ve years. (See DIPHTHERIA.)
Hay fever vaccine is a vaccine prepared from the pollen of various grasses. It is used in gradually increasing doses for prevention of HAY FEVER in those susceptible to this condition.
In?uenza vaccine A vaccine is now available for protection against INFLUENZA due to the in?uenza viruses A and B. Its use in Britain is customarily based on advice from the health departments according to the type of in?uenza expected in a particular year.
Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines are given in combination early in the second year of life. A booster dose may prove necessary, as there is some interference between this vaccine and the most recent form of pertussis vaccine (see below) o?ered to children. Uptake has declined a little because of media reports suggesting a link with AUTISM – for which no reliable medical evidence (and much to the contrary) has been found by investigating epidemiologists. (See also separate entry for each disease, and for MMR VACCINE.)
Pertussis (whooping-cough) vaccine is prepared from Bordetella pertussis, and is usually given along with diphtheria and tetanus in what is known as triple vaccine. (See also WHOOPING-COUGH.)
Plague vaccine was introduced by Ha?kine, and appears to give useful protection, but the duration of protection is relatively short: from two to 20 months. Two injections are given at an interval of four weeks. A reinforcing dose should be given annually to anyone exposed to PLAGUE.
Poliomyelitis vaccine gives a high degree of protection against the disease. This is given in the form of attenuated Sabin vaccine which is taken by mouth – a few drops on a lump of sugar. Reinforcing doses of polio vaccine are recommended on school entry, on leaving school, and on travel abroad to countries where POLIOMYELITIS is ENDEMIC.
Rabies vaccine was introduced by Pasteur in 1885 for administration, during the long incubation period, to people bitten by a mad dog, in order to prevent the disease from developing. (See RABIES.)
Rubella vaccine, usually given with mumps and measles vaccine in one dose – called MMR VACCINE, see also above – now provides protection against RUBELLA (German measles). It also provides immunity for adolescent girls who have not had the disease in childhood and so ensures that they will not acquire the disease during any subsequent pregnancy – thus reducing the number of congenitally abnormal children whose abnormality is the result of their being infected with rubella via their mothers before they were born.
Smallpox vaccine was the ?rst introduced. As a result of the World Health Organisation’s successful smallpox eradication campaign – it declared the disease eradicated in 1980 – there is now no medical justi?cation for smallpox vaccination. Recently, however, there has been increased interest in the subject because of the potential threat from bioterrorism. (See also VACCINATION.)
Tetanus vaccine is given in two forms: (1) In the so-called triple vaccine, combined with diphtheria and pertussis (whooping-cough) vaccine for the routine immunisation of children (see above). (2) By itself to adults who have not been immunised in childhood and who are particularly exposed to the risk of TETANUS, such as soldiers and agricultural workers.
Typhoid vaccine was introduced by Wright and Semple for the protection of troops in the South African War and in India. TAB vaccine, containing Salmonella typhi (the causative organism of typhoid fever – see ENTERIC FEVER) and Salmonella paratyphi A and B (the organisms of paratyphoid fever – see ENTERIC FEVER) has now been replaced by typhoid monovalent vaccine, containing only S. typhi. The change has been made because the monovalent vaccine is less likely to produce painful arms and general malaise, and there is no evidence that the TAB vaccine gave any protection against paratyphoid fever. Two doses are given at an interval of 4–6 weeks, and give protection for 1–3 years.... vaccine
Aristolochia bracteolataAristolochiaceaeSan: KitamariHin: Kiramar, Kitamar Mal: Attuthottappala, AtuthinnappalaTam: AtutinnappalaiImportance: The bracteated birthwort or worm killer is a perennial prostrate herb. As the name suggests it is a killer of intestinal worms especially roundworms. It is also used in vitiated conditions of kapha and vata, constipation, inflammations, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, foul ulcers, boils, syphilis, gonorrhoea, dyspepsia, colic, skin diseases, eczema, artheralgia and intermittent fevers. The plant is an insect repellent due to the presence of aristolochic acid, which is poisonous to man and livestock. Plant is also used against scorpion sting. Seeds ground in water to form a lotion and used for softening hair. Powdered root is used in fertility control.Distribution: The plant is found in Sri Lanka, Arabian countries and tropical Africa. In India, the plant is grown in Deccan and Carnatic Plateau.Botany: Aristolochia bracteolata Lam. syn. A. bracteata Retz. belongs to the family Aristolochiaceae. It is a perennial prostrate herb with weak, glabrous stems. Leaves are simple, alternate, reniform or broadly ovate, cordate at the base with a wide sinus upto 7.5cm in diameter, reticulately veined. Flowers are solitary with a large sessile orbicular bract at the base. Perianth tube is cylindric with dark purple tip having revolute margins. Fruits are oblong-ellipsoid 12-ribbed glabrous capsules. Seeds are deltoid with slightly cordate base (Warrier et al, 1993) Another important species belonging to the genus Aristolochia is A. indica Linn. The plant grows wild throughout the low hills and plains of India from Nepal to West Bengal and South India. It is a valuable anti-dote to snake bite and to bites of poisonous insects as scorpion, etc. It is given in cases of cholera and diarrhoea after macerating with black pepper corns. The juice of the leaves has stimulant, tonic and antiperiodic properties.Agrotechnology: Shady areas and well-drained soils are most suited to Aristolochia. The plant can be seed propagated. 3-month-old seedlings raised in polybags are required for transplanting. Pits of size 50cm cube are to be taken at a distance of 3m and filled with sand, topsoil and dried cowdung. To these pits, the seedlings are to be transplanted. Regular irrigation and organic manure application is beneficial. The plant is to be trailed on iron wires tied to poles. The plant is not attacked by any serious pests or diseases. Plant attains good spread within one year. Leaves can be collected for the next 10 years. Roots and leaves constitute the economi c parts (Prasad et al, 1997).Properties and activity: Leaves and fruits yield ceryl alcohol, -sitosterol and aristolochic acid. Root contains aristolochic acid. Seeds give an alkaloid magnoflorine, aristolochic acid, fatty oil comprising palmitic, stearic, lignoseric and oleic acids and -sitosterol.The plant is anthelmintic, cathartic, antiperiodic and emmenagogue. Leaf is antigonorrhoeic, larvicidal and used in eczema on children’s leg and ulcers. The plant is oxytocic (Husain et al,1992).... worm killer
DC.Sub sp. ? B. asiatica Roxb. ex DC.Substi. ? B. lycium Royle & other species.
Family: Berberidaceae.
Habitat: Northwestern Himalayas, Nilgiris, Kulu and Kumaon.
English: Indian Barberry.
Ayurvedic: Daaruharidraa, Daaru, Daarvi, Daarunishaa, Daarura- jani, Vrahitaphala, Valliphala, Sthirphala. Pushpaphala, Somakaa, Parjanyaa, Parjani, Kantkateri, Taarthya, Pachampachaa. Kaaliyaka is now equated with Pita Chandana (Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr., Menispermaceae). Extract—Rasaanjana.
Unani: Daarhald. Rasaut (extract). Zarishk (fruit).
Siddha/Tamil: Marmanjal.
Action: Rasaut, Rasasranjana (extract)—bitter, cholagogue, antidiarrhoeal, stomachic, laxative, diaphoretic, antipyretic, antiseptic. Used externally in opthalmia,conjunctivitis, ulcers, sores, swollen gums. Root bark— anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic hypotensive, antiamoebic, anticoagulant, antibacterial. Bark— used in liver complaints, diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, gastric disorders, enlargement of spleen and for regulating metabolism. Berries— antiscorbutic, laxative.
Berberine hydrochloride and sulphate help in the diagnosis of latent malaria by releasing the parasites into the blood stream.Alkaloid berberine possesses antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. It is used as an intestinal antiseptic and bitter stomachic. It also exhibits antineoplastic properties. (Its synthetic derivative dihydroberberine is used in brain tumour.)Berberine has been found to inhibit the activity of enzymes trypsin (32%) and chymotrypsin (60%) in in-vitro studies.B. asiatica Roxb.ex Dc. is found in the Himalaya at 900-3,000 m, Assam and Bihar.See B. vulgaris.
Dosage: Extract—1-3 g (CCRAS.); dried stem—5-10 ml decoction. (API Vol. II.)... berberis aristata
Curcuma spp.ZingiberaceaeThe genus Curcuma belonging to the family Zingiberaceae comprises of a number of species which are medicinally very important. Among them, the most important species are described below.1. C. amada Roxb.English: Mango ginger San: Amrardrakam, Karpuraharida Hin: Ama -haldiMal: MangainchiTam: MankayinciTel: Mamidi AllamMango ginger is cultivated in Gujarat and found wild in parts of West Bengal, U. P, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is a rhizomatous aromatic herb with a leafy tuft and 60-90cm in height. Leaves are long, petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, tapering at both ends, glabrous and green on both sides. Flowers are white or pale yellow, arranged in spikes in the centre of tuft of the leaves. Lip is semi -elliptic, yellow, 3-lobbed with the mid lobe emarginate. The rhizomes are useful in vitiated conditions of pitta, anorexia, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, bruises, wounds, chronic ulcers, skin diseases, pruritus, fever, constipations, strangury, hiccough, cough, bronchitis, sprains, gout, halitosis, otalgia and inflammations (Warrier et al, 1994). The fresh root possesses the smell of green mango and hence the name mango ginger. The rhizomes are used externally in the form of paste as an application for bruises and skin diseases generally combined with other medicines. Tubers rubbed with the leaf- juice of Caesalpinia bonduc is given for worms (Nadkarni, 1982).The essential oil contains -pinene, -and -curcumene, camphor, cuminyl alcohol, myristic acid and turmerone. Car-3-ene and cis-ocimene contribute the characteristic mango odour of the rhizome. Rhizome is CNS active, hypothermic and it shows potentiation of amphetamine toxicity. Tuber is trypsin inhibitor and is effective against Vibrio cholerae (Husain et al, 1992). The rhizomes are bitter, sweet sour, aromatic, cooling, appetiser, carminative, digestive, stomachic, demulcent, vulnerary, febrifuge, alexertic, aphrodisiac, laxative, diurectic, expectorant, antiinflammatory and antipyretic (Warrier et al, 1994).2. C. aromatica Salisb.Eng: Wild turmeric; San: Aranyaharidra, Vanaharidra;Hin: Ban-haridra, Jangli-haldi;Ben: Ban Haland; Mal,Tam: Kasturimanjal, Kattumanjal;Tel: Adavi-pasupu;Kan: KadarasinaWild turmeric or Cochin turmeric or Yellow zeodoary is found wild throughout India and cultivated in Bengal and Kerala. It is a perennial tuberous herb with annulate, aromatic yellow rhizome which is internally orange-red in colour. Leaves are elliptic or lanceolate- oblong, caudate-acuminate, 30-60cm long, petioles as long or even longer, bracts ovate, recurved, more or less tinged with red or pink. Flowers are pink, lip yellow, obovate, deflexed, sub-entire or obscurely three lobed. Fruits are dehiscent, globose, 3-valved capsules. Rhizomes are used in combination with astringents and aromatics for bruises, sprains, hiccough, bronchitis, cough, leucoderma and skin eruptions (Warrier et al, 1994). The rhizomes have an agreeable fragrant smell and yield a yellow colouring matter like turmeric, and the fresh root has a camphoraceous odour. The dried rhizome is used as a carminative and aromatic adjunctant to other medicines (Nadkarni, 1998).Essential oil contains -and - -curcumene, d-camphene and p-methoxy cinnamic acid. The colouring matter is curcumin. Numerous sesquiterpenoids of germacrone and guaiane skeletons have been identified recently. Rhizome has effect on respiration. It is spasmolytic and shows antagonism of amphetamine hyperactivity. Rhizome is an anti-dote for snakebite and carminative (Husain et al, 1992).3. C. longa Linn. syn. C. domestica Valeton.Eng: Turmeric; San: Haridra, Varavarnini;Hin: Haldi, halda;Ben: Haldi;Mal: Manjal, Pachamanjal, Varattumanjal;Tam: Mancal;Kan: Haldi, Arasina;Tel: PasapuTurmeric is cultivated all over India, particularly in W. Bengal, T. N and Maharashtra. It is a perennial herb, 60-90cm in height, with a short stem and tufts of erect leaves. Rhizome is cylindric, ovoid, orange coloured and branched. Leaves are simple, very large, petiole as long as the blade, oblong-lanceolate, tapering to the base upto 45cm long. Flowers are pale yellow, arranged in spikes concealed by the sheathing petioles and flowering bracts are pale green (Warrier et al, 1994). Turmeric occupies an important position in the life of Indian people as it forms an integral part of the rituals, ceremonies and cuisine. Due to the strong antiseptic properties, turmeric has been used as a remedy for all kinds of poisonous affections, ulcers and wounds. It gives good complexion to the skin and so it is applied to face as a depilatory and facial tonic. The drug cures diseases due to morbid vata, pitta and kapha, diabetes, eye diseases, ulcers, oedema, anaemia, anorexia, leprosy and scrofula. It purifies blood by destroying the pathogenic organisms. A paste of turmeric alone, or combined with a paste of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves, is used to cure ringworm, obstinate itching, eczema and other parasitic skin diseases and in chicken pox and small pox. The drug is also useful in cold, cough, bronchitis, conjunctivitis and liver affections (Nadkarni, 1954; Kurup et al,1979; Kolammal, 1979). The rhizome is the officinal part and is an important ingredient of formulations like Nalpamaradi taila, Jatyadi taila, Narayana gula, etc. (Sivarajan et al, 1994).Turmeric paste mixed with a little limejuice and saltpetre and applied hot is a popular application to sprains and bruises. In smallpox and chickenpox, a coating of turmeric is applied to facilitate the process of scabbing. The smoke produced by sprinkling powdered turmeric over burnt charcoal will relieve scorpion sting when the part affected is exposed to the smoke for a few minutes. Turmeric and alum powder in the proportion of 1:20 is blown into the ear in chronic otorrhoea (Nadkarni, 1998). “Haridra Khand”, a compound containing powdered turmeric, sugar and many other ingredients is a well-known preparation for cold, cough and flu, and for skin diseases. In Unani system, roasted turmeric is an ingredient of “Hab Narkachur”, used as antidysenteric for children (Thakur et al, 1989).Essential oil contains ar-turmerone, and ar-curcumene as ma jor constituents. Some of the other compounds are -and -pinene, sabinene, myrcene, -terpinene, limonene, p- cymene, perillyl alcohol, turmerone, eugenol, iso-eugenol, eugenol methyl ether and iso- eugenol methyl ether. Curcumin and related compounds have also been reported as major constituents of the rhizomes. Recently a number of sesquiterpenes have been reported from C. longa, viz., the sesquiterpenoids of germacrane, bisabolane and guainane skeletons (Husain et al, 1992). The study of sesquiterpenes has revealed a new compound curlone (Kisoy et al, 1983). The crystalline colouring matter curcumin (0. 6%) is diferuloyl methane (Mathews et al, 1980). Stigmasterol, cholestrol, -sitosterol and fatty acids, mainly straight chain dienoic acids are reported (Moon et al, 1977). Curcumin, the colouring agent and major constituent of C. longa, is said to possess local as well as systemic antiinflammatory property which has been found to compare favourably with phenylbutazone (Srimal and Dhawan, 1973). An extract of the crude drug ‘akon’ containing the rhizomes exhibited intensive preventive activity against carbon tetrachloride induced liver injury invivo and invitro. The liver protecting effects of some analogs of ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid, probable metabolites of the curcuminoids have been also evaluated (Kiso et al, 1983). Curcumin is antiinflammatory. Rhizome is antiprotozoal, spasmolytic, CNS active, antiparasitic, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiarthritic, anthelmintic, carminative, antiperiodic, emo llient, anodyne, laxative, diruretic, expectorant, alterative, alexertive, febrifuge, opthalmic and tonic.4. C. zedoaria (Berg.) Rosc. syn. C. zerumbet Roxb; Amomum zedoariaChristm.vEng: Round zedoary; San: Kachura, Shati;Hin: Kakhur;Ben: Sati;Kan: KachoraMal: Manjakoova, Adavi-kacholam;Tam: Kichilikizhangu, Nirvisham;Tel: KacheramuThe round zedoary or Zerumbet is mostly found in India and S. E. Asia. The plant has 4-6 leaves with 20-60cm long lamina. The leaf lami na is oblong-lanceolate, finely acuminate and glabrous on both the surfaces. Flower stalk is 20-25cm long, emerging before the leaves. Flowers are yellow, while the flowering bract is green tinged with red. Calyx is 8mm long, corolla tube is twice as long as the calyx. Capsule is ovoid, trigonous, thin smooth and bursting irregularly. Tubers are palmately branched and camphoraceous (Thakur et al, 1989). The identity of the plant sources of the drug Karcura is a matter of debate. There is difference of opinion among men of Ayurveda, as to whether Sati and Karcura are the same drug or different. Many authors consider them different and equate Sati with Hedychium spicatum Smith. and Karcura with C. zedoaria, both belonging to Zingiberaceae (Kurup et al,1979; Chunekar 1982; Sharma, 1983). Some others treat them to be the same and equate it with C. zedoaria (Kirtikar and Basu, 1918; Vaidya, 1936; Nadkarni, 1954; Kapoor and Mitra, 1979). However, the source of Karcura in Kerala in the recent times has been Kaempferia galanga of the same family. The rhizome of C. zedoaria is used as appetiser and tonic, particularly prescribed to ladies after childbirth. In case of cold, a decoction of long pepper (Piper longum), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), zedoary and honey is given. In Ayurveda it is an ingredient of “Braticityadi kwatha”, used in high fever (Thakur et al, 1989). Root is useful in flatulence and dyspepsia, and as a corrector of purgatives. Fresh root checks leucorrhoeal and gonorrhoeal discharges. Root powder is a good substitute for many foreign foods for infants. For worms, the juice from the tubers is given to children. Juice of the leaves is given in dropsy (Nadkarni, 1982). It is an odoriferous ingredient of the cosmetics used for the cure of chronic skin diseases caused by impure or deranged blood (Nadkarni, 1998).Essential oil from rhizomes contains -pinene, d-camphene, cineole, d-camphor, sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene alcohols (Husain et al, 1992). The novel sesquiterpenoids which have been isolated and characterised are cuzerenone, epi-cuzerenone, iso- furanogermerene, curcumadiol, curcumol, curcumenol, iso-curcumenol, procurcumenol, dehydrocurdione (Hikino et al, 1968, 1971, 1972), germacrone-4, 5-epoxide, germacrone, germacrone furanodienone, curcumenol, iso-curcumenol, curcumanolides A and B and curcumenone (Shiobara et al, 1985). The starch left after the extraction is purified and sold as a commodity of cottage industry in West-Bengal under the name ‘Shoti’ (Rao et al, 1928). Ethyl-p methoxy-cinnamate has been isolated from the alcoholic extract of the plant (Gupta et al, 1976). Rhizome is stomachic, diuretic, and carminative and gastrointestinal stimulant.Other important species of Curcuma genus areC. angustifolia Roxb. (Vellakoova)C. caesia Roxb. (Black ginger)C. leucorhiza Roxb.C. pseudomontana Grah.C. rubescens Roxb.Agrotechnology: Curcuma species are tropical herbs and can be grown on different types of soils both under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Rich loamy soils having good drainage are ideal for the crop. The plant is propagated by whole or split mother rhizomes. Well developed, healthy and disease free rhizomes are to be selected. Rhizomes are to be treated with copper oxychloride fungicides and stored in cool, dry place or earthen pits plastered with mud and cowdung. The best season of planting is during April with the receipt of pre-monsoon showers. The land is to be prepared to a fine tilth during February-March. On receipt of pre- monsoon showers in April, beds of size 3x1.2m with a spacing of 40cm between beds are to be prepared. Small pits are to be taken in the beds in rows with a spacing of 25-40cm.Finger rhizomes are to be planted flat with buds facing upwards and covered with soil or dry powdered cattle ma nure. The crop is to be mulched immediately after planting and 50 days after first mulching. Cattle manure or compost is to be applied as basal dose at 20-40t/ha at the time of land preparation or by spreading over the beds after planting. Application of NPK fertilizers is beneficial and found to increase the yield considerably. Weeding is to be done twice at 60 and 120 days after planting, depending upon weed intensity. Earthing up is to be done after 60 days. No major incidence of pest or disease is noticed in this crop. Leaf blotch and leaf spot can be controlled by spraying Bordeaux mixture or 0.2% Mancozeb. Shoot borers can be controlled by spraying 0.05% Dimethoate or 0.025% Quinalphos. Time of harvest usually extends from January-March. Harvesting is generally done at about 7-10 months after planting depending upon the species and variety. Harvested rhizomes are to be cleaned of mud and other materials adhering to them. Good fingers separated are to be used for curing (KAU, 1996).... curcuma
A term applied to diseases which exist in particular localities or among certain races. Some diseases, which are at times EPIDEMIC over wide districts, have a restricted area where they are always endemic, and from which they spread. For example, both CHOLERA and PLAGUE are endemic in certain parts of Asia.... endemic
Roth.
Synonym: C. decidua Edgew.
Family: Capparidaceae.
Habitat: Rajasthan, Punjab and Sindh; southward to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
English: Caper Berry.
Ayurvedic: Karira, Krakar, Apatra, Granthila, Marubhoo-ruuha, Niguudhapatra, Karila.
Unani: Kabar, Kabar-ul-Hind, Kabar-e-Hindi; Tenti.
Siddha/Tamil: Chhengan.
Folk: Tenti.
Action: Anti-inflammatory (used for enlarged cervical glands, sciatica, rheumatoid arthritis; externally on swellings, skin eruptions, ringworm). Fruits and seeds—used for urinary purulent discharges and dysentery. Flowers and seeds— antimicrobial. The fruit is used as a pickle.
The root bark contains spermidine alkaloids, used for inflammations, asthma and gout.Activity of the seed volatiles against vibro cholerae has been recorded.Aqueous extract of the plant exhibits anthelmintic activity; seeds contain antibacterial principles—glucocapparin; isothiocynate aglycone of glucocap- parin.The blanched fruits, when fed to rats at 10% dietary fibre level, showed a significant hypocholesterolaemic effect, which is attributed to its hemicel- lose content.Pickled fruits are use for destroying intestinal worms.
Dosage: Leaf, root—50-125 mg (CCRAS.)
Folk: Hains, Kanthaar.
Action: Antiseptic, antipyretic. Used for eczema and scabies.
Leaves contain taraxasterol, alpha- and beta-amyrin and beta-sitosterol, erythrodiol and betulin.
Dosage: Root—5-10 g powder. (CCRAS.)... capparis aphylla
A toxin secreted by certain bacterial species or strains into the surrounding medium during growth. Often cause clinical features very specific to the disease (eg tetanus, diphtheria, cholera). Exotoxins secreted by enteric organisms often termed ‘enterotoxins’.... exotoxin
Linn.
Family: Palmae; Arecaceae.
Habitat: Cultivated chiefly in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
English: Coconut Palm.
Ayurvedic: Naarikela, Naalikera, Laangali, Tunga, Skandhaphala, Sadaaphala, Trnaraaja, Kuurch- shirshaka.
Unani: Naarjeel, Naariyal.
Siddha/Tamil: Thenkai. Kopparai (kernel of ripe coconut).
Action: Water from tender fruit— cooling, used in thirst, fever, urinary disorders, gastroenteritis, and as a source of K for cholera patients. Fruit—stomachic, laxative, diuretic, styptic, sedative; useful in dyspepsia and burning sensation. Oil from endosperm—antiseptic; used in alopecia. Root—astringent; used in urinary and uterine and disorders.
Tender coconut water is rich in potassium and other minerals and vitamins. It contains reducing sugars 2.222.85%, total sugars 3.5-4.25%; brix 5.56.2%. It is used as a substitute for normal saline in cases of dehydration.Alcoholic extract of coconut shell (2% in petroleum jelly, externally) was found very effective in dermatophyto- sis. Lighter fractions of the tar oil are used as antiseptics.Flowers, mixed with oil, are applied to swellings, leaves to treat abscesses, shoots and ashes of dry meat to deep cuts, grated meat to burns, roots to wounds and gonorrhoea.Shell and fibre—antimicrobial.
Dosage: Dried endosperm—10- 20 g powder. (API Vol. III.)... cocos nucifera
Coleus spp.LamiaceaeThe genus Coleus of the family Lamiaceae (Labiatae) comprises a number of herbaceous medicinal plants which are particularly employed in home remedies for various ailments. Three species are most popular and commonly cultivated. They are Coleus aromaticus, C. vettiveroides and C. forkoshlii.1. Coleus aromaticus Benth. syn. C. amboinicus Lour., Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.Eng: Country borage, Indian borage;San: Karpuravalli, Sugandhavalakam;
Hin: Patharchur;
Ben: Paterchur;Mal: Panikkurkka, kannikkurkka;Tam: Karpuravalli;Kan: karpurahalli;Tel: Sugandhavalkam.It is found through out the tropics and cultivated in homestead gardens. It is a large succulent aromatic perennial herb with hispidly villous or tomentose fleshy stem. Leaves are simple, opposite, broadly ovate, crenate and fleshy. Flowers are pale purplish in dense whorls at distant intervals in a long slender raceme. Fruits are orbicular or ovoid nutlets. The leaves are useful in cephalagia, otalgia, anorexia, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, diarrhoea, cholera, halitosis, convulsions, epilepsy, cough, asthma, hiccough, bronchitis, strangury, hepatopathy and malarial fever (Warrier et al,1995).2. Coleus vettiveroides K.C. Jacob, syn. Plectranthus vettiveroides (Jacob) Singh & Sharma.San: Valakam, Hriberam;Hin: Valak;Mal: Iruveli;Tam: Karuver;Tel: Karuveru,It is seen in tropical countries and cultivated in gardens. It is a small profusely branched, succulent aromatic herb with quadrangular stems and branches and deep straw coloured aromatic roots. Leaves are glandular hairy, broadly ovate with dentate margins and prominent veins on the bark. Blue flowers are borne on terminal racemes. Fruits are nutlets. The whole plant is useful in hyperdipsia, vitiated conditions of pitta, burning sensation, strangury, leprosy, skin diseases, leucoderma, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, ulcers and as hair tonic.3. Coleus forskohlii Briq. syn. C. barbatus Benth.
Hin: Garmai
Kan: Maganiberu, MakandiberuGuj: MaimulIt is a perennial aromatic herb grown under tropical to temperate conditions for its carrot-like tubers which are used as condiments in the preparation of pickles. Its tuberous roots are an exclusive source of a diterpenoid forskolin which has the unique property of activating almost all hormone sensitive adenylate cyclase enzymes in a biological system. It is useful in the treatment of congestive heart failure, glaucoma, asthma, cancer and in preventing immature greying of hair (Hegde,1997).Agrotechnology: The Coleus group of plants grows in tropical to subtropical situations and in warm temperate climatic zone on mountains of India, Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Africa. It comes up well on the sun exposed dry hill slopes from 300m to 1800m altitude. A well drained medium fertile soil is suitable for its cultivation. it is propagated vegetatively through stem and root cuttings. Vine cuttings to a length of 10-15cm from the top portion are most ideal for planting. The land is ploughed or dug to a depth of 15-20cm and ridges are formed 30cm apart. Vine cuttings are planted on the ridges at 30cm spacing after incorporating basal manure. 10t of FYM and NPK at 50:50:50kg/ha are incorporated into the soil. Top dressing of N and K is also suggested for improved yields. Weeding and earthing up at 45 days after planting along with topdressing is highly beneficial. Bacterial wilt and root knot nematode are reported in the crop. Drenching the soil with fungicide, deep ploughing in the summer, burning of crop residues and crop rotation are helpful to tide over the disease and pest problem. The crop can be harvested after 5-6 months.Properties and activity: The medicinal property of Coleus amboinicus is attributed to codeine, carvacrol, flavones, aromatic acids and tannins present in the plant. The essential oil from the plant contains carvacrol, ethyl salicylate, thymol, eugenol and chavicol. Leaves also contain cirsimaritin, -sitosterol- -D-glucoside and oxalacetic acid. Leaves are bitter, acrid, thermogenic, aromatic, anodyne, appetising, digestive, carminative, stomachic, anthelmintic, constipating, deodorant, expectorant, diuretic and liver tonic.Coleus vettiveroides is bitter, cooling, diuretic, trichogenous and antipyretic.Coleus forskohlii roots are rich in diterpenoids like forskolin, coleonols, coleons, barbatusin, cyclobutatusin, coleosol, coleol, coleonone, deoxycoleonol, 7-deacetylforskolin and 6-acetyl-7-deacetylforskolin. Its root is spasmolytic, CNS active, hypothermic and diuretic. Forskolin is bronchodialative and hypotensive (Hussain et al,1992). Forskolin is also useful in preventing the clotting of blood platelets, in reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma and as an aid to nerve regeneration following trauma (Sharma, 1998)... coleus
Gram’s Method is a staining procedure that separates bacteria into those that stain (positive) and those that don’t (negative). Gram-positive bugs cause such lovely things as scarlet fever, tetanus, and anthrax, while some of the gram negs can give you cholera, plague, and the clap. This is significant to the microbiologist and the pathologist; otherwise I wouldn’t worry. Still, knowing the specifics (toss in anaerobes and aerobes as well), you can impress real medical professionals with your knowledge of the secret, arcane language of medicine.... gram-positive/negative
This is an infectious or contagious disease which can be passed from one person to another. Direct physical contact, the handling of an infected object, or the transfer by droplets coughed or breathed out are all ways in which micro-organisms can be transmitted. The government produces a list of NOTIFIABLE DISEASES, which includes all the dangerous communicable diseases from anthrax, cholera and diphtheria through meningitis, rabies and smallpox to typhoid fever and whooping-cough (see respective entries). The UK’s Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 and subsequent regulations in 1988 oblige a doctor who suspects that a patient has a noti?able disease to report this to the local consultant in communicable disease. Expert support is provided by the Public Health Laboratory Service via surveillance centres and specialist laboratories.... communicable disease
The control of disease caused by infectious agents or their toxic products. Successes in the 19th and 20th centuries in the treatment and control of communicable diseases such as SMALLPOX, CHOLERA, TUBERCULOSIS, gastrointestinal infections, POLIOMYELITIS and SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES (STDS) resulted in an erroneous conception that they no longer posed a serious threat to public health, and certainly not in developed countries. As a consequence, the maintenance of e?ective public health strategies steadily lost out in the competition for resources to the more ‘glamorous’ developments in medicine, such as improved CANCER treatments, HEART surgery, kidney DIALYSIS and organ TRANSPLANTATION. However, in recent decades the dangers of this approach have become increasingly apparent. Rapidly expanding urban populations, more complex lifestyles, new and resurgent infections (some linked to a spread of antibiotic resistance) such as AIDS/HIV and variant CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD), and the ease with which infection can be spread by the enormous growth of long-distance travel and population migrations are severely straining existing public health measures. The supply of clean water, e?ective waste- and sewage-disposal measures, the hygienic production and delivery of food and early detection and subsequent prevention of infectious diseases can no longer be taken for granted. Governments will need to strengthen the provision of workable, properly resourced public health facilities, and developing countries will need ?nancial support and expert help from developed nations to achieve this objective. Timely recognition of new and resurgent infectious diseases requires national and international early-warning mechanisms to ensure rapid investigation and implementation of e?ective control measures. Otherwise, serious breakdowns in public health will occur, and international co-operation is vital to provide and support control measures. (See also COMMUNICABLE DISEASE; NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.)... communicable diseases control
Bacteria can be stained with an iodine-based chemical dye called Gram’s stain (after the scientist who discovered the technique). Different bacteria react di?erently to exposure to the stain. Broadly, the bacterial specimens are stained ?rst with gentian violet, then with Gram’s stain, and ?nally counterstained with a red dye after a decolorising process. Bacteria that retain the gentian stain are called gram-positive; those that lose it but absorb the red stain are called gram-negative. Some species of staphylococcus, streptococcus and clostridium are gram-positive, whereas salmonella and Vibrio cholerae are gram-negative.... gram’s stain
Solanum spp.SolanaceaeSolanums comprise a very important group of medicinal plants having multifarious uses.These plants belong to the family Solanaceae and genus Solanum. A number of species are reported to be medicinal which are briefly described below.1. S. anguivi Lam. syn. S. indicum auct. non Linn.Eng: Poison berry; San: Brhati, Simhi;Hin: Barhauta, Birhatta;Mal: Puthirichunda, Cheruchunda;Tam: Karimulli, Puthirichundai;Kan: Ramagulla;Tel: Cittimulaga, Tellamulaka It is found throughout the tropics, in plains and at low elevations. It is much branched, very prickly undershrub, 0.3-1.5m in height. Leaves are simple, large, ovate, subentire, sinuate or lobed. Flowers are blue in extra-axillary cymes having stellately hairy and prickly peduncles. Fruits are globose berries, reddish or dark yellow with smooth or minutely pitted seeds. Its roots are useful in vitiated conditions of vata and kapha, odontalgia, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, verminosis, diarrhoea, pruritus, leprosy, skin diseases, strangury, cough, asthma, bronchitis, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, fever, cardiac disorders and vomiting. Roots bitter, acrid, astringent, thermogenic, anodyne, digestive, carminative, anthelmintic, stomachic, constipating, resolvent, demulcent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, aphrodisiac, emmenagogue, febrifuge and cardiotonic.2. S. dulcamara Linn.Eng: Bittersweet, Bitter night shade; San: Kakmachi; Pun: Rubabarik It is found in tropical situations in India and Sikkim. The plant is rich in alkaloidal glycosides like solamarine, tomatidenol, solasodine and soladulcine. The berry and twig are alterative, antisyphilitic, diaphoretic, resolvent, narcotic, diuretic, antirheumatic and used in liver disorders and psoriasis.3. S. erianthum D. Don, syn. S. verbascifolium auct. non Linn.San: Vidari;Hin: Asheta;Mal: Malachunda;Tam: Malaichundai, AnaisundaikkaiPun: Kalamena;Tel: RasagadiThe plant is distributed over the tropical and subtropical zones of India. The plant contains alkaloids and steroidal sapogenins. Leaves and fruits contain solasodine, solasodiene, solafloridine, diosgenin, vespertilin and pregnenolone. The plant is CNS depressant, antiinflammatory and useful in burns.4. S. melongena Linn.Eng: Brinjal, Egg plant; San: Varttaki;Hin: Bengan, Badanjan;Mal: VazhuthinaTam: Kattirikkai;Kan: Badanekaya, Doddabadane;Tel: Vankaya, NiruvangaIt is mainly cultivated as a vegetable throughout the tropics and subtropics. It is an erect or suffrutescent, herbaceous, armed or unarmed perennial shrub. Leaves are simple, large, entire and lobed. Flowers are blue, in clusters of 2-5. Fruits are large, white, yellow or dark purple berries of different shapes capped with thick persistent calyx. Seeds are many, yellow or cream and discoid. The roots, leaves and unripe fruits are useful in cholera, bronchitis, asthma, odontalgia and fever. The roots are laxative, analgesic and cardiotonic. Leaves are sialagogue, narcotic and antiherpetic. The unripe fruits are bitter, acrid, sweet, aphrodisiac, cardiotonic and haematinic.5. S. melongena var. incanum (Linn.) Prain syn. S. incanum Linn., S. coagulens Forsk.San: Brihati;Hin: Baigan;Mal: CheruvazhuthinaIt is a herbaceous prickly plant found in warm humid tropics. It is grown almost throughout the year in the plains and during summer on the hills. It grows 0.6-2m in height. Leaves are simple, alternate lobed. Flowers are blue or white, 5 lobed, calyx with spines. Fruits are ellipsoid berries. The plant is a constituent of the dasamoola which helps to overcome vitiated tridoshas and cures dyspepsia, fever, respiratory and cardiac disorders, skin ailments, vomiting, ulcers and poisonous affections. In Ayurveda the formulations like Brihatyadi Kashaya, dashamoolarishta, Indukantaghritam, Dasamoolaharithaki, etc are the important preparations with the roots. It is also used in the treatment of toothache and sore throat. The fruit is reported to stimulate the intrahepatic metabolism of cholesterol. Roots are antiasthmatic and stimulant. Leaves are used in cholera, bronchitis and asthma. Fruits are useful in liver complaints.6. S. nigrum Linn. syn. S. rubrum Mill.Eng: Black night shade; San: Kakamachi;Hin: Makoy, Gurkkamai;Mal: Karimthakkali;Tam: Manathakkali, Milagutakkali;Kan: Kakarndi;Tel: Kamachi, KachiIt is seen wild throughout India. It is an erect, divaricately branched, unarmed, suffrutescent annual herb. Leaves are ovate or oblong, sinuate-toothed or lobed and glabrous. Flowers are 3-8 in extra-axillary drooping subumbellate cymes. Fruits are purplish black or reddish berries. Seeds are many, discoid, yellow, minutely pitted. The whole plant is useful in vitiated conditions of tridosha, rheumatalgia, swellings, cough, asthma, bronchitis, wounds, ulcers, flatulence, dyspepsia, strangury, hepatomegaly, otalgia, hiccough, opthalmopathy, vomiting, cardiopathy, leprosy, skin diseases, fever, splenomegaly, haemarrhoids, nephropathy, dropsy and general debility. The plant is bitter, acrid, emollient, antiseptic, antiinflammatory, expectorant, anodyne, vulnerary, digestive, laxative, diuretic, cardiotonic, depurative, diaphoretic, febrifuge, rejuvenating, sedative, alterant and tonic.7. S. spirale Roxb.
Hin: Munguskajur
It is seen wild in Assam and Khasi hills in India. Its root is diuretic and narcotic.8. S. stramoniifolium Jacq., syn. S. ferox auct. non Linn.San: Garbhada;Hin: Rambaigan;Mal: Anachunda;Tam: Anaichundai;Tel: MulakaIt is observed in India in the states of Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Its berries contain glycoalkaloids such as solasonine and solasodine. Its roots and berries are bechic, antiasthmatic, antirheumatic, antiviral, anticancerous and spermicidal.9. S. surattense Burm. F. syn. S. xanthocarpum schrad. & Wendl., S. jacquinii Willd.Eng: Yellow-berried nightshade; San: Kantakari, Nidigdhika;Hin: Remgani,Kateli;Mal: Kantakarichunda;Tam: Kantankattiri;Kan: Nelagulli;Tel: CallamulagaIt is found throughout India and Pakistan in dry situations as weed on roadsides and wastelands. It is prickly, diffuse, bright green, suffrutescent, perennial undershrub, with zigzag branches. Leaves are ovate-oblong, hairy on both sides and armed on the midrib and the nerves. Flowers are bluish purple, in extra-axillary cymes. Fruits are glabrous, globular drooping berry, yellow or white with green veins, surrounded by the calyx. Seeds are many, small, reniform, smooth and yellowish brown.The whole plant is useful in vitiated conditions of vata and kapha, helminthiasis, dental caries, inflammations, flatulence, constipation, dyspepsia, anorexia, leprosy, skin diseases, hypertension, fever, cough, asthma, bronchitis, hiccough, lumbago, haemorrhoids and epilepsy. The plant is bitter, acrid, thermogenic, anthelmintic, antiinflammatory, anodyne, digestive, carminative, appetiser, stomachic, depurative, sudorific, febrifuge, expectorant, laxative, stimulant, diuretic, rejuvenating, emmenagogue and aphrodisac. Fruits contain solasonine, solamargine and solasodine.10. S. torvum Sw.Eng: West Indian Turkey Berry;Hin,Ben: Titbaigan;Mal: Kattuchunda;Kan: Kadu Sunde;Tam: Sundaikai, Amarakai;Tel: Kundavustic, Kotuvestu; Ass: HathibhekuriIt is seen throughout tropical India, particularly in Orissa, Bihar and Manipur. The plant is CVS active and used in splenomegaly. Fruits and leaves contain solasonine, solasodine, jurubine, jurubidine, torvonin, torvogenin, chlorogenin, paniculogenin, sisalogenone, neosolaspigenin and solaspigenin.11. S. trilobatum Linn.Eng: Climbing Brinjal; San: Alarka;Mal: Tutavalam;Tam: Tuduvalai;Kan: Mullumusta;Tel: TelavusteIt is mostly seen in South and Western India. The plant contains alkamine and solamarine. The berry and flowers are bechic and used in bronchitis. The alkaloid solamarine is antibiotic and possesses antitumour activity.12. S. viarum Dunal, syn. S. Khasianum C. B. Clarke
Hin: Kantakari
It is widely distributed in Khasi, Jaintia and Naga hills of Assam and Manipur upto 2000m and in Sikkim, West Bengal, Orissa and in the Niligiris. The plant and berries contain solasonine (which on hydrolysis yields solasodine), solamargine, khasianine, nantigenin, solasodine, diosgenin and saponin-solakhasianin. The plant is spasmolytic and CNS active. The berry is a source of solasodine used in the synthesis of corticosteroidal hormones.Agrotechnology: The agrotechnology for the solanaceous group of plants are almost similar. They come up very well in tropical and subtropical climate upto 2000m altitude. They can be raised on a variety of soils good in organic matter. Propagation is by seeds. The seedlings are first raised in the nursery and transplanted to the main field 30-45 days after sowing when the plants attain 8-10cm height. During rainy season, planting is done on ridges while during summer in furrows, at a spacing ranging from 30-90cm depending upon the stature and spreading habit of the plant. The transplanted seedlings should be given temporary shade for 2-4 days during summer. FYM or compost at 20-25t/ha is applied at the time of land preparation. A moderate fertiliser dose of 75:40:40 N, P2O5, K2O/ha may be given. P is given as basal dose, N and K are applied in 2-3 split doses. One or two intercultural operations are needed to control weeds. The plants need earthing up after weeding and topdressing. Irrigation is needed at 3-4 days interval during summer and on alternate days during fruiting period. Plants need staking to avoid lodging due to heavy bearing. Shoot borers, mealy bugs, leaf webbers and miners are noted on the crop, which can be controlled by spraying mild insecticides. Root knot nematode, wilting and mosaic diseases are also noted on the crop. Field sanitation, crop rotation and burning of crop residues are recommended.... solanums
Phyllanthus emblicaEuphorbiaceaeSan: Amalaka, AdiphalaTel: AmalakamHin, Mar: AmlaKan: Amalaka
Ben: Amlaki
Guj: AmbalaMal,Tam: NelliKas: AonlaImportance: Indian gooseberry or emblic myrobalan is a medium sized tree the fruit of which is used in many Ayurvedic preparations from time immemorial. It is useful in haemorrhage, leucorrhaea, menorrhagia, diarrhoea and dysentery. In combination with iron, it is useful for anaemia, jaundice and dyspepsia. It goes in combination in the preparation of triphala, arishta, rasayan, churna and chyavanaprash. Sanjivani pills made with other ingredients is used in typhoid, snake-bite and cholera. The green fruits are made into pickles and preserves to stimulate appetite. Seed is used in asthma, bronchitis and biliousness. Tender shoots taken with butter milk cures indigestion and diarrhoea. Leaves are also useful in conjunctivitis, inflammation, dyspepsia and dysentery. The bark is useful in gonorrhoea, jaundice, diarrhoea and myalgia. The root bark is astringent and is useful in ulcerative stomatitis and gastrohelcosis. Liquor fermented from fruit is good for indigestion, anaemia, jaundice, heart complaints, cold to the nose and for promoting urination. The dried fruits have good effect on hair hygiene and used as ingredient in shampoo and hair oil. The fruit is a very rich source of Vitamin C (600mg/100g) and is used in preserves as a nutritive tonic in general weakness (Dey, 1980).Distribution: Indian gooseberry is found through out tropical and subtropical India, Sri Lanka and Malaca. It is abundant in deciduous forests of Madhya Pradesh and Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kashmir. It is also widely cultivated.Botany: Phyllanthus emblica Linn. syn. Emblica officinalis Gaertn. belongs to Euphorbiaceae family. It is a small to medium sized deciduous tree growing up to 18m in height with thin light grey, bark exfoliating in small thin irregular flakes. Leaves are simple, many subsessile, closely set along the branchlets, distichous light green having the appearance of pinnate leaves. Flowers are greenish yellow in axillary fascicles, unisexual; males numerous on short slender pedicels; females few, subsessile; ovary 3-celled. Fruits are globose, 1-5cm in diameter, fleshy, pale yellow with 6 obscure vertical furrows enclosing 6 trigonous seeds in 2-seeded 3 crustaceous cocci. Two forms Amla are generally distinguished, the wild ones with smaller fruits and the cultivated ones with larger fruits and the latter are called ‘Banarasi’(Warrier et al, 1995).Agrotechnology: Gooseberry is quite hardy and it prefers a warm dry climate. It needs good sunlight and rainfall. It can be grown in almost all types of soils, except very sandy type. A large fruited variety “Chambakad Large“ was located from the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats for cultivation in Kerala. Amla is usually propagated by seeds and rarely by root suckers and grafts. The seeds are enclosed in a hard seed coat which renders the germination difficult. The seeds can be extracted by keeping fully ripe fruits in the sun for 2-3 days till they split open releasing the seeds. Seeds are soaked in water for 3-4 hours and sown on previously prepared seed beds and irrigated. Excess irrigation and waterlogging are harmful. One month old seedlings can be transplanted to polythene bags and one year old seedlings can be planted in the main field with the onset of monsoon. Pits of size 50 cm3 are dug at 6-8m spacing and filled with a mixture of top soil and well rotten FYM and planting is done. Amla can also be planted as a windbreak around an orchard. Irrigation and weeding are required during the first year. Application of organic manure and mulching every year are highly beneficial. Chemical fertilisers are not usually applied. No serious pests or diseases are generally noted in this crop. Planted seedlings will commence bearing from the 10th year, while grafts after 3-4 years. The vegetative growth of the tree continues from April to July. Along with the new growth in the spring, flowering also commences. Fruits will mature by December-February. Fruit yield ranges from 30-50kg/tree/year when full grown (KAU,1993).Properties and activity: Amla fruit is a rich natural source of vitamin C. It also contains cytokinin like substances identified as zeatin, zeatin riboside and zeatin nucleotide. The seeds yield 16% fixed oil, brownish yellow in colour. The plant contains tannins like glucogallia, corilagin, chebulagic acid and 3,6-digalloyl glucose. Root yields ellagic acid, lupeol, quercetin and - sitosterol (Thakur et al, 1989).The fruit is diuretic, laxative, carminative, stomachic, astringent, antidiarrhoeal, antihaemorrhagic and antianaemic.... indian gooseberry
The process by which a disease is transmitted via micro-organisms from one person to another. The micro-organism may be a bacterium (see BACTERIA), a RICKETTSIA, a VIRUS, a protozoon – single-celled animal organism – or a metazoon – multicellular animal organism. Invasion of the body by a metazoon (e.g. by an intestinal worm) is more often known as an infestation.
The skin is an important protection against micro-organisms entering the body tissues. A large measure of protection is a?orded by the factors which ensure IMMUNITY against diseases.
Modes of infection The infective material may be transmitted to the person by direct contact with a sick person, when the disease is said to be contagious, although such a distinction is purely arti?cial. Di?erent diseases are especially infectious at di?erent periods of their course. Protecting people can be di?cult, since some diseases are infectious before the patient shows any symptoms (see INCUBATION).
Infection may be conveyed on dust, in drinking-water, in food (particularly milk), in the body’s waste products and secretions, or even on clothes and linen which have been in contact with the infected individual (called fomites).
Some people who have recovered from a disease, or who have simply been in contact with an infectious case, harbour the infectious agent. This is particularly the case in typhoid fever (see ENTERIC FEVER), the bacillus continuing to develop in the gall-bladder of some people who have had the disease for years after the symptoms have disappeared. In the case of CHOLERA, which is ENDEMIC in some developing countries with hot climates, 80 per cent or more of the population may harbour the bacillus and spread infection when other circumstances favour this. Similarly in the case of DYSENTERY, people who have completely recovered may still be capable of infecting dust and drinking-water by their stools. DIPHTHERIA and meningococcal MENINGITIS, which is particularly liable to infect children, are other examples.
Flies can infect milk and other food with the organisms causing typhoid fever and food poisoning. Mosquitoes carry the infective agents of MALARIA, DENGUE and YELLOW FEVER, these undergoing part of their development in the body of the mosquito. Fleas convey the germ of plague from rats to humans, and lice are responsible for inoculating TYPHUS FEVER and one form of RELAPSING FEVER by their bite. A tick is responsible for spreading another form of relapsing fever, and kala-azar (LEISHMANIASIS) is spread by the bites of sand?ies.
Noti?able diseases Certain of the common and most serious infectious diseases are noti?able in the United Kingdom. A doctor diagnosing someone infected by a noti?able disease must inform the authorities. For the current list of noti?able infectious diseases in the UK, see the main entry for NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.
Prevention is an important aspect of the control of infectious diseases, and various steps can be taken to check the spread of such infections as dysentery, tuberculosis, malaria and others. (See also IMMUNITY; INCUBATION.)... infection
A type of toxin released by certain bacteria that inflames the intestinal lining, leading to diarrhoea and vomiting. Enterotoxins cause the symptoms of staphylococcal food poisoning (see staphylococcal infections) and cholera. (See also endotoxin; exotoxin.)... enterotoxin
(ORT) the administration of an isotonic solution of various sodium salts, potassium chloride, glucose, and water to treat acute diarrhoea, particularly in children. In developing countries, it is the mainstay of treatment for cholera. Once the diarrhoea has settled, normal feeding is gradually resumed.... oral rehydration therapy
The principal signs of trouble which has its origin in the intestine consist of pain somewhere about the abdomen, sometimes vomiting, and irregular bowel movements: constipation, diarrhoea or alternating bouts of these.
Several diseases and conditions are treated under separate headings. (See APPENDICITIS; CHOLERA; COLITIS; CONSTIPATION; CROHN’S DISEASE; DIARRHOEA; DYSENTERY; ENTERIC FEVER; HAEMORRHOIDS; HERNIA; INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD); ILEITIS; INTUSSUSCEPTION; IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS); PERITONITIS; RECTUM, DISEASES OF; ULCERATIVE COLITIS.)
In?ammation of the outer surface is called peritonitis, a serious disease. That of the inner surface is known generally as enteritis, in?ammation of special parts receiving the names of colitis, appendicitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and in?ammatory bowel disease (IBD). Enteritis may form the chief symptom of certain infective diseases: for example in typhoid fever (see ENTERIC FEVER), cholera and dysentery. It may be acute, although not connected with any de?nite organism, when, if severe, it is a very serious condition, particularly in young children. Or it may be chronic, especially as the result of dysentery, and then constitutes a less serious if very troublesome complaint.
Perforation of the bowel may take place as the result either of injury or of disease. Stabs and other wounds which penetrate the abdomen may damage the bowel, and severe blows or crushes may tear it without any external wound. Ulceration, as in typhoid fever, or, more rarely, in TUBERCULOSIS, may cause an opening in the bowel-wall also. Again, when the bowel is greatly distended above an obstruction, faecal material may accumulate and produce ulcers, which rupture with the ordinary movements of the bowels. Whatever the cause, the symptoms are much the same.
Symptoms The contents of the bowel pass out through the perforation into the peritoneal cavity, and set up a general peritonitis. In consequence, the abdomen is painful, and after a few hours becomes extremely tender to the touch. The abdomen swells, particularly in its upper part, owing to gas having passed also into the cavity. Fever and vomiting develop and the person passes into a state of circulatory collapse or SHOCK. Such a condition may be fatal if not properly treated.
Treatment All food should be withheld and the patient given intravenous ?uids to resuscitate them and then to maintain their hydration and electrolyte balance. An operation is urgently necessary, the abdomen being opened in the middle line, the perforated portion of bowel found, the perforation stitched up, and appropriate antibiotics given.
Obstruction means a stoppage to the passage down the intestine of partially digested food. Obstruction may be acute, when it comes on suddenly with intense symptoms; or it may be chronic, when the obstructing cause gradually increases and the bowel becomes slowly more narrow until it closes altogether; or subacute, when obstruction comes and goes until it ends in an acute attack. In chronic cases the symptoms are milder in degree and more prolonged.
Causes Obstruction may be due to causes outside the bowel altogether, for example, the pressure of tumours in neighbouring organs, the twisting around the bowel of bands produced by former peritonitis, or even the twisting of a coil of intestine around itself so as to cause a kink in its wall. Chronic causes of the obstruction may exist in the wall of the bowel itself: for example, a tumour, or the contracting scar of an old ulcer. The condition of INTUSSUSCEPTION, where part of the bowel passes inside of the part beneath it, in the same way as one turns the ?nger of a glove outside in, causes obstruction and other symptoms. Bowel within a hernia may become obstructed when the hernia strangulates. Finally some body, such as a concretion, or the stone of some large fruit, or even a mass of hardened faeces, may become jammed within the bowel and stop up its passage.
Symptoms There are four chief symptoms: pain, vomiting, constipation and swelling of the abdomen.
Treatment As a rule the surgeon opens the abdomen, ?nds the obstruction and relieves it or if possible removes it altogether. It may be necessary to form a COLOSTOMY or ILEOSTOMY as a temporary or permanent measure in severe cases.
Tumours are rare in the small intestine and usually benign. They are relatively common in the large intestine and are usually cancerous. The most common site is the rectum. Cancer of the intestine is a disease of older people; it is the second most common cancer (after breast cancer) in women in the United Kingdom, and the third most common (after lung and prostate) in men. Around 25,000 cases of cancer of the large intestine occur in the UK annually, about 65 per cent of which are in the colon. A history of altered bowel habit, in the form of increasing constipation or diarrhoea, or an alternation of these, or of bleeding from the anus, in a middle-aged person is an indication for taking medical advice. If the condition is cancer, then the sooner it is investigated and treated, the better the result.... intestine, diseases of
n. a usually malignant tumour of islet cells of the pancreas that secretes large amounts of *VIP. This results in severe watery diarrhoea (‘pancreatic cholera’ or the Verner–Morrison syndrome), with loss of potassium and bicarbonate and a low level of stomach acid. The treatment is surgical removal of the tumour.... vipoma
The study of all aspects of micro-organisms (microbes) – that is, organisms which individually are generally too small to be visible other than by microscopy. The term is applicable to viruses (see VIRUS), BACTERIA, and microscopic forms of fungi, algae, and PROTOZOA.
Among the smallest and simplest microorganisms are the viruses. First described as ?lterable agents, and ranging in size from 20–30 nm to 300 nm, they may be directly visualised only by electron microscopy. They consist of a core of deoxyribonucleic or ribonucleic acid (DNA or RNA) within a protective protein coat, or capsid, whose subunits confer a geometric symmetry. Thus viruses are usually cubical (icosahedral) or helical; the larger viruses (pox-, herpes-, myxo-viruses) may also have an outer envelope. Their minimal structure dictates that viruses are all obligate parasites, relying on living cells to provide essential components for their replication. Apart from animal and plant cells, viruses may infect and replicate in bacteria (bacteriophages) or fungi (mycophages), which are damaged in the process.
Bacteria are larger (0·01–5,000 µm) and more complex. They have a subcellular organisation which generally includes DNA and RNA, a cell membrane, organelles such as ribosomes, and a complex and chemically variable cell envelope – but, unlike EUKARYOTES, no nucleus. Rickettsiae, chlamydia, and mycoplasmas, once thought of as viruses because of their small size and absence of a cell wall (mycoplasma) or major wall component (chlamydia), are now acknowledged as bacteria; rickettsiae and chlamydia are intracellular parasites of medical importance. Bacteria may also possess additional surface structures, such as capsules and organs of locomotion (?agella) and attachment (?mbriae and stalks). Individual bacterial cells may be spheres (cocci); straight (bacilli), curved (vibrio), or ?exuous (spirilla) rods; or oval cells (coccobacilli). On examination by light microscopy, bacteria may be visible in characteristic con?gurations (as pairs of cocci [diplococci], or chains [streptococci], or clusters); actinomycete bacteria grow as ?laments with externally produced spores. Bacteria grow essentially by increasing in cell size and dividing by ?ssion, a process which in ideal laboratory conditions some bacteria may achieve about once every 20 minutes. Under natural conditions, growth is usually much slower.
Eukaryotic micro-organisms comprise fungi, algae, and protozoa. These organisms are larger, and they have in common a well-developed internal compartmentation into subcellular organelles; they also have a nucleus. Algae additionally have chloroplasts, which contain photosynthetic pigments; fungi lack chloroplasts; and protozoa lack both a cell wall and chloroplasts but may have a contractile vacuole to regulate water uptake and, in some, structures for capturing and ingesting food. Fungi grow either as discrete cells (yeasts), multiplying by budding, ?ssion, or conjugation, or as thin ?laments (hyphae) which bear spores, although some may show both morphological forms during their life-cycle. Algae and protozoa generally grow as individual cells or colonies of individuals and multiply by ?ssion.
Micro-organisms of medical importance include representatives of the ?ve major microbial groups that obtain their essential nutrients at the expense of their hosts. Many bacteria and most fungi, however, are saprophytes (see SAPROPHYTE), being major contributors to the natural cycling of carbon in the environment and to biodeterioration; others are of ecological and economic importance because of the diseases they cause in agricultural or horticultural crops or because of their bene?cial relationships with higher organisms. Additionally, they may be of industrial or biotechnological importance. Fungal diseases of humans tend to be most important in tropical environments and in immuno-compromised subjects.
Pathogenic (that is, disease-causing) microorganisms have special characteristics, or virulence factors, that enable them to colonise their hosts and overcome or evade physical, biochemical, and immunological host defences. For example, the presence of capsules, as in the bacteria that cause anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), one form of pneumonia (Streptococcus pneumoniae), scarlet fever (S. pyogenes), bacterial meningitis (Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus in?uenzae) is directly related to the ability to cause disease because of their antiphagocytic properties. Fimbriae are related to virulence, enabling tissue attachment – for example, in gonorrhoea (N. gonorrhoeae) and cholera (Vibrio cholerae). Many bacteria excrete extracellular virulence factors; these include enzymes and other agents that impair the host’s physiological and immunological functions. Some bacteria produce powerful toxins (excreted exotoxins or endogenous endotoxins), which may cause local tissue destruction and allow colonisation by the pathogen or whose speci?c action may explain the disease mechanism. In Staphylococcus aureus, exfoliative toxin produces the staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome, TSS toxin-1 toxic-shock syndrome, and enterotoxin food poisoning. The pertussis exotoxin of Bordetella pertussis, the cause of whooping cough, blocks immunological defences and mediates attachment to tracheal cells, and the exotoxin produced by Corynebacterium diphtheriae causes local damage resulting in a pronounced exudate in the trachea.
Viruses cause disease by cellular destruction arising from their intracellular parasitic existence. Attachment to particular cells is often mediated by speci?c viral surface proteins; mechanisms for evading immunological defences include latency, change in viral antigenic structure, or incapacitation of the immune system – for example, destruction of CD 4 lymphocytes by the human immunode?ciency virus.... microbiology
Gaertn.Nelumbium speciosum
Family: Nymphaeaceae.
Habitat: Throughout warmer parts of India, up to 1,800 m.
English: East Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus.
Ayurvedic: Kamala, Padma, Nalina, Aravinda, Jalaja, Raajeeva, Pushkara, Ambuja, Abja, Pankaja. Pundarika (whitish), kokanada (red), Indivara (Bluish).
Unani: Used as a substitute for Nilofar.
Siddha/Tamil: Thaamarai, Ambel.
Action: Filament—astringent and haemostatic. Prescribed for bleeding piles and menorrhagia. Flowers—a decoction is given in cholera, fever, strangury, palpitation of heart. Rhizomes—given in piles, chronic dyspepsia and dysentery; applied externally to cutaneous eruptions, scabies and ringworm. Rhizome-arrowroot— given to children in diarrhoea and dysentery. Root—astringent, diuretic, antiemetic, cooling. Used for dysentery, dyspepsia, piles, skin affections and for its anticoagulant properties.
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia ofIn- dia recommends dried rhizomes, with roots attached at nodes, in syncope and vertigo.Flowers yielded quercetin, luteolin and their glycosides and kaempferol glycosides. Leaves gave quercetin, iso- quercitrin and leucoanthocyanidin.Isoquinoline alkaloid, nuciferin, is neuroleptic. Active agents in the leaves are the alkaloids, nelumbin and roe- merin.
Dosage: Dried flower—12-24 g for decoction (API, Vol. II); rhizomes— 5-10 m powder; 10-20 ml juice (API, Vol. III). Seed—3-6 g powder; flower—10-20 ml juice. (CCRAS.)... nelumbo nucifera
This infection – also known as bubonic plague
– is caused by the bacterium Yersinis pestis. Plague remains a major infection in many tropical countries.
The reservoir for the bacillus in urban infection lies in the black rat (Rattus rattus), and less importantly the brown (sewer) rat (Rattus norvegicus). It is conveyed to humans by the rat ?ea, usually Xenopsylla cheopis: Y. pestis multiplies in the gastrointestinal tract of the ?ea, which may remain infectious for up to six weeks. In the pneumonic form (see below), human-to-human transmission can occur by droplet infection. Many lower mammals (apart from the rat) can also act as a reservoir in sylvatic transmission which remains a major problem in the US (mostly in the south-western States); ground-squirrels, rock-squirrels, prairie dogs, bobcats, chipmunks, etc. can be affected.
Clinically, symptoms usually begin 2–8 days after infection; disease begins with fever, headache, lassitude, and aching limbs. In over two-thirds of patients, enlarged glands (buboes) appear – usually in the groin, but also in the axillae and cervical neck; this constitutes bubonic plague. Haemorrhages may be present beneath the skin causing gangrenous patches and occasionally ulcers; these lesions led to the epithet ‘Black Death’. In a favourable case, fever abates after about a week, and the buboes discharge foul-smelling pus. In a rapidly fatal form (septicaemic plague), haematogenous transmission produces mortality in a high percentage of cases. Pneumonic plague is associated with pneumonic consolidation (person-to-person transmission) and death often ensues on the fourth or ?fth day. (The nursery rhyme ‘Ringo-ring o’ roses, a pocketful o’ posies, atishoo! atishoo!, we all fall down’ is considered to have originated in the 17th century and refers to this form of the disease.) In addition, meningitic and pharyngeal forms of the disease can occur; these are unusual. Diagnosis consists of demonstration of the causative organism.
Treatment is with tetracycline or doxycycline; a range of other antibiotics is also e?ective. Plague remains (together with CHOLERA and YELLOW FEVER) a quarantinable disease. Contacts should be disinfected with insecticide powder; clothes, skins, soft merchandise, etc. which have been in contact with the infection can remain infectious for several months; suspect items should be destroyed or disinfected with an insecticide. Ships must be carefully checked for presence of rats; the rationale of anchoring a distance from the quay prevents access of vermin. (See also EPIDEMIC; PANDEMIC; NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.)... plague
Linn. (also auct. non L.)
Synonym: S. senegalensis DC. S. hirtus Willd.
Family: Compositae; Asteraceae.
Habitat: Tropical parts of India, in rice fields, cultivated lands as a weed.
Ayurvedic: Mundi, Mundika, Munditikaa, Bhuukadamba, Alam- busta, Shraavani, Tapodhanaa.(Mahamundi, Mahaa-Shraavani Is Equated With S. Africanus Linn.)
Unani: Mundi.
Siddha/Tamil: Kottakarthai.
Folk: Gorakh-Mundi.
Action: Juice—Styptic, Emollient, Resolvent. Also Used In Hepatic And Gastric Disorders. Seeds And Root—Anthelmintic. Decoction Is Used In Cough And Other Catarrhal Affections And Chest Diseases. Root Bark—Given In Bleeding Piles. Flowers—Blood Purifier, Alterative, Depurative.
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia Of India Recommends The Dried Leaf In Cervical Lymphadenitis, Chronic Sinusitis, Migraine, Epilepsy, Lipid Disorders, Diseases Of Spleen, Anaemia, Dysuria.The Drug Is Mostly Administered In The Form Of Its Steam-Distillate. Steam Distillation Of Fresh Flowering Herb Yields An Essential Oil Containing Methyl Chavicol, Alpha-Ionone, D-Cadinene, P-Methoxycinnamaldehyde As Major Constituents. A Bitter Alkaloid, Sphaer- Anthine, Has Been Reported In The Plant.Capitula Contains Albumin, A Fatty Oil (Up To 5%), Reducing Sugars, Tannins, Mineral Matter, A Volatile Oil (0.07%), And A Glucoside. No Alkaloid Was Detected In The Inflorescence. The Glucoside On Hydrolysis Gave A Aglycone, Phenolic In Nature. The Unsaponifiable Matter Of The Fatty Oil Showed Beta-Sitosterol, Stigmas- Terol, N-Triacontanol, N-Pentacosane And Hentriacontane. The Essential Oil Is Active Against Vibrio Cholera And Mi- Crococcus Pyogenes Var. Aureus. The Flower Heads Gave Beta-D-Glucoside Of Beta-Sitosterol.Eudesmanolides, Cryptomeridiol And 4-Epicryptomeridiol Have Been Isolated From Flowers.Flowers Gave A Sesquiterpene Glyco- Side, Sphaeranthanolide, Which Exhibited Immune Stimulating Activity.
Dosage: Leaf— 3-6 G (Api, Vol Iii); Whole Plant—10-20 Ml Juice (Api, Vol. IV).... sphaeranthus indicus
Dunal.
Family: Solanaceae.
Habitat: Drier parts of Punjab, Gujarat, Simla and Kumaon.
English: Vegetable Rennet, Indian Cheese-maker.
Unani: Desi Asgandh, Kaaknaj-e- Hindi, Paneer, Paneer-band. Akri (fruit).
Siddha/Tamil: Ammukkura.
Action: Alterative, emetic, diuretic. Ripe fruits—sedative, CNS depressant, antibilious, emetic, antiasth- matic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory; used in chronic liver troubles and strangury. Dried fruits— carminative, depurative; used for dyspepsia, flatulence and strangury. Leaf—alterative, febrifuge. Seeds— anti-inflammatory, emetic, diuretic, emmenagogue.
Though known as Desi Asgandh, the root is not used in Indian medicine. Ashwagandhaa (Bengali) and Ashwa- gandhi (Kannada) are confusing synonyms of W. coagulans. In the market no distinction is made between the berries of W. coagulans and W. somnifera.The berries contain a milk-coagulating enzyme, esterases, free amino acids, fatty oil, an essential oil and alkaloids. The amino acid composition fairly agrees with that of papain. The essential oil was active against Micro- coccus pyogenes var. aureus and Vibro cholerae; also showed anthelmintic activity.The withanolides, withacoagin, coagulan and withasomidienone have been isolated from the plant, along with other withanolides and withaferin. 3- beta-hydroxy-2,3- dihydrowithanolide E, isolated from the fruit showed significant hepatoprotective activity and anti-inflammatory activity equal to hydrocortisone. The ethanolic extract of the fruit showed antifungal and that of the leaves and stem antibacterial activity.... withania coagulans
Strychnos nux-vomicaLoganiaceaeSan: Karaskara;Hin: Kajra, Kuchila;Mal: Kanjiram; ;Tam: Itti, Kagodi, Kanjirai Mar:Jharkhatchura;Kan: Hemmushti, Ittangi;Tel: Mushti, Mushidi; Ori: Kora, KachilaImportance: It is a large deciduous tree, with simple leaves and white fragrant flowers.Strychnos is highly toxic to man and animals producing stiffness of muscles and convulsions, ultimately leading to death. However, in small doses it can also serve as efficacious cure forms of paralysis and other nervous disorders. The seeds are used as a remedy in intermittent fever, dyspepsia, chronic dysentery, paralytic and neuralgic affections, worms, epilepsy, chronic rheumatism, insomnia and colic. It is also useful in impotence, neuralgia of face, heart disease, spermatorrhoea, skin diseases, toxins, wounds, emaciation, cough and cholera. Leaves are applied as poultice in the treatment of chronic wounds and ulcers and the leaf decoction is useful in paralytic complaints. Root and root bark used in fever and dysentery (Nadkarni, 1982; Kurup et al, 1979).Distribution: The plant is distributed throughout India in deciduous forests up to 1200m. It is also found in Sri Lanka, Siam, Indochina and Malaysia.Botany: Strychnos nux-vomica Linn. is a large tree belonging to the family Loganiaceae. Leaves are simple, opposite, orbicular to ovate, 6-11.5x6-9.5cm, coriaceous, glabrous, 5 nerved, apex obtuse, acute or apiculate, transverse nerves irregular and inconspicuous. Inflorescence is many flowered terminal cymes, 2.5-5cm across. Bracts (5mm) and bracteoles (1.5mm) small. Flowers are white or greenish white and fragrant. Calyx 5 lobed, pubescent and small (2mm). Corolla salver shaped, tube cylindrical slightly hairy near the base within and greenish white, tube much elongate than the lobes. Tube 7mm and lobes 2.5mm long. Lobes 5 and valvate. Stamens 5, filaments short, 0.1mm long. Anthers 1.5mm subexerted, linear oblong. Ovary 1.5 mm, pubescent, 2 celled, ovules one to many. Style 9mm, stigma capitate. Fruit is a berry, 5-6cm diameter, globose, indehiscent, thick shelled, orange red when ripe with fleshy pulp enclosing the seeds. Seeds 1-many, discoid, compressed, coin like, concave on one side and convex on the other, covered with fine grey silky hairs.The leaf fall is during December (do not shed all the leaves at a time) and new foliage appears in February. Flowering is during March - April and fruiting during May - December. Fruits take about 8-9 months to mature.Properties and activity: Strychnine and brucine are the most important and toxic alkaloids present in the plant. They occur not only in the seeds but also in roots, wood, bark, fruit pulp and hard fruit shells. The minor alkaloids present in the plant are vomicine, -colubrine, -colubrine, pseudostrychnine and N-methyl-sec-pseudobrucine (novacine). Loganin a glycoside is also present (Warnat, 1932; Martin et al, 1953; Guggisberg et al, 1966; Bisset and Chaudhary, 1974). Chatterji and Basa (1967) reported vomicine as the major constituent alkaloid along with unidentified alkaloid in leaves and identified another alkaloid kajine (N-methyl pseudostrychnine) from the leaves of very young plants.Root bark of S. nux-vomica yeilded 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy strychnine, 4 hydroxy strychine, nor-macusine, a new alkaloid 12 , 13 dihydro-12 -hydroxy isostrychnine named protostrychnine (Baser et al, 1979) methoxy strychnine, and mavacurine (Guggisberg et al, 1966). Leaves and root bark also yeilded 11 new alkaloids. 10-hydroxy strychnine, 3-12-dihydroxystrychnine, 12-hydroxy–11- methoxy strychnine, 3-12-dihydroxy- 11-methoxy strychnine,12-hydroxy strychnine-N- oxide 12-hydroxy-11-methoxy strychnine- N-oxide-19,20–dihydro isostrychnine, 16 , 17 dihydro-17 -hydroxy isostrychnine, O- methyl-macusine B, 16-epi-o-methyl–macusine B and normelinone B (Baser and Bisset, 1982).De and Datta (1988) isolated 5 tertiary indole alkaloids viz. strychnine, brucine, vomicine, icajine and novacine from S.nux-vomica flowers. Bisset et al (1989) isolated and identified two phenolic glycosides salidroside and cuchiloside – a compound consisting of salidroside and an attached xylose unit, from the fruit of S.nux-vomica.Rodriguez et al (1979) isolated an indole alkaloid from the seeds of S. nux- vomica and identified as a 3-methoxy icajine. A new alkaloid 15-hydroxy strychnine has been isolated from the seeds and the structure of the alkaloid established by spectroscopic data (Galeffi et al, 1979). Cai et al (1990a) isolated 4 new alkaloids isobrucine, isobrucine N-oxide, isostrychnine N-oxide and 2 hydroxy–3-methoxy strychnine from the heat treated seeds of S. nuxvomica and the structure of the alkaloids were determined by 13 CNMR (Cai et al, 1994). Cai et al (1990 b) studied the changes in the alkaloid composition of the seeds during drug processing. Saily et al (1994) determined the mineral elements in Strychnos nux-vomica. Corsaro et al (1995) reported polysaccharides from the seeds of Strychnos species.Seeger and Neumann (1986) reviewed the physico-chemical characteristics, occurrence, identification, utilisation, poisoning, toxicity, kinetics, differential diagnosis and therapeutic uses of strychnine and brucine. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and Pencillium citrinum showed regular association with Strychnos seeds and effectively deteriorated the alkaloid content of the seeds (Dutta, 1988; Dutta and Roy, 1992). Nicholson (1993) described the history, structure and synthesis of strychnine which occur in the seeds of S. nux-vomica. Rawal and Michoud (1991) developed a general solution for the synthesis of 2- azabicyclo (3.3.1) nonane substructure of Strychnos alkaloids.Villar et al (1984) and Hayakawa et al (1984) developed HPLC method for the analysis of strychnine and brucine. Graf and Wittliner (1985), Kostennikova (1986) and Gaitonde and Joshi (1986) suggested different methods for the assay of strychnine and brucine. Biala et al, (1996) developed new method for the assay of alkaloids in S. nux- vomica.The seeds are bitter, acrid, alexeteric, aphrodisiac, appetiser, antiperiodic, anthelmintic, digestive, febrifuge, emmenagogue, purgative, spinal, respiratory and cardiac stimulant and stomachic. The bark is bitter, and tonic and febrifuge (Nadkarni, 1954; Kurup et al, 1979; Warrier et al, 1996).The quarternery alkaloid from the root bark of the Sri Lankan plant exhibited muscle-relaxant activity (Baser and Bisset, 1982). Antimicrobial activity of indole alkaloid isolated from the Strychnos nux-vomica was studied by Verpoorte et al, 1983. Shukla et al (1985) evaluated the efficacy of Rasnadigugglu compound consisting of S. nux-vomica, on rheumatoid arthritis and found to be effective in reducing inflammatory oedoma and rheumatoid arthritis. It also exhibited analgesic activity. A compound Unani formulation containing S. nux-vomica significantly attenuated withdrawal intensity in morphine dependent rats (Zatar et al, 1991). Shahana et al (1994) studied the effect of Unani drug combination (UDC) having Strychnos nux-vomica on the abstinence syndrome in moderately and severely morphine dependent rats. The UDC strikingly suppressed the abstinence syndrome was seen to possess central depressant and analgesic action.Melone et al (1992) reported brucine-lethality in mice. Panda and Panda (1993) and Satyanarayanan et al (1994) reported antigastric ulcer activity of nux vomica in Shay rats. Banerjee and Pal (1994) reported the medicinal plants used by the tribals of plain land in India for hair and scalp preparation and S. nux-vomica being used to cure alopecia (baldness) by the tribals. Tripathi and Chaurasia (1996) studied the effect of S. nux-vomica alcohol extract on lipid peroxidation in rat liver.... strychnine tree
Berberis vulgaris L. French: Vinettier. German: Berberize. Italian: Berberi. Indian: Zirishk. Stem bark.
Action. Liver stimulant, cholagogue, antiseptic, alterative. Tonic to spleen and pancreas, antemetic, digestive tonic. Hypotensive. Mild sedative and anticonvulsant. Uterine stimulant. Anti-haemorrhagic, Febrifuge, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-diarrhoeal, Amoebicidal, Bactericidal.
Uses: Sluggish liver, jaundice, biliousness, gastritis, gallstones, itching anus, ulcerated mouth, malaria, sandfly fever, toxaemia from drugs and environmental chemicals. Shingles, bladder disorders, leucorrhoea, renal colic. Old gouty constitutions react favourably. Cholera (animals). Leukopaenia due to chemotherapy.
Combinations. With Yarrow for malaria. With Gelsemium for pain in the coccyx (tailbone). With Fringe Tree bark for skin disorders.
Contra-indications: pregnancy, diarrhoea.
Preparations: Thrice daily.
Decoction: 1 teaspoon to each cup cold water left to steep overnight. Half-1 cup. Liquid Extract: BHP (1983) 1:1 in 25 per cent alcohol. Dose (1-3ml).
Tincture: BHP (1983) 1:10 in 60 per cent alcohol. Dose (2-4ml).
Powdered bark, dose, 1-2g. ... barberry bark
Cinnamomum camphora. French: Laurier du Japon. German: Japanischer Kamferbaum. Spanish: Alcanfor. Italian: Alloro canforato. Indian: Kapur. Chinese: Chang. Gum camphor. Today its use is confined mostly to stimulating lotions for external use to increase surface heat in cold arthritic joints. Rubefacient. Chilblains, pains of rheumatism, nervous excitability and heart attack. Should not be used by epileptics.
Internal. Restricted dose: 10mg. Maximum daily dose: 30mg.
Historical. 1-2 drops on sugar 2-3 times daily, internally, to reduce troublesome sex-urge: priapism or nymphomania. Hourly, such doses were once classical treatment for cholera.
Liniment. 10 drops oil of Camphor to egg-cup Olive oil. Massage for relief of lumbago, fibrositis, neuralgia, chest and muscle pain.
Inhalant: Inhale the fumes for respiratory oppression with difficult breathing, heart failure, collapse, shock from injury, hypothermia, tobacco habit.
Camphor locket. A small square is sometimes hung in a small linen bag round the neck for prevention of infection, colds.
Camphorated oil: 1oz (30g) Flowers of Camphor to 4oz (125g) peanut oil. Dissolve in gentle heat. Camphor lotion. Dissolve teaspoon (4-6g) Camphor flowers in 4oz Cider vinegar.
GSL as restricted dose above.
Camphor Drops. At one time a bottle brandy with a knob of Camphor at the bottom was kept in every pantry to restore vitality and warmth to those suffering from exposure to cold and damp. One drop of the mixture in honey rapidly invigorates, imparts energy, and sustains the heart. A reaction is evoked almost immediately; it is harmlessly repeated hourly. Camphor should be given alone as it antidotes many drugs and other remedies. ... camphor
Storksbill. Wild Geranium. Geranium maculatum L. Herb. Dried Root. Constituents: Tannic and gallic acid.
Action: Haemostatic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, styptic tonic, antiseptic. A vaso- compressor to increase the vital potency of living matter of the ganglionic neurones. Anti-diarrhoea. For over-relaxed conditions.
Uses: Urinary system: frequency, incontinence in the young and aged, bed-wetting, blood in the urine. An ingredient of Captain Frank Roberts’ prescription for ulceration of stomach, duodenum and intestines. Ulceration of mouth and throat (tea used as a mouth wash and gargle). Irritable bowel. Summer diarrhoea of children.
Combines with Beth root (equal parts) as a vaginal douche for leucorrhoea or flooding of the menopause; with tincture Myrrh for cholera and infective enteritis.
Dr Wm Winder reported in the 1840s how the Indians of Great Manitoulin Island held it in high favour as a healing styptic antiseptic, “the powdered root being placed on the mouth of the bleeding vessel . . . Internally, they considered it efficacious for bleeding from the lungs”. (Virgil J. Vogel, University of Oklahoma Press, USA)
Preparations: Thrice daily.
Tea. Half-2 teaspoons dried herb to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes. Half-1 cup.
Decoction. Half-1 teaspoon dried root to each cup water simmered gently 20 minutes. Half a cup.
Tablets BHP 270mg. (Gerard House)
Liquid extract: 15-30 drops.
Tincture BHP (1983). 1 part root to 5 parts 45 per cent alcohol. Dose: 2-4ml (30-60 drops).
Powdered root, as a snuff for excessive catarrh and to arrest bleeding from the nose.
Vaginal douche. 1oz root to 2 pints water simmered 20 minutes. Strain and inject. ... cranesbill, american
Foeniculum vulgare, Mill. German: Fenchel. French: Fenouil. Spanish: Hinojo. Italian: Finocchio. Chinese: Shih-lo. Seeds, roots and leaves. Seeds contain an important essential oil (anethol). Constituents: coumarins, volatile oil, flavonoids (rutin), sterols.
Action: a gentle warming agent for delicate stomachs; carminative, aromatic, antispasmodic (children), digestive, orexigenic, rubefacient, diuretic (soothing), galactagogue, stimulant (mild), anti-inflammatory in polyarthritis, anticoagulant (Vitamin K antagonist). Antimicrobial. Expectorant. Oestrogen-effect – Aberdeen University.
Uses: To disperse windy colic in infants; griping; to arouse appetite, sweeten a sour stomach, soothe an irritable bowel. To increase milk in nursing mothers. Obesity (traditional tea). Wrinkle smoother (tea). Old Chinese remedy for cholera. Externally, an eyewash for red-eye and blepharitis.
Preparations: As necessary.
Tea. Fresh or dried leaves: 3-4 teaspoons to teapot; add boiling water. Dose: adult; half-1 cup; infants, 2- 3 teaspoons.
Tea. Crushed seeds: quarter to half a teaspoon to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes. Quarter to half a cup (infants, 2-3 teaspoons).
Liquid Extract BMP (1983) 1:1 in 70 per cent alcohol. Dose: 0.8 to 2ml.
Fennel water (distilled). 5-15 drops.
Powder. 300mg capsules; 2 capsules before meals thrice daily.
Lotion. Half a teaspoon crushed seeds in cold water. Infuse 1 hour. Half fill eyebath and use as a douche. Diet. Young shoots and root as a cooked vegetable. Seeds sprinkled on salads.
Note: Fennel seeds were discovered among personal chattels of Egyptian rulers salvaged from among the tombs.
Side-effects: slight return of periods in menopausal women. ... fennel
Notifiable diseases under the Public Health (Control of Disease Act, 1984) are:–
Acute encephalitis, acute meningitis, acute poliomyelitis, anthrax, cholera, diphtheria, dysentery (amoebic and bacillary), food poisoning, infective jaundice, leprosy, leptospirosis, lassa fever, mumps, malaria, marburg disease, measles, German measles, ophthalmia neonatorum, paratyphoid fever, plague, rabies, relapsing fever, scarlet fever, smallpox, tetanus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, typhus, viral haemorrhagic fever, whooping cough and yellow fever.
Six communicable diseases are internationally notifiable to the World Health Organisation: yellow fever, plague, cholera, smallpox, louse-borne relapsing fever, louse-borne typhus.
Notification has to be made to local and central Government authorities. Certain occupational diseases and all cases of cancer must be registered and notified.
It is required that the above diseases and certain others receive modern medical therapy in a hospital or treatment under the supervision of a qualified physician. Failure to conform may expose a practitioner, registered or unregistered, to a charge of negligence. ... notifiable diseases
A medical doctrine teaching that drugs capable of producing disease symptoms in a healthy person can, in infinitesimal doses, cure the same group of symptoms met in a particular disease.
Hippocrates was aware of the universal law similia similibus curentur (like cures like). He taught that some diseases were cured by similars, and others by contraries. Stahl (1738) was also aware of this law of healing: “diseases will yield to and be cured by remedies that produce a similar affection”. But it was Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) who proved to the world this doctrine held the key to the selection of specifically acting medicines. His early experiments with nux vomica, arnica, ignatia and veratrum showed how the medicine which cured produced a similar condition in healthy people.
While no one has yet discovered the ‘modus operandi’ of the science, it has grown up largely through empiric experience, especially during certain historical epidemics in different parts of the world. For example, in 1836 cholera raged through most of the cities of Austria. Orthodox medicine could do little.
Out of desperation, the Government commissioned the aid of homoeopathy. A crude hospital was hastily prepared and patients admitted. Results convinced the most hardened sceptics. Physician-in-charge, Dr Fleischman, lost only 33 per cent, whereas other treatments showed a death rate of over 70 per cent.
It is said that reduction of inflammatory fevers by homoeopathic Aconite, Gelsemium, Baptisia and Belladonna played no small part in reducing the practice of blood-letting in the early 19th century.
Since Hahneman, homoeopathy has been the object of intense professional bitterness by its opponents but since the 1968 Medicines Act (UK) provision has been made for homoeopathic treatment on the “National Health Service”. Conversion of medical opinion has been gradual and today many registered medical practitioners also use the therapy.
“It is the general theory that the process of dilution and succussion (a vigorous shaking by the hand or by a machine) “potentises” a remedy.
“To prepare. A remedy is first prepared in solution as a “mother tincture”. In the decimal system of dilution a small quantity is then diluted ten times by the addition of nine parts by volume of diluent – either alcohol or water and then shaken vigorously by hand or machine (succussion). A small quantity of this is then diluted to one tenth and succussed a second time; this process is repeated again and again, producing solutions identified as 3x, 6x, 30x according to the number of times diluted. It may even be continued a thousand times (1 M). The resulting solutions are adsorbed on to an inert tablet or granules, usually of lactose, and in this form it is claimed that they remain therapeutically active indefinitely.
“For higher dilutions the centesimal system is used, when each dilution is by 1 in 100. The resulting solutions or tablets are referred to as 3C, 6C, 12C etc according to the number of times diluted.
“When dealing with a remedy which is insoluble, e.g. Carbo Veg, the first three dilutions and succussions are done in powder form, i.e. to “3x” beyond which the remedy is sufficiently soluble for further dilutions to proceed in liquid form.
“In homoeopathy a remedy may in some cases be given in a dilution so great that no single molecule of the original substance remains. The concept of “memory laden” water implies that the effect lies in a pattern impressed on the water molecules and that this is carried over from one dilution to the next.” (John Cosh MD., FRCP)
Homoeopathic medicines can stand most tests for safety, since it is widely held that they are completely safe and non-addictive, with no side-effects. ... homoeopathy
A term used for any gastrointestinal illness of sudden onset that is suspected of being caused by eating contaminated food. Most cases of food poisoning are due to contamination of food by bacteria or viruses.
The bacteria commonly responsible for food poisoning belong to the groups
SALMONELLA, CAMPYLOBACTER, and E. COLI, certain strains of which are able to multiply rapidly in the intestines to cause widespread inflammation. Food poisoning may also be caused by LISTERIA (see listeriosis). Botulism is an uncommon, life-threatening form of food poisoning caused by a bacterial toxin.
The viruses that most commonly cause food poisoning are astravirus, rotavirus, and Norwalk virus (which affects shellfish). This can occur when raw or partly cooked foods have been in contact with water contaminated by human excrement. Non-infective causes include poisonous mushrooms and toadstools (see mushroom poisoning), fresh fruit and vegetables contaminated with high doses of insecticide, and chemical poisoning from foods such as fruit juice stored in containers made partly from zinc.
The onset of symptoms depends on the cause of poisoning. Symptoms usually develop within 30 minutes in cases of chemical poisoning, between 1 and 12 hours in cases of bacterial toxins, and between 12 and 48 hours with most bacterial and viral infections. Symptoms usually include nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, and, in severe cases, shock and collapse. Botulism affects the nervous system, causing visual disturbances, difficulty with speech, paralysis, and vomiting.
The diagnosis of bacterial food poisoning can usually be confirmed from examination of a sample of faeces. Chemical poisoning can often be diagnosed from a description of what the person has eaten, and from analysis of a sample of the suspect food.
Mild cases can be treated at home. Lost fluids should be replaced by intake of plenty of clear fluids (see rehydration therapy). In severe cases, hospital treatment may be necessary. Except for botulism, and some cases of mushroom poisoning, most food poisoning is not serious, and recovery generally occurs within 3 days. However, some strains ofE. COLI can seriously damage red blood cells and cause kidney failure. (See also cholera; dysentery; typhoid fever.)... food poisoning
the number of fatalities from a specified disease in a given period per 100 diagnosed cases of the disease arising in the same period. Unless deaths occur very rapidly after the onset of the disease (e.g. cholera), they may be the outcome of episodes that started in an earlier period. It is possible for more people to die from a condition than to develop it during the time period under investigation. Different time periods will be appropriate depending on the disease of interest. Comparison of the annual number of admissions and fatalities in a given hospital in respect of a specific disease is known as the hospital fatality rate.... case fatality rate
Trachyspermum copticum
FAMILY: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
SYNONYMS: T. ammi, Ammi copticum, Carum ajowan, C. copticum, Ptychotis ajowan, ajuan, omum.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: An annual herb with a greyish-brown seed, which resembles parsley in appearance.
DISTRIBUTION: Chiefly India, also Afghanistan, Egypt, the West Indies and the Seychelle Islands.
OTHER SPECIES: see Botanical Classification section.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The seeds are used extensively in curry powders and as a general household remedy for intestinal problems. The tincture, essential oil and ‘thymol’ are used in Indian medicine, particularly for cholera.
ACTIONS: Powerful antiseptic and germicide, carminative.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the seed.
CHARACTERISTICS: A yellow-orange or reddish liquid with a herbaceous-spicy medicinal odour, much like thyme.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Thymol, pinene, cymene, dipentene, terpinene and carvacrol, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Possible mucous membrane and dermal irritant. Due to high thymol level, should be avoided in pregnancy. Toxicity levels are unknown.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE Not recommended.
OTHER USES: It has been used extensively for the isolation of thymol, but this has largely been replaced by synthetic thymol.... ajowan
Melaleuca cajeputi
FAMILY: Myrtaceae
SYNONYMS: M. minor, cajuput, white tea tree, white wood, swamp tea tree, punk tree, paperbark tree.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A tall evergreen tree up to 30 metres high, with thick pointed leaves and white flowers. The flexible trunk has a whitish spongy bark which flakes off easily. In Malaysia it is called ‘caju-puti’, meaning ‘white wood’, due to the colour of the timber.
DISTRIBUTION: It grows wild in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Java, Australia and south eastern Asia.
OTHER SPECIES: Several other varieties of Melaleuca are used to produce cajeput oil, such as M. quinquenervia – see Botanical Classification section. Closely related to other members of the Melaleuca group, notably eucalyptus, clove, niaouli and tea tree.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: Held in high regard in the East, it is used locally for colds, headaches, throat infections, toothache, sore and aching muscles, fever (cholera), rheumatism and various skin diseases. Only the oil is used in the Western herbal tradition, known for producing a sensation of warmth and quickening the pulse. It is used for chronic laryngitis and bronchitis, cystitis, rheumatism and to expel roundworm.
ACTIONS: Mildly analgesic, antimicrobial, antineuralgic, antispasmodic, antiseptic (pulmonary, urinary, intestinal), anthelmintic, diaphoretic, carminative, expectorant, febrifuge, insecticide, sudorific, tonic.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the fresh leaves and twigs.
CHARACTERISTICS: A pale yellowy-green, mobile liquid (the green tinge derives from traces of copper found in the tree), with a penetrating, camphoraceous-medicinal odour. Compared with eucalyptus oil, it has a slightly milder fruity body note.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Cineol (14–65 per cent depending on source), terpineol, terpinyl acetate, pinene, nerolidol and other traces.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-sensitizing, may irritate the skin in high concentration.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin Care: Insect bites, oily skin, spots.
Circulation Muscles And Joints: Arthritis, muscular aches and pains, rheumatism.
Respiratory System: Asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, coughs, sinusitis, sore throat.
Genito-Urinary System: Cystitis, urethritis, urinary infection.
Immune System: Colds, ’flu, viral infections.
OTHER USES: Used in dentistry and pharmaceutical work as an antiseptic; in expectorant and tonic formulations, throat lozenges, gargles, etc. Used as a fragrance and freshening agent in soaps, cosmetics, detergents and perfumes. Occasionally employed as a flavour component in food products and soft drinks.... cajeput
Saussurea costus
FAMILY: Asteraceae (Compositae)
SYNONYMS: S. lappa, Aucklandia costus, Aplotaxis lappa, A. auriculata.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A large, erect, perennial plant up to 2 metres high with a thick tapering root and numerous almost black flowers.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to northern India; cultivated in India and south west China. The oil is mainly produced in India.
OTHER SPECIES: Closely related to elecampane (lnula helenium), whose roots are also used to produce an essential oil.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The root has been used for millennia in India and China for digestive complaints, respiratory conditions, as a stimulant and for infection including typhoid and cholera. It is also used as an incense.
ACTIONS: Antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, bactericidal, carminative, digestive, expectorant, febrifuge, hypotensive, stimulant, stomachic, tonic.
EXTRACTION: The dried roots are macerated in warm water, then subjected to steam distillation followed by solvent extraction of the distilled water. (A concrete and absolute are also produced in small quantities.)
CHARACTERISTICS: A pale yellow or brownish viscous liquid of soft, woody-musty, extremely tenacious odour. It blends well with patchouli, opopanax, ylang ylang, oriental and floral fragrances.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly sesquiterpene lactones, including dihydrocostus lactone and costunolide (together up to 50 per cent), other sesquiterpenes such as costols, caryophyllene and selinene, as well as costic and oleic acids, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, possible sensitization in some individuals. Subject to frequent adulteration.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin Care: Perfume.
Respiratory System: Asthma, bronchitis, spasmodic cough.
Digestive System: Flatulence, indigestion, spasm.
Nervous system: Debility, nervous exhaustion and stress-related conditions.
OTHER USES: Fixative and fragrance component in cosmetics and perfumes. Used as a flavour ingredient by the food industry, especially in confectionery, alcoholic and soft drinks.... costus
Eucalyptus globulus var. globulus
FAMILY: Myrtaceae
SYNONYMS: Gum tree, southern blue gum, Tasmanian blue gum, fever tree, stringy bark.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A beautiful, tall, evergreen tree, up to 90 metres high. The young trees have bluish-green oval leaves while the mature trees develop long, narrow, yellowish leaves, creamy-white flowers and a smooth, pale grey bark often covered in a white powder.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to Tasmania and Australia. Mainly cultivated in Spain and Portugal, also Brazil, California, Russia and China. Very little of this oil now comes from its native countries.
OTHER SPECIES: There are over 700 different species of eucalyptus, of which at least 500 produce a type of essential oil. Many have been extracted simply for experimental purposes, and research is still being carried out with regard to the different constituents of each oil. In general, they can be divided into three categories. 1. The medicinal oils containing large amounts of cineol (or eucalyptol), such as the blue gum, but increasingly the blue malee (E. polybractea), the narrow-leaved peppermint (E. radiata var. australiana) and the gully gum (E. smithii). 2. The industrial oils containing mainly piperitone and phellandrene, such as the peppermint eucalyptus (E. piperita), grey peppermint (E. radiata var. phellandra) and increasingly the broad-leaved peppermint (E. dives var. Type). 3. The perfumery oils containing mainly citronellal, such as the lemon-scented eucalyptus (E. citriodora). See also Botanical Classification section.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: A traditional household remedy in Australia, the leaves and oil are especially used for respiratory ailments such as bronchitis and croup, and the dried leaves are smoked like tobacco for asthma. It is also used for feverish conditions (malaria, typhoid, cholera, etc.) and skin problems like burns, ulcers and wounds. Aqueous extracts are used for aching joints, bacterial dysentery, ringworms, tuberculosis, etc. and employed for similar reasons in western and eastern medicine. The wood is also used for timber production in Spain.
ACTIONS: Analgesic, antineuralgic, antirheumatic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, balsamic, cicatrisant, decongestant, deodorant, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypoglycaemic, parasiticide, prophylactic, rubefacient, stimulant, vermifuge, vulnerary.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the fresh or partially dried leaves and young twigs.
CHARACTERISTICS: A colourless mobile liquid (yellows on ageing), with a somewhat harsh camphoraceous odour and woody-sweet undertone. It blends well with thyme, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, pine, cedarwood and lemon. (The narrow-leaved eucalyptus (E. radiata var. australiana) is often used in preference to the blue gum in aromatherapy work, being rich in cineol but with a sweeter and less harsh odour.)
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Cineol (70–85 per cent), pinene, limonene, cymene, phellandrene, terpinene, aromadendrene, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Externally non-toxic, non-irritant (in dilution), non-sensitizing. ‘When taken internally eucalyptus oil is toxic and as little as 3.5ml has been reported as fatal’..
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin Care: Burns, blisters, cuts, herpes, insect bites, insect repellent, lice, skin infections, wounds.
Circulation Muscles And Joints: Muscular aches and pains, poor circulation, rheumatoid arthritis, sprains, etc.
Respiratory System: Asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, coughs, sinusitis, throat infections.
Genito-Urinary System: Cystitis, leucorrhoea.
Immune System: Chickenpox, colds, epidemics, ’flu, measles.
Nervous System: Debility, headaches, neuralgia.
OTHER USES: The oil and cineol are largely employed in the preparation of liniments, inhalants, cough syrups, ointments, toothpaste and as pharmaceutical flavourings also used in veterinary practise and dentistry. Used as a fragrance component in soaps, detergents and toiletries – little used in perfumes. Used for the isolation of cineol and employed as a flavour ingredient in most major food categories.... eucalyptus, blue gum
Valeriana fauriei
FAMILY: Valerianaceae
SYNONYMS: V. officinalis, V. officinalis var. angustifolium, V. officinalis var. latifolia, European valerian, common valerian, Belgian valerian, fragrant valerian, garden valerian.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A perennial herb up to 1.5 metres high with a hollow, erect stem, deeply dissected dark leaves and many purplishwhite flowers. It has short, thick, greyish roots, largely showing above ground, which have a strong odour.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to Europe and parts of Asia; naturalized in North America. It is mainly cultivated in Belgium for its oil, also in France, Holland, England, Scandinavia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, China and the USSR.
OTHER SPECIES: There are over 150 species of valerian found in different parts of the world. The Eastern varieties are slightly different from the Western types: the oil from the Japanese plant called ‘kesso root’ (V. officinalis) is more woody; the oil from the Indian valerian (V. wallichii) is more musky. Also closely related to spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) – see entry.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: This herb has been highly esteemed since medieval times, and used to be called ‘all heal’. It has been used in the West for a variety of complaints, especially where there is nervous tension or restlessness, such as insomnia, migraine, dysmenorrhoea, intestinal colic, rheumatism, and as a pain reliever.
On the Continent the oil has been used for cholera, epilepsy and for skin complaints. In China it is used for backache, colds, menstrual problems, bruises and sores. The root is current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a specific for ‘conditions presenting nervous excitability’. .
ACTIONS: Anodyne (mild), antidandruff, diuretic, antispasmodic, bactericidal, carminative, depressant of the central nervous system, hypnotic, hypotensive, regulator, sedative, stomachic.
EXTRACTION: 1. Essential oil by steam distillation from the rhizomes. 2. An absolute (and concrete) by solvent extraction of the rhizomes.
CHARACTERISTICS: 1. An olive to brown liquid (darkening with age) with a warm woody, balsamic, musky odour; a green topnote in fresh oils. 2. An olive-brown viscous liquid with a balsamic-green, woody, bitter-sweet strong odour. It blends well with patchouli, costus, oakmoss, pine, lavender, cedarwood, mandarin, petitgrain and rosemary.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly bornyl acetate and isovalerate, with caryophyllene, pinenes, valeranone, ionone, eugenyl isovalerate, borneol, patchouli alcohol and valerianol, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, possible sensitization. Use in moderation.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Nervous system: Insomnia, nervous indigestion, migraine, restlessness and tension states.
OTHER USES: Used in pharmaceutical preparations as a relaxant and in herbal teas. The oil and absolute are used as fragrance components in soaps and in ‘moss’ and ‘forest’ fragrances. Used to flavour tobacco, root beer, liqueurs and apple flavourings.... valerian
Nelumbo nucifera
FAMILY: Nelumbonaceae (Nymphaeaceae)
SYNONYMS: N. komarovii, N. nucifera var. macrorhizomata, Nelumbium speciosum, Nymphaea nelumbo, Indian lotus, sacred lotus, pink lotus, bean of India, kamala and padma (Sanskrit).
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The sacred lotus is a perennial aquatic plant with rhizomes that grow in the mud at the bottom of shallow ponds, lakes and marshes. Its large leaves, which rise above the water surface, can be up to 60 cm in diameter, with a 3-metre horizontal spread, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm in diameter. The beautiful pink, fragrant flowers are solitary, borne at or above the leaf level, with a brilliant yellow centre and white sepals. The fruits form a conical pod, with seeds contained in holes in the pod.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to Greater India, the sacred lotus now occurs in the wild in warm-temperate to tropical regions throughout Asia, the Middle East and tropical Australia. It is common in China, Japan, Iran, Bhutan, India, Indonesia (Java), Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia (Far East), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and north-west Australia. Introduced to Europe in 1787 as a ‘stove house water lily’ by Joseph Banks, today it is cultivated as an ornamental plant worldwide.
OTHER SPECIES: The family Nelumbonaceae has two important genera having aquatic species with attractive flowers i.e. the lotus, Nelumbo and water lily, Nymphea. The genus Nelumbo has only two species, N. nucifera (Indian or sacred lotus) and N. lutea (American lotus or yellow lotus).
The Egyptian blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) and the white sacred lotus of Egypt (Nymphaea lotus) are both members of the water lily family. These water lilies are indigenous to Egypt and their flowers are often depicted in Egypt’s ancient art. Remains of both blue and white water lily petals were found in the burial tomb of Ramesses II and sprinkled on the mummified body of Tutankhamun. The blue lotus is also mentioned in numerous Egyptian historical texts, mainly for its aphrodisiac, narcotic and euphoric properties. Both species are still cultivated in Egypt as well as in India and Indonesia today and are both used to produce absolutes, although these are rare and costly. Egyptians refer to both these flowers as ‘lotus’ so these two species are often confused with the ‘true’ lotus species.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: Nelumbo nucifera has been in cultivation for more than 3,000 years, and has been grown not only for its cultural and ornamental value, but also for medicinal uses and for its edible seeds and rhizomes. In China, Japan and India, for example, the rhizomes are roasted, pickled, candied or sliced and fried as chips. A paste made from the nutlets is used as a filling in mooncakes (traditional Chinese pastries). The young leaves, leaf stalks and flowers are eaten as vegetables in India. The petals of the flower are used as a wrap for foods in Asia and the rhizome is a common ingredient in soups and stir-fries.
The sacred lotus has also been used as a medicinal herb for generations in Asia and its uses in contemporary medicine are virtually unchanged. Many parts of the plant are used: the leaf juices are used for diarrhoea and sunstroke when mixed with licorice; the flower is used for abdominal cramps, bloody discharges, bleeding gastric ulcers, excessive menstruation and post-partum haemorrhage; the flower stamens are used in urinary frequency, premature ejaculation and uterine bleeding; the fruit is used for agitation and fever; the seed has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and to relax the smooth muscle of the uterus and is used for poor digestion, chronic diarrhoea, insomnia, and palpitations. Various parts of the flower, including the petals are used for diarrhoea, cholera, liver conditions, bronchitis, skin eruptions, snake bites, and scorpion stings. The dried flowers are prepared into a syrup to treat coughs and the stamens are dried and made into a fragrant herbal tea. Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine use lotus flowers for their soothing, cooling properties and they are often employed in skin care to improve the complexion. Oils from the lotus flower are said to have a calming influence on those suffering from fear, anxiety, insomnia or tremors, according to the principles of Ayurveda. A recent study has shown that oil extracted from the lotus flower might be effective in preventing greying hair.
Several bioactive compounds have been derived from these various plant parts belonging to different chemical groups, including alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides which all have their own therapeutic impact. Both Nelumbo nucifera and Nymphaea caerulea contain the alkaloids nuciferine and aporphine, which have a sedative effect; studies using isolated neferine (found only in N. nucifera), indicates it has potent antidepressant and sedative properties. Sacred lotus is also nutritious, containing vitamins B and C, protein, fat, carbohydrate, starch, moisture, sucrose, calcium, phosphorus, iron and ascorbic acid.
The lotus is of great significance to many Asian cultures, and in particular to the Eastern religions. From ancestral times, the idea of enlightenment has been symbolized by the life cycle of the sacred lotus plant, whose life starts humbly in the mud yet eventually produces exquisite, untainted flowers, showing the path of spiritual enfoldment. Thus the sacred lotus has a deep ritual meaning to Hindus and Buddhists alike, to whom the lotus flower symbolizes beauty, purity and divinity. Most deities of Asian religions are depicted as seated on a lotus flower. In Buddhist temples, lotus is burned in powdered form as ceremonial incense and the flowers are given as a sacred offering in many Eastern temples. A thread made from the leaf stalks is used for making oil-wicks for lamps in temples. Cloth woven from this yarn is believed to cure many ailments and is used to make Buddhist robes; lotus seeds are also used to make malas (strings of prayer beads). The sacred lotus is the national flower of India and Vietnam.
ACTIONS: Antibacterial, antimicrobial, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, refrigerant, rejuvenating, sedative, tonic (heart, immune system, nervous system), vasodilator.
EXTRACTION: An absolute by solvent extraction from fresh flowers. The CO2 extraction process achieves a cleaner end product that is true to the oil and is thicker than other extraction methods. This product is often adulterated or blended with other oils (see other uses).
CHARACTERISTICS: A viscous liquid with an intense rich, sweet-floral scent and a spicy-leathery undertone. It blends well with tuberose, jasmine, neroli, rose, gardenia and spice oils.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: The absolute (and oil) was found to be comprised mainly of palmitic acid methyl ester (22.66 per cent), linoleic acid methyl ester (11.16 per cent), palmitoleic acid methyl ester (7.55 per cent) and linolenic acid methyl ester (5.16 per cent) with myristic acid and oleic acid.
SAFETY DATA: Generally considered a safe oil.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin care: Damaged, sensitive and mature skin: to improve the condition of uneven or tired looking skin as it helps regulate, soothe, illuminate and rejuvenate the tissue.
Immune system: Weak immunity.
Nervous system: Anxiety, depression, fear, insomnia, nervous debility and tension, mood swings, poor libido, stress.
OTHER USES: Lotus flower oil and absolute are used in perfumery in high-class floral compositions, such as ‘White Lotus’ by Kenzo and in cosmetics. However, the ‘lotus’ perfume component commonly available in the trade is actually a blend of patchouli, benzoin and styrax with phenylethyl and cinnamic alcohols.... lotus
Piper nigrum
FAMILY: Piperaceae
SYNONYMS: Piper, pepper.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A perennial woody vine up to 5 metres high with heart-shaped leaves and small white flowers. The berries turn from red to black as they mature – black pepper is the dried fully grown unripe fruit.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to south west India; cultivated extensively in tropical countries. Major producers are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Madagascar. It is also distilled in Europe and America from the imported dried fruits.
OTHER SPECIES: The so-called white pepper is the dried ripe fruit with the outer pericarp removed. Not to be confused with cayenne pepper or paprika from the capsicum species, which are used to make an oleoresin.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: Both black and white pepper have been used in the East for over 4000 years for medicinal and culinary purposes. In Chinese medicine, white pepper is used to treat malaria, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea, stomach ache and other digestive problems. In Greece it is used for intermittent fever and to fortify the stomach. ‘The mendicant monks of India who cover daily considerable distances on foot, swallow 7–9 grains of pepper a day. This gives them remarkable endurance.’.
ACTIONS: Analgesic, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antitoxic, aperitif, aphrodisiac, bactericidal, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, febrifuge, laxative, rubefacient, stimulant (nervous, circulatory, digestive), stomachic, tonic.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the black peppercorns, dried and crushed. (‘Light’ and ‘heavy’ oils are produced by the extraction of the low or high boiling fractions respectively.) An oleoresin is also produced by solvent extraction, mainly for flavour use.
CHARACTERISTICS: A water-white to pale olive mobile liquid with a fresh, dry-woody, warm, spicy scent. It blends well with frankincense, sandalwood, lavender, rosemary, marjoram, spices and florals (in minute quantities).
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly monoterpenes (70–80 per cent): thujene, pinene, camphene, sabinene, carene, myrcene, limonene, phellandrene, and sesquiterpenes (20–30 per cent) and oxygenated compounds.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-sensitizing, irritant in high concentration due to rubefacient properties. Use in moderation only.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin care: Chilblains.
Circulation muscles and joints: Anaemia, arthritis, muscular aches and pains, neuralgia, poor circulation, poor muscle tone (muscular atonia), rheumatic pain, sprains, stiffness.
Respiratory system: Catarrh, chills.
Digestive system: Colic, constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence, heartburn, loss of appetite, nausea.
Immune system: Colds, ’flu, infections and viruses.
OTHER USES: Used in certain tonic and rubefacient preparations. Used for unusual effects in perfumery work; for example, with rose or carnation in oriental or floral fragrances. The oil and oleoresin are used extensively in the food industry, as well as in alcoholic drinks.... pepper, black
Santalum album
FAMILY: Santalaceae
SYNONYMS: White sandalwood, yellow sandalwood, East Indian sandalwood, sandalwood Mysore, sanders-wood, santal (oil), white saunders (oil), yellow saunders (oil).
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A small, evergreen, parasitic tree up to 9 metres high with brown-grey trunk and many smooth, slender branches. It has leathery leaves and small pinky-purple flowers. The tree must be over thirty years old before it is ready for the production of sandalwood oil.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to tropical Asia, especially India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan. India is the main essential oil producer; the region of Mysore exports the highest quality oil, although some oil is distilled in Europe and the USA.
OTHER SPECIES: The Australian sandalwood (S. spicatum or Eucarya spicata) produces a very similar oil, but with a dry-bitter top note. The so-called West Indian sandalwood or amyris (Amyris balsamifera) is a poor substitute and bears no botanical relation to the East Indian sandalwood.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: One of the oldest known perfume materials, with at least 4000 years of uninterrupted use. It is used as a traditional incense, as a cosmetic, perfume and embalming material all over the East. It is also a popular building material, especially for temples.
In Chinese medicine it is used to treat stomach ache, vomiting, gonorrhoea, choleraic difficulties and skin complaints. In the Ayurvedic tradition it is used mainly for urinary and respiratory infections, for acute and chronic diarrhoea. In India it is often combined with rose in the famous scent aytar.
ACTIONS: Antidepressant, antiphlogistic, antiseptic (urinary and pulmonary), antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, astringent, bactericidal, carminative; cicatrisant, diuretic, expectorant, fungicidal, insecticidal, sedative, tonic.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by water or steam distillation from the roots and heartwood, powdered and dried.
CHARACTERISTICS: A pale yellow, greenish or brownish viscous liquid with a deep, soft, sweet-woody balsamic scent of excellent tenacity. It blends well with rose, violet, tuberose, clove, lavender, black pepper, bergamot, rosewood, geranium, labdanum, oakmoss, benzoin, vetiver, patchouli, mimosa, cassie, costus, myrrh and jasmine.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: About 90 per cent santalols, 6 per cent sesquiterpene hydrocarbons: santene, teresantol, borneol, santalone, tri-cyclo-ekasantalal, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, nonsensitizing.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin care: Acne, dry, cracked and chapped skin, aftershave (barber’s rash), greasy skin, moisturizer.
Respiratory system: Bronchitis, catarrh, coughs (dry, persistent), laryngitis, sore throat.
Digestive system: Diarrhoea, nausea.
Genito-urinary system: Cystitis.
Nervous system: Depression, insomnia, nervous tension and stress-related complaints.
OTHER USES: Used to be used as a pharmaceutical disinfectant, now largely abandoned. Extensively employed as a fragrance component and fixative in soaps, detergents, cosmetics and perfumes – especially oriental, woody, aftershaves, chypres, etc. Extensively used in the production of incense. Employed as a flavour ingredient in most major food categories, including soft and alcoholic drinks.... sandalwood
Health Encyclopedia