Premila - Ayurvedic Herbs

Ayurvedic Herbs

A Clinical Guide to the Healing Plants of Traditional Indian Medicine

THE HAWORTH PRESS

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Ayurvedic Herbs

A Clinical Guide to the Healing Plants of Traditional Indian Medicine

M. S. Premila, PhD

First Published by

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2006 by M. S. Premila. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

PUBLISHERS NOTES

The development, preparation, and publication of this work has been undertaken with great care. However, the Publisher, author, employees, editors, and agents of The Haworth Press are not responsible for any errors contained herein or for consequences that may ensue from use of materials or information contained in this work. The Haworth Press is committed to the dissemination of ideas and information according to the highest standards of intellectual freedom and the free exchange of ideas. Statements made and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher, Directors, management, or staff of The Haworth Press, Inc., or an endorsement by them.

This book has been published solely for educational purposes and is not intended to substitute for the medical advice of a treating physician. Medicine is an ever-changing science. As new research and clinical experience broaden our knowledge, changes in treatment may be required. While many potential treatment options are made herein, some or all of the options may not be applicable to a particular individual. Therefore, the author, editor, and publisher do not accept responsibility in the event of negative consequences incurred as a result of the information presented in this book. We do not claim that this information is necessarily accurate by the rigid scientific and regulatory standards applied for medical treatment. No warranty, expressed or implied, is furnished with respect to the material contained in this book. The reader is urged to consult with his/her personal physician with respect to the treatment of any medical condition.

Plant illustrations by M. S. Premila, 2006.

Cover design by Marylouise E. Doyle.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Premila, M. S.

Ayurvedic herbs : a clinical guide to the healing plants of traditional Indian medicine / M.S. Premila.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-1767-3 (hc. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-7890-1767-9 (hc. : alk. paper)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-1768-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-7890-1768-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. HerbsTherapeutic use. 2. Medicine, Ayurvedic. 3. Materia medica, Vegetable. I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Plants, Medicinal. 2. Phytotherapy. 3. Plant Preparationstherapeutic use. 4. Medicine, Ayurvedic. QV 770 JI4

P925a 2006]

RM666.H33P737 2006

615'.321dc22

2005034847

For my mother,
Lakshmi Sivaraman

And in memory of my father,
M. S. Sivaraman

About the Author

M. S. Premila, PhD, retired as Chief Manager of Herbal Drugs at SPIC Pharmaceuticals Division, R&D Centre, in Maraimalai Nagar, India, with more than 30 years of experience in natural products. At SPIC, she was responsible for the development of scientifically validated herbal products based on Ayurveda. She previously worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Pharmaceutical Institute of Tohuku University in Japan, was a Swiss National Science Foundation Fellow at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and was a Research Scientist in Amrutanjan Ltd, Chennai. Dr. Premila has published several scientific papers and a book chapter on isoquinolines. She is a Fellow of the Society of Ethnobotanists and a member of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology, the Society for Medicinal Plant Research, and the Cucurbit Network.

CONTENTS

H. Wagner

Foreword

In the traditional medical system of India, the herbal drugs of Ayurvedic medicine form an important mainstay in therapy. Books of Ayurvedic medicine that date even from ancient times describe primarily historical aspects, the principles of Ayurveda, and the most common plants used for the prevention and therapy of diseases. The present text by Dr. M. S. Premila thus represents enormous progress, as it offers the first critical validation of traditional Ayurvedic medicine, which includes both clinically proven formulas and medicines that urgently require further research efforts. Each of the 12 chapters, dealing with the most prominent herbal drugs, enumerates the active chemical constituents, the relevant pharmacological and clinical data, and safety information, all extensively referenced. This first approach aims at what in Western terms is called evidence-based medicine. The documentation is a valuable guide for physicians and even Western-trained clinicians who are attentive to alternative and adjunctive therapies. It is a pleasure for me to recommend this book, without reservation, to all scientists in the field of phytomedicine. I wish the book much success and broad distribution beyond India.

H. Wagner, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Centre of Pharma Research

Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology

University of Munich

Munich, Germany

Preface

Worldwide interest in Ayurveda is rapidly growing, especially in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Ayurveda, the major traditional system in India, is not just about herbs but is an entire system or a way of living aimed at achieving a state of total mental, physical, and spiritual well-being through lifestyle, diet, and drugs derived from herbs. Having worked on developing standardized and validated herbal products based on Ayurveda for around two decades, it never fails to amaze me how often Ayurvedic concepts and precepts receive scientific support. Therefore, when Professor Varro Tyler suggested a book on clinical data on Ayurvedic herbs, I was very happy to accede to his request. His suggestion was to put together the scattered information available on Western-style clinical trials on Ayurvedic herbs with descriptions, comments, and references, since there was a need for such a book owing to lack of information and limited access to these aspects.