Ethnomedicinal insights: Medicinal plants for jaundice treatment in India
Sharmila Soren, Tapajit Bhattacharya, Rajib Biswas and Moitreyee Chakrabarty
Background: A fundamental review was conducted to assess the utilization of medicinal plants in treating jaundice across different regions of India.
Methodology: We collected data from peer-reviewed scientific research, including journals, thesis papers, and books. Our study focused on documenting the plant species traditionally used by tribal cultures. Relevant literature was sourced using keywords such as “medicinal plants”, “medicinal use”, “tribal”, “ethnobotany”, “ethnomedicine”, “Indigenous”, and “ethnic”, We searched databases like Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and explored various web links.
Results: We identified 65 plant species employed for jaundice treatment. Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, and Cucurbitaceae were the major plant families represented. Euphorbiaceae had the highest species diversity (9 species), followed by Fabaceae (8 species), Cucurbitaceae (5 species), and Asteraceae (3 species). Leaves were the most commonly used plant part, followed by fruits, bark, roots, flowers, stems, whole plants, and tubers.
Conclusion: While no single medication universally addresses severe liver diseases, our findings underscore the importance of ethnomedicinal research. The existence of a rich repository of medicinal plants for jaundice treatment reflects the enduring transmission of traditional knowledge across generations.