INTRODUCTION

The people of India, from time immemorial, have been using medicinal
plants for curing various diseases & to ward off plant pests. With
increased production pressure & many other factors, our plant wealth
is threatened with extinction. With about 2500 plant species used by
traditional healers and about 500 varieties utilized by pharmaceutical
companies, India occupies an enviable position in medical plant wealth.
However, in view of the increased threat to the priceless bioresource,
their collection, conservation, documentation & scientific management
have now emerged as a priority concern. The National Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources (NBPGR) is poised to play a crucial role in this
direction. It assumes the role of a centre for human resource
development in the plant genetic resources related activities involving
the custodians of the bioresources like farmers, NGOs, community
organisations, etc. the situation warrants for a system approach
towards a well-programmed national action plan on management,
conservation & use of the priceless gift of nature.

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 AIM OF THE PROJECT
To conduct a survey of plants in a locality & to collect information about their
cultural, economic & medicinal values from the local people & the available
literature. To prepare an action plan for their propagation.

REQUIREMENTS:

Note-book, to collect data on the place of availability & their cultural, economic &
medicinal values from custodians & herbarium to collect some samples for further
study.

METHODOLOGY:

1. Conduct of survey of an area/locality on the availability of plant species

having cultural, economic & medicinal values.
2. Recording the basic information related to a given plant species.
3. Collection of the plant species or part therefrom in a herbarium for further
study.
4. Consultation with local people/literatures on the economic significance of
the collected samples

Compilation of literatures thus collected, systematically in the form of a project.

BASIC INFORMATION OF LOCALITY:

1. Area where survey has been done: central farm, Orissa Univ. of Agril. &
Technology, Bhubaneswar.
2. Year:2008
3. Geographical location: 20 degree lat; 86 degree long; 25.9 m alt

State: Orissa

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS:
1. BEL (Aegle marmelos); family-Rutacea

Description: It is a medium sized deciduos tree bearing strong oxillary

thorns, leaves with 3/5 leaflets. Flowers greenish-white, sweet
scented, about 2.5 cm across, in small branches. Fruit 8.20 cm
diameter, globose, green, finally grayish, rind woody, pulp orange
colored, sweet, aromatic.

Cultural, economic & medicinal values: Bel has been considered by

Indians as a sacred plant & a remedy for many a disease.
The bel fruit is valuable chiefly for its mucilage & pectin. It is very
useful in chronic diarrhea & dysentery, particularly with patients
having diarrhea alternating with spells of constipation. Sweet drinks
prepared from the pulp of the fruits are useful as soothing agents for
intestines. The unripe/half-ripe fruits improve appetite and digestion.
The leaf, fruit & root of this plant have been confirmed to possess
antibiotic activity.
The wood is suitable for making charcoal for producer-gas plants. The
gummy substance is used as adhesive in varnishes & cementing
mixtures. The rind of unripe fruits yields a yellow dye.

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2. NEEM (Azadirachta indica); Family- Meliaceae
Description: Neem is a well-known tree of India. The tree
has pinnate leaves i.e. its leaves are divided into numerous
smaller segments called leaflets, each leaflet looking like an
ordinary leaf. Flowers small, white, in short axillary
branches. Fruits 1.2-1.8 cm long, green/yellow, seed one in
each fruit.
Cultural, economic, & medicinal values: neem is a versatile
tree sacred to the Indians with its exceptionally high
medicinal properties. A wonder tree, it works well in pest
control, provides millions with inexpensive medicines, cuts
down the rate of population growth & reduces erosion,
deforestation & excessive temperature of an overheated
globe. The drug consists of dried stem bark, roots & leaves
bark. The bark is a bitter tonic, astringent & antiperiodic, i.e.
its useful in fevers, it breaks the periodic sequence of
fevers(like malaria) % is useful in skin diseases. The leaves
are bitter and are largely applied on skin diseases & boils, a
decoction of leaves is also taken internally. The antibiotic
activity of leaves & roots of the tree & their utility in skin
diseases have been confirmed.
The timber is very durable & is used for house building,
agricultural implements, & miscellaneous carpentry work.
The oilcake & gum are also useful products. Dried leaves are
placed among clothes to keep moths away.

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3.TULSI (Ocimum sanctum); Family-Lamiaceae
Description: a well-known sacred plant of the Indians, it is a
much branched erect herb, upto about 75 cm high, hairy all
over, leaves opposite, 5 cm long, margins entire or toothed,
hairy on upper or lower surface, dotted with minute
aromatic glands. Flowers small, purplish or reddish, in small
compact clusters on slender spikes. Fruits small, seeds
yellowish or reddish.

Cultural, Economic or Medicinal values: the leaves & seeds

are medicinal. The leaf oil has the property of destroying
bacteria & insects. The juice or infusion of leaves is useful in
bronchitis, digestive complaints, etc. It is applied locally on
ringworms & other skin diseases. It is dropped in ears to
relieve earache. A decoction of leaves is used to cure
common cold. Seeds are useful in complaints of urinary
system. Decoction of roots is given in malaria fever to bring
about sweating.
The plant is an essential article in the worship of Hindu Gods
& Goddesses.

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4.DATURA (Datura stramonium) Family-Colaraceae
Description: A bushy plant upto about 1 m high, leaves large,
ovate, toothed. Flowers very large, white, fruit ovoid, deeply
divided into four, covered with long or short prickles.
Cultural, Economic & Medicinal values: The drug consists of
dried leaves, flowering tops, & seeds of the plant. The active
principle in the leaves is hyocyamine. The drug is therefore
used in the same manner as Belladonna or Hyoscyamus, the
drug is useful in bronchitis or asthma & controls salivation in
mouth. It is anti-spasmodic & narcotic. The inhalation of
smoke from the burning leaves is also good for relieving
asthma.
The seeds also contain hyosciamine & have similar
properties as the leaves. The flowers are considered to be
sacred & essential in worshipping Lord Shiva.

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5. RAUVOLFIA (Rauvolfia serpentia) Family-Apocynaceae
Description: an erect shrub, 30-75 cm high, leaves whorled, 8-20
cm long, petals white or pinkish, peduncle deep red, in small
clusters, fruits small, round, dark-purple or blackish when ripe.
Cultural, Economic, & Medicinal values: The drug consists of dried
roots with bark intact, preferably collected in autumn & from
plants of about 3-4 years ago. It is believed that this plant has
been known in Indian medicine for about 4000 years.
The roots contain several alkaloids, its chief use being sedative &
hypnotic & for reducing blood pressure. The drug is now largely
used in insanity & high blood pressure. Its more suitable for mild
anxiety cases or patients of chronic mental illness. The drug has
tranquilizing effect. The roots of the plants are useful also in
diseases of bowels & in fever.
The plant can be cultivated almost anywhere in the plains, in
evergreen forests & sub-Himalayan tracts.

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6.SANDAL WOOD (Santalum album) Family- Santalaceae
Description: A middle-sized evergreen tree, branches almost
drooping, dark bark, rough with vertical cracks, mature wood
scented, leaves 4-7 cm long, opposite, shining on upper surface.
Flowers small, dull, purplish in small bunches, fruits roundish, 6
mm in diameter, purple black, and succulent.
Cultural, Economic, & Medicinal value: The oil obtained from the
heartwood of this tree is medicinal. It is used for treatment of
dyseeria i.e. to promote & facilitate urination, cystitis
(inflammation of bladder), and cough. The drug is used in
tuberculosis of gall bladder. The wood ground up with water into
a paste is applied on local inflammations, on forehead in fever &
on skin diseases. Oil from the seed is used in skin diseases.
The wood is largely used for making small domestic items, it
retains its pleasant perfume for a long time. The wood powder is
used for making Agarbatti. The oil is largely used as a perfume in
toilet preparations & in insecticides.

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7.Bramhi (Herpestis moniera) Family-Scrophulariaceae

Description: This herb spreads on ground & its stems & small leaves
are succulent i.e. fleshy. Roots arise on the nodes of the stem.
Flowers arise on the axils of the leaves & are borne on short
pedicals. One of the five sepals is larger than the others. Corolla is
bluish-white in color & about 1 cm across.

Cultural, Economic, & Medicinal values: The drug consists of the

whole plant. It is valued in medicine as a tonic for nerves & is
prescribed for nervous disorders, mental diseases, constipation & as
a diuretic. Leaf juice is given to infants in bronchitis, the relief is due
to vomiting & purging brought about by the drug. Leaf juice mixed
with petroleum, is applied on rheumatism. A poultice mode of boiled
plant is placed on the chest of children suffering from cough. The
plant is considered a blood purifier.

The tranquilizing effect of the alcoholic extract of this plant has been
successfully tested on animals. The plant contains an alkaloid,
Bramhine, a cardiac tonic, i.e. it provides strength & tone to the
heart.

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8. MINT (Mentha species) Family-Lamiaceae

Description: It is an erect, branched herb upto 60cm high, leaves

upto 5 cm long leaf-stalk small or none, margins toothed. Flowers
are small, borne on axils of leaves. The herb occurs at an attitude of
1500-3000 m, it’s also cultivated.

Cultural, Economic & Medicinal value: This plant is considered

antiseptic, stimulant, & useful in digestive complaints & fever. The
dried leaves & flowering tops of the plants constitute the drug
peppermint. The drug is used in treatment of flatulence, vomiting,
diarrhea & nausea. Bruised leaves are applied in headache & other
pains.

The main use of the drug is for extraction of peppermint oil(which

contains menthos) & is largely used as medicine for stomach
disorders, in ointments for headaches, rheumatic & other pains & in
cough drops, inhalations, mouth washes etc. The oil is also
antiseptic.

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9. TAMARIND (Tamarindus indica) Family-Caesalpiniaceae

Description: A large tree, leaves compound, leaflets 10-20 pairs,

about 1 cm long, flowers yellowish with reddish streaks, in small
erect clusters among the leaves, fruits 8-20 cm long, 2-3 cm broad,
fleshy, pendulous, brown in color, seeds 3-12, dark brown, shining,
embedded in the fleshy, fibrous mass, which is the well-known acid
pulp of tamarind.

Cultural, Economic, & Medicinal value: The pulp of the fruits is

medicinal. Tamarind pulp has laxative properties, its infusion in
water is a very refreshing drink, and it’s useful in fevers. As a
laxative, it’s taken singly or in mixture with other purgative drugs.

The timber of this tree is resistant to insect attacks & is largely used
for agricultural tools, domestic articles, furniture, etc. It makes very
good charcoal & is used for gun powder. Leaves yield a yellow dye.
The acid pulp of the fruits is used for cleaning silver & brassware &
other utensils. Seeds are used in jam & jelly industry, seed powder is
used for mixing certain types of cloth as well as wood cement.

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10. TIL (Sesamum indicum) Family-Pedaliaceae

Description: The plant is an annual herb growing upto a height of 1.5

metre. The stem is angular & hairy especially in the lower parts.
Flowers are shortly stalked, pale pink, solitary & arise from the axils
of the leaves. Fruit is a capsule, 1-2 inch long, seeds are numerous
and varying in color-white, red black or brown.

Cultural, Economic, & Medicinal value: The parts used in medicine

are leaves, seed & oil. The seed contains 45-50% oil & 22% protein.
The white seeds are said to yield the fibre oil. Til oil is a mixture of
oleine, stearine, & other compounds of glycerine. It acts as nutrifine
& lubricant both internally & externally.

It is a very useful drug in different types of menstrual disorders. Daily

intake in small quantities increases general health, hair growth,
keeps the skin bright & teeth good. The seeds are laxative,
lactogenic, digestive & nourishing. Externally, the leaves are used as
an emollient poultice.

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11. CASTOR (Ricinus communis) Family-Euphorbiaceae

Description: It is a tall shrub, sometimes becoming tree-like, leaves

very large, broad, roundish in outline, but partly divided into 7 lobes,
margins toothed, flowers large in big terminal bunches. Fruit is a
prickly capsule, rather marked into 6 parts. Seeds oblong, seedcoat
crustaceous, one form of this plant is almost perennial with woody
stems & large red seeds. This yields an oil suitable for medicinal
purposes.

Cultural, Economic, & Medicinal values: The seeds of the plant are
used as medicine. These are poisonous & even 2-3 seeds can be
fatal. The oil obtained from the seeds is used as a purgative. The
castor oil is best administered with milk or fruit juice. Castor oil is
also used in ointments as a soothing agent & as an oil vehicle in eye
drops. A gel prepared from castor oil is useful in dermatosis. It is a
good protective in occupational eczemas & dermatitis. Castor oil is
used in making contraceptive jellies & creams.

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Conservation & Domestication of Medicinal Plants
People are now increasingly becoming inclined towards traditional
medicines with the increasing side-effects of the synthetic drugs. But
our medicinal plant wealth is under serious threat of extinction. This
calls for effective conservation efforts focusing on the varieties which
are on the brink of extinction. Both in-situ & ex-situ conservation
efforts are to be resorted to. The household garden is the best
method to conserve the medicinal plant wealth. People’s
participation & their awareness about the plant wealth play a crucial
role in the conservation of nature’s priceless gift.

In this part, we had rich virgin mixed forests, a lot of important

medicinal plants were available to us. But now, due to problems like
deforestation, grazing, collection of raw drugs, construction works,
etc. the natural habitats are destroyed.

Conservation efforts should start by placing more emphasis on those

medicinal plants which face the most severe threat of extinction. For
that a complete study should be done on the availability of such
plants.

Conventionally there are two systems of conservation, classified as in

situ & ex situ conservation. Out of these in situ is more effective, as
in this system a plant is being conserved in its natural habitat. For an
in situ conservation, the thrust areas should be identified. A detailed
forest survey can reveal the real plant wealth of a habitat. In rural
areas there are many places ideal for an in situ conservation. Most
conservationists are working in the field of ex situ conservation. This
seems to be an acceptable form for demonstration purposes & for
keeping germplasm at a selected area. This would help create
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awareness among the people of that area. Another idea is the
construction of medicinal plant forest. It can accommodate the
whole plant species available in that area.

A house hold garden is considered to be the best way to conserve

the wealth of medicinal plants. This is not only a way of conservation
but also a way of preserving our medicinal plants by our own people.
Work on domestication of these plants has led to the conclusion that
efforts in this direction can lead to success for many medicinal plants
that even do not occur in our region. However, these efforts are
useful only if growers undertake large-scale cultivation of these
plants. Although about 400 medicinal plants are used by Indian
industry, but less than 20 species are under commercial cultivation.
For boosting their cultivation, the growers need to be motivated &
markets assured. Suitable propagation techniques need to be
developed viz. ideal tissue culture method & a suitable medium for
growth. Large number of disease free plantlets could be produced
within a short time span to cater to the needs of growers of the area.
Besides, vegetative means of propagation like cutting air layers could
replace the conventional methods (sexual reproduction) in the way
of preservation of characters of the offspring.

Thus, efforts could be made to promote conservation as well as

further propagation of plant species having cultural, medicinal, &
economic values in our locality employing diverse techniques.

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REFERENCES

1. Common Trees by Dr. H. Santapau, NBT, India, 1931

2. Medicinal Plants by S.K.Jain, NBT, India, 1999
3. A Compendium of Plant names in Oriya, their Botanical
Equivalents by Dr. Bidyadhar Padhi, PG Department of Botany,
Utkal University
4. Kurukshetra, a journal of Rural Development, Dec 1997 & Feb
2007, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India.

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