Awareness and current knowledge of medicinal plants

Abstract

Objectives

This research attempts to investigate the historical applications of plants for therapeutic reasons, follow the development of these applications, and comprehend the influence of artificial methods on the use of medicinal plants.

Methods

The study involves the examination of antique writings from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and the Islamic world, as well as a 5000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet discovered in Nagpur. The study examined historical reports of a number of therapeutic plants, including Glycyrrhiza glabra, Cupressus sempervirens, Commiphora myrrha, Cedrus duham, and Papaver somniferum. It also looked at how improved methods of separating active plant components were developed in the early 19th century, as opposed to more crude treatments like tinctures and powders.

Key findings

Historical evidence reveals that ancient cultures used a wide variety of plants for medicinal reasons, preparing them in different ways. The development of synthetic methods in the 19th century completely changed the manufacture of pharmaceuticals by making it possible to replicate active ingredients precisely and in large quantities. With more than 250 000 plant species recognized, nature’s wide diversity of plant metabolites highlights the importance of plants in both traditional and contemporary medicine.

Conclusions

The development of contemporary synthetic approaches from traditional plant-based medicines serves as an example of how far medicine has come. While modern techniques have increased the effectiveness and scalability of medicinal manufacturing, the historical usage of plants demonstrates a profound grasp of their curative potential. The vast diversity of plant metabolites continues to be important for health and medicine despite advancements in synthetic approaches, highlighting the ongoing importance of natural resources in pharmaceutical research.

Introduction

The term ‘medical plants’ refers to a variety of plants used in herbalism; some of which have medicinal properties. These medicinal plants are thought to be a rich source of components for medical discovery and synthesis. Aside from that, these plants are important in the evolution of human cultures all over the world [1]. Furthermore, some plants are regarded as vital sources of nutrition, and as a result, some plants are suggested for their medicinal properties. Ginger, green tea, walnuts, and a few other plants are among them. Other plants and their derivatives are regarded as key sources of active compounds in aspirin and toothpaste [2].

Nature is usually a shining example of significant coexisting occurrences. The foundation for treating human ailments is natural compounds derived from plants, animals, and minerals. Medicinal plants are in high demand right now, and their popularity is growing. Plants, without a doubt, play a crucial part in ecosystems by providing necessary services. Humans and other living beings cannot exist as they should without plants. Plants, particularly therapeutic herbs, have long served as a general indicator of ecosystem health. Humans have probably considered medicinal plants since the dawn of humanity. Before history, and since early humans recognized and utilized the plants around them for use as fuel, clothing, shelter, and food, they grew more or less aware of their properties. In countries like China, Greece, Egypt, and India, medicinal plants have become one of the oldest disciplines. Plants were widely utilized as a medicine, disinfectant, and aromatic agent in ancient Persia. In truth, the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of ailments has a long past in human history, dating back to the time when humans were looking for remedies in their environment to help them recover from illness. Pharmaceutical and cosmetic products utilize more than a tenth of all plant species (about 50 000 species) [3].

However, medicinal plant distribution is not uniform over the world, and medicinal herbs are primarily obtained from the wildlife population. Indeed, in recent decades, demand for animal supplies has surged by 8% to 15% each year in Europe, North America, and Asia. The term medicinal plant encompasses a wide range of plants with medical properties. These plants have a lot of chemicals that can be exploited in medicine development. Different types of seeds, roots, leaves, fruits, skins, flowers, or even the entire plant may be utilized as therapeutic plant components. Most portions of medicinal plants contain active chemicals that have direct or indirect therapeutic effects and are employed as medicinal medicines. Certain elements called active compounds (substances) are created and stored in the bodies of these plants, and they have physiological effects on living beings [4–6].

Traditional medicinal herbs, according to the World Health Organization, are natural plant materials that are utilized for the treatment of diseases on a local or regional basis, either with or without industrial processing [7]. Traditional herbal treatment has been utilized for thousands of years in both developing and developed countries since it is natural and generates less difficulties [8]. Early medical history is congruent with herbal medicine’s history. The first books published about medicine were written on plants, such as the texts of the Ebers Papyrus, which were written around 1500 BC and contained the names of many plants. Traditional medicines are widely used to satisfy fundamental health needs in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This use, which is sometimes referred to as supplementary or alternative medicine, is fast increasing in industrialized countries [9].

The National Institutes of Health in the USA uses the term complementary and alternative medicine to describe health systems, practices, and products that are not currently considered part of conventional medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is currently the most prevalent among all traditional medical systems in the world, followed by Indian medicine. In Western countries, Oriental Medicine refers to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean remedies chosen by Korean immigrants, whereas ‘Asian medicine’ usually refers to TCM, India (Ayurveda), and Tibetan medicine. Medicinal herbs are the most commonly employed treatment in traditional medicine systems [10].

It is inconceivable to picture the human race surviving in the absence of plants on the planet. Humans’ reliance on plants can be traced back to the dawn of time. Medicine is commonly obtained from medicinal plants. Herbs have been employed for the treatment of ailments and the restoration and fortification of body systems in ancient medical systems such as Ayurvedic, Unani, and Chinese traditional medicine. The goal of using herbs was always to achieve a beneficial interaction with the body’s chemistry [11].

Medicinal plants in Pakistan

Almost all of the plant species present in Pakistan have met the requirements of 84% of the population. The history of medicinal plants predates human evolution. It appears that traditional medicines have their origins in household pharmaceuticals, and that this information is passed down through generations; from one generation to the next. Plants offer medicinal powers and are the foundation of traditional or native herbal medicine [12].

Pakistan’s biodiversity is unparalleled, with nine primary biological zones and four phytogeographical zones. There are over 6000 kinds of wild plants in the country, with 400–600 regarded as being medicinally valuable [13]. More than 80% of Pakistan’s population relied on ethnomedicine for primary health care until the mid-twentieth century. Traditional systems are currently mostly encountered only in rural regions as a result of modernizing developments. Natural resources and civilizations are under constant change as a result of these developments.

For millennia, man has relied on wild medicinal plant resources in traditional treatment methods. Almost every country in the world has a highly effective herbal and traditional medical system. About 65%–80% of the population in underdeveloped nations relies on herbal plants for their primary health care. These herbs and ancient techniques are known as Unani or Ayurveda in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent. Pakistan is one of the countries where traditional Unani medicine is widely used by a large proportion of the people. Ancient Greek philosophers discovered the Unani medical system in Greece. During the golden age of Islamic culture, it was chronicled and accepted by Muslims. Muslim scholars brought the Unani medicinal system to the Indo–Pak subcontinent, where it has been practiced for centuries. It profited from the Ayurveda medical system, which was a vital part of Hindu civilization. Aside from animals and minerals, traditional Unani treatments relied heavily on medicinal plants. Despite the rich tradition of knowledge about the applications of plant medications, little attention was made to documenting them in the country until the late nineteenth century. A number of ethnobotanical investigations have been done in diverse geographical locations of Pakistan since 1996. According to Pie and Manadhara, wild species make up over 70% of the therapeutic plants and animals in the Himalayan ranges. Plants are responsible for nearly 85% of all drugs used in primary health care worldwide [14].

Due to its climatic zones, which include high altitudes of the Hindu-Kush Himalayas and Karakorum, Pakistan is a rich producer of medicinal plants, with over 6000 species. Approximately 600–700 (12%) of the species listed above are utilized extensively for medicinal purposes, and diverse plants are also exported to other nations. In Pakistani areas, 60% of the population uses medicinal herbs to meet their basic medical needs. In several parts of Pakistan, there has been a growth in the research of restorative plants and their folk usage in the last few decades. In recent years, there has been an increase in the amount of information reported on the usage of plants in indigenous healing systems by ethnic people or rural populations all over the world, including Pakistanis. Ethnopharmacology’s knowledge and holistic approach, which is based on experience, can be used to fuel the development of safe, novel, and economical medicines. Natural product-based medicine research has a long history in the USA, with natural products or their derivatives accounting for about half of the top-selling drugs in 1991. With the passage of time, the focus on plant study is shifting, and more data is being gathered to support the widespread use of medicinal plants [15].

Pakistan is situated between 60°55ʹ and 75°30ʹ east longitude and 23°45ʹ and 36°50ʹ north latitude and has an area of 80 943 km². Due to the huge altitudinal range spanning from sea level to 8.611 m, Pakistan has a unique climate and biodiversity. Almost 6000 plant species have been identified [1], with roughly 600–700 of them being used medicinally. Pakistan’s hotspot flora is found in thirteen Natural Regions, ranging from Alpine pastures to Mangroves, where endangered flora makes up more than 10% of the total. Pakistan is classified into four phytogeographic regions: (i) Indian region (6%); (ii) Saharo-Sindian region (9.5%); (iii) Sino-Himalayan region (10%); and (iv) Irano-Turanian area (45% of species). The Saharo-Sindian region, which spans the majority of the country, has the least variety of vegetation [16, 17].

Medicinal plants of Cholistan desert

The Cholistan desert is a one-of-a-kind untamed land with a paucity of native flora and wildlife. The Cholistan desert, located in Punjab (Pakistan), covers 16 000 km² and is characterized by severely saline soils and a brackish subsoil aquifer [18]. The Cholistan Desert is divided into two sections, the first of which is the greater Cholistan and the second the lesser Cholistan. It stretches throughout the division’s three districts (Bahawalpur, Rahim yar khan, and Bahawalnagar). It is not a separate desert, but rather a portion of the subcontinent’s huge desert. The Cholistan desert covers two-thirds of the Bahawalpur division and is a wide expanse of Sandy desert. Cholistan desert covers a total size of 26 100 km². Based on geography, native material, soil, and plants, the Cholistan Desert is separated into two geomorphic regions. It is around 480 km long and 192 km wide. Lesser Cholistan is the name given to the northern region, which covers 7770 km². Lesser Cholistan’s soil is made up of a series of saline alluvial flats interspersed with less sandy ridges [19].

Because of its unique geographical distribution due to a variety of climatic and edaphic elements such as soil conditions and diverse ecological areas, Pakistan is exceptionally rich in botanical riches and contains a diversity of fragrant and medicinal plants. The majority of the plants that grow in the Cholistan desert have medicinal characteristics, which locals use to treat a variety of ailments [20]. Such plants, on the other hand, are being used without any awareness of the active elements. The wealth of medicinal plants is diminishing with the passage of time, and concerted efforts are required to preserve it [13].

A total of 90 medicinal plant species were discovered, divided into 74 genera and 34 families. The majority of Cholistan desert residents use these medicinal plants to prevent and treat a variety of diseases. People in the Cholistan desert prefer and use these medicinal plants, according to several studies, because they are cost-effective, easily accessible, and a part of their social and cultural life. For the people of the Cholistan desert, these plants are a source of income, cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and primary health care [21].

The majority of the phytochemical makeup of Cholistan desert plants is made up of compounds like terpenes, steroids, phenolics, flavonoids, quinones, anthocyanidins, saponins, and antioxidants. As a result, native people use their extracts to treat a wide range of human ailments. To improve the therapeutic value of the Cholistan desert’s flora, researchers are now employing nanotechnology to make their medicine material more effective and efficient for mankind. In this regard, little research has been done on the medicinal exploration of the Cholistan desert’s flora. Metal nanoparticles such as Ag, Au, CuO, and ZnO have only been synthesized by a few species. Some of the biological activities possessed by green gold of Cholistan desert are anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, anti-analgesic, and anti-plague [22].

The flora of the Cholistan desert has yielded a plethora of medicinally relevant chemical compounds, which have been isolated and identified. Terpenes and triterpenoids, sterols and steroids, phenolics, flavonoids, gums and resins, quinones, anthocyanidines, saponins, antioxidants, and fatty acids are examples of these compounds [23, 24].

Many plant species are used as folk cures by locals in the Cholistan desert. For respiratory tract disorders such as common cough, bronchitis, and asthma, they usually utilize Gisekiapharnacioides, Achyranthes aspera, and Cressacretica. Constipation, stomach distress, and gastrointestinal discomforts are treated with Leptadeniapyrotechnica, Cyperus conglomeratus, Zaleyapentandra, and Withaniasomnifera. Blood purification and heart and circulatory system disorders such as anaemia and cardiac problems are treated using Boerhavia procumbens, Mollugocerviana, and Prosopis cineraria [25–27].

In the early stages of cancer, Alhaji maurarum and Fumaria indica were discovered to be effective treatments. It is suggested that these plants be thoroughly investigated for anti-cancer properties in an effort to find a new treatment for cancer. Jaundice and related liver disorders have been claimed to be helped by Haloxylonsalicornicum, Medicago polymorpha, Rumex dentatus, and Fagonia indica. Local healers in the Cholistan desert treat individuals on a huge scale and claim that these plants are effective in treating liver ailments. Citrullus colocynthis and Mukiamoderaspatana were found to be effective against hepatitis, and the same recommendations were made for these plants as for cancer-fighting plants. Trianthema triquetra, Salsola baryosma, Acacia jacquemontii, Alhaji maurarum, Mollugocerviana are some of the plants that have been reported to be utilized in the treatment of blood disorders and asthmatic problems. Aerva persica and Zizypus spina are two species of Aerva. More than 15% of medicinal plants are used for stomach disorders, with 10% for colds and coughs, 6% for asthma, 5% for diuretics, 5% for sedative/narcotics, 4% for tonics, 3% for jaundice, 2% for hepatitis, 1% for cardiac difficulties, and so on. Sedative/narcotic, anthelmintic, purgative, diuretic, tonic, intoxicant, emollient, expectorant, carminative, emetic, vermifuge, laxative, mycotic, and mydriatic agents have all been discovered in indigenous plants found in the Cholistan desert [28].

Abutilon spp., Aervajavanica, Capparis decidua, Cleome brachycarpa, Crotalaria burhia, Dipterygium glaucum, Gisekiapharnacioides, and Suaedafruticosa are some of the species used for vermicidal and anthelmintic properties against intestinal worms, as well as antimicrobial properties against bacteria and other microorganisms. Achyranthes aspera, Aervajavanica, Alhagimaurorum, Calotropis procera, Capparis decidua, and Zaleyapentandra are herbs used for stomach and intestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea, dyspepsia, constipation, bloating, and impaired appetite [29–32].

A variety of herbs are used to treat aches and pains, as well as cuts and wounds. Leptadeniapyrotechnica, Aervajavanica, Mukiamaderaspatana, Ziziphus mauritiana, and Euphorbia hirta are among the most important. Withaniasomnifera is good for hurting eyes, Suaedafruticosa is good for ophthalmia, Mollugocerviana is good for enhancing eyesight, and Achyranthes aspera is good for night blindness. Alhagimaurorum is good for liver inflammation, Cleome scaposa is good for cancer and tumours, and Cyperus conglomeratus is good for hair loss and baldness [33–37].

Hypertension and leprosy can be treated with Gisekiapharnacioides, Salsola imbricata, and Cressacretica. Citrullus colocynthis, Aervajavanica, and Haloxylonstocksii are all excellent remedies for urinary issues, particularly kidney and bladder stones [38–41].

Medicinal plants play an important role in the lives of the people who live there because they are a key source of therapy for many diseases. Poor field labourers and those linked with herbal product production rely on them as a major source of income. The majority of medicinal plant species (about 70%) are uni-regional, with the remainder being bi-regional or pluri-regional. Traditional healthcare knowledge has been passed down through the generations verbally rather than in writing, resulting in a gradual loss of knowledge. Increased urbanization, population growth, habitat loss, inaccurate documentation, overexploitation of particular plant species, lack of enforcement of regulations, and lack of awareness are all contributing factors to the loss of this legacy [16, 42].

Traditional healers claim that the local people are still reliant on wild plants for primary healthcare due to widespread belief in their efficacy. According to the current survey, local people routinely employ 67 plant species from 29 families to treat various ailments. The ailments that can be healed range from minor stomachaches to more complex conditions including male and female urino-genital abnormalities. Fourteen plant species are utilized to treat gastrointestinal tract problems. Furthermore, 16 plant species have been identified as antibacterial and skin disease cures. For respiratory tract diseases, 10 plant species are employed, whereas for musculoskeletal and joint ailments, 10 plant species are used. For male sexual problems, five species are consumed, while for female sexual disorders, ten species are consumed. Five plant species have been used to treat urinary tract infections, and ten plant species are used as anti-diabetics. Traditional healers also use 14 plant species to treat fever, 7 plant species to treat liver ailments, 9 plant species to treat jaundice, and 6 plant species to treat renal stones. Heliotropiumstrigosum, Withaniasomnifera, Mukiamaderaspatana, Cymbopogon jwarancusa, and Peganum harmala are five plants that are often used to treat central nervous system (CNS) illnesses such as dementia [43].

Herbs that are useful in herb-based therapies that serve to alleviate poverty among natives can be used in two ways. To begin with, they save money by treating and curing common ailments and injuries using native medicinal plants rather than allopathic drugs, which are significantly more expensive and difficult to obtain. Second, by selling wild plants in the local market, local nomads can supplement their income. Furthermore, the risk of negative effects from medicinal plant therapies is extremely low [44–48].

Conclusion

The demand for medicinal plants has been increasing day by day, not only in the local market but also on the international market, necessitating the development of innovative ways to meet this expanding demand. Seventy percent of synthetic pharmaceuticals are related to plants, hence a large number of medicines are now produced directly from medicinal plants. Slow growth rates, low population densities, and limited geographic distributions characterize the Cholistan desert medicinal plants. They are in higher danger of extinction as a result of overexploitation. As a result of over-harvesting in the wilds, there is a risk of permanent loss of native biodiversity.

Author contributions

All authors contributed equally.

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest among authors.

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Informed consent

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Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

All authors are agreed for Publication.

Funding

There is no funding for this research.

Data availability

Data will be provided on demand.

References