A Review of Traditional Medicinal Plants Used for Treatment of Leucorrhoea in India

Introduction

Traditional medicine is considered to be materials and practices employed by healers for treatment of an ailment that originated from a specific region, descended over generations, and further spread to a larger region (Jain & Jain, 2017). As per this definition, ethnomedicine or folk medicine is mostly communicated through oral mediums among generations and is a part of traditional medicine. There is neither any written literature nor any institute to impart a degree course in ethnomedicine. Ayurveda, on the other hand, is a well-known Indian traditional system of medicine that possesses prescribed literature to study, diagnoses and treats, the patient, and confers a degree is before its commercial practice. Interestingly, the roots of Ayurveda are also thought to be in ethnomedicine (Jain & Jain, 2015). These traditional medicinal systems employ various plants/animals/minerals for treatment of different diseases/disorders of humans and animals that are safe, effective, and growing mostly in nearby places of healers and/or patients.

The relationship between humans and plants is age-old. Humans have been using plants for fulfilling basic needs of daily life as well as for performing rituals as a part of cultural relationship. Plants are being utilized for medicinal purposes mostly in the form of crude drug formulations, such as tinctures, poultices, powders etc. (Balick & Cox, 1997). From such crude formulations, recent advances have led to the isolation of active drug molecules, and researchers have developed techniques for standardization of natural drugs to ensure the purity of drugs through analytical marker compounds (Balunas & Kinghorn, 2005). Ethnobotanical leads have played a significant role in drug discovery; hence, documentation of ethnobotanical plant species that are useful as medicine is very important.

Leucorrhoea, locally known as “shwet pradar” or “safed pani”, is the term for abnormal, excessive vaginal discharge of white/yellow/green color that is associated with itching and sometimes inflammation (Abid et al., 2016; Trollope-Kumar, 2001). It is one of the most common problems among females, and many times it is ignored rather than treated. Moreover, in severe conditions, leucorrhoea becomes a reason for infertility. Women who have anemia, constipation, abortion, or are taking excessive medicines are more prone to suffer from leucorrhoea (Sarkar, 1983). Additionally, poor nutrition, hygiene, overwork, stress, and sexual anxiety are also considered to be among some of the causes of leucorrhoea (Trollope-Kumar, 2001). Leucorrhoea is told to be a culturally-shaped disorder that could be better understood through an anthropological lens than biomedical lens (Trollope-Kumar, 2001). Yet scientific etiology of leucorrhoea has its roots in physiological, pathological, and/or sometimes psychological reasons. Physiological leucorrhoea is a result of hormonal stimulation; pathological reasons involve infection by any pathogen, such as bacteria, fungi, virus etc.; and factors such as age and psychosocial indicators, such as financial losses, family conflicts, socio-economic status etc. are among psychological causes of the disease (Abid et al., 2016; Trollope-Kumar, 2001). However, in the long term, leucorrhoea reduces the quality of life and feeling of wellbeing in women.

India is a country that is rich in ethnic and floristic diversity, and here, history of traditional medicine could be traced back to even before the Vedic period. Due to the high cost of modern medical treatment or even the lack of such facilities available in remote areas, ethnic communities used to treat their various ailments with the natural resources available in their region (Jain & Jain, 2017). Besides the high cost, side effects associated with modern drugs is another important issue, and therefore, the need for a safe, effective, and economical treatments for various ailments always exists. In view of this, plants are wonderful natural gifts that may provide safe and effective treatment at a very reasonable cost. Therefore, the author made an attempt to look for plants that are employed by various ethnic communities of India as well as plants which are incorporated in the traditional Ayurvedic system of medicine for treatment of leucorrhoea.