Traditional Medicine in Asia

Introduction
T
wo-thirds of the world’s population
depend upon herbal resources for their
primary health care needs. Furthermore,
a large number of modern drugs are either
derived from plant material or conceived,
modelled and discovered based on the
practice of traditional medicine. Most
people, particularly from rural areas in
developing countries, have their access first
to traditional herbal medicines to relieve or
cure their ailments.
Traditional health practices are based
on many years of experience acquired by
humans in their journey in evolution.
Primitive man sought remedies for illnesses
from his surrounding animal, vegetable,
and mineral kingdoms. Some of these
remedies were based on mistaken beliefs
or mysticism. However, as civilization
progressed, particularly in Asia and notably
in China, Egypt, India and the Middle East,
the rich treasure of knowledge on herbal
remedies was systematically preserved,
collated and written about, based on the
prevailing concepts of health and disease.
This resulted in the development of different
Research, drug development and manufacture of herbal drugs
Research, drug
development and
manufacture of herbal
drugs
Concept of Diseases and Drugs in
Traditional Medicines
B. B. Gaitonde
systems of medicine like the Chinese
system, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.
Ebers Papyrus of ancient Egyptians, or the
Samhitas of Ayurveda were veritable
treasurehouses of human knowledge on
herbal remedies and ethno-therapeutics.
The origin of Ayurveda, the ancient
system of medicine of the Indian subcontinent,
can be traced to the Vedic period,
i.e., about 1500 B.C. The Atharv-veda of
the Aryans, composed during their
migration to the Indian Subcontinent,
described medicinal plant remedies for illhealth
as well as for rejuvenation of the
body and mind. The use of medicinal plants
progressed into the period of the Samhitas,
notably Charak and Sushruta Samhitas,
wherein one finds the “healing science”
emerging from the “magico-religious” state
to a truly empirico-rational medicine. The
Samhitas have elaborate treatises on
recognition of plants based on their
botanical characteristics, description of the
parts of the plants, appropriate agronomic
conditions for their cultivation (soil,
manure, etc.), classification based on
medicinal use (Charaka mentions more
than 50 plant groups); collection,
conditions for preservation, and the use of
different parts of plants such as bark, stem,
247