A widely used new blood thinner that is routinely given to heart patients after angioplasty appears in rare cases to trigger a deadly blood disease. The drug, called Plavix, prevents blood clots and has been taken by more than 3 million people worldwide since its introudction two years ago. For …
Chennai: A bitter battle between age-old rivals is brewing on social media. The contestants: Sceptical allopaths and combative Siddha practitioners. The referee: A defensive state government. As the fight over the curative power of the herbal concoction, 'nilavembu kudineer', unfolds on stage, it has left the public divided. The cleave …
The Department of Natural Products, NIPER, has started a green window system (GWS) for medicinal plants. The window was activated by NIPER Director Raghuram Rao Akinnepally here yesterday. Through the green window, potential/interested domestic users and educational institutions at the school level will be provided selected medicinal plant germplasm for …
Alternative medicine can cause long-term harm to the liver and kidneys The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, reportedly delayed conventional treatment for several months and experimented with alternative medicine, when he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. The jury is still out on whether it was alternative …
Do ayurvedic drugs help treat cancer? While proponents of the alternative therapy claim they do, the scientific community denies the same, citing lack of evidence.To clear this confusion, AIIMS will collaborate with experts from the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences and the All India Institute of Ayurveda to …
Afforestationwork has helped revive the forests at Punshilok, Manipur We follow a serpentine mud and rock-strewn path, tunnelled by lush trees that create a brilliant monochrome in green. It is interspersed sporadically with plants throwing up yellow-orange blossoms with flitting butterflies perching on them. As we trek up, the quiet …
Dengue fever is a viral disease spread by a mosquito named Aedes aegyptis. The symptoms of this disease are fever, rashes on the skin, severe headache, muscular pain, joint ache, fatigue, pain behind the eyes, nausea and vomiting. The platelet level goes down severely in this fever, which may lead …
The Indian traditional medicine (TM) has a rich heritage of science healing humans and animals. While so much attention is being paid to regulation of biomedicine (BM) practice and research, the same is desirable for TM too. The existing guidelines and regulations related to natural products/herbal formulations should be implemented …
WITH rising temperature and acute drought scenario, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department is keen to take a leaf out of its Kerala counterpart in managing forest for ecosystem services. In an effort to study the Kerala model- a first in India which the state Forest Department attempted to undertake a …
Dhanbad: The Parasnath hill in Giridih district is known for its lush green cover, which include rare medicinal trees and herbal plants. However, the green cover is fast depleting. Forest department officials said uncontrolled fire ignited by mahua pickers, grazing and felling of valuable trees are among reasons that have …
The inventory will be supported by satellite images and GIS The State could soon have a modern database of local medicinal plants and knowledge pertaining to traditional healthcare practices created using Geographical Information System (GIS). The Health department has evinced keen interest in a project recommended by the Karnataka Knowledge …
Folk healers in North-East use plants to treat infections, cancer Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have shown that the concept of herbal medicines being totally safe is a myth and their properties need to be thoroughly investigated for toxic properties. Plants have been used as a traditional …
A scientifically validated anti-diabetes herbal drug, named `BGR-34', was launched by a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratory in Lucknow on Sunday . A combination of natural extracts from plants, the drug is based on ayurveda and has no side effects.The drug is for management of typeII diabetes …
People who take unregulated complementary medicines are at a higher risk of being contaminated by heavy metals, a medical scientist has warned. Research from the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE) reveals that certain complementary medicines, especially Ayurvedic treatments – an Indian traditional …
In the high, hostile peaks of the Himalayas where sustaining life is a challenge in itself, scientists say they have found a “wonder herb” that can regulate the immune system, help adapt to the mountain environment and, above all, protect from radioactivity. Rhodiola, a herb found in the cold and …
A beedi that does not cause cancer and quick-bites that reduce the ill-effects of alcohol sound like the perfect party combo. But, if tobacco and big pharmaceutical firms get a wind of what goes into them, these wonder beedis would cost more than regular cigarettes and the quick-bites would end …
Traditional Chinese herbs are being contaminated with a toxic cocktail of pesticides that poses a threat to consumer health and the environment, campaign group Greenpeace said Monday. Some residue levels were hundreds of times higher than European Union food safety standards, according to tests carried out for a Greenpeace report …
Kashmir’s scenic beauty has always drawn tourists in hordes. Now a visit to the Valley could also calm your mood through a variety of aromas if the mission of a group of local scientists is successful. As Lavender Park in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and Herbal Garden in Manasbal in north …
With an aim to identify and preserve the medicinal plants in the State, the Society for Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge and Practice (SPIKAP) is in the process of documentation and mapping of local health traditions in Meghalaya. “The process also includes prioritisation, identification and mapping of medicinal plants used in …
It's a disease long associated with the elderly but is now diagnosed in younger people as well and with no permanent cure available till date. However, in what could give hope to thousands suffering from Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the pharmacology department in AIIMS has identified Ayurvedic drugs which could have …
The increasing demand of the herbal industry for ‘naag chhatri’, a perennial medicinal plant found in the temperate zone of the Himalayas, is leading to its indiscriminate and excessive exploitation and posing a serious threat to it. The herb is being smuggled out of the state in bulk. Over the …
