A see-it-yourself guide for jadi booties

Kade chirayat, or Kalmegh a widely cultivated medicinal plant, is a treatment for bacterial infections

The medium-sized fragrant evergreen Asoka tree (Saraca asoca) is called the "reliever of grief" because of the analgesic, antidotal and astringent properties of its leaves, flowers and seeds. It is labelled a woman's friend because its bark, in a powdered form, takes care of reproductive health, particularly the menstrual cycle.
However, the legendary Asoka is a rare vulnerable species, often substituted by the false Ashoka (Polyalthia longifolia) or the abundantly available low-cost Indian Charcoal Tree (Trema orientale).

For the lay person, mere distinction in botanical names will not help in locating the chemical and biological properties lacking in the Asoka substitutes. However, if Saraca asoca plant parts are pictorially exhibited, in fresh and dried forms, consumers, and Ayurveda practitioners/healers, can be cautioned against herbal concoctions that claim the medicinal power of Asoka. Such a pictorial display is educational at all points in time, but more significant in a post-pandemic world where people are in search of non-invasive quick herbal immunity-boosting solutions.

Nir Brahmi, a drug, famed in Ayurvedic tradition, has antioxidant properties. It has been used for centuries to counter epilepsy and build memory capacity

Compendium of Raw Botanical Drugs of Maharashtra, therefore, comes at a critical juncture when plant remedies are being casually circulated, without a serious thought given to the authenticity, quantum and quality of the crude drug used in a pharmacy product. The collection, featuring 198 herbal drugs from 174 plant species, is brought out by the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), and written by two of its acclaimed botanists, Dr Anuradha Upadhye and Dr Mandar Datar. The resource has been made freely accessible online without any cost, so that all stakeholders get to see the genuine plant forms. The institute aims to curb the tendency of local traders who collect herbs from the wild without assistance, and thereafter, ascribe saleability to the drugs without a scientific basis. Cough syrups often fall in these herbal-wonders-sold over-the-counter, with little clarity on the base dosage. Casual consumption of plant drugs has side effects, an aspect not detailed in the book, but the reader is made aware of innocuous misleading claims.

As Dr Datar says, any medicinal plant "should be seen in its totality"; but, since urban consumers do not necessarily have the opportunity for such a tactile and visual exposure, the compendium is the next best excursion. He says often lay people are not aware of the flowering aspect of herbal plants. For instance, Palash (Butea Monosperma) leaves, bark and trunk are much known for their uses, but few know about the dye that can be drawn from its flowers. Dr Datar says the compendium opens up possibilities. He and Dr Upadhye have years of plant identification and authentication experience, which also shows in their second joint book Forest Foods of Northern Region of Western Ghats.

Gorakhmundi or East Indian Globe is transitionally recognised in Ayurveda as a remedy for a large number of disorders

The crude drug database is not a standalone project; it is part of the development of a repository of crude drugs of genuine plant samples of the state, funded by the Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission. Five years ago, certain lacunae were observed by the plant Authentication Cell of ARI. That is when RGSTC authorities approved the compendium of crude botanical drugs, meant to guide researchers, medico-practitioners and pharmacies using raw botanicals.

Dr Datar feels the collection of the plant drugs is a reminder of the medicinal plant wealth of Maharashtra, particularly in the context of underrated and underused forest wealth. He recalls a variety like Ranshevga (Moringa Concanensis), which are drumsticks in the deep forest of Khandesh or Vidarbha region. Bitter in taste, but pharmacologically significant, this Moringa is an aphrodisiac. Its leaves can be used for eye care; they boost fertility in women. Moringa Concanensis has anti-cancerous and anti-inflammatory properties, too. On the lighter side, the name suggests a Konkan affinity.

Anantmul receives its name from long (never ending) roots; it is one of the key plants of Ayurveda

The alphabetically arranged catalogue opens reader's faculties to plant classification, habitat, and geographical variations within a plant species. The comparative ash and extractive analysis of each geographical plant variety tells the lay reader of the alkanoids, flavonoids and treponoids present or absent in the sample. That helps in assessment of the curative power. A much-watered Tulsi plant will lack the phytochemical constituents that can be found in the wild. The book therefore, guides people to dive deeper while choosing the drug-based product, and not indulge solely in common sense-based prescriptions.
The compendium demystifies the scary botanical names.

The collection, featuring 198 herbal drugs from 174 plant species, has been written by botanists Dr Anuradha Upadhye (left) and Dr Mandar Datar

The easily available Awala, Imli, Kadhipatta, Zhendu or the rare Garambi and Amrut - diverse types are mapped in one tome, for anyone to pick on the state's riches, responsibly though.

Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre is a culture columnist in search of the sub-text. You can reach her at sumedha.raikar@mid-day.com