Indigenous Medicinal Substances and Health Care: A Study Among Paite Tribe of Manipur, India

Health Seeking Behaviour among Tribes of India

“…The reasons for health seeking behavior and for varied health problems reported among the tribal people were not uniform. Significant health problems include tuberculosis in Koya and Konda Reddy (Rajamma et al1996), sexually transmitted diseases in Gonds (Rao et al 2012), dental problems in Paniya Paniyan (Vivek et al 2012), institutional delivers in tribes of Udaipur, Rajasthan (Kumar et al 2013), malaria in tribes of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra (Sundarrajan et al2013) and tribes of Kalyani, West Bengal (Ghosh et al 2015), leishmaniasis in Kani (Nandha et al 2014), childhood diseases in tribes of Narmada district, Gujarat (Chandwani and Pandor 2015) and Gonds ), diarrhea in Koraga (Shirisha et al 2015, hypertension in tribes of ITDA villages of 9 states (Laxmaiah et al 2015), gynecological morbidities in tribes of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (Babu et al 2016), common ailments in Bhatara (Mahapatro and Kalla 2000), Gadoliya Lohars, Rabaris, Nayaks, Kanjars, Sansis, Nats and Kalbeliyas, (Sachdev 2012 Tribal people in India for their health problems take home remedies (Bhatara (49%) (Mahapatro and Kalla 2000); Irula (100%) (Santosam and Samuel 2013); Koraga (100%) (Shirisha et al 2015); Garo, Khasi (79%) (Albert et al 2015); visit private hospitals (Gadoliya Lohars, Rabaris, Nayaks, Kanjars, Sansis, Nats and Kalbeliyas (92%) (Sachdev 2012); tribes of Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu (9%) (Jayaprakash and Saravanan 2015); follow indigenous medicine (Koyas and Konda Reddy (6%) (Rajamma et al 1996); Paite (10%) (Guite and Acharya 2006); tribes of Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu (28%) (Jayaprakash and Saravanan 2015); Kinners, Lahules, Spitians, Pangwalas, Gaddis and Gujjars (44%); approach traditional healers (Koyas and Konda Reddy (86%) (Rajamma et al 1996); tribes of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra (100%) (Sundarrajan et al 2013); Kani (100%) (Nandha et al 2014); Garo, Khasi (10%) (Albert et al 2015); Kinners, Lahules, Spitians, Pangwalas, Gaddis and Gujjars (37.2%) (Pathania and Katoch 2017) and practice modern medicine/allopathy (Koyas and Konda Reddy (86%)…”

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“…The term 'indigenous medicine' or 'indigenous system of health care' refers to the long-standing indigenous system of health care found in the developing countries particularly among indigenous populations As recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), for many indigenous people, health is not merely absence of disease (Guite, 2011). Health is a state of spiritual, communal, and ecosystem equilibrium and well-being, which probably explains why traditional pharmacology includes remedy to cure physical ailments.…”

“…Through time indigenous medicine has sustained itself through processes deeply rooted in a society's socio-cultural complexes. Indigenous medicinal substances, their nature, axioms, and practices vary from one culture to another (Guite, 2011). The names, practices, and products would be contextspecific depending upon the socio-cultural heritage, religion, and political identity of the people practicing it.…”

Pharmacognostical standardization, formulation and evaluation of tablets incorporated with stem bark of Butea monosperma for anti cancer activity

“…In India it is estimated that there are 2 to 2.5 million cancer patients at any given point of time with about 0.7 million new cases coming every year and nearly half die every year. It has long been realized that cancers of the head and neck in both sexes and of the uterine cervix in women are the most common malignancies seen in the country 1,2 .…”