Traditional Herbal Medicines and their Fertility Potential: A Review

Abstract

Rapid increase in population growth is causing strain on medical resources world wide. Traditional folk medicines are region-specific, local resources based indigenous herb based, village based, and in many cases, community-specific. Different systems of medicine developed accordingly, which have been termed as Ayurvedic, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Yunani and more recently Homoeopathic. Aim of the present review is to study and review role of traditional herbal medicines in regulation of fertility problems including impotency and female gynaecological problems. The method used was results of our own studies, existing literature, traditional knowledge from gunis vaidyas etc. It has been found that Chlorophytum borivilianum Santapau & Fernandes (Liliaceae), Asparagus adscendens Roxb and Mucuna pruriens L (DC) is being used in the indigenous systems of medicine as a galactogogue and aphrodisiac. It can be concluded that traditional medicines have an important role in improving fertility potential in humans.