Traditional medicinal knowledge about common herbs and herbal formulations used in treatment of Filaria in Chhattisgarh, India : The results of recent surveys

Research Note - Pankaj Oudhia
© 2001,2002,2003 Pankaj Oudhia - All Rights Reserved

The natives and traditional healers of Chhattisgarh have rich traditional medicinal knowledge about common herbs and herbal formulations used in treatment of Filaria. Through the recent ethnobotanical surveys, I have collected a lot of information on this aspect. I am giving the details in present article. The traditional healers of Chhattisgarh use Bhelwa( Semecarpus anacardium) barks commonly in treatment of Filaria. The aqueous paste is prepare and applied on fingers of legs. Many healers use the Bhelwa seed oil for this purpose. The application of aqueous paste or oil produces blisters in fingers. According to the healers, through these blisters, the toxic material responsible for this trouble flushes out. They warn the patients that in many cases the application of Bhelwa, result in high temperature but one must not worry about it, as it goes down within two to three days. The traditional healers consider it as one of the promising treatments. Many patients are allergic to Bhelwa. In such cases, the healers use other herbal formulations in treatment. Bhelwa is well known medicinal tree in Chhattisgarh. The traditional healers of Bagbahera use the roots of Fudhar (Calotropis gigantea) in treatment. The aqueous extract of roots is applied externally. The roots of white flowered species of Fudhar are preferred . Fudhar is a common medicinal weed in Chhattisgarh. The healers use to roots of old plant for this purpose. The herb growing in Murum (Laterite) soils is not preferred for this purpose. I personally feel that there is a need to search the scientific reason behind this restriction. The traditional healers of other parts of Chhattisgarh are also aware of use of Fudhar roots but they use it in different ways. The healers of Narharpur region use the roots with whey to prepare thick paste. This paste is applied externally. The root bark is collected and mixed with Triphala and water. By boiling the solution, they prepare a herbal decoction. The decoction is given daily morning to the patients as treatment. For taste Shahad (Honey) and Sugar are added in this decoction. As I have mentioned in previous articles, that Triphala is a mixture of dry fruit powder of Harra (Terminalia chebula), Bahera (Terminalia bellirica) and Aonla (Phyllanthus emblica) in different proportions.

The traditional healers of Narharpur region also use the Harra fruits internally in treatment. The fruits are fried with the help of Andi (Ricinus communis) seed oil and converted it into powder. This powder is given with cow urine internally as treatment. The traditional healers of Chhattisgarh use the barks of popular timber tree Sagon (Tectona grandis) in treatment of Filaria. The freshly collected bark is boiled in water and decoction is prepared. This decoction is given internally with cow urine to the patients. This promising remedy is in use in all most every part of Chhattisgarh. The traditional healers of Chhattisgarh plains use the leaves of Karanj (Pongamia pinnata) in treatment. The patients are advised to extract the fresh juice and take it internally every morning empty stomach. Karanj is a common medicinal tree in Chhattisgarh. Like Karanj, Parsa (Butea monosperma) is also a common tree. The traditional healers of Tilda region use the bark of Parsa roots in treatment of Filaria. The fresh juice of root bark is given internally with Sarson (Mustard) oil. The traditional healers of Chhattisgarh are aware that the treatment of Filaria take long time. I have observed that in most of the cases, the natives approach to the healers for treatment and the healers try their best to provide relief with the help of above mentioned herbs and herbal formulations.

Thank you very much for reading the article.