Traditional medicinal knowledge about common herbs and herbal formulations used as home remedies in treatment of Stomatitis by the natives of forest areas of Chhattisgarh, India

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

The rich traditional medicinal knowledge of the natives of forest areas of Chhattisgarh on this aspect encouraged me to write a separate write. The natives use common herbs found in nearby forests externally in form of juice, aqueous paste or decoction in treatment of Stomatitis. In most of the cases, they get success. And in case of complications they consult the traditional healers for systematic treatment. I have noted during the surveys that the senior natives are more aware of traditional uses and unfortunately, they are leaving us and their valuable traditional knowledge is ending with them. I personally feel that there is a strong need to start the formal documentation of this knowledge immediately. I am trying hard but it seems that it is not possible for me to document all the knowledge in one time. In treatment of Stomatitis, the natives of Pendra region chew the fresh leaves of Shahtoot (Morus alba) and spit out the juice. The natives of Balod and Dalli-Rajhara regions of Chhattisgarh use the new leaves of Babool or Bambri (Acacia nilotica) for this purpose. They prepare an aqueous paste by mixing the leaves in water. This paste is applied externally on ulcers. The natives of Nagri-Sihawa region use the Mehndi leaves (Lawsonia alba) in same manner. They prefer the disease free leaves. The natives of Narharpur region use the bark of Ber (Ziziphus sp.) And Babool for this purpose. Both barks are mixed in equal proportion and by boiling in water, decoction is prepared. The patients are advised to gargle with this decoction. According to them, within two-three days, the patients get relief. I have mentioned the use of Rahar (Cajanus cajan) seeds and leaves for the same purpose in previous articles. The natives of Charama region, prepare herbal combination by mixing Harra (Terminalia chebula), Bahera (Terminalia bellirica), Aonla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruits with equal quantity of Semar (Bombax ceiba) gond (Gum). This combination is converted into powder and after adding few drops of Andi (Ricinus communis) oil, the patients are advised to gargle with this combination. This combination is used in complicated cases. The natives of Keshkal region use the leaves of Dhanbaher (Cassia fistula) for this purpose. They apply the fresh juice on ulcers and in case of complication use the decoction of leaves for gargling. The natives of Bhopalpatnam region, use the leaf juice of indigenous Gulab (Rose) species for this purpose. The use of decoction prepared by boiling the Anar (Punica granatum) bark is also common among them. After documenting all these traditional medicinal uses in form of research articles, I am disseminating this knowledge in different parts of Chhattisgarh through popular articles written in regional languages. At present, beside these research articles in English, I am writing in about 18 Indian newspapers and science magazines as column writer ever, month. I am also taking the help of regional language experts for this work. But it seems, that a lot have to be done in this field.

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