Project Report Museum of Ethno-medicinal plants of Western Ghats Principal Investigator Dr. S.D. Kholkute Institute Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Belgaum-590010, Karnataka Supported by Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi
Museum of Ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats FINAL REPORT 1. Title of the Project: Museum of Ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats. Project No.: 5-29/2006/ CCRAS/Tech/Hq/ EMR 2. Principal investigator: Dr. S. D. Kholkute, Officer in Charge, Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Belgaum- 590 010. 3. Co-I (name and address): Nil. 4. Other Scientific Staff engaged in the study: Dr. Ramesh T.Konakeri M.D. (Ayu) : Research Associate Dr. Gireesh Ankad BAMS, M.Sc. : Senior Research Fellow 5. Non-Scientific Staff engaged in the study: Mr. Shankar Belchad Mr. Nityanand Maradi Mr. Bhoopal Talwar : Data Entry Operator : Lab/Field Assistant : Lab/Field Attendant 6. Implementing Institution and other collaborating Institutions 7. Date of commencement: 07-07-2007 8. Duration: Three years 9. Date of completion: 06-07-2010 10. Objectives as approved: To provide scientific information on medicinal plants of Western Ghats and their usages. To create awareness on the role of medicinal plants / ethnomedicobotany in health care and drug development. To improve knowledge on importance of Western Ghats as a biodiversity hot spot and conservation of medicinal plants. To disseminate scientific information on ethno-medicinal plants of Western Ghats. 11. Deviation made from original objectives if any, while implementing the project and reasons thereof: Nil 1
12. Experimental work giving full details of experimental set up, methods adopted, data collected supported by necessary tables, charts, diagrams and photographs Methodology (Set up, Methods adopted, data collected by necessary charts, diagrams and photographs): 12.1. Infrastructure Development: In first year of the project, the required infrastructure was planned and accomplished. The basic requirements like furniture, display boards, herbarium display tables, racks and cupboards were procured and arranged appropriately in the museum. Minor civil and electrical modifications in the existing building allocated for museum was also made to make the museum more appealing and presentable. Sanctioned equipments like dehumidifiers, photocopier, colour printer and computer systems etc. were procured as per the procedures. The museum was set with the collection of crude drugs, photographs and charts. In addition to the procured furniture, several glass shelves were also fixed to the walls for displaying dry drugs. Suitable arrangements were made with additional room heaters/warming lamps for drying the plant parts in cold and damp seasons, along with dehumidifiers. Additional lighting was made in the museum to increase visibility. Various stands were fabricated for the display of charts and posters. As per the suggestion of experts, interactive Kiosk systems were procured and installed in the museum to make it more lively and interactive. This also helps in accessing maximum possible information on Medicinal plants of Western Ghats region. 12.2. Display of Photographs, Herbaria and Charts: Photographs: About 1200 photographs of 352 species of medicinal plants have been collected during the tenure of the project (Annexure-1). Selected photographs were laminated and displayed in the museum. Each plant is being photographed at various stages, mainly in its flowering/ fruiting time to facilitate its identification. The photographs have been taken at the time of collection in its natural habitat 2
with close ups of various parts. The information about botanical name, family, place of collection and local names has been displayed for each collection. However, Sanskrit name has been added later, as per the suggestion of the review committee. Selected photographs of RET medicinal plants of the region are also displayed along with brief information. Simultaneously, the photographs of all the collected dry drug samples were also taken, which is of great help in future references. Images of various habitat types, landscapes and associations were also displayed for further information. Maximum possible efforts have been made to make the museum attractive and informative. Herbaria: A total of 784 herbaria of 452 species were prepared during the tenure of the project (Annexure-2). The herbarium specimens are carefully prepared, as per the procedure. Specimens were collected in their reproductive stage and authenticated specimens were pressed, dried, mounted on a standard paper and named based on accepted system of classification. Selected herbaria of medicinal plants of the Western Ghats have been displayed in the museum, while the others are serving as source of reference to botanists, pharmacologists, Ayurvedic physicians, folklore practitioners and students studying medicinal flora of the Western Ghats. The herbaria on display are broadly classified into three groups viz. plants with high medicinal value, common medicinal plants and RET/RED listed medicinal plants. All the necessary precautions have been taken to preserve both the displayed and stored herbaria and to protect them from moisture, fungus and pests. A brochure on herbarium techniques, which was published in the other supporting project, was also incorporated with other brochures published under the project. The herbaria as a whole, supports research activities pertaining to medicinal plants of Western Ghats, not only this Centre, but several neighbouring institutions in the region. 3
Scientific Charts: Illustrative scientific charts depicting Indian systems of medicine, history of medicine, pharmacology, pharmacognosy etc. were prepared and displayed in the museum. They are displayed in such a way that, they convey the information of traditional knowledge as science and its importance to both common man and the scientific community. The focus is to create awareness and to provide updated information on traditional medical systems of India and medicinal plants of the Western Ghats to the visitors. The series of posters depicting History of medicine from different origins, Basic principles of Ayurveda, Herbarium techniques, Forest types of Western Ghats, Dravya Guna Vijnana (2 charts), Pancha vidha kashaya kalpana and some charts on preparation of various formulations like Choorna, Vati, Asava, Arishta etc. as described in Ayurveda were displayed in the museum. Several charts on RET/RED listed medicinal plants, endemic medicinal plants and plants with high medicinal value were also displayed. These charts are serving as the source of information to the visitors of different age groups, communities and faculties. These are also helping in creating awareness of the traditional systems of medicine and educate the people in the field of traditional medicine as science. 12.3. Collection of plants/ parts of medicinal value: The plant parts used in the traditional health practices/ folk healers and mentioned in various texts of codified systems (Ayurveda) were listed and collected. The samples collected were preserved with all essential precautions as dry or wet specimens, depending on the type of specimen/parts. The plants mainly in flowering and fruiting stage and devoid of any infections were selected for collection. The collected plant parts were thoroughly dried in shade. The samples for display were stored in containers along with formalin tablets to prevent the microbial infestation to a certain extent. Precautions were also taken to avoid any type of damage to the crude drugs stored in the depository. The plant parts were separated and stored individually (i.e. leaves, fruits seeds, and barks). Several 4
plants/parts were also collected in different seasons to examine the seasonal variations, if any. This crude drugs collection acts as genuine source of drugs, which also help in future research related to substitution and adulteration of herbal drugs. The wet drug display consists of fleshy parts such as fruits, tubers etc. which are preserved in 5% formalin. The periodical change of the formalin solution is maintained to enhance the visibility of the drug and to avoid the spoilage of material. Both dry and wet drugs are stored in different sized containers as and when required. Each collection is labeled with botanical name, family, vernacular name, place of collection and date of collection. A total of 585 samples were collected so far, of which 363 are dry specimens and 222 are wet specimens (Annexure-3). 12.4. Digitalization of Information: As per the recommendations of the review committee, most of the collected information is stored in digital format. The photographs of the plants were stored electronically to develop Digital Image Library of the medicinal plants. All the prepared herbaria are scanned and stored in the computer system, which is serving as Digital Herbaria. The complete information like botanical name of the plant, family, vernacular name, part of medicinal value, season and place of collection, utility, source of information etc. have been documented as Digital Datasheets in EXCEL to facilitate the easier retrieval of the data. Automated touch screen Kiosks have been installed in the museum for easy access of the stored information. These kiosks are user friendly and can be accessed by visitors as per their needs. 12.5. Development of IEC system: The museum is visited by large number of students from various schools and colleges. Many scientists, researchers, traditional medicine practitioners, farmers etc. The efforts to develop such museum were getting high appreciation by the visitors. Efforts were also made to improvise the system based on the feedback from the visitors. 5
A brochure on Museum of Ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats was published to provide the basic information of museum. This was done with plan of spreading awareness regarding the museum and to popularise the information available, aims and scope of the museum. A booklet on Common medicinal plants for home remedies is also published, which provide basic information on 20 common medicinal plants. The information also includes the simple home preparations for day today ailments. This is an effort to create awareness among the visitors about the traditional herbal remedies and their usage. Apart from these, the other few brochures and booklets published by the Centre and through other projects are also adding up for the information resource (Copies attached as Annexure -4). The brochures published are: (i) Museum of Ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats* (ii) Herbal garden for medicinal plants from Western Ghats region (iii) RET/Endemic medicinal plants of Western Ghats (iv) Herbarium-importance and techniques The booklets published are: (i) Common medicinal plants for home remedies* (ii) Spices, Herbs and Trees for treatment of common ailments** * Published under current project. ** Under publication process. 12.6. Human Resource Development: Conference/ Workshops/ Trainings attended: Dr. Ramesh T. Konakeri (RA): National workshop on Survey of medicinal plants in Western Ghats by KLE s university and RMRC, at KLE s college of pharmacy, Belgaum, on 27 th and 28 th September 2008. Attended as resource person. National seminar on Medicinal plant protection and promotion, organised by MM College of arts and science Sirsi, on 4 th and 5 th October 2008. Presented paper entitled Vrikshayurveda in management of diseases of medicinal plants. 6
Workshop on Research Methodology conducted by K.L.E s Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, Belgaum, on 30 th September 2008. Delivered lecture on Standardization of Ayurvedic formulations. Workshop on Rapid assessment of Ethnoveterinary practices organized by FRLHT, at Ernakulum, Kerala, on 9th to 15th Nov. 2008. Workshop on Pharmacovigilance, on 14th March 2009, organized by Dept. of Pharmacology, JNMC, Belgaum Lecture on Role of Diets in diabetes to general public organized by Amrut pharmacy, Belgaum. National Seminar on Nirvisha-2009 conducted by KLE s Shri BMK Ayurved Mahavidyalaya Belgaum, on 2nd and 3rd of Nov-2009 Presented a paper Safety aspects of food in current scenario Field workshop on Survey of Medicinal plants in Western ghats, on 21st to 23rd of Jan-2010. Jointly organized by RMRC (ICMR), Belgaum and KLE University s college of pharmacy, Belgaum, as a Resource person Guest lecture on Basics of formulation development in Ayurveda on 28/01/2010, In a training programme under RLHT project conducted jointly by Birds Tukkanatti and RMRC (ICMR), Belgaum Guest lecture on Folk medicine at KLE s BMK Ayurveda mahavidyalaya, Shahapur, Belgaum. On 20/02/2010 Dr. Gireesh M. Ankad (SRF): National seminar on Medicinal plant protection and promotion, organized by MM College of arts and science Sirsi, on 4 th and 5 th October 2008. Presented paper entitled Various uses of medicinal plants in therapeutics. National conference on Traditional Knowledge Systems, Intellectual Property Rights and their Relevance for Sustainable Development, organized by NISCAIR-CSIR in Delhi, on 24th to 26th November. Presented paper entitled Ethnomedicine as primary health care. AROMED International Symposium on Current Status and Opportunities in Aromatic and Medicinal Plants 21 to 24 Feb 2010, conducted by CIMAP, 7
Lucknow Presented (poster), Pharmacognostic studies on traditional medicinal plants of genus Spermacoce National conference on Sustainable Production and Utilisation of Medicinal and Aromatic plants: Current Trends and Future Prospects, 8 to 9 April 2010, organised by Regional Plant Resource Centre, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa Presented (oral), Pharmacognostic studies on traditional medicinal plants of genus Spermacoce 13. Detailed analysis of results indicating contributions made towards increasing the state of knowledge in the subject. In all, a total of 585 samples of crude drugs have been collected during the process. Of these, 352 are dry drug samples; where as remaining 222 are wet preserved samples. Various parts of the medicinal plants have been collected and preserved separately, as per their utility. Among the collections, Fruit are collected maximum in number (318), followed by Leaves (77), Seeds (59) and Barks (51). Apart from these, samples have been also collected in various seasons and from various geographical locations. Many of the specimens have been collected during their flowering and fruiting, which made their collection complete and also helped in preparing the voucher herbarium specimen. The total number of herbaria in the collection are 784, belonging to 352 species (Annexure- 2). Similarly more than 1000 photographs of 352 medicinal plants species have been collected and many of them have been displayed. The charts in the museum are planned to address visitors belonging to all the possible groups and backgrounds. Preference was given to increase the visibility through various kinds of displays and lighting arrangements. The visitors of the museum were from various backgrounds like students of high schools, colleges and universities; students from Botany, Ayurveda and Pharmacy; Teachers and guides; research scholars; scientists; Traditional herbal practitioners and common public. The efforts have been made to educate the public in general and to provide more information to the needy, as per their requirements. In a nut shell, the museum established through this project is acting as a nodal Centre in the region for Medicinal plants of Western Ghats. The collection 8
of crude drugs, photographs and herbaria is serving as referral Centre for medicinal plants of the region. The handouts published on the topics are serving as wonderful tools for dissemination of information. The other parallel commodities like herbal garden for medicinal plants of Western Ghats (Funded by NMPB, New Delhi) and Database on ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats (Funded by ICMR, New Delhi) are adding up to the impact of the museum as information base. The experts in the Centre are also providing the authentication of medicinal plants for further research activities to the researchers from neighbouring institutions. Thus the objective for establishing the museum for ethno medicinal plants of Western Ghats is duly fulfilled. 14. Conclusions summarizing the achievements and indication of scope for future work. The set objectives of the proposed study were fulfilled through establishing Museum for medicinal plants of Western Ghats. The targets set per year were achieved every time and successfully accomplished the goals. The collection of more than 800 samples from the medicinal plants/ parts of medicinal value in the Western Ghats, is itself is an achievement. The setting up the facility for IEC activities is catering the needs of hundreds of people from all the streams to get more information on various aspects of medicinal plants, starting from authentication, collection to supply of genuine drugs for further research activities. The awareness created among the community regarding our traditional health practices, medicinal plants and their conservation are again the achievements, which help in conservation of our rich heritage and plant wealth in a long run. The successful completion of the project and establishment of the museum opened up array of openings for further studies in future. Some of the works, which can be taken up further are: (i) Publication of catalogue for crude drugs: As an output of the data collected in the process, a book or e-book can be published containing images and morphological details of medicinal plants and their respective crude drugs of the region. 9
(ii) Setting up quality standards for crude drugs: As genuine samples of the drugs are available in the museum, they can be taken up for developing protocols for standardization as per the pharmacopoeial parameters. (iii) Developing tools for identification of genuine drugs: The crude drug depository will help to provide basic drug materials and their adulterant drugs, for further studies to develop chemical, biological and molecular markers to assess the genuinity of the drugs. (iv) Establishing DNA/Germplasm repository for medicinal plants: The isolated DNA of the medicinal plants and collection of their germplasm will supplement the existing collection of crude drugs. This will help the scientific community to great extent in further research activities and in their conservation as well. (v) Extension of IEC activities: Various schools, colleges and institutes working in the field of traditional medicine and medicinal plants can be visited to create awareness about herbal wealth and their conservation. This may be through slide shows, presentations, discussions and also through distribution of published matter. Home herbal gardens and training programs to the common public to demonstrate the preparation of simple formulations for day today ailments can also be arranged to popularize the traditional system of medicine. 10
15. Procurement/usage of Equipments: S. No. Name of Equipment Make/ Model 1. Desktop computer With 17 TFT monitor and CPU Hp Pavillion series M8070 INTVP17 2. Xerox (copier cum printer/digital printer) Xerox WC 420 Copier cum printer/digital printer, Network printer interface 3. Colour LaserJet printer Hp Colour LaserJet printer 3600dn printer 4. Handy Camera Sony Handy Camera DCF-DVD, 908 E 5. Lamination machine/laminator Avanti pouch laminator- DL- 300E 6. Dehumidifiers -2 Nos. Dehumidifier Fedders make suitable for 150 sq. ft. with continuous drainage water tank full indicator, portable design, easy glide bottom, suitable for 220/230v Cost FE/Rs Date of Installation Utilisation rate % Remarks regarding maintenance /breakdown 66,279.00 20/08/2007 95% Working fine. 84,263.00 13/08/2007 80% 52,936.00 09/08/2007 80% Requested to retain at RMRC to continue the activities as institutional activity. 49,990.00 13/08/2007 70% 11,784.00 24/10/2007 70% 48,375.00 18/02/2008 95% 11
16. Manuscript for Publication: The Museum for ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats has been established in the present project. Western Ghats, is one of the global biodiversity hotspots, comprising of approximately 5000 species of flowering plants, of which 70% are claimed to be medicinal and about 1700 species (34%) are endemic. During the present study a sincere attempt has been made to document and disseminate scientific information on ethno-medicinal plants of Western Ghats in form of display of crude drugs, photographs, scientific charts and through publication of handouts and brochures. The crude drugs thus collected are stored either as wet preservation or as dry samples. In all 585 samples are available in the museum of which 363 are dry and 222 are wet samples. More than 1000 photographs of about 352 species of medicinal plants are also in the collection. More than 750 herbaria of 452 species are available for reference in the museum. Several photographs, charts and drug samples have been aesthetically displayed in the museum. All the efforts have been made to digitalize the collected information in the form digital image library, digital datasheets and digital herbaria. The brochure on Museum of Ethnomedicinal plants of Western Ghats and booklet on Common medicinal plants for home remedies were published to create awareness and educate public. The museum is serving as the IEC nodal Centre in the region for medicinal plants and traditional medicine. Interested people belonging to all the age groups and from various backgrounds are visiting the museum. This is helping in creation of awareness among public about our rich heritage of traditional medicine, medicinal plants and their conservation. Principal Investigator: Head of the Institution Name: Dr. S. D. Kholkute Signature with date: Signature with date 12