Prevention and Cure of Digestive Disorders Through the Use of Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants have proved to be effective for prevention and cure of various disorders. Their use against digestive disorders is very common at household level. The future generations can benefit, in case this knowledge is documented after its validation. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods and tools were used for interacting with the rural women who were used as the main source of information. Scientific validation helped to determine the pharmacognosy and pharmacology status of the plants. The sources used for scientific validation were mainly the view of the experts and scientific literature besides adding the social value considering the views of Hakims and Vaidyas. The identification validation and documentation of the plant material from the state of Punjab reveal that twenty eight plants were used for digestive disorders and most of them were herbs. They were used for their preventive and curative properties. Most of these plants were available in the vicinity or their parts were available in form of spices at the household level.