Listen... plants too speak
As early as in 1880, Charles Darwin demonstrated that plants could sense light, moisture, gravity, pressure and possessed several other qualities.…
Herb dealers
In Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district is the Great Himalayan National Park. An eco-development project meant to benefit people of Tirthan and …
Book review: Commercial cultivation of medicinal plants
It is an obvious business risk for a farmer to give up growing conventional crops that have assured returns and start growing medicinal plants. …
India needs the science of the common people
It's a paradox that while the government is busy opening up the telecom sector to multinational companies, technocrat Sam Pitroda, perhaps the …
"Biodiversity treaty is misleading the Third World"
A known a crusader for traditional Indian medicine. P Pushpangadan, who completed his Ph.D from Aligarh University, is currently the director of …
Are we ready to hand over on our life-forms?
There are certain plants, vegetables and fruits indigenous to India having medicinal properties. The knowledge of these properties rests with …
A green company in a grey market
There was a time when Payinthulasi, a 40-year old herb gatherer of village Utchananthal in Virudunagar district of Tamil Nadu, had to trudge to …
Paan loses flavour
Iconic paan no more appeals to farmers, traders and common people. They say the contagious spread of chewing tobacco, especially gutkha, is fast …
Predicting the future
A severe shortage of medicinal plants and herbs threatens ISM. Cultivation may be the only way out. But currently medicinal plants that are …
Hitting malaria with herbs
A Chinese medicinal plant known as long ago as 168 BC has been found successful in checking malaria, which is becoming increasingly resistant to …
Ask the villager before the researcher
Nigerian pastoralists have been found to be a storehouse of valuable information on the value of plants.
Root cures
A dedicated group of botanists, ayurvedic practitioners and pharmacologists are showing rural Keralites that all the medicines they need, grow in …
No penny for the Onges?
The discovery of a generation-old plant extract used by Onges in The Andarnans has patent-hungry profiteers jostling their way down There The …
When the hills turn blue
... it is the elusive kurinji flowering in the Western Ghats, blossoming faithfully every 12 years
Drinking success
While Indians rant and rave against biopiracy, Brahmi, innovatively packaged, becomes a household name in the US. In India, manufacturers …
Now, isabgol
In the wake of growing demand in the West, multinational companies are attempting to patent isabgol
A thousand utility leaf
Sudeshna Saha shares benefits and recipes of a herb, sometimes used as an ornamental plant
Losing the edge
As the world increasingly resorts to natural, plant-derived cures for illnesses, the wealth of India's traditional medicinal systems lies …
A drugs story
NGOs all over southern India are helping to revive the system of local medicinal plants and herbs, holding out the promise of not just cheaper …
Wonder plant
An eco-friendly plant, the Senna can be used to regenerate wastelands with less water and without pesticides
The healing touch
A USER’S GUIDE TO MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE·Vaidya P Ram Manohar·Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health …
Nipping malaria in the bud
Scientists from the Desert Medicine Research Centre, Jodhpur, have found that the Indian nightshade (Solanum xanthocarpum) is fatal for three …
Poor man's saffron
Loaded with immunity-boosting properties,parijaat flower is used in various delicacies during the onset of winter
Folk cures
In Ethiopia, traditional healers can be a good alternative to an inefficient public health system
Wonder crop
An edible plant that can grow in extreme temperatures holds the promise of catering to varied needs of humans