Medicinal importance of Papra (Podophyllum hexandrum Royle) in Unani System of Medicine

Mohd Afsahul Kalam; Akhtar H. Malik; Aijaz Hassan Ganie; Tariq Ahmad Butt

doi:10.1515/jcim-2020-0178

Article

Medicinal importance of Papra (Podophyllum hexandrum Royle) in Unani System of Medicine

Mohd Afsahul Kalam , Akhtar H. Malik , Aijaz Hassan Ganie and Tariq Ahmad Butt

Published/Copyright: January 29, 2021

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From the journal Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Volume 18 Issue 3

Abstract

Podophyllum hexandrum Royle [=Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (Royle) T.S. Ying] is an important, endemic medicinal plant species of Himalaya. It is used in Unani System of Medicine under the name of ‘Papra’. The drug was not mentioned in previous literatures, but the first time it introduced in Unani Medicine by a great scholar Hakim Najmul Ghani. He has mentioned its uses and benefits in his classical book Khazainul Advia. In Unani Medicine the plant species has been used to treat various ailments like constipation, fever, jaundice, liver disorders, syphilis, diseases of lymph glands etc. In Kashmir Himalaya it is used to treat various diseases by local medicinemen, but now it is listed in rare drugs. Various pharmacological studies have been done such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, radio-protective etc., recently it has also been reported that podophyllotoxin or podophyllin can be used to treat some forms of cancers also.

Keywords: ailments; cancer; medicinal systems; physicians; Unani

Corresponding author: Mohd Afsahul Kalam, Research Officer Unani, Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine, Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India, Naseembagh Campus, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Phone: +91 7051435488, E-mail: afsahnium@gmail.com

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Director General CCRUM- New Delhi, Assistant Director/In-charge, RRIUM Srinagar and Head, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar for providing the necessary facilities.

Research funding: None declared.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Received: 2020-05-11

Accepted: 2020-08-10

Published Online: 2021-01-29

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jcim-2020-0178

Keywords for this article

ailments; cancer; medicinal systems; physicians; Unani