Traditional Medicinal Systems: Their Role and Place of the Strategies for Blood Purification in Human Beings

Introduction

Medicinal plants from ancient times have been appreciated and observed as great gifts of nature. Their uses for curing numerous infections and illnesses have been found in all cultures from times immemorial. In the treatment of traditional diseases, naturopathic doctors prescribe medicines made from natural products like herbs, mixture of herbal components, herbal preparations, and flawless herbal products. The use of natural remedies for treating infections have been widely followed by descendants of most countries throughout the globe. In India, the widely followed traditional medicine systems include Unani and Ayurveda. In China, people usually follow and use both traditional medicines and allopathic medicine equally to diagnose, treat and prevent human ailments (Holtz, 2007). Several nations, especially developing countries of the world make use of traditional medicinal system for pharmacological purposes, and 70–95% of the population depends on these traditional medicines for their primary health care. In Mali and most other African countries, 75% of the people living there rely on herbs and their products for treating diseases and as a primary health care (Imperato, 1981). In preparation of these natural drugs, hakims or doctors usually use the entire plant or its different parts like leaves, roots, stems, bark, branches, seeds, etc. In addition, some of the remedies are prepared from excretory plant compounds such as gum, resins and latex and prove effective in treating patients suffering from several illnesses. Most of the people usually prefer to use natural remedies for treating diseases, and try to avoid the extensive use of synthetic drugs and antibiotics because of their associated health risks and toxicity. Scientists throughout the globe pay great attention in the use of these herbal preparations and products to treat people in order to reduce the use of hazardous synthetic drugs.

The use of medicinal plants for preparation of medicines for human use goes back to at least 60 thousand years as per fossil records and spread throughout the globe. In traditional medicinal systems, people use raw natural products and use them as a curative of different human sicknesses and infections. Different traditional medicinal systems operational in different countries like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ayurveda, Kampo, Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), Unani etc. make use of plant derived products or their different parts for preparing herbal medicines from ancient times and are still in use by most people. These distinct types of medicines have certain shortcomings and weaknesses, but they are still a valuable store-house of human knowledge (Fabricant et al., 2001; Alves & Ross, 2007; Shi et al., 2010).

In economically weak developing and underdeveloped countries, the strategies for use of herbal plants are mostly allied with sorcery and delusion due to lack of scientific knowledge about the medicinal values and therapeutic actions of plants. The live illustration of this is the Doctrine of Signatures, and basics of which are known in many healing cultures of the world (Boehme, 1982). The Doctrine of Signatures is built on the hypothesis that the appearance of plants may give signs to their medicinal properties- it is explained as God’s mark on the plant. Sometimes, this concept however works, but still based on myths and illusion (Gurib-Fakim, 2006).

Blood which is referred to as river of life is an imperative transporter of nutrients and oxygen to all parts and organs of our body and thus helps in accurate functioning of each organ. However, this blood gets impure due to various ways like obesity, diabetes, hormonal imbalance, unbalanced consumption ways, late night sleeping habits, eating oily rich and junk foods etc. which ultimately affect human well-being and lead to several dreadful diseases. Medicinal herbs are used directly or indirectly in blood purification, to prevent the rapid transfer of infections, toxins, bacteria, viruses and other impurities in the body. Blood transports oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body and does not function on its own, and thus it is clear that if blood contains unwanted and destructive impurities, they too may be carried through blood to various parts of the body and can cause damage to integral organs. While on the other side, routine body detoxification gives a healthy kick start to our metabolism and immunity which helps to live healthy and extended lifespan with comfort.