Homeopathic Remedies from the Himalayas

The GREAT HIMALAYAS are renowned for their vast storehouse of medicinal plants. It is one of the vast unexplored regions and a hot biodiversity spot, that lies at the crown of our country.

Hindus refer the quiet and peaceful Mount Kailash of the Himalayas as “the abode of Shiva”, where he feels at home and lives with his wife – Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya. This is the place where, he can meditate without being disturbed by human needs and desires, so he can achieve the highest of all human goals, i.e., Moksha.

The treasury of diverse medicinal plants available in the Great Himalayan Region has been recorded in ancient Indian scripts as far back as 1000 BC. The ancient religious scripture of Hindus, Atharvaveda is the earliest celebrated treatise mentioning the use of medicinal plants of the region. Atharvaveda contains 114 hymns or formulations for the treatment of diseases. Ayurveda, a system of traditional medicine native to the Indian subcontinent, originated in and developed from these hymns. In addition, there is a famous reference in Valmiki’s Ramayana, about the existence of rare medicinal plant Sanjeevani (Selaginella bryopteris) in Himalayas, which saved the life of Lakshman, younger brother of Ram. Over the centuries people have depended on these medicinal plants for treating daily ailments like cough, colds, indigestion, ulcers, sore eyes, etc.

Today, wild plant raw material is in great demand around the world for use by pharmaceutical companies, ethnomedicinal practitioners, and a variety of traditional and Homeopathic medicines. India is one of the world’s major exporters of raw herbal drugs; with Himalayas being the major source for it. 

The Himalayas are among the youngest and most unstable mountain ranges in the world. They isolate the Indian subcontinent securely from the rest of Eurasia, thereby separating the monsoon climate of south Asia from the dry and cold climate of central Asia. The main Himalayan range runs west to east, from the Indus River valley to the Brahmaputra River valley, forming an arc 2,400 km long, which varies in width from 400 km in the western Kashmir region to 150 km in the eastern Arunachal Pradesh region. Most of the Himalayan ranges fall in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The northern slopes are partly situated in Tibet while the western extremity lies in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Himalayas between Tibet and Ganga Plain is a succession of three co-extensive parallel sub-ranges, while two other ranges which are:

• The Greater Himalayas (or Inner Himalayas)
• Lesser or Middle Himalayas
• Shiwaliks or outer Himalayas
• The Trans-Himalayas – Tibetan Himalayas.
• The Eastern Hills – Purvanchal: A chain of hills in North-East India.

Also, the Indian Himalayan Region comprises of five major biogeographical zones:

• temperate conifer, 
• mixed (Himalaya moist and dry temperate), 
• sub-alpine, 
• subtropical (subtropical moist deciduous, swamp and subtropical pine),
• broad-leaved (tropical dry deciduous and subtropical dry evergreen). 

The Himalayas are rich in biodiversity due to the variety of habitats available. This is evidenced by the presence of 21 vegetation types, 10 forest types and 11 forest formations. In the Indian Himalayan Region, there are over 1748 plant species; (1685 – angiosperms, 12 – gymnosperms and 51 – pteridophytes), including 1020 herbs, 335 shrubs and 330 trees of medicinal value (Samant et al., 1998). Berberidaceae, Saxifragaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae and Umbelliferae are some of the leading Himalayan families. 

25 most commonly used homeopathic remedies from the Himalayas are described in the table under:

S. No.	Name of the Medicine	Family	Common Local Name	Common name in English
1.	Aconitum Ferox	Ranunculaceae	Vatsanabha	Monkshood; Leopard’s Bane
2.	Aesculus  indica	Sapindaceae	Khanot; Ban-akhrot	Indian horse Chestnut
3.	Artemisia nilagarica,	Asteraceae	Nagdona; Davana	Mugwort; Indian wormwood
4.	Berberis aristata	Berberidaceae	Daruhaldhi; Citra; Kashmal	Himalayan barberry; Tree turmeric
5.	Cannabis sativa	Cannabaceae	Bhang; Ganja	Marijuana; Hemp
6.	Chenopodium album	Amaranthaceae	Bathua; Bethu	Goosefoot
7.	Cinnamomum tamala	Lauraceae	Tejpatra	Indian Bay leaf
8.	Clematis	Ranunculaceae	Marorphali; Bel kangu; Churanhar	Virgin’s Bower
9.	Crocus Sativa	Iridaceae	Kesar;	Saffron
10.	Dioscorea deltoidea	Dioscoreaceae	Shingli-mingli; Barahi	Nepal Yam
11.	Gentiana kurroo	Gentianaceae	Karu	Himalayan Gentian
12.	Eupatorium cannabinum	Asteraceae		Hemp agrimony; Liverwort
13.	Juglans regia	Juglandaceae	Akhrot; Khor	Walnut
14.	Podophyllum hexandrum	Berberidaceae	Bankakri	Himalayan Mandrake; May Apple
15.	Ranunculus hirtellus	Ranunculaceae	Sarsaupatal	Softly hairy buttercup
16.	Rauwolfia serpentina	Apocynaceae	Sarpagandha	Indian Snakeroot
17.	Rheum australe	Polygonaceae	Rewand Chini	Himalayan Rhubarb
18.	Rhododendron anthopogon	Ericaceae	Atarasu; Talis	Snow Rose
19.	Solanum nigrum	Solanaceae	Makoi	Black nightshade
20.	Taraxacum officinale	Asteraceae	Dudhi; Kanphool; Kukraundha	Dandelion
21.	Taxus Baccata	Taxaceae	Birmi; Barahmasi	Yew
22.	Tinospora Cordifolia	Menispermacea	Giloy	Moonseed
23.	Urtica dioica	Urticaceae	Bichchhu buti; Kali; Kandadli	Stinging nettle
24.	Valeriana	Valerianaceae	Jatamansi; Nihanu; Mushakbala	Valerian
25.	Withania somnifera	Solanaceae	Asgand, Ashwagandha	Indian Ginseng

There still remains concealed many unexplored medicinal plants. Some of the above mentioned plants are used in the form of medicines as the same species, while the others are used with same genus but different species. Obviously these require an extensive reproving.  I hope that the homeopaths wanting to work on medicinal plants will find this special article helpful in moving forward in their important quest of contributing in the area of medicine, drug discovery, and conservation of medicinal plants, etc.

Self-medication is never to be encouraged as it can be harmful. Choice of the right remedy in the right dosage should solely be left upon your homeopathic physician. Timely visit to your nearest homeopath can prevent unnecessary hospital visits and further health problems. For online consultation or any related queries consult our expert homeopathic doctors and book an appointment with us.

Note: The author disclaims all liability for any loss or risk, personal or otherwise incurred as a consequence of use of any material in this article. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.