Chemical investigation of Medicinal Plants of Kashmir Swertia Petiolata

Abstract

The thesis deals with the study of plants which have been utilized for their therapeutic and prophylactic properties by the great civilizations of the past to conquer diseases and elude death The knowledge about drugs gained through centuries of plant use led to the development of different systems of medicine in different regions of the world at various times The medical systems of India China and Egypt preceded the Greco Roman and the European beginning of modern medicine Allopathy Ayurveda with its origin traced to Rigveda was developed into an elaborate medical science as established by Charaka and Susruta Samhita These two medical works composed not later than one thousand B C give a detailed description of medicinal plants with their specific names and uses besides often grouping plants on the basis of their curative actions