Medicinal plants in skin diseases: a survey among ayurvedic practitioners in Kalutara, Sri Lanka

Background: Sri Lanka has had a well-developed ayurvedic system of medicine before the Western allopathic medical practices became widely available. Even now, a large segment of the population seeks ayurvedic treatment, particularly in rural areas. Some of the plants used by ayurvedic practitioners for skin diseases may have medicinal properties.

Methods: Registered ayurvedic practitioners of Kalutara District were sent a postal questionnaire to name the ten most commonly used medicinal plants prescribed for skin diseases, the part(s) of plants used, and the diseases they are used for. The botanical names corresponding to the Sinhala names were checked from reference books on medicinal plants in Sri Lanka.

Results: Thirty-four of 109 registered ayurvedic practitioners had replied. Altogether, they had named 165 plants used in skin diseases topically. The most commonly used plants are Azadirachta indica (margosa) 88.2%, Curcuma longa (turmeric) 67.6%, Cassia alata (winged senna) 47.1%, Sesamum indica (sesame) 47.1%, Herpestis monnieria 38.2%, Mimosa pudica (Sensitive plant) 38.2%, Tamarindus indica (tamarind) 35.3%, Cocos nucifera (coconut) 29.4%, Momordica charantia 23.5%, Tinospora cordifolia 23.5%, and Cassia tora (fetid cassia) 23.5%. Approximately 50% of responders prescribed plant leaf as the most effective part of the plant as opposed to root, bark, flowers, juice, rhizomes, etc. There was some uniformity in the use of various plants used in many diseases. However, lack of uniform terminology and difficulty in translating disease names or symptoms mentioned by the responders directly to scientific medical terms prevented further analysis of this aspect.

Conclusions: Many plants used by ayurvedic practitioners in Sri Lanka are used in various parts of the world as herbal medicines. Several of these plants have been found to have medicinal properties by scientific experiments by others. It is important to record and preserve these plant resources, as valuable drugs may be extracted from some of these plants. As much as investigating possible benefits of plant products, the side effects of the herbal medicines too should be studied.