Indian Tribal population is known for their self-sustainability, including their robust natural health and trivial lifestyle, further traditionally relied on medicinal plants throughout history. The evolutionary history of the ethnic-medicinal bulbous geophyte has long been a contention in monocot systematics. In India, the genus is represented by a species array. Moreover, the phylogeny delimitation amongst them is poorly defined to date. Phenolics, sterols, proteins and some other phytochemicals of Drimia have also been isolated for pharmacological and clinical studies that have strongly recommended their background effect of geographical positioning. Through several in vivo and in vitro studies, extracts derived from Drimia species demonstrated biological activity, including antifungal antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory antioxidant, and insecticidal properties. This review highlights the comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Indian spp. of Drimia and the multi-omics-based approach for species delineation, the discovery of candidate genes and the development of plant-based drugs, as well as the long-term utilisation of plant pharmaceutical resources.

Ethnomedicine refers to the use of medicinal plants by a society, ethnic group or tribe for health benefits and for the prevention, treatment, and cure of different ailments. The healthy relationship between plants and humans has been continuing since the start of human civilization. The present study aims to document the medicinal information about plants used by ethnic people in different wards of Suryabinyak Municipality, Bhaktapur district, to conserve and utilize the traditional knowledge. Ethnomedicinal data were collected by a Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) method such as door to door surveys, direct observation. Individual interviews, field visits, and a questionnaire survey with the guidance of key informants. The present study has documented 107 medicinal plant species under 60 families which are used for prevention and treatment of 39 different diseases like Jaundice, diarrhea, dysentery, and cancer and 46 distinct health benefits like cough, cold, anti-bleeding, stomachache, diarrhea, fever, blood pressure, fracture, toothache, etc. Suryabinayak Municipality has a rich diversity in culture, ethnic groups, and medicinal plants, along with a wide geographic and climatic condition. However, with modernization, urbanization, deforestation, and increasing residential areas, the occurrence and use of medicinal plants have been diminished. Thus, documentation of this research is vital for further pharmaceutical research and enhancement and preservation of traditional knowledge of local people living in Suryabinayak Municipality and Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Ficus thonningii extracts exhibit hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic and antioxidant activities. We investigated the potential of methanolic F. thonningii stem-bark extracts (MEFT) to protect growing Sprague-Dawley (SD) against high-fructose diet-induced metabolic derangements (MD) in a model mimicking children fed obesogenic diets. METHODS: Eighty (40 males; 40 females) 21-days old SD rat pups were randomly allocat-ed to and administered, for 8 weeks, five treatment regimens: 1 - standard rat chow (SC) + water (PW), 2 - SC + 20% (w/v) fructose solution (FS), 3 - SC + FS + fenofibrate at 100 mg/kg bwt/day, 4 - SC + FS + low dose MEFT (LD; 50 mg/kg bwt/day) and 5 - SC + FS + high dose MEFT (HD; 500 mg/kg bwt/day). Body weight, glucose load tolerance, fasting blood glucose and triglyceride, plasma insulin concentration, sensitivity to insulin, liver mass and fat content, steatosis and inflammation were determined. RESULTS: Fructose had no effect on the rats’ growth, glucose and insulin concentration, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity (P>0.05) but increased triglycerides in females; in-duced hepatic microsteatosis and inflammation in both sexes but macrosteatosis in females (P<0.05). In females, MEFT prevented fructose-induced plasma triglyceride increase. Low dose MEFT increased liver lipid content in females (P<0.05). The MEFT protected the rats against hepatic steatosis and inflammation but fenofibrate protected against hepatic mi-crosteatosis. CONCLUSION: MEFT can be used as prophylaxis against dietary fructose-induced ele-ments of MD but caution must be taken as low dose MEFT increases hepatic lipid accretion in females predisposing to fatty liver disease.

Snakebite envenomation, cognized as a neglected tropical disease, is a dread public health concern with the most susceptible groups being herdsmen, the elderly, active farmers, hunters, fishers, firewood collectors, 10 to 14-year old working children and individuals with limited access to education and health care. Snakebites are fragmentarily documented in Uganda primarily because most occur in rural settings where traditional therapists end up being the first line defence for treatment. Ethnobotanical surveys in Uganda have unveiled that some plants are used to antagonize the activity of various snake venoms. This review was sought to compile the sporadic information on the vegetal species reported as antivenins in Uganda. Electronic data indicate that no study entirely reported on antivenin plants in Uganda. A total of 77 plant species belonging to 65 genera, distributed among 42 botanical families claimed as antiophidic in Uganda are used for treatment of snakebites. Majority of these species belong to family Fabaceae (30.9%), Euphorbiaceae (14.3%), Asteraceae (11.9%), Amaryllidaceae (9.5%) and Solanaceae (9.5%). The antiophidic species listed are shrubs (40.5%), trees (32.9%) and herbs (17.7%), usually found in the wild and uncultivated. Antivenin extracts are primarily prepared from roots and leaves, through decoctions, infusions, powders and juices and administered orally or topically. The most frequently encountered therapeutically important species are Allium cepa L., Carica papaya L., Securidaca longipedunculata Fres., Harrisonia abyssinica Oliv. and Nicotiana tabacum L. Baseline epidemiological data on snake envenomation and antivenin plants in Uganda remain incomplete due to inadequate research and diverse ethnic groups in the country. There is a dire need to isolate and characterize the bioactive compounds in the claimed plants to enable their adroit utilization in handling the plague of snake envenomation. More baseline data should be collected on snake ecology and human behaviour as well as antivenin plants in Uganda. Indigenous knowledge on the use of plant preparations in traditional medicine in Uganda is humongous, but if this is not quickly researched and appropriately documented, indications as to the usefulness of this vegetal treasure house will be lost in the not so distant future.