Medical Treatment of Various Diseases through Nagarmotha (Cyperus rotundus) Plant (Published)
Nagarmotha (Cyperus rotundus) is found throughout India. Its genus name Cyperusis derived from Cypeiros, an ancient Greek name and rotundus from a Latin word for round and refers to the tuber. It is locally known as “Mutha”. The plant is a widely used traditional medicinal herb in India, China, Japan, Korea, Combodia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh.The plant produces rhizomes, tubers, basal bulbs and fibrous roots below ground and rosettes of leaves, scapes and umbels above ground. The rhizomes of nut grass is widely utilized in ancient medication round the world to treat various diseases like constipation, dysentery, abdominal distention, animal tissue stomach ache, chest pains, irregular catamenia, painful catamenia, skin diseases, staphylococcal infection infections, leprosy, sprains and br uises, and fever, analgesic, sedative, medication, anti malarial drug, abdomen disorders, and diarrhoea . C. rotundus has the properties of antimicrobial activity, anti-lesion activity, analgesic activity, anti inflammatory activity, anti diarrhoeal activity, antipyretic activity, medication activity, anti-emetic activity, tranquilizing activity, anti urolithatic activity, antispatic activity, hypolipidaemic activity, wound healing activity, medication activity, inhibitor activity, metastatic tumor activity, antifungal activity, antidiabetic drug activity, anti-obesity activity, anti-allergic activity, anti-blood platelet impact, opposing rheumy activity, anti malarial drug activity, gastroprotective activity, hepatoprotective activity, cytoprotective impact, hypotensive activity, ovicidal and larvicidal activity .The petroleum ether extract and essential oil of C. rotundus possessed analgesic activity. Phenols and alkaloids are the active constituents of C. rotundus. C. rotundus preparations (powder in fine suspension, aqueous and alcoholic extracts) exhibited a lipolytic action and mobilized fat from the adipose tissues and thus helping to reduce the obesity. Methanolic extract of the fresh aerial part of the Cyperus rotundus was fractionated by column chromatography method using petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. The ethyl acetate fraction showed potent antibacterial activity compared to control and standard commercial antibiotic tetracycline. It is a widely used plant in traditional medicine around the world for treatment of various diseases. It is deemed with infinite medicinal properties authenticated by the scientific committee. The rhizomes of C. rotundus are used as traditional folk medicine for the treatment of stomach and bowel disorders and inflammatory diseases in Asian countries. The use of the plant as an analgesic, anti-arthritic, antibacterial, anti-cancer, anti-candida, anti-convulsant, anti-diabetic, anti-emetic, anti-histaminic, anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial, anti-obesity, anti-pyretic, anti-spastic, gastroprotective, hypotensive, sedative, and tranquilizing agent has been documented by varios scientists. Ethnobotanical use of C. rotundus showed that the rhizomes were used to treat aging, apoptosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, cystitis, epilepsy, genotoxicity, hirutism, nociception and prostatitis disorders. The tuber part of C. rotundus is also used for the treatment of dysmenorrheal and menstrual irregularities from ancient times. The rhizome of C. rotundus are α-cyperolone, β-cyperone, ρ-cymol, calcium, camphene, copaene, cyperene, cyperenone, cyperol, cyperolone, caryophyllene, cyperotundone, d-copadiene, d-epoxyguaiene, isocyperol, isokobusone, kobusone, limonene, linoleic-acid, linolenic-acid, mustakone, myristic acid, oleanolic acid, oleic acid, β-pinene, patchoulenone, rotundene, rotundenol, rotundone, α-rotunol, β-rotunol, β-selinene, selinatriene, sitosterol, stearic acid, sugeonol, and sugetriol. Phytochemical constituents of C. rotundus revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, tannins, steroids, starch and many novel ses-quiterpenoids. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons such as cypera-2, 4(15)-diene, isorotundene, norrotundene and the oxygenated compound cyperadione were isolated and identified.
Keywords: Diseases, Medical Treatment, Nagarmotha (Cyperus rotundus), plant
HEALTH AND CARE DEVELOPMENT:AN EXPLORATION OF FACTORS THAT HAMPER BETTER PALLIATIVE CARE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (Published)
Palliative care is a special care for patients with active, progressive, advanced disease where the prognosis is short and the focus of care is the quality of life. It is a basic human right to provide comfort, assistance and relief. Its principles are not peculiar to the care of the dying but are the integral features of all good clinical care -freedom from pain and the alleviation so far as is possible, of all physical, psychosocial and spiritual suffering; the preservation of dignity; the utmost respect for honesty in all our dealings with these patients and their relatives. Palliative care remains significant in health care but its recognition in most sub Saharan African countries is low. Therefore, to help widen and sustain the scope of palliative care, this article aims to identify the factors that are impeding its development in Ghana. The research employed the use of interviews and questionnaires to retrieve information from a cross-section of health practitioners and general public across the country. The data showed that, many respondents from the general public had little or no knowledge about palliative care even though a similar method of care is provided for terminally ill relatives mostly in their homes. Respondents indicated factors such as; religio-cultural attitudes towards the death and dying, high cost of health care services and lack of funds for the provision of special care, as hampering palliative care in Ghana. As a result, this article prompts that palliative care must be a public health priority and there must be a merger of the general (Western) palliative care concept into that practiced in sub-Saharan Africa (which must adapt to the needs and context of care in Africa).
Keywords: End-of-Life, Health and Human Development, Medical Treatment, Palliative Care, Terminal Illness and Factors