Exploring Medicinal Plants of Indian Knowledge System (I.K.S.) As A Sustainable Resource for Health Care

सार

Medicinal plants provide prophylaxis and treatment to almost 80% of the world’s population. Developing countries have now understood the importance of sustainable development to be economically self reliant. Sustainable growth may be defined as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the capacity of future generations to satisfy their own demands. In order to safeguard their survival and prevent pollution, humanity must take good care of its natural resources and avoid overusing them since they are a significant source of renewable energy for the environment and the planet. Plants continue to supply us with the products and services that are vital to our survival and progress.

They obtain the necessities of life from their environment, but they give back far more to the environment than they take: they are a textbook example of sustainable regeneration since they enrich the soil, feed other species, and absorb carbon dioxide.  Thanks to medicinal plants like Bacopa monniera (H-Brahmi), Convolvulus pluricaulis (H-Shankhpushpi, Chenopodium album (H-Bathua), Hibiscus rosasinensis (H-Gurhal), Moringa oleifera (H-Sahjan), Curcuma longa (H-Haldi) etc, natural resources provide us food, medicines, and raw materials such as wood, fibers, and even fuel. They also help to preserve soil quality, regulate humidity, generate the oxygen we breathe, and maintain a stable climate. Ethno-medicinal plants are respectful of biodiversity and beneficial to the ecosystem, as they possess several curative properties like antioxidant, anti-malarial, antiviral, antibacterial etc to cure various diseases and disorders including nervous disorders and hair growth. Mankind should use more plant-based therapies to cure diseases to minimize problem of side-effects, also they are being economical to the patient, and are biodegradable also. There must be regulatory checks and control to prevent their overexploitation and extinction.  Judicious uses of resources and their management are the key sources of environmental, social, and economic sustainability for a disease free world.