Medico-Religious Plants Employed in Mauritius: A Survey Among Hindu Priests
Mauritius is renowned for its rich floral and cultural diversity. The aim of this study was to identify and document medicinal plants exclusively employed in rituals and to promote wellness among the Hindu community. In addition, it also highlights poorly documented plants with respect to their safe...
Authors: | ; ; ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
[2019]
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In: |
Journal of religion and health
Year: 2019, Volume: 58, Issue: 6, Pages: 2110-2143 |
Further subjects: | B
Hindu community
B Medicinal plants B Medico-religious plants B Mauritius |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
Summary: | Mauritius is renowned for its rich floral and cultural diversity. The aim of this study was to identify and document medicinal plants exclusively employed in rituals and to promote wellness among the Hindu community. In addition, it also highlights poorly documented plants with respect to their safety, efficacy, and herb-drug interaction inducing potential. The informant group included Hindu priests (n = 14) solely, while the relative frequency of citation (RFC) and use value (UV) were utilised to analyse the data. A total of 33 plants were reported in this survey. Sixteen plants were reported by informants to have both medicinal and religious values, while the highest RFC and UV index was obtained by Ocimum tenuiflorum L. (RFC = 0.79; UV = 0.71). Nonetheless, despite known and utilised commonly for years by humanity, various plant species mentioned in this study have been poorly evaluated in randomised clinical trials and for any risks of herb-drug interactions. Hence, there are concerns surrounding the safe use of these plant species particularly among patients suffering from chronic diseases. |
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ISSN: | 1573-6571 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00826-6 |