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...

Descrizione completa

Salvato in:  
Dettagli Bibliografici
Pubblicato in:Journal of religion and health
Autori: Luximon, Krishnand (Autore) ; Mahomoodally, Mohamad Fawzi (Autore) ; Sreekeessoon, Uddhav (Autore) ; Suroowan, Shanoo (Autore)
Tipo di documento: Elettronico Articolo
Lingua:Inglese
Verificare la disponibilità: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Caricamento...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Pubblicazione: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. [2019]
In: Journal of religion and health
Altre parole chiave:B Hindu community
B Medicinal plants
B Medico-religious plants
B Mauritius
Accesso online: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Descrizione
Riepilogo: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.
ISSN:1573-6571
Comprende:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00826-6