Herbal Plants in the Traditional Medicine of Bahrain
Traditional medicine is widely sought after and practiced throughout the world to substitute or used alongside conventional medicine. Herbal plants are collected and cut, diced, mashed, boiled and mixed with other natural items and then given to someone who is sick to treat their illnesses. However, what do we really know about these plants and how they can help?
This is where scientific experimentation comes in. Experts can collect and study and then confirm whether these herbal plants can really be of any true use to healing illnesses and diseases.
In Bahrain, the traditional herbal medicine of the native population is widely used and plays an important role ‘the heritage of herbal material medica of the region’. Scholars collected samples of 52 herbal plants, 20 of which were native to Bahrain.
The samples were collected, preserved and prepared “as herbarium voucher specimens to ensure the identity of the native plants. In the second stage of the work a questionnaire was distributed to gather information about medicinal plants and folk medicine as pertaining to Bahrain. The feed-back of this questionnaire was used to construct a list of the indigenous folk-medicinal-plants with some information about the traditional medication and usage. The claim of the medicinal property of the plant was recorded after it was”.
Here are some of the herbal plants and how they are used to treat different illnesses.
Convolvulaceae – The local name for this plant is Ollaig. A perennial herb, the roots and leaves are used as a purgative and anti-haemorrhage respectively.
Cruciferae – The local name for this annual herb is Nedewah. The whole plant is boiled to produce a tonic which is an aphrodisiac and expectorant.
Labiatae – Known locally as Ra-al, this perennial is used to treat gonorrhoea, diarrhoea and piles by boiling the seeds.
Malvaccae – Also known as Khubaiza, this annual and biennial plant can help treat fevers, ulcers and demulcent by making an infusion of the seeds and leaves.
Rhamnaceae – The local name for this tree is Sedr. By eating the fruit and applying the leaves as a topical cream, it is used to help treat headaches and respiratory problems.
The study and reports show that the herbal plants in the traditional medicine in Bahrain can be of great use in treating minor illnesses. Natural cures are sought after by millions of people and new natural treatments are being imported from all over the world. Studies into this will show just how effective they can actually be.
Bibliography:
Abbas, Jameel. A., El-Oqlah, Ahmed A., & Mahasneh, Adel M. (1992) Herbal Plants in the Traditional Medicine of Bahrain, Economic Botany, Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press.
