NOPR Collection:

Traditional wisdom of rural people about primary health care of children

2004-07-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Traditional wisdom of rural people about primary health care of children Authors: Tripathi, Hema; Kunzru, O N Abstract: An attempt has been made to document the indigenous methods of treatment followed by rural families for curing/treating common ailments among children. Data were generated from 300 rural families covering 60 villages of Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 124 indigenous practices were identified and documented under 27 different common ailments found among children. It was observed that 50% respondents were practicing as many as 4-6 different indigenous treatments followed by 42% respondents practicing 7-9 practices. Diarrhea followed by burn and cold was the most common ailment treated by 73, 62 and 60% respondents, respectively. More than 30% of the respondents had the local technical knowledge about fever, dysentery, vomiting, boils, measles, wounds, cough, conjunctivitis and worm infestations separately. About 29% of the respondents were following indigenous treatments of stomachache followed by constipation (25%), stomatitis (22.33%), pneumonia (18.66%), trachoma (13.0 %) and fractures (5.0%). Less then 5% rural families were found to have the knowledge about indigenous treatments regarding, dislocation, chicken pox, scorpion bite, snake bite, removal of thorn and sunstroke, etc. Page(s): 314-324

Indigenous means of communication amongst social dignitaries of Hill Karbis of Assam

2004-07-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Indigenous means of communication amongst social dignitaries of Hill Karbis of Assam Authors: Teron, Robindra; Gogoi, Padmeswar Abstract: Communication is the lifeline of modern civilization. There exist an indigenous means of communication amongst social dignitaries of the Hill Karbis, Assam, India using a symbol called Lam Kido - made out of bamboo splits. In this study an attempt has been made to trace the origin of Kido and its significance in the social life of the Karbis. The study area covers the western part of (Karbi Anglong district, where Lam kido had its origin and its uses still practiced. Lam Kido, often referred as only Kido, is the official means of communication between a Karbi traditional chief Lindokpo, and his subordinate Habe, who looks after the customs and traditions of a designated area called Longri. Only the Lindokpos enjoy the privilege of sanctioning the making of Kido which of course is preceded by a discussion in the traditional council. The Kido or Royal letter is carried by lower level dignitaries Borsinot and Bormiji. The content of the letter is coded in the form of knots in the tail part of the letter i.e. Kido. The study further revealed that though the message for the Habe is verbally passed through the messenger, the message will be considered authentic only if it is accompanied by the Kido from the sender, Lin-dokpo. Page(s): 294-298

Pharmaceutical, physico-chemical and clinical study on "Shuddha Manahshila" with special reference to Kasa Roga

2004-07-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Pharmaceutical, physico-chemical and clinical study on "Shuddha Manahshila" with special reference to Kasa Roga Authors: Kumar, Atul Abstract: Manahshila (Realgar; Arsenic disulphide- As₂S₂), a bright red-orange coloured mineral, is a compound of arsenic and sulphur in 2:2 ratio, which has been described under Uprasa Varga in Rasa Shastra of Ayurveda. It is found in ore form in nature and can also be made artificially. Manahshila is one of the mineral drugs that has history of usage as old as Vedic period. In Rigveda, its usage has been mentioned for environmental purification; whereas, in Athrvaveda and Purana Granthas, its externo-internal usage is mentioned. Manahshila can therapeutically be used only after Shodhana (purification & detoxification). In the present study, the drug was prepared by processing (Bhavita) from approved are of Manahshila with Adraka Svarasa (ginger juice) for 7 days to make the drug more potent for Kasa Raga (cough/bronchitis). The physico-chemical parameters of the prepared drug were also established for the first time by comparing them with the crude drug, which was novel from pharmaceutical point of view. The clinical study of the drug was performed in 25 patients, at a dose of 10-25 mg, three times a day, for one month, with the adjuvant of Madhu (honey). The drug gave good results, particularly in Vataja Kasa (eosinophilia). Page(s): 240-246

Characterization of some traditional fermented foods and beverages of Himachal Pradesh

2004-07-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Characterization of some traditional fermented foods and beverages of Himachal Pradesh Authors: Thakur, Navdeep; Savitri; Bhalla, Tek Chand Abstract: Traditional fermented foods and beverages are very popular in the tribal and rural areas of Himachal Pradesh. A number of fermented foods and beverages were identified and the traditional fermentation processes were studied. Some of the popular fermented foods and beverages were analysed for their microbiological characteristics. The fermented products that are unique to the tribal and rural belts of Himachal are Bhaturu, Siddu, Chilra, Manna, Marchu, Bagpinni, Seera, Dosha, Sepubari, Sura, Chhang, Lugri, Daru, Angoori and Behmi. Besides source of nutrition, these fermented foods e.g. Bhaturu, constitute staple food in larger part of rural areas of Kullu, Kangra, Mandi and Lahaul & Spiti districts of the state while others are consumed during local festivals, marriages and special occasions. Traditional starter cultures like ‘Phab’ (dehydrated yeast formulations), ‘Treh’ (previously fermented wheat flour slurry) and ‘Malera’ (previously fermented wheat flour dough) are the inocula used in preparing fermented products. Microbiological studies revealed that species of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a dominant microorganism in fermentation along with species of Candida, Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus. The ethanol content of some of the fermented beverages was also analysed. Page(s): 325-335