Plants Remedies for Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases in the United States of America: Knowledge Among the Inhabitants of Los Angeles within California

Background: Plants remedies are in great demand in both developed and developing countries in primary healthcare because of their great efficacy and no side effect. Today according to the World Health Organization, as many as 80% of the world’s people depend on herbal medicine for their primary healthcare needs. The studies were to interact with neighborhood herbal healers as well as residents and document their knowledge on plants remedies, their usage, and the types of inflammatory diseases treated etc.. Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state of California, and the second most populous in the United States of America, and the herbal healing systems are still popular here.

Methods: The studies were conducted during November 2009 to October 2011 using semi-structured, open-ended questionnaires, informal interviews, and group discussions with neighborhood herbal healers as well as residents having thorough knowledge about plants remedies. The data such as local name of plants, plant parts used, application etc. were collected. The voucher specimens of the plants collected during the studies were properly identified with help of floras.

Results: The studies were includes information on 24 plants remedies used for wide range of inflammatory diseases. Out of 24 plants studied, 09 plants are used against asthma, 06 plants are used against arthritis, 05 plants are used against dermatitis, 03 plants are used against rhinitis, 03 plants are used against paediatrics, 01 plant is used against ulcerative colitis, and one plant is used for centipede poisoning. Of these, 11 uses of 08 plants (asterisked in enumeration) form new reports of Los Angeles California United States of America after comparing with the classical literature and recent research papers on the subject matter.

Conclusions: There is enough scope of the amalgamation of these plants in the main stream of prenatal medicine suggest today after the plants drug are subjected to the phytochemical and biological screening, together with clinical trials.