Bryophytes are considered the oldest living plants of terrestrial habitats and closest modern relatives ancestors earliest plants. found on all continents occupy xeric to aquatic niches, with greatest diversity biomass in cool temperate regions. Despite lesser popularity these organisms, bryophytes have ethnopharmacological importance different cultures world, especially Chinese, Indian, Native...

We report a rare case of a patient who was referred to the Department of Oral medicine in Zagreb, Croatia. The patient was 20 years old, otherwise healthy and not taking any medication. She presented with irregular erosions partially covered with pseudomembranes that involved both lips and retrocomissural mucosa. Discrete erosion was also noticed on her lower lingual gingiva in the area 42. She...

Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepalis, three ethnic groups of Sikkim practicing traditional medicines have a strong belief of different supernatural forces and deities. The study is an attempt to focus on the beliefs, practices and prospects of folk healers of Sikkim. The study was conducted in whole Sikkim and the data were collected by the field survey and personal interviews of 102 identified folk heal...

The first of two essays in this issue demonstrated that the United States has had a rich history of medical pluralism. This essay seeks to present an overview of contemporary unconventional medical practices in the United States. No clear definition of "alternative medicine" is offered because it is a residual category composed of heterogeneous healing methods. A descriptive taxonomy of contemp...

In her thoughtful review and synthesis, Karen Gubb overstimates the breadth of resurgent interest among psychoanalysts in psychosomatic medicine. Such a modest revival as there has been reflects primarily the activity of a few authors and editors. Still, after several decades of inactivity following the intense excitement about this subject during the 1940s and 1950s, there has been some renewa...

Pistacia integerrima is one of twenty species among the genus Pistacia. Long horn-shaped galls that develop on this plant are harvested and used in Ayurveda and Indian traditional medicine to make "karkatshringi", a herbal medicine used for the treatment of asthma and different disorders of respiratory tract. However, until now, the molecular mechanisms of action of "karkatshringi" and its chem...

Animals have been used as medicinal resources for the treatment and relieve of a myriad of illnesses and diseases in practically every human culture. Although considered by many as superstition, the pertinence of traditional medicine based on animals cannot be denied since they have been methodically tested by pharmaceutical companies as sources of drugs to the modern medical science. The pheno...

Oriental medicine, since its origin in China, has had a long history extending over 2000 years. Today, it comprises several types of medicine predominately practiced in East Asia, including traditional Chinese, traditional Korean, and Kampo medicine. The distinctive medical system of traditional Korean medicine was established shortly after the publication of Donguibogam by Dr. Heo Jun in 1613....

Traditional methods of treatment for animal diseases, particularly non-infectious diseases, occupy a special place in the history of the Croatian veterinary profession. The use of medicinal herbs in the treatment of various diseases has been described in a large number of publications. Folk medicine also frequently contains an element of magical practices, as well as the use of animal and plant...

A novel sesterterpenoid designated as nitiol (1), possessing enhancement activity of IL-2 gene expression in a human T cell line, was isolated from the Peruvian folk medicine "Hercampuri" (Gentianella nitida). The structure was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic investigation.