Traditional therapeutics in the Nepal Himalaya： a trove of ethnomedicinal plant knowledge

Nepal is an excellent repository of cultural heritage and has a rich tradition of folk practices for wild plants utilization.Local plant-based therapy is a common practice in the rural communities of Nepal.About 80% of the total population in Nepal use traditional herbal medicines for primary health.care and approximately 1700 species of plants is currently being utilized as medicines,both in the crude form as well as processed drugs.Given their extensive range of knowledge on medicinal plants utilization,indigenous people remain the ultimate source for retrieving this information for the purpose of application,particularly in modern medicines.Many studies in Nepal have reported previously undoc.umented use of several medicinal plants with high consensus among the informants regarding their uses.Swertia chirayita,Paris polyphylla,Aconitum spicatum,Dactylorhiza hatagirea,Nardostachys grandiflora and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora are some of the valuable and widely used medicinal plants in Nepal.A high degree of consensus on the use of these Himalayan plants likely suggests their strong therapeutic potential.Since ethnobotanical investigations in the past have led to the development of important anticancer drugs:podophyllotoxin and reserpine as well as drugs,such as vinblastine to treat hyperten.sion,careful and systematic screening of compounds isolated from the Himalayan plants could provide good opportunity for the discovery of new medicines to treat life-threatening human diseases.Particu.larly species with new use reports have lesser known pharmacological potential due to lack of system.atic and reliable studies.Future researches should therefore,be directed towards isolating bio-active compounds from these potentially valuable plants and systematically assessing their pharmacological properties.Because Nepal possesses enormous potential in pharmaceutical research,the "One Belt One Road" initiative of China could provide a great platform in promoting the research-based drug discovery in Nepal.