Role of Natural Herbs for Soothing Gastric Problems

Abstract

Gastritis is becoming a major health issue nowadays which make our stomach feel uncomfortable. This is one of the prevalent challenge we encounter in our daily use. Even though we have many allopathic drugs to treat the condition but due to its adverse effect people are opting for herbal drugs. Our study objective were to determine the most often utilized medical herbs and their efficacy in reducing gastritis in rural Kerala residents by conducting an online survey. By this survey, we deducted that a significant portion of the population relies on natural remedies for the proper management of gastritis with ginger being the most frequently used one.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

The role of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is  to convert the food stuff into nutrients, which in turn provide energy vital for life.  Various organs have essential functions  in  this  organ system. The stomach, present in the upper GIT, plays one of the most important  roles in  digestion. It uses chemical  and mechanical action to churn and break down the food coming from  the  oesophagus. 

Thus,  it  has  been  noticed  that  an unhealthy  stomach  leads  to  a  wide  variety  of  problems, involving indigestion, malnutrition and unwanted weight loss [1]. One very common digestive system problem is gastritis. The stomach mucosa eruption is the cause of any digestive discomfort. 5-10% of people worldwide suffer from peptic ulcers [2]. Acute (short term) or chronic (long term) inflammation can be caused by a number of things, including auto immune disorder, stress, bacterial infections, excessive alcohol intake, smoking and long-term use of non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs [3].   Indigestion, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, weight loss and bleeding are some of the symptoms of gastritis [4]. Up to 80% of children under the age of ten years old in developing nations have H. Pylori infection. In India the infection prevalence is 22%, 56% and 87% in children ages 0-4, 5-9,10-19yrs age [5].

There are many herbs used to relieve gastritis and showed beneficial effect in either treatment or prevention of gastritis [6]. The goal of our study was to find out the common herb used by village people of Kerala and several herbs have been shown to be effective in treating gastritis.

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The questionnaire is based on the study which was done among the population who were using natural herbs for the treatment of gastritis.

In this study, Google forms were used to collect responses from the questionnaire.In our survey, we posted a standardized online questionnaire on the social networking website: Google form. The questionnaire was a combination of multiple choice. An online questionnaire was programmed using Google forms, from 21 May 2024 to 31 May 2024.A questionnaire included 11 questions in total.

This study questionnaire was adopted in English language and. questionnaire was sent through whatsapp groups and e-mail to general public. By this study, the submitted information will be used for determining the most common natural herbs used by the village people of Kerala for treating gastritis.

1. These were the questions that we asked in the questionnaire

• Name           
• Gender

2. Which type of medications you prefer?

• Herb
• Allopathic
• Both

3. What type of herbs you go for?

• Garlic
• Peppermint
• Ginger
• Cumin
• Fennel seeds
• Amla
• Clove
• Mint leaves
• Other

4. Are you a regular user or occasional user?

• Regular
• Occasional

5. Are you using single herb or combinational herb?

• Single
• combination

6. Have you felt any side effect due to its use?

• Yes
• No

7. How long have been using this herb?

• Day
• Week
• Month
• Year

8. Do you feel any reduction in your gastric problem by using this herb?

• Yes
• No

9. Are you using any other allopathic medicine along with this natural herb?

• Yes
• No

10. Do you think using herbal remedies are better option than other methods?

• Yes
• No

IV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author is thankful to the Department of Pharmacognosy, Nehru College of  Pharmacy, Thrissur, Kerala for encouraging and providing necessary facilities.

Conclusion

Nowadays the utilization rate of natural medicine for the treatment of gastritis is very high and it is preferred over other treatments due to its less side effects. Ginger is the most common natural herbs used by the village people of Kerala.

References

[1] Asma Bashir, Neha Farid, Kashif Ali, Kiran Fatima. Gastritis: a brief review of herbal treatment and conventional therapy alternatives. Science International .2021;33(2):189-192, [2] Lauret ME, Rodriguez-Pelaez M, Rodrigo L. Disease of the spinal cord. J Gastrointestinal Hepatobiliary Dis. 2015; 1(1):105. [3] Jaiswal F, Roy AK, Wall P, Wall A, Singh SP. Peptic ulcer: a review of its etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Asian J Pharmaceutical Educ Res. 2021;10(4):01-1 [ PubMed ] [4] Narayanan M, Reddy KM, Marsicano AD. Peptic ulcer disease and Helicobacter pylori infection. J. Mo Med Assoc. 2018;115(3):219-2 [5] Adalekha S, Chadha T, Krishnan P, Sumangala B. Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal biopsy in a medical college hospital in Kerala, India. Ann Med Health Information Review. 2013; 3(4):559–563. [6] Bashir A, Farid N, Ali K, Fatima K. Gastrointestinal disorders: a brief review of herbal and traditional medicine. Sci Int. 2021;33(2):189-1

Copyright

Copyright © 2024 Mrs. Jasna T J, Manikkan Ruby, Saranya S P, Marva Ashraf, Akshaya Unni K C. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.