Medicinal Plants with Abortifacient Activity from Ayurvedic Medicine
Traditional medicinal plants and herbs used in Ayurvedic medicine have been used for many gynaecological disorders for thousands of years, but scientific evidence on their pharmacological properties is lacking. The ultimate objective of this project is to develop a pill from medicinal plants that are scientifically validated using modern biological approaches and cost effective for marginalized rural women. During the project period, the team will do a review of the literature to identify medicinal plants used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine with potential to induce abortions. The use of these plants as abortifacients will be further assessed by interviewing folk medicine practitioners, and a shortlist of the five most promising candidates will be investigated for their biological, pharmacological and chemical properties. Standardized extracts of these plants will be taken to generate chemical phenotypes and carry out detailed chemical fingerprinting using various chromatography techniques. Plants showing potential abortifacient properties will be further tested in laboratory animals.