Identification of New Medicinal Plants Enumerated In Telugu Cantos of Basavarajeeyam

Background: Basavarajeeyam is an important handbook for the Ayurvedic physician of Andhra region. It is a bilingual work with content presented in Sanskrit and Telugu languages. Aim: The herbs that have been described in Telugu verses of Basavarajeeyam are considered to be significant contribution to the Indian system of medicine. Keeping this in mind, an attempt was made to re-identify those herbs. Materials & Methods: The entire text was analysed and scrutinized to spot and tabulate the herbs. The data obtained from this conceptual analysis was used for the further field survey. The collected data of the field study was subjected to botanical identification. The analysis was done in consultation with regional research centers situated in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states and botanical survey unit of Coimbatore. Appropriate Latin name of non-controversial source plants were incorporated and critically discussed. Results: In the Telugu cantos totally 268 herbs are mentioned out of which 29 herbs are exclusively mentioned which are not repeated either in Sanskrit or in Parentheses. Conclusion: In entirety Basavaraju contributed 14 new herbs, out of which 10 drugs were mentioned in Telugu cantos and 4 drugs in the rest of the text.