Ragi (Eleusine corancana, family Gramineae) as medicinal herb in Chhattisgarh, India.
Ragi (Eleusine corancana, family Gramineae) as medicinal herb in Chhattisgarh, India.
Pankaj
Oudhia
Extended
Summary
© Pankaj Oudhia
Ragi or Mandua is an important minor millet grown in different parts of India. It is a staple food crop in many hilly regions of the country. In Chhattisgarh, I have seen its commercial cultivation in Northern-Hilly region of Chhattisgarh. In Southern part of Chhattisgarh, it is also under cultivation. It is cultivated as Kharif crop (rainy season crop). In different parts of India, it is grown both for grain and forage. According to reference literatures, it is a nutritive food for adults of different ages. Ragi grain contains 9.2 percent protein, 1.29 percent fat, 76.32 percent carbohydrates, 2.24 percent minerals, 3.90 percent ash and 0.33 percent calcium. It is good for the patients suffering from diabetes. According to Ayurveda, Ragi grain is acrid, bitter, tonic, cooling and useful in treatment of biliousness and blood diseases. Botanically, Ragi is an erect, tufted annual, growing upto 125 cm in height. It tillers profusely. Leaves are linear with distinct midrib, ligule and a fringe of hairs. The tillers bear at the end of the culm, Ear heads which consists of a whorl of finger like spikes (two to eight in number) in which spikelets are arranged closely on both sides of a slender rachis. The spikelets contain three to eight seeds which hare very small in size and generally reddish-brown in colour.
The traditional healers of Chhattisgarh consider Ragi as medicinal herb also. They use it alone or in combination with other herbs in treatment of many diseases. When I asked them regarding its suitability for the diabetic patients, the healers replied that Ragi as food is suitable for any person engaged in heavy physical work. The diabetic patients living luxurious life and doing more mental exertion than the physical work, when consumes Ragi, it results in many harmful effects. According to them, by nature it is hot and its presence inside the body upto long time may result in upset of digestive system. The traditional healers of Northern Chhattisgarh use the whole herb of Ragi externally in treatment of swellings. In form of aqueous paste, the healers of Chhattisgarh Plains use the whole herb in combination with other herbs, in order to suppress the small boils. The healers of Bagbahera region use Ragi leaves in treatment of problematic wound resulted due to spider poison. It is considered as important remedy in this treatment. The healers of Southern Chhattisgarh use the whole herb in dry form in treatment of Bavasir (Piles). The herb is burnt and the patients having the problem of Bleeding Piles are advised to expose the anus in fumes. The healers use it in combination of Kukronda (Blumea lacara) leaves also. Ragi is grown organically in Chhattisgarh.
Although the above mentioned traditional medicinal uses are important but not enough to establish Ragi as medicinal crop in Chhattisgarh. Through the ethnobotanical surveys conducted in different parts of Chhattisgarh I am trying my best to gather more information on traditional medicinal uses of Ragi.
Thank you very much for reading the article.
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