Ethnic Aphrodisiac Plants

Book excerpt: Sex' has played a key role in all cultures. Many stories and anecdotes fill the history with incidents of sex and related acts, especially of Kings and Kingmen who received treatments for increasing their vigour and vitality from `Dhanvanthris'. Many plants have been used traditionally for this purpose. Recent upsurge of `Viagra' in media is a well known story. However, the knowledge of aphrodisiac plants is necessary for everyone to lead a healthy and psychologically contented life. From the ancient times, this subject has aroused interest, but, there is hardly any attempt to bring together the widely scattered information available till date, so as to provide baseline data for researchers and students alike. With this sole objective in mind, the present compendium has been prepared with all the earnest efforts to provide information on Botanical names, Synonyms, Family, English, Hindi and Sanskrit names, Distribution, Parts used, Active constituents, Aprhodisiac preparation and Biological activity of over 456 species belonging to 331 genera under 116 families of which, 2 species (2 genera) belong to Fungi, 2 species (1 genus) to Lichens, 6 species (5 genera) to Pteridophytes, 6 species (3 genera) to Gymnosperms and the remaining 456 species (320 genera) to Angiosperms having 360 species among dicotyledons. The original source of information is also given. For ready reference to contents and from the point of view of lay readers, 8 useful appendices and 43 colour photographs have been provided. It is hoped, that, this invaluable compendium with its comprehensive coverage of the subject will provide a distinct baseline for scientists, students and professionals, working in the field of economic botany, ethnobotany and the science of reproductive biology. CONTENTS1. Introduction and the Previous Work2. Methodology of Study3. Observations4. Discussion and Conclusions5. Literature CitedAppendixââ ¬â¬SI. Index to Format for the Compilation of Ethno- botanical Information on Aphrodisiac PlantsAppendixââ ¬â¬SII. Index to Total Number of Genera and Species under Various Divisions of Plant KingdomAppendixââ ¬â¬SIII. Index to Total Number of FamiliesAppendixââ ¬â¬SIV. Index to Aphrodisiac Uses of Various Species under a Genus Appendixââ ¬â¬SV. Index to Botanical NamesAppendixââ ¬â¬SVI. Index to English NamesAppendixââ ¬â¬SVII. Index to Hindi NamesAppendixââ ¬â¬SVIII. Index to Sanskrit Names