Traditional Herbal Remedies of Sri Lanka

Dr. Viduranga Waisundara obtained a PhD in food science and technology from the Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, in 2010. She was a lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore, from July 2009 to March 2013. Following this, Dr. Waisundara relocated to her motherland of Sri Lanka and spearheaded the Functional Food Product Development Project at the National Institute of Fundamental Studies from April 2013 to October 2016. Then, she was a senior lecturer on a temporary basis in the Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Technology, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, from January 2017 to July 2018. She is presently the Coordinator of the Science Programs and the Acting Deputy Principal of the Australian College of Business and Technology – Kandy Campus, in Sri Lanka. Dr. Waisundara currently serves as the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI) Ambassador to Sri Lanka. She is also the co-chair of the GHI Working Group on Nutrition since November 2018. She has played an active role in spreading the word about harmonizing food safety regulations based on scientific facts and improving food security. She has been an invited speaker in international conferences and participated in local school events in Sri Lanka to spread awareness on functional food and dietary habits. Together with these commitments, Dr. Waisundara has also contributed to one of the recent initiatives of the National Education Commission of Sri Lanka to evaluate postgraduate research in the country for formulating policies and regulations. Being a prolific writer, Dr. Waisundara has worked on many research publications and written articles for newspapers, newsletters, and magazines. She has edited/co-edited the following books by InTech Publishers, Croatia: Superfood and Functional Food: Development of Superfood and their Roles in Medicine; Super Food and Functional Food: An Overview of their Processing and Utilization; Cassava; Diabetes Food Plan; Palm Oil; and Biochemistry of Fatty Acids. She also writes poetry, and her poems on scientific matters are available in the GHI Newsletter (August 2016) and on the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine (SfRBM), USA – Women in Science webpage. As a dynamic reviewer for several journals, Dr. Waisundara was awarded the Sentinels of Science Award in September 2016 in the field of agricultural and biological sciences by Publons, UK, for outstanding contributions in reviewing research. She was also recognized as one of the top one percent of reviewers for multidisciplinary areas of science by Publons in 2017 and top one per cent of reviewers in the area of agricultural sciences. She serves on the editorial boards of the following journals: Asian Journal of Medical Principles and Clinical Practice; Annual Research & Review in Biology; Frontiers in Nutrition; and Frontiers for Young Minds. Viduranga’s interest in traditional medicinal systems stemmed from her postgraduate research project. She worked on assessing the anti-diabetic properties of Scutellaria baicalensis, which was an herb used for the treatment of diabetes in traditional Chinese medicine. The all-inclusive nature of traditional medicines existing around the world were a point of attraction for her, and a concept that she found to occur in the traditional medicinal system of Sri Lanka, as well. Her family has been very supportive of her interest, and she continues to write about traditional medicinal herbs and their scientific basis of application, so as to popularize these medicines globally.

Introduction



Sri Lanka: The Pearl of the Indian Ocean



Traditional medicinal practices in modern times



Causes and prescribed herbal remedies of some common disease conditions



Arthritis



Cancer



Cardiovascular disease



Diabetes



Gastrointestinal disorders



Hypertension



Skin disorders



Scientific evidence on the therapeutic properties of some popular herbs and spices of Sri Lanka



Aegle marmelos



Alternanthera sessilis



Annona squamosal



Artocarpus communis



Cassia auriculata



Centella asiatica



Coccinia grandis



Cinnamomum zeylanicum



Momordica charantia



Murraya koenigii



Pterocarpus marsupium



Salacia reticulate



Scoparia dulcis



Wattakaka volubilis



Concluding remarks



Safety and quality assurance



The way forward: A SWOT analysis.