Table 1.

Traditional uses of Rheum australe (Himalayan Rhubarb)

S. no.	Ailment	Plant part used/mode of use	Vernacular name/place	References
1	Asthma/bronchitis	Rhizome/pills made from powder roasted with butter are given for about a month	Archu, Chukri, Leechu/Nanda devi	Rana et al. (2010)
2	Body/muscular pain	Rhizome/mixture of rhizome paste, turmeric powder and refined fat is used	Archu/Uttarakhand	Semwal et al. (2010)
3	Boils	Rhizome/decoction mixed with ghee or oil is applied around boils for few days	Tukshu, Lichu, Artho, Chucha/Himachal Pradesh	Lal and Singh (2008)
4	Bone ache/bruises	Rhizome/paste fried with turmeric and ghee is applied	Archu, Dolu/Dehradun	Bhatt and Negi (2006)
5	Cold/cough	Rhizome/paste given orally	Archu/Uttarakhand	Semwal et al. (2010)
6	Constipation	Rhizome/oral administration of watery extract	Chukri, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh	Sharma et al. (2004)
7	Cuts	Petiole, leaves/not specified	Tukshu, Padamchal/Himachal Pradesh	Ghimire (2007)
8	Dysentery	Rhizome/watery extract is given orally	Archu, Chukri, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh	Semwal et al. (2010) and Sharma et al. (2004)
9	Ear ache	Rhizome/rhizome juice is used as ear dropping	Chukri, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh	Sharma et al. (2004)
10	Flatulence	Whole plant/not specified	Archo/Himachal Pradesh	Sharma et al. (2011)
11	Frost bite	Rhizome/paste applied on affected areas of the body	Pumbachalan, pumbhakh, chotial, markochel/Kashmir	Malik et al. (2011) and Pandith et al. (2014)
12	Goiter	Rhizome/paste given for a week—1 g/day	Dolu/Uttarakhand	Phondani et al. (2010)
13	Headache	Root/paste is applied on forehead	Chukri, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh	Sharma et al. (2004) and Kunwar and Adhikari (2005)
14	Internal injury	Rhizome/paste is given orally	Archu/Uttarakhand	Semwal et al. (2010)
15	External injury	Rhizome/application of watery paste	Chukri, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh	Sharma et al. (2004)
16	Joint pain	Root stock/powder mixed with mustard oil is applied on joints	Chukri/Jammu	Kumar et al. (2009)
17	Laxative	Rhizome, leaves/not specified	Chukri, Leechu, Tukshu/Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh	Latif et al. (2006) and Bisht and Badoni (2009)
18	Mumps	Rhizome, root stock/external application of watery paste	Archa, Chuchi, Chukri, Tukshu, Leechu/Jammu, Himachal Pradesh	Sharma et al. (2004), Kumar et al. (2009) and Chauhan (1999)
19	Scabies	Root, rhizome/decoction applied to affected areas for few days	Tukshu, Lichu, Artho, Chucha, Leechu, Chukri/Himachal Pradesh	Lal and Singh (2008)
20	Stomach ache	Rhizome, leaves, root/oral administration of watery extract; pills made from powder roasted with butter are given for about a month; paste taken orally	Chukri, Leechu, Pambachalan, Archu/Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Uttarakhand	Rana et al. (2010), Semwal et al. (2010), Sharma et al. (2004), Chauhan (1999) and Sharma et al. (2004)
21	Swellings	Rhizome/poultice made from whole plant is heated and applied to the affected part	Chukri/Himachal Pradesh	Uniyal et al. (2006)
22	Teeth cleaning	Root/paste is applied for teeth cleaning	Chukri, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh	Chauhan (1999) and Acharya and Rokaya (2005)
23	Tonsillitis/throat swelling	Rhizome, root stock/watery extract is used orally	Archa, Chuchi, Chukri, Tukshu, Leechu/Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir	Kumar et al. (2009) and Chauhan (1999)
24	Wound healing	Rhizome, root/powder or paste is used over the wound area; decoction mixed with ghee or oil is applied around boils for few days	Archa, Chuchi, Chukri, Chukri, Leechu, Tukshu, Lichu, Artho, Chucha/Garwal, Nanda Devi, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh	Lal and Singh (2008), Sharma et al. (2004), Malik et al. (2011), Kumar et al. (2009), Chauhan (1999) and Nautiyal et al. (2003)