Ancient respiratory healing traditions in Nepal

Ethnobotanical practices, herbal pharmacology, and their relevance for global respiratory health

Abstract

Respiratory diseases remain a major global health burden, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. Nepal, home to more than 1,700 medicinal plant species, possesses a deep reservoir of ethnobotanical knowledge used for treating cough, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, and other respiratory disorders. Across Ayurvedic, Tibetan (Amchi), and diverse Indigenous healing traditions, respiratory care relies on a pharmacopeia of herbs including Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellirica, Phyllanthus emblica, Acorus calamus, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha arvensis, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and Swertia chirayita. Evidence from contemporary studies confirms the strong anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, bronchodilatory, and immunomodulatory activities of these medicinal plants. These properties have been documented across Nepal’s rural districts, including Kaski, Kavrepalanchok, Bardiya, and the Terai Plains. For example, Terminalia bellirica is widely used for cough and cold, and Acorus calamus for respiratory congestion. Several herbs traditionally used for respiratory infections also featured prominently during Nepal’s COVID-19 response, including Tulsi, Aloe vera, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Mentha species.