Projects done by our students of upper primary in science: January 2021

Analysis of COVID-19 pandemic and identifying remedial measures to minimize the spread using traditional knowledge

V.Jeevitha – VIII Standard

G.Anjali - VIII Standard

Government Middle School, Manapet

Puducherry

Guide Teacher:

V.Jayasundhar. TGT

Government Middle School, Manapet, Puducherry

9488494481, jaya.sundhar@gmail.com

School email: gmsmanapet2010@gmail.com

Contents

Sl.No Topic Page No.

1. I. Objective 4

2. II. Introduction 4

3. III. Review of Literature 4 - 13

4. IV. Methodology 13 - 15

5. V. Analysis 16 – 22

6. VI. Result and Findings 23 – 24

7. VII. Conclusion 24

8. VIII. Future Scope 24

9. References 25 – 26

10. Annexure 27 - 36

Abbreviations:

1. Sl.No. - Serial Number

2. COVID 19 - Corona Virus Disease of year 2019

3. N95 - Not resistant to oil, Respirators that filter out 95 percent of

airborne particles

4. PPE - personal protective equipment

5. ft - feet

6. in - inch

7. lb - pound

8. kg - kilogram

Acknowledgement

We students of Government Middle School, Manapet, Puducherry sincerely thank our Headmaster Mr. Palanisamy sir, and all the staff who helped us in completing this project.

We thank our parents who supported us in all our activities

We thank the Doctors of Primary Health Centre of Pilayarkuppam and Kirumampakkam for helping us to analyse about COVID 19

We thank our Science Sir Mr. V.Jayasundhar, Guide Teacher for helping us in all the respect of research done in this project

Analysis of COVID-19 pandemic and identifying remedial measures to minimize the spread using traditional knowledge

I. Objective:

1. To analyze the COVID – 19 pandemic in our village

2. To identify the remedial measures to minimize the spread using traditional knowledge

II. Introduction:

As like every other area in the world our village is also in pandemic from its outbreak. Our people in the village are in lockdown since March 2020. But after September 2020 many people started to go back to routine because of many of them are daily wages and lower middle class and without work they were not paid and it is very difficult to live sustainably. Since our Government of India stressed standard operating procedure SOP which should be followed by all of us when we are going in public. We are going to analyze this of how people are aware of COVID-19 and follow the standard operating procedures in day to day life. And also since our living place in a village how many of them or following the healthy practices which they learnt from their ancestors traditionally for preventing themselves from these kind of pandemic situations and also try to identify the remedial measures to minimize the spread using their traditional knowledge.

III. Review of Literature:

Many of our Indian in specific South Indian herbs were been used by our ancestors for respiratory problems and other related ailments. We reviewed many sources which were given below in related to the herbs for minimizing the pandemic and increase the immunity in us.

1. Justicia Adathoda:

The Leaves, flowers, fruits and roots of adathoda are used in the preparation of the drugs in siddha medicine to cure various diseases such as coughs, colds, asthma, skin infections, fever, bleeding piles and inflammation.

Figure 1: Justicia Adathoda

Tamil Name: Vaasai

Family: Acanthaceae

Botanical Name: Justicia Adathoda

a. Properties of Adathoda

· Taste-Bitter

· Property- Light

· Vigor-Heat

· Section-Pungent

b. Actions of Adathoda

· Antibacterial

· Antibiotic

· Antidiabetic

· Antihemorrhagic

· Antispasmodic

· Bronchodilator

· Diuretic

· Expectorant

· Hypotensive

· Mucolytic

· Sedative

· Spasmodic

c. Active Component

Vasicine an active component present in the adathoda is effective for inflammation caused by bacteria and reduces fever.

d. Chemical Compounds

The chemical compounds (Alkaloids) present in the adathoda leaf are used for treating the patient suffering from E-Coli, Typhoid and Pneumonia.

e. Antibacterial Action

The antibacterial action in the adathoda helps to treat patients suffering from inflammation and fever and the bitter taste of the adathoda leaf avoids insects.

f. Adathoda – Medicinal Plant Leaf or Root Kasayam/Tea Preparation

Preparation of Adathoda leaf or root Kasayam/Tea is simple. Soaking few leaves of Adathoda /the roots of Adathoda in the water and boil the water well to extract the medicinal properties of the Adathoda.

g. Medicinal uses of Adathoda

1. Consuming Adathoda Kasayam/Tea with honey reduces cough, cold, blood pressure, fever and tuberculosis.

2. Adding a Cardamom when preparing the tea and drinking twice a day can cure cough, fever and blood pressure.

3. Adathoda Tea/Kasayam is a good expectorant when it is prepared with Adhimadhuram (Liquorice), Thippili (Piper Longum), and Thalisa Pathiri (Abies Spectabilis). It is also good for patients suffering from Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis.

4. Suffering from swelling or arthritic pain? Applying the leaves paste on the affected area gives relief.

5. Drinking adathoda kasayam/tea controls dysentery.

6. Consuming Melugu Patham thrice a day can cure all Kabha related diseases. (Melugu Patham – A paste prepared by heating the juice of the leaves with Thippili (Piper Longum) powder.

7. Adding Kandankathiri (Solanum Surattense) root when preparing the adathoda root kasayam and drinking it with honey controls cough.

8. Adathoda root tea cures urinary retention

9. Adathoda root, kandankathiri (Solanum Surattense) root, Sukku (Zingiber Officinale), Kollu (Macrotyloma Uniflorum) with water and heat the ingredients well to make it as a Kasayam, Drinking the Kasayam with some Allikilangu powder controls bronchial asthma.

10. Soak Adathoda root, grape (Vitis Vinifera) and Kadukai (Terminalia Chebula) in water and prepare kasayam/tea. Take this kasayam with honey/sugar can controls blood pressure and asthma.

11. Heating the flower of adathoda and applying over the eyes yields better results to eye related problems.

2. Plectranthus amboinicys:

Karpooravalli scientific name is Plectranthus amboinicus and once it was identified as Coleus amboinicus. Karpooravalli is also known as Indian Borage in English. The leaves are tender and soft with an astringent taste from the juice when it is chewed raw. Sadly, Karpooravalli can be cooked and eaten raw. Any South Indian household with a baby or child will definitely come across Karpooravalli which is famous as traditional medicine. I have personally used it for my 2 years old son when he develop chesty cough and flu.

a. Karpooravalli Health Benefits and Medicinal uses

- Helps to alleviate cold and cough.

- Used to reduce nasal congestion and sore throats in adults.

- Karpooravalli concoction is used to treat asthma and bronchitis.

- Helps in digestion if stomach is upset.

- Used in cooking and flavouring of dishes.

- Karpooravalli is also planted to keep aedes mosquitoes away in Tropical countries.

Karpooravalli can be planted in Mediterranean and sub-tropical climate too. It needs some heat to grow well. Green house can be utilized to trap the heat needed by the plant. Frequent watering is also required during hot summer months for the leaves to stay fresh and healthy.

Figure: 2 Plectranthus amboinicys

3. Piper betle:

The betel (Piper betle) is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. Betel leaf is mostly consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants, as betel quid or in paan, with areca nut and/or tobacco.

In India and Sri Lanka, a sheaf of betel leaves is traditionally offered as a mark of respect and auspicious beginnings. Occasions include greeting elders at wedding ceremonies, celebrating the New Year, and offering payment to Ayurvedic physicians and astrologers (to whom money and/or areca nut, placed on top of the sheaf of leaves, are offered in thanks for blessings).

The betel plant is an evergreen perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkin. The betel plant originated in South and South East Asia.

Figure 3: Piper Betle

In India, Betel leaf (BL) plays an important role since ancient culture. Its use in India dates back to 400 BC. As per ancient books of Ayurveda, Charaka, Sushruta Samhitas, and Kashyapa Bhojanakalpa, the practice of chewing BL after meals became common between 75 AD and 300 AD. Toward the 13^th century, European traveler Marco Polo recorded betel chewing among kings and nobles in India.

Importance of BL has been described in ancient books of Ayurveda. Use of BL was known for centuries for its curative properties. In Chinese folk medicine betel leaves are used for the treatment of various disorders and claimed to have detoxification, antioxidation, and antimutation properties. There are number of research experiments on BL, where the leaf extract, fractions, and purified compounds are found to play a role in oral hygiene, and to have various properties including anti-diabetic, cardiovascular, anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory, anti-ulcer, hepato-protective, anti-infective, etc., Patents were also awarded for some of the biological activities like anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and immunomodulatory associated with the leaf extracts and purified compounds.

There is archaeological evidence that the betel leaves have been chewed along with the areca nut since very ancient times. It is not known when these two different stimulant substances were first put together. Betel leaves are used as a stimulant, an antiseptic, and a breath-freshener, whereas areca nut was considered as aphrodisiac.

Chewing habits of people have changed over time. The betel leaves are chewed together in a wrapped package along with areca nut and mineral slaked lime. Catechu (kattha) and other flavoring substances and spices were also added subsequently. For many decades, tobacco has also been added to the BL package. The practice of chewing BL has been decreasing progressively and now the Quid comprising of tobacco, areca nut, and slaked lime (gutkha) is generally in practice.

Although use of BL was wide spread in ancient times, but there has not been strong evidence of incidence of oral cancer in ancient times.

Various experiments evaluating effects of BL suggested no harmful effect when consumed alone. Bhide et al. demonstrated effect of aqueous BL extract where administration of areca nut extracts in Swiss and C17 mice developed different types of cancer while control group and mice fed with aqueous BL extract did not develop any tumors. Shirname et al. conducted experiments in which Swiss mice were given aqueous extracts of Betel Quid and its components by gavage. Mice fed with BL extracts alone had comparable tumor rates with those of controls. Rao et al.[4] compared tumor development in Syrian golden hamsters which received topical applications of aqueous extracts of tobacco, areca nut, or BL. Animal treated with tobacco and areca nut had tumor development rate of 15 and 10%, respectively, whereas untreated animals, treated with BL alone, and treated with vehicle did not develop any tumors.

BL extract even showed beneficial effect in terms of reduced tumor growth rate in animal tumor models. Rao et al. demonstrated that the extract of betel leaves inhibited emergence of DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats. However, it did not inhibit the growth in already induced mammary tumors. Chemopreventive effect of betel leaves was demonstrated by Bhide et al. where administration of BL extract lowered the benzo[a] pyrene induced fore-stomach papillomas in Swiss mice. Maximal inhibition of papilloma development was observed in mice receiving hydroxychavicol-a constituent of BL extract.

Thus, there is abundant evidence showing beneficial effects of BL alone in experimental animals, but its validation in humans is still lacking. There is no head to head comparison of incidence of oral cancer in Quid chewers with or without BL.

Shetty et al. in this issue of SAJC have nicely demonstrated the advantage of BL in maintaining salivary ascorbic acid levels in humans. Salivary ascorbic acid may help prevent carcinogenesis in the oral cavity, but the effects of quid/tobacco at other sites of body may still continue. At the same time, there is no long term follow up of study patients which could have given an insight into the development of oral cancer in Betel Quid v/s Quid chewers alone. Based on this study, we cannot recommend chewing of Quid even with BL as there is no long term follow up and more studies including epidemiological and basic science studies are warranted to clearly establish the role of BL in preventing carcinogenesis.

a. The increase in industrial and vehicular pollution has led to the rise in Asthma cases around the world. Other factors that trigger asthma are anxiety, depression and an overactive immune system.
In this disease, the air passage in the lung compresses making it difficult for the person to breathe in an effortless manner. There are many medicines available in aiding Asthma, including synthetic steroid-based inhalers, but they do not offer a long-lasting solution to this debilitating disease.

Figure 4: Inhalers are used worldwide by people with respiratory problems. Photo: AFP

4. Azadirachta indica:

Protective effects of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) leaf extract against cigarette smoke- and lipopolysaccharide-induced pulmonary inflammation:

Figure 5 : Azadirachta indica

Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) leaf has been reported to exert anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of neem leaf extract (NLE) against cigarette smoke (CS)- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary inflammation. Treatment with NLE significantly attenuated the infiltration of inflammatory cells, such as neutrophils and macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). NLE also reduced the production of reactive oxygen species and the activity of neutrophil elastase in BALF. Moreover, NLE attenuated the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-6 in BALF. NLE inhibited the recruitment of inflammatory cells and the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in the lungs of mice with CS- and LPS-induced pulmonary inflammation. NLE also decreased the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the lungs of the mice CS- and LPS-induced pulmonary inflammation. Furthermore, treatment with NLE significantly attenuated the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in the lungs mice exposed to CS and LPS. NLE also inhibited the phosphorylation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) in the lungs of mice expose to CS and LPS. These findings thus suggest that NLE has potential for use in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

5. Carcia papaya:

When it comes to natural means of controlling health issues, we often think of neem, basil, dandelion, aloe vera and mint leaves. The new addition to this list is papaya leaf that has medicinal properties. Even Ayurveda considers it an effective means to control a few life-threatening diseases. Though it might be difficult to consume leaves directly, it is advisable to consume it in form of juice. Read this article to know how to make papaya leaf juice and its effective health benefits.

Figure 6: Carcia papaya

Fresh papaya leaf juice contains essential compounds like papain and carocain that boost the platelet count and reduce infection during dengue fever. It is suggested to take a dose of 25ml of papaya leaf juice in water twice a day for effective results.

Fresh papaya leaves are rich in papain, chymopapain, and essential fibre that when consumed in form of juice improves digestive system and control issues like bloating, heartburn, constipation and bowel movement.

Papaya leaf juice cleanses your blood by lowering the cholesterol levels. This lowered cholesterol level further minimizes lipid peroxidation, and the liver is protected from all sorts of free radical-induced inflammatory diseases, such as cirrhosis and jaundice

IV. Methodology:

A. Mapping the area :

Mapping the area of our village with the help of Primary Health Centre Doctors and Nurses for the data required about people affected and not affected and recovered. Other than that the following materials were also required for the analysis.

Materials required:

1. Android phone with data

2. Google Earth Software.

3. Plants Identification software

Manapet Village, Bahour commune, Puducherry.

Latitude: 11.862532, Longitude: 79.780157

Figure 7: Government Middle School, Manapet Village, Map(Source Google Maps).

Figure 8: QR code for directions to Government Middle School, Manapet from Puducherry White Town.

Figure 9: Letter from a Primary Health Centres about data of cases in their respective region.

We gathered information from our nearby Primary Health Centres namely, Primary Health Centre, Pilyarkuppam and Primary Health Centre, Kirumampakkam of Puducherry were we live. We got information that 54 people were been Corona Positive in Pillyarkuppam and 15 people were been with Corona positive in Kirumampakkam.

B. Identification of herbs:

Identification of herbs prescribed by our elders as folk remedy for boosting up the immunity which helps to minimize the pandemic in our village is done.

C. Preparation of Immune Boost drink:

With the help of the traditional knowledge got from elders a new immune boost drink is formulated for minimizing the pandemic in our village.

Preparation procedure:

Ingredients

1. 5 fresh leaves of Justicia Adathoda

2. 2 fresh leaves of Plectranthus amboinicus

3. 2 fresh leaves of Piper betle

4. 5 fresh leaves of Azadirachta indica

5. 1 leaf of Carica papaya

Steps involved:

1. All the leaves were taken and washed thoroughly in fresh clean water.

2. The leaves were chopped and kept separately

3. A vessel with 250 ml of fresh drinking water is taken

4. The water is allowed to boil

5. When the water is getting boiled the chopped leaves should be added in it.

6. The contents with water should be boiled for 5 minutes until the extracts in the leaves were mixed in water.

7. After cooling the extract is to be filtered

8. The extract is the immune drink which should be used for increasing immunity.

This is the YouTube link of how to prepare the Immune Boost Drink:

https://youtu.be/7QivR7d4Q00

V. Analysis of Data:

Graph: 1 Total numbers of Adult and Children wearing masks vs not wearing masks.

Duration: 30 days

From: 15-10-2020 to 15-11-2020 (30 days)