Deciphering and Preserving Ola Leaf (Puskola) Medical Treatises: Safeguarding Sri Lanka's Secret Lineage Recipes

Abstract

Countless life-saving medical prescriptions in Sri Lanka remain recorded exclusively on palm-leaf (Puskola) manuscripts preserved by generational physician families (Paramparika Veda Parapura). This paper details the chemical degradation risks facing cured palmyra and talipot leaves, the traditional methods of fumigation with dummala oil, and the current status of high-resolution multispectral digitization efforts aimed at making ancient botanical taxonomies accessible to modern pharmacology.