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Use of Plants in Healthcare: a Traditional Ethno-medicinal Practice in Rural Areas of Southeastern Bangladesh

Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury
Forest Policy Laboratory, Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, 8304 Minamiminowa-Mura, 399- 4598 Nagano-Ken, Japan

Masao Koike*
Forest Policy Laboratory, Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, 8304 Minamiminowa-Mura, 399- 4598 Nagano-Ken, Japan

Nur Muhammed
Forest Policy Laboratory, Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, 8304 Minamiminowa-Mura, 399- 4598 Nagano-Ken, Japan

Md. Abdul Halim
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh

Narayan Saha
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh

Hajime Kobayashi
Laboratory of Forest Environment and Ecology, Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Nagano-Ken, Japan

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

This study considered traditional ethno-medicinal practices of rural people of Feni district, Bangladesh, focusing on their utilization of medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge. Ninety households were interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire. Plant resources are used to treat 26 different ailments ranging from simple cuts to diabetes. In total, 46 medicinal plants are as used, of which a third are trees. Homesteads are the primary source and few medicinal plants are cultivated. Aboveground plant parts are most used, particularly leaves. The diverse patterns of use of different medicinal plant parts shows the considerable indigenous knowledge of rural people and is generally widely available.

Keywords: Medicinal plants; Ailments; Indigenous knowledge; Using pattern; Biodiversity; Bangladesh

Location: Feni, a district in southeastern Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

The present study was undertaken in Feni, a district devoid of natural forests, which is a transitional zone between the southeastern vast hilly region of the CHT and other plains regions of the southern and middle part of the country. Its aim was to assess plant-based ethno-medicinal practice and document IK associated with it.

Methodology:

Study area: The study was carried out in rural areas of Feni, a district in southeastern Bangladesh with an area of 928 km2. It consists of six upazillas (sub-districts): Chhagalnaiya, Daganbhuiyan, Feni Sadar, Parshuram, Phulgazi and Sonagazi. The district was chosen because it is a transitional zone between the southeastern vast hilly region (i.e. CHT) and other plains regions in the southern and middle of the country. The annual average maximum and minimum temperatures are 34.3C and 14.4C, with an annual average rainfall of 3302 mm. The district supports a population of 1,196,219, with a literacy rate of 40.7%. Most people (36.7%) have agriculture as their major occupation. There are 74,824 ha of cultivable land and 772 ha of fallow land (Sultan 2004). The main rivers are the Feni, Choto Feni and Muhuri; the landscape comprises the Tripura valley (as the district is bordered by the Tripura hills of India to the east), Feni River estuary and green agricultural fields (BTTG 2008). Feni is one of 28 districts where marginal lands have become forested with both indigenous and exotic tree species, with herbs and shrubs as understorey. From the six upazillas of Feni, Sonagazi was selected for detailed study because it is the southernmost region facing the Bay of Bengal and bordered by two rivers – the Feni and Choto Feni – to the east and west. The upazilla is more or less flooded during the rainy season, resulting in deposition of sediments that increase the productivity of land, ultimately contributing to its botanical diversity. Methods The study was conducted from early March to late July 2007, using a multi-stage random sampling method. From the upazilla, three villages were selected at random: one in the northeast, one in the southwest, and the other in the middle of the upazilla, so that the findings would reflect the whole upazilla. From each of the three villages, 30 households (irrespective of socio-economic condition) were selected randomly for the comprehensive study. Thus a total of 90 households were selected. Before the household survey, casual field visits were arranged within the villages with local old people, religious leaders and other key informants to review and document the availability of medicinal plants in the locality. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information in interviews with the household heads, with help from other family members when necessary. The respondents were asked about the medicinal plants they use, parts used, ailments treated, patterns of use and maintenance of medicinal plants. The plants used for medicinal purposes were first recorded using local names. In some cases, an immediate visit to the habitat was organized with the respondent to identify the species by its conventional Bangla name. Although local names of plants vary from region to region, established Bangla names have been well documented by Dey (2006) together with local names. Once local names had been obtained, the corresponding Bangla names were found by reference to Dey (2006) and, in some cases, by showing photographs to respondents. Finally, scientific names and family were obtained by consulting published literature (e.g. BARC 1972–1992; Chopra et al. 1992; Chevallier 1996; Das and Alam 2001; Dey 2006).

Source of Information: International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management Vol. 5, No. 1, March 2009, 41–51

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Rural people have a strong reliance on plant resources for everyday healthcare. Because of their high dependence on plants for medicinal uses, they have an intimate understanding of the ecology and, in some cases, the silviculture of different species. Such knowledge could easily provide the basis for commercial farming of selected plants, which could decrease the need to import medicinal raw materials, thus benefiting the national economy. The State Forest Department could foster medicinal plant cultivation involving local people in terms of training, technology, raw materials, supervision and marketing. IK-based folk medicine is specific to ecosystems and ethnic communities, with different characteristics in different localities (Zuberi 2004). Prakash (1999) suggested that such knowledge increases the efficiency of screening plants for medicinal properties by more than 400%. The IK practiced by rural people can also be used in the conservation of forest resources, as proposed in the Convention on Biological Diversity. When leaves are the main part used for medicine, and they are not overharvested – as often happens commercially – but used for everyday treatment, rural people ensure sustainability in natural resource utilization, and this may be the key factor in conservation of plant diversity. Full understanding of the medicinal values of plants used by rural people requires chemical analysis of the plant parts, which may provide suggestions for research on the properties of those plants for treating diseases. Such research, linked to experimental trials of the effect would increase confidence of traditional users and healers. Both government agencies and non-governmental organizations have roles to play in this regard.

Knowledge Management: Journal