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An Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants Used by Tribal and Native People of Madhupur Forest Area, Bangladesh

Md. Khirul Islam
Pharmacy Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

Sanjib Saha
Pharmacy Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

Imran Mahmud
Pharmacy Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

Khalit Mohamad
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Khalijah Awang
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Shaikh Jamal Uddin
School of Medical Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast campus, Queensland, Australia

Md. Mustafizur Rahman
Pharmacy Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

Jamil A. Shilpi
Pharmacy Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Madhupur forest area, Tangail is one of early human settlements in Bangladesh. Having abode in the vicinity of the forest, a strong ethnobotanical practice has prevailed in this area since ancient time. Due to the rapid deforestation during the last few decades, many plants have already disappeared or are facing extinction. Thus we attempted to document the medicinal plant use of Madhupur forest area with a view to preserve the ethnobotanical knowledge and in order to protect the biodiversity of this area. Materials and methods: The fieldwork was conducted during a period of 1 year. Data was collected by interview, questionnaire, and group discussion with randomly selected informants including indigenous, tribal people, and Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) living in the study area. Recorded plants are listed along with their indication, part used, form of preparation and use value (UV). Results were also analysed to determine informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) of the plants on the basis of their use under various ailment categories. Results: The present study has documented 78 medicinal plant species from 45 families used for the treatment of at least 77 different major and minor ailments and conditions. Medicinal plant species were categorised as tree, shrub, tuber, herb, and climber. Leaves were found to be the most frequently used plant part while decoction is the major form of preparation. In most cases preparations are either administered orally or applied topically. Conclusion: The present study revealed that some of the well-known medicinal plants are used extensively demonstrating an effective ethnobotanical practice in the study area. Plants with high ICF and FL values can be subjected to bioassay guided investigation while plants which scored low UVs require bioactivity screening to justify their use for the reported ailment.

Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, Traditional health practitioners, Garo tribe, Use value Informant consensus factor, Fidelity level

Location: Madhupur forest area, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

This work provides a comprehensive overview of ethnobotanical practices of Madhupur region. It not only contributes to the future preservation of this knowledge but also present the knowledge to the scientific world to help facilitate ethnopharmacology based drug discovery.

Methodology:

2.1. Study area Madhupur Forest is situated at the central part of Bangladesh and offers dense vegetation due to its tropical moist climate. Geographically, Madhupur forest. It is situated almost 50 km south of the Garo Hills and about 151 km north of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The forest is about 20 m above the mean sea level. The Madhupur forest, also known as ‘Madhupur Garh’, is elevated about 1–2 m in height over the surrounding plains. The forest is somewhere partly thin, partly dense and has scrub jungles also. To prevent further deforestation, it has been declared a reserved forest which covers an area of 44,292.40 acres. Administratively, total Madhupur area is distributed into 5 Ranges and 10 Beats. Geographically, Madhupur forest is situated in the centre of the Ganges–Brahmaputra Meghna delta. The soil is yellowish-red, sandy clay mixed and compact but melts with the rainfall and becomes tenacious and soft. Bangshai River on the west and the Banar River on the east are the main rivers around the forest. The area has a monsoon climate typical for the Indian Subcontinent. Average annual rainfall is 2650 mm. Maximum and minimum annual temperature is 33.8 and 11.6 1C, respectively. Annual relative humidity ranges between 22.8% (average minimum) and 97.4% (average maximum). According to an unpublished data collected by a joint study of Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organisation (SPARSO) and the Department of Forest in 2007, the unique flora and fauna of Madhupur forest area has reduced by 85% in the last 40 years (The Daily Star, 2013). The forest area faces further reduction in size in coming years due to increased human activities (Banglapedia, 2003). 2.2. Sampling of informants The study was conducted from September 2011 to December 2012 following the standard protocols for the collection of ethnobotanical data (Alexiades, 1996; Martin, 2004). Permission to perform ethnomedicinal survey in Madhupur forest area was given by the authority of Tangail Forest Division. Information was collected from local traditional health practitioners (Kabiraj/ Ayurved/Hakim/Unani/independent healer/other), indigenous and tribal (Garo, Koch and Hajong communities) people with practical knowledge on the use of medicinal plants for various remedies. Fieldwork comprised of interviewing a total of 210 people which include participants from aforementioned categories. A good proportion of the respondents were from the Garo, the most abundant and one of the most ancient tribes of Madhupur region. 2.3. Ethnomedicinal data collection The purpose of the fieldwork was explained to healers, in particular that the sole purpose of the survey had no other intention except the documentation of their medicinal plant usage. Knowledge in local language of the first author of this article was considered as an added advantage for interviewing tribal people. The survey was conducted through semi-structured, open-ended interviews (Martin, 1995). The questionnaire was designed to address the following information of plants used in ethnobotanical practice: local name, source, used plant part(s), preparation method, and relative abundance of the plant in study area. Social bio-data of the participants such as age, class, gender, experience, and educational background were also recorded. 2.4. Plant identification and herbaria Upon identification of the plant under scrutiny by the interviewee, samples were collected for the preparation of voucher specimen. For some samples, voucher specimens were prepared at later stages when the trees were in bloom or having fruits. The voucher specimens were submitted to Bangladesh National Herbarium and were identified by the experts. 2.5. Data analysis The information was arranged in alphabetical order of the scientific names of the plants along with the family, local name, used plant parts, mode of application, and mode of preparation, habit, habitat and name of the diseases they are indicated for. The results were further analysed and presented on the basis of their use and disease categories. 2.5.1. Use value (UV) Use values (UV) are calculated for individual plants to give a quantitative measure of its relative importance to the informants objectively (Phillips et al., 1994). Use value was calculated by the equation: UVs 1/4 ΣiUVis=ns where ‘UVs’ refers to the use value of a species, ‘UVis’ refers to the number of use reports cited by the informants for that plant species and ‘ns’ refers to the total number of informants interviewed. Generally UV is calculated to determine the extent of medicinal use for a given plant species. Plant with broad therapeutic uses or those that are widely accepted for the cure of a particular ailment will score a high UV. 2.5.2. Informant consensus factor (ICF) Informant consensus factor (ICF) was calculated to determine the homogeneity of the information for a particular plant to treat a particular ailment (Heinrich et al., 1998; Canales et al., 2005). ICF values ranges from 0.00 to 1.00. High ICF value (approaching 1) of an ailment category is obtained when one or a few plant species are documented to be used for the treatment of that ailment by a large proportion of the informants, whereas a low ICF value indicates that informants disagree over which plant to use. ICF is calculated using the following formula: ICF ¼ ðNur NtÞ=ðNur 1Þ where ‘Nur’ refers to the total number of use reports for a particular illness category, and ‘Nt’ refers to the total number of species used for this illness category. In order to apply the above parameter, several diseases are placed into broad ailment category on the basis of similarity.

Source of Information: Journal of Ethnopharmacology 151 (2014) 921–930

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Most of the communities in the region live in remote areas away from towns and have only limited access to the modern healthcare facilities. For the daily need of medical treatments they heavily depend on ethnobotanical practice. The resent investigation gives an overview of the medicinal plant use in Madhupur forest area. The present investigation identified 78 plant species used for 77 different ailments, which can be further subdivided in 17 major ailment categories. Extensive use of plants to manage dermatological (27 species) and gastrointestinal disorders (55 species) signifies that these two diseases are quite widespread in the study area. Thus, while this survey report will preserve the medicinal plant use of this area, some implication can also be concluded from this survey which includes proper steps for the propagation and conservation of the medicinal plants including the vulnerable species, validation of their use and proper patronisation of the ethnobotanical practice to complement the less accessible modern healthcare facilities.

Knowledge Management: Journal