Agricultural Research Management Information System

Home
Research Summary
Search
About Us
- ARMIS
- Brochure
Contact Us
Report
User Request
Data Input
Help
- Operation Manual
  - PDF
  - Video
- Program Area & Commodity
We have reached 37600 number of research entries at this moment.

- Logout

Research Detail

Home
Research
Detail

Ethnomedicinal Uses of Herbs by Indigenous Medicine Practitioners of Jhenaidah District, Bangladesh

Shanjida Islam Tumpa
Department of Microbiology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore 7408, Bangladesh

Md. Iqbal Hossain
Department of Microbiology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore 7408, Bangladesh

Tasneema Ishika
Department of Microbiology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore 7408, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Since ancient time, the tradition of ethnomedicine practice has been established in Bangladesh and such medicine practitioners are called Kavirajes. Kavirajes generally work with different plants, particular parts of plants, plant extracts or use extract in different combination. But in spite of its acceptance, the knowledge of Kavirajes on ethnomedicine are not properly documented and preserved. The present survey deals with works four Kavirajes of Jhenaidah district involving 45 herbs as remedy of different diseases. The majority of the herbs belong to Fabaceae, followed by Cucurbitaceae, Liliaceae, Piperaceae and others. Bulb, bark, cord, fruits, flower, leaf, root, rhizome, seed pulp, seed oil, stem and even the whole plant were used for medicinal purposes. The proportion of use of different parts, however, was observed as leaf 35%, fruits 22.20%, roots, seeds 13.30% each; stem 11.10% and whole plant 8.90%. The indigenous practitioners indicated dilution, dose, administration time in their prescription and mixture played a key role in need of combinations of useful extracts. In some cases, carrier materials show a significant function. Knowledge of the ethnomedicine practitioners, if nurtured through proper analysis, quality assessment and with advance researches, would be an asset for treating and preventing diseases of the rural people at minimum cost.

Keywords: Jhenaidah, Kaviraj, Medicinal plants, Ethnomedicine, Infectious diseases, Remedy, Bangladesh.

Location: Jhenaidah district, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

Bangladesh owing to its favorable climatic influences has been blessed with immense natural resources including explored and unexplored medicinal herbs. About 5000 species of phanerogams and pteridophytes grow in Bangladesh and about 1000 of them are medicinally important. In Bangladesh, very few works have been done for the documentation of the works of Kavirajes. The present survey deals with works four Kavirajes of Jhenaidah district involving 45 herbs as remedy of different diseases.

Methodology:

Jhenaidah district is located in the south-western part of Bangladesh under Khulna Division. It covers an area of 1949.62 km² with 1,771,304 people [14]. The present survey was conducted in three adjoining villages of Jhenaidah district, namely Solemanpur, Kaluhuda and Shahpur. A total of four Kavirajes were interviewed in the three villages. Of them Kavirajes Mohammad Abdul Kari (73) and Mohammad Abdur Rashid (65) were from Solemanpur, Kaviraj Ansar Ali was from Kaluhuda and Kaviraj Nozrul Rahman (54) was from Shahpur and had been practicing for 32, 18-20 and 29 years, respectively.

Interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method of Martin and Maundu. Briefly, the Kavirajes were interviewed on day time guided field-walks through areas from where they usually collect their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, local name and described their uses. Kavirajes Mohammad Abdul Kari and Mohammad Abdur Rashid had more than one acre of land around their homesteads to cultivate various medicinal plants for use. All of them were very cooperative in providing the names of medicinal plants that they used for treatment of ailments, methods of formulation and dosages. During the field interview, the information was noted in the note book including the plant species name, biological forms, habitat, and uses.

Source of Information: Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2014; 3 (2):23-33

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Though Jhenaidah district is not far from Narail and Jessore districts and all three districts have almost identical vegetation cover, Mangifera indica was used by the Kavirajes of Jhenaidah district to treat diabetes and dysentery; the same plant was used by the Kavirajes of Narail and Jessore districts for treatment of fistula. Zingiber officinale was used by the Kavirajes in the present study for treatment of cough, acute dysentery, small pox, urticaria (nettle-rash) and loss of appetite, while it was used by the Kavirajes of Narail and Jessore districts for treatment of bone fracture and rheumatism. It is to be noted that the same plant part (rhizome) of Zingiber officinale was used in all treatments, whether be at Jhenaidah, Narail or Jessore districts.

Kaviraj did not have any medical degrees but just obtained his knowledge from previous generations and current practice. The use of oil or ghee in topical applications showed a basic knowledge of topical treatment in the Kaviraj. Oil or ghee helps to spread the applied material more evenly on the skin, acts as an emollient and facilitates absorption of bio-active compounds through the skin. These facts alone suggest that herbal medicinal treatment cannot be simply dismissed as quackery. Through accumulated knowledge over centuries, a Kaviraj can have a meticulous knowledge of not only plants but the best way for administration of the plant for treatment of diseases.

Knowledge Management: Journal