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An Ethnobotanical Survey and Pharmacological Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Used by the Garo Tribal Community Living in Netrakona District, Bangladesh

Mohammed Rahmatullah
Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative House No. 78, Road No. 11A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Bangladesh

Israt Jahan Mukti
Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative House No. 78, Road No. 11A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Bangladesh

A.K.M. Fahmidul Haque
Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative House No. 78, Road No. 11A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Bangladesh

Md. Ariful Haque Mollik
Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative House No. 78, Road No. 11A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Kanta Parvin
Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative House No. 78, Road No. 11A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Rownak Jahan
Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative House No. 78, Road No. 11A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Majeedul H. Chowdhury
New York City College of Technology The City University of New York Broooklyn, NY 11201, USA

Taufiq Rahman
Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road CB2 1PD, Cambridge, UK

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The Garos form the largest tribal group of people of north-central Bangladesh residing mainly in Mymensingh, Netrakona, Gazipur, Sherpur and Tangail districts. Although a number of Garos have recently adopted Christianity, they basically follow their own religion with its associated customs and rituals. The Garos also have their own traditional healers known as khamal or kamal, who serve as their primary health-care providers. In the absence of their own alphabet and because of their settlement in a number of districts, traditional medicinal uses of plants differ between the khamals, who besides arranging festivals also treat patients and are considered experts on medicinal plants. It was the objective of the present study to conduct an ethnobotanical survey of the Garos residing in Netrakona district, Bangladesh because such information is lacking for the Garo community in this district. After obtaining informed consent from the healers, a semistructured questionnaire was used to interview the various healers practicing within the community. Ethnobotanical methods like guided field walks were undertaken, where the informants showed the medicinal plants used by them from areas where they usually collected them and at the same time mentioned their names and described their uses. Plant specimens were collected and dried on the field and later brought back and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. The names and uses of 74 plant species distributed into 45 families were obtained in the present survey. The Fabaceae family provided the largest number of plant species (eight), followed by the Araceae, Asteraceae, Moraceae, Solanaceae, and Verbenaceae families (three plants each). Leaves formed the major plant part used (33.6%), followed by whole plant (15.9%) and fruits (15.0%). The various ailments treated by the plants included respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal disorders, sprains and fractures, skin ailments, malaria, mental disorders, hepatic disorders, diabetes, influenza, urinary tract infections, hypertension, debility, measles, chicken pox, toothache, gynecological problems, sexual disorders, and helminthiasis. Some plants were also used as antidote to poison, diuretic, and abortifacients. Reported pharmacological studies validate the use of a number of medicinal plants by the khamals. Taken together, the medicinal plants used by the Garos form a rich source of indigenous knowledge and through proper scientific studies can form the basis for discovery of lead compounds, which can play a role for various therapeutic purposes.

Keywords: Garo, Ethnobotany, Netrakona, Bangladesh

Location: Netrakona district in Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

The objective of this present study was to conduct an ethnobotanical survey among the khamals of the Garo community living in Netrakona district, Bangladesh to document their medicinal plant usage and to compare their use of medicinal plants with that of the Garo community living in the Madhupur forest region of the country.

Methodology:

2.1. Study area Netrakona district in Bangladesh is situated roughly between 90^o 30' - 91^o 15' E and 24^o 35' - 25^o 15' N. The district is comprised of several sub-districts. The present survey was conducted among the khamals of Garo communities living in the villages of Ranikong, Madhavpur and Bipinganj, all villages being situated within Durgapur sub-district.

2.2. Data collection and sampling techniques A total of five khamals were interviewed in the present survey. They were all males and named Raja, Xavier, Sentu, Semintas, and Badsha. Among them Xavier has adopted Christianity and regularly goes to a church located between Madhavpur and Bipinganj villages, where he has picked up acquaintances with the church doctor (a modern allopathic doctor). Xavier, however, practices the traditional system of Garo medicine (including diagnosis and treatment of ailments), which he has picked up from his family. Nevertheless, he has picked up a few medical terms like cancer and diabetes from the allopathic doctor. However, his diagnosis and choice of medicinal plants for treatment of the above two diseases did not differ from the other khamals, who diagnose diabetes and cancer, respectively, by the sweetness of urine, and by the presence of symptoms like weakness, loss of appetite, fever, itches that do not heal, or swellings, and which cannot be attributed to any of their known ailments. It needs to be pointed out in this respect, that diabetes is a known ailment of the khamals who refer to it as “chini-rogh”, “chini” standing for sugar and “rogh” standing for disease. Cancer is a modern term picked up by the khamals, who do not understand it properly and attributed it to unexplained symptoms as described earlier.

Informed consent was obtained from the healers prior to the survey. The purpose of the survey was explained to them in details and they were told that the survey had no other intentions apart from documentation of their medicinal plant usage. The survey was conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. Interviews were conducted in the Bangla language, all healers being fluent in the language spoken by over 95% of the Bangladesh population. The local names of the medicinal plants, however, were given in the Habeng language spoken by the Garos and which was found to have similarities to the Bangla language. The basic survey method was that of the guided field-walk method as described by Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995). In this method, the khamals took the interviewers to the areas from where they collected their medicinal plants and gave information as to plant name, plant parts used and ailments treated. All information was cross-checked with the khamals in later evening sessions. Plant specimens were collected and dried on site and brought back to the Bangladesh National Herbarium for identification, where voucher specimens were also deposited.

Source of Information: Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 3(3): 402-418, 2009 ISSN 1995-0772

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The use of a number of medicinal plants by the Garo healers of Netrakona district finds support from scientific studies conducted on these plants regarding their phytochemical components as well as pharmacological activity studies. This validation indicates that the use of medicinal plants for treatment of specific ailments by indigenous healers need not be ignored by modern science; instead, this ethnobotanical information can form the basis for further studies leading to the development of lead compounds and newer drugs. Certainly, the available studies indicate that plants like Centella asiatica, Ageratum conyzoides, Terminalia arjuna, Moringa oleifera, and Aegle marmelos present excellent potential for development of drugs leading to treatment of both widespread but common ailments like gastrointestinal disorders, as well as complicated ailments like diabetes and heart diseases, which are prevalent throughout the world population and which cannot be treated satisfactorily with modern allopathic medicine. Many other plants have not been studied at all scientifically thus far. The importance of the present survey lies in the knowledge gained from indigenous tribal healers, which can in turn, lead to scientific research on the plants, leading to discovery of novel efficacious drugs. The study, through highlighting these medicinal plant species, can also serve an important purpose in the cultivation and conservation of these plants, many of which are getting endangered in the wild.

Knowledge Management: Journal