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A Survey on Medicinal Plant Usage by Folk Medicinal Practitioners in Different Villages at Nalitabari Upazilla, Sherpur District, Bangladesh

Aysha Ferdoushi
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Santosh, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh.

Shahin Mahmud
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Santosh, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh.

Md. Masud Rana*
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Santosh, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh.

Md. Shariful Islam
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Santosh, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh.

Abu Saim Al Salauddin
Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.

Mohammed Farhad Hossain
Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Medicinal plants are an important and often the only component in the formulations used by the folk medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh for treatment of various ailments. Folk medicinal practitioners, well known as Kavirajes, form the primary line of health-care among a substantial section of the rural and urban population of Bangladesh. They rely on administration of medicinal plants for treatment of diseases. Since the medicinal plants used by the Kavirajes differ widely even between adjoining areas, the objective of the present study was to conduct an survey among the selected Kavirajes of different villages at Nalitabari Upazilla situated in Sherpur district, Bangladesh. A semi structured questionnaire and the guided field walk method was used to obtain data from selected Kabirajes. Plant specimen as pointed out by them were collected and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. It was observed that the Kavirajes of the selected areas used a total of 115 plants distributed into 68 families for treatment of various ailments. Of the total 160 uses found in the present survey, leaves formed the most frequently used plant part (26.87%), followed by fruits (18.12%), seeds (16.25%), roots (13.75%), stems (11.27%), flower (6.23%), bark (5%) and whole plant (2.6%). Most of cases, a single plant part was used for treatment of any given ailment. Most of the plants were used to treat common ailments such as respiratory tract problems, gastrointestinal disorders, fever and loss of hair, vomiting, menstrual problems, skin disorders, dental diseases, cracked foot, bleeding, insect bites and bone fracture. However, a number of plants were also used to treat more complicated ailments like cardiovascular disorders, hepatic disorders, mental disease, epilepsy, piles, leprosy, diabetes and cancer or tumors.

Keywords: Folk medicine; Medicinal plants; Ailment; Sherpur; Bangladesh.

Location: Different Villages at Nalitabari Upazilla, Sherpur District, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

It was observed that there is considerable variation between uses of medicinal plants between Kavirajes, even of adjoining areas. The objective of the present study was to conduct a survey on medicinal plant usage among selected Kavirajes of different village at Nalitabari Upazilla in Sherpur district, Bangladesh.

Methodology:

This study was carried out in Nalitabari Upazila (Sherpur district) with an area of 327.61 sq km, is bounded by the Meghalaya State of India on the north, Sherpur Sadar and Nakla upazilas on the south, Haluaghat upazila on the east and Jhenaigati upazila on the west. Nalitabari is located at 25.0833°N 90.1954°E. The Upazila consists of 7 union parishads, 108 mouzas and 138 villages.

Traditional medicinal healers (Kavirajes) were randomly chosen in the Nalitabari areas. All Kavirajes were interviewed with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995). The purpose of the interview was carefully explained and consent was obtained from the Kavirajes that they have no objections to providing the names of plants and the ailments that were used for treatment and no objection to the information being disseminated in publication or any other form of presentation form both within the country as well as internationally. Interviews were conducted in the Bengali language, the language being spoken by both Kavirajes and the interviewers. The informants took the interviewers through forest regions from where they collected their plants, showed the plants, and mentioned their local names and uses. Plant specimens were brought and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium at Dhaka.

Source of Information: European Journal of Medicinal Plants 11(3): 1-22, 2016, Article no.EJMP.19012 ISSN: 2231-0894, NLM ID: 101583475

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI: 10.9734/EJMP/2016/19012

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Information on phytochemicals and pharmacologic activity studies conducted on a number of the plants (used by traditional healers) by modern scientific methods validated the traditional use of a number of plants and suggested that they can form a good source of newer drugs. The survey further highlighted the importance of gathering such ethnomedicinal information for effective conservation of medicinal knowledge and medicinally important plant species.

Medicinal plants compose an invaluable asset of a country. They contribute enormously to its health care system and also to its overall economy. Serious efforts should therefore be made by all concerned to develop and utilize medicinal plants to get maximum benefit from them. The best way to do this is to carry them under systematic and planned cultivation. They should be cultivated in profitable scale like other conventional cash crops. Agriculture scientists can play an important role in this effort by bringing wild medicinal plant, improving their quality and motivating the general farmers of conventional crops to produce medicinal plants in farm lands for commercial purpose.

Knowledge Management: Journal