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Medicinal Plants and Formulations of a Community of the Tonchongya Tribe in Bandarban District of Bangladesh

Md. Mamunur Rashid
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Farzana Binte Rafique
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Nitol Debnath
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Afsana Rahman
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Syeda Zannatul Zerin
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Harun-ar-Rashid
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Md. Ariful Islam
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Zubaida Khatun
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Mohammed Rahmatullah*
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The Tonchongya is a comparatively small tribe mainly residing in the Bandarban and Rangamati districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. The tribe still maintains their ancient traditions to quite some extent, which traditions include their traditional medicinal practices. Since these traditional tribal medicinal practices are on the verge of disappearance, it is of importance to document them before they disappear completely, because close observation of many such practices has led to the discovery of important modern drugs like quinine or artemisinin. The Tonchongya tribe is highly scattered. It was the objective of the present study to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among a community of Tonchongya people residing in Keyaju Para of the Bandarban district. It was observed that the tribal practitioner used a total of 18 formulations, which formulations contained 23 plant species of which 21 could be identified and 2 remain unidentified. The plants were divided into 15 families; the Fabaceae family contributed 4 species followed by the Asteraceae family with 3 species. The various ailments for which the plants were used included mental disorders, malaria, gastrointestinal disorders (stomach pain, food poisoning, diarrhea, bloating, indigestion, constipation), jaundice, snake bite, gonorrhea, bleeding from external cuts and wounds, irregular menstruation, abscess, hookworm infestation, diabetes, burning sensations during urination, an overdose of any medicine, insomnia, oral lesions, and insect bite. A search of the relevant scientific literature showed that the traditional uses of a number of plants by the tribal practitioner have been validated with relevant bio-activity studies on the plant in question. It is thus of interest not only to conduct bio-activity studies on the remaining plants which are yet to be studied but also to study the effect of the exact formulations as prescribed by the tribal practitioner. It is very much possible that the formulations of the practitioner, when examined scientifically in their entireties, can yield valuable insights into the medicinal properties of the plant or plant parts and may lead to the discovery of new drugs.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, Tonchongya tribe, Bandarban, Bangladesh

Location: Bandarban District of Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

The objective of the present survey was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey of a Tonchongya community residing in Keyaju Para (also known as Tonchungya Para) in the Bandarban district of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

The Tonchongya community had one practicing TMP named Suryadhon, aged about 40, by religion Buddhist, and practicing for about 10-12 years. Informed consent was first obtained of the TMP to obtain information and to disseminate such information in national or international publications. The TMP spoke Bengali quite fluently and interviews were conducted in Bengali, the language spoken by the interviewers. The TMP from the very first did not object to being questioned or interviewed. Interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method of Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995). In this method, the TMP took the interviewers on guided field-walks through places from where he collected his plants, pointed out the plants and described their uses. Plant specimens were photographed and collected and pressed on the spot and later brought back to be identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium at Dhaka.

Source of Information: American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 6(4): 292-298, 2012 ISSN 1995-0748

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Taken together, scientific research can be seen to validate the traditional uses of a number of plants used by the Tonchongya TMP. Because of centuries-long habitat within forest regions of the tribes, tribal medicinal practitioners have accumulated quite extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of plant species, and which knowledge is accumulated and transmitted from generation to generation. Because of the encroachment of modern civilization, this knowledge is on the verge of disappearance. It is time that more scientific researches be conducted on the plant species used by the TMPs towards discovery of more efficacious drugs and also to arouse interest in saving these plant species, many of which are endangered. The traditional medicinal practices of the various tribes of Bangladesh are not well-documented. It is also necessary to conduct ethnomedicinal surveys within these tribes to document their traditional medicinal knowledge.

Knowledge Management: Journal