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A Study on the Indigenous Medicinal Plants and Healing Practices of Murong Tribe in Khagrachari District (bangladesh)

Tasmiatul Kabir*
Department of Pharmacy 1 , University of Asia Pacific, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Subrata Saha
Department of Pharmacy 2 , University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

An ethnomedicinal survey was carried out during August 2008 to October 2008 among tribal medicinal practitioners of the Murong tribes. Various Murong Tribal practitioners practiced in their localities for treating different kinds of disease of Ramgarh Upazila, Khagrachari districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts Region in Bangladesh. We observed to use 40 plants species belonging to 29 families in various treatment of disease. This diversity only adds to the uniqueness of the traditional medicinal practices, and opens up scientific possibilities of discovering different drugs from different medicinal plants to treat any given ailment. These tribal medicinal plants were mostly used for treatment of constipation, cough, fever, diarrhea, dysentery, diuretic, diabetes, eczema, itches, jaundice, skin disease, vomiting, wound, joint pain and worm. The plants were collected and identified botanically along with their scientific name, local name, family name, habit, parts used and medicinal uses. This detailed information will be helpful for the pharmacognosist, botanist and pharmacologist for the collection and identification of the plant for their research work.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine, Tribe, Murong, Ramgarh, Khagrachari, Ailment.

Location: Ramgarh Upazila, Khagrachari districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts Region in Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-08-2008

End Date: 00-10-2008

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

Thus scientists are presented with a wide variety of plants with each plant having their unique phytochemical constituents, and which constituents, following further scientific trials, open up the possibilities of discovery of a wide variety of drugs, each drug being efficacious in treatment of either the full disease or efficacious in the treatment of any particular symptom of the disease.

Methodology:

Study Area: Ramgarh is an Upazila of Khagrachari District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Ramgarh is located at 22.9667°N 91.7000°E. Ramgarh Upazila with an area of 207.69 sq km, is bounded by Indian State of Tripura and Matiranga upazila on the north, Manikchhari and Lakshmichhari upazilas on the south, Mahalchhari upazila on the east and Fatikchhari upazila on the west. Forests, hills and tilas cover a substantial portion out of the upazila. Ramgarh (Town) consists of two mouzas. It has an area of 64.75 sq km. The town has a population of 23856; male 53.42% and female 46.58%; population density per sq km 368. Literacy rate among the town people is 36%. The town has three dakbungalows. Ramgarh thana was established in 1905 and was turned into an upazila in 1983. The upazila consists of 3 union parishads/wards, 11 mouzas/Mahallas and 82 villages. It has 9304 units of house hold and total area 240.87 km².

Study Method: The survey was conducted the Murong tribes who reside in the districts Khagrachari districts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, which falls in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. Informed consent was obtained from the TMPs of the tribe prior to the commencement of survey. The TMPs were informed in detail as to the nature and the purpose of the survey and consent obtained as to dissemination of survey results in national or international publications. Interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995).

In this method, the TMPs took the interviewers to spots from where they collected their medicinal plants and pointed out the plants, along with providing their local names and a description of their uses. All information given by Kalanka Kabiraj, who usually was the healer of the tribe and was fluent in both the tribal language as well as Bangla. Plant specimens were collected and dried in the field, and later brought back to Bangladesh National Herbarium at Dhaka for complete identification.

Source of Information: IJP, 2014; Vol. 1(10): 654-659. ISSN: 2348-3962

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The importance of any ethno medicinal survey lies in the potential discovery of plants, which may through proper scientific investigations may yield novel compounds to treat both old and emerging diseases. From that point of view, the plants obtained from the Murong tribe in Ramgarh, Khagrachari district are important, more so, because the indigenous uses of a number of plants for specific ailments have been validated by scientific studies.

Other plants, for which uses have not been validated, need to be studied quickly for the forest region inhabited by the Murong is dwindling fast with consequence loss or endangerment of plant species. Also, the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Murong is being lost with every passing day, as the Murong lose their ethnic customs and become more assimilated into the general population.

Knowledge Management: Journal