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A Survey of Medicinal Plant Usage by Folk Medicinal Practitioners in Two Villages by the Rupsha River in Bagerhat District, Bangladesh

Md. Ariful Haque Mollik
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Azmal Ibna Hassan
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Tridib Kumar Paul
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Mariz Sintaha
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Himel Nahreen Khaleque
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Farjana Akther Noor
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Aynun Nahar
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Syeda Seraj
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Rownak Jahan
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Majeedul H. Chowdhury
New York City College of Technology The City University of New York 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.

Mohammed Rahmatullah
Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Bagerhat district is in the southern portion of Bangladesh and contains a portion of the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sunderbans. The Rupsha River flows through the district and falls into the Bay of Bengal after passing through the Sunderbans forest. Because of the coastal position of the district and the presence of the Sunderbans forest, the plants occurring in this estuarine region are considerably different from the plants in other districts of Bangladesh. The occupations of the people of the villages adjoining the Rupsha River are mainly agriculture, agricultural laborer, and extracting timber and other forest products from the Sunderbans forest. In absence of modern medicinal facilities, the people rely on folk medicinal practitioners for treatment of their ailments. It was the objective of the present study to conduct a survey among the folk medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) in two villages on the banks of the Rupsha River, namely Chanpur and Andabaaz, to learn about the medicinal plants used. The Kavirajes rely almost exclusively on medicinal plants for treatment of diverse ailments. Since the plant species of the Sunderbans forest are unique to the region, it was expected that the medicinal plants used by the Kavirajes of the two villages surveyed would be distinct from plant species used by Kavirajes in other regions of Bangladesh. Our survey revealed that 50 plant species and one mushroom species distributed into 32 families were used by the Kavirajes of the two villages. The Euphorbiaceae family provided 5 species, followed by the Araceae family with 4 species, and the Asteraceae, Combretaceae and Fabaceae families with 3 species, each. Even though the number of plant species used was small, a wide variety of ailments were treated by the Kavirajes. The highest number of plant species, twenty five, was used for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Skin disorders were treated with 22 plant species; respiratory tract disorders with 14 plant species, and sexual disorders treated with 11 plant species. Because the inhabitants of the two villages work often in the Sunderbans forest, they are exposed to snake and tiger bites. Ten plant species were used for treatment of snake bites, and six for treatment of tiger bites. Other ailments treated included heart disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, malaria, helminthiasis, rheumatoid arthritis, encysted dropsy, tuberculosis, hemorrhoids, hepatic disorders, cancer or tumor, fever, cuts and wounds, burns, epilepsy, anemia, obesity, menstrual disorders, gynecological problems, leprosy, inflammation, chicken pox, diabetes, paralysis, fistula, eye disorders, hypertension, typhoid, tooth problems, rabies, headache, and typhus. Three plants were used as astringents, four plants as tonic, one plant for treatment of vitamin C deficiency, three plants as antidote to poisoning, five plants as stimulants of the central nervous system, and one plant as an abortifacient. Two plants used to be prescribed for treatment of small pox, when the disease was still prevalent. Given the number of diseases treated and the uniqueness of a number of the plant species used for treatment, we conclude that it is important to conduct further scientific studies with these plants. Such studies have enormous potential towards discovery of novel drugs for treatment of a number of ailments, which cannot be treated currently with allopathic medicine.

Keywords: Folk medicine, Medicinal plants, Bagerhat, Bangladesh.

Location: Two Villages by the Rupsha River in Bagerhat District, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

The Rupsha River flows through Bagerhat district including the Sunderbans forest. Several villages exist by the banks of the Rupsha River in close proximity to the Sunderbans forest. Because of the remoteness of these villages, the villagers almost exclusively rely on Kavirajes for treatment of their various ailments. Given the different nature of plant species in these villages, the objective of the present study was to conduct a survey among Kavirajes of two villages by the banks of the Rupsha River and document the use of medicinal plants by the Kavirajes for treatment of various ailments.

Methodology:

The present survey was conducted in two villages of Bagerhat district in close proximity to the Sunderbans forest, namely the villages of Chanpur and Andabaaz. Both villages were located on the banks of the Rupsha River. Limited agriculture was conducted by the villagers. The main occupations were cultivation of the saltwater shrimp Penaeus monodon and extraction of forest products like timber, fish, honey and wild plants from the Sunderbans forest region. Mawalis and Bawalis were the collective names given to the groups of people engaged in extracting forest products. The two villages had a total of four Kavirajes, namely, Marium Bewa, Sagar Ghosh, Bilash Kumar, and Sukanto Debnath. One of them was female (Marium Bewa), the rest being male Kavirajes. Informed consent was obtained from all Kavirajes prior to any interviews. The Kavirajes were informed as to the purpose of the survey and that the information obtained may be disseminated nationally and internationally. The Kavirajes had no objections to provide information on medicinal plants and ailments treated but objected to publishing the formulations on the ground that this may jeopardize their professional interests. Interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin ( Martin, G.J., 1995.) and Maundu. In this method, the Kavirajes took the interviewers on guided field-walks in the daytime through areas from where they collected their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, mentioned their local names, and described their uses. All interviews were conducted in Bengali, the language spoken by both Kavirajes and the interviewers. Plant specimens were photographed, collected and dried in the field, and later brought back to Bangladesh National Herbarium at Dhaka for complete identification.

Source of Information: American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 4(3): 349-356, 2010 ISSN 1995-0748

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Tannins extracted from the bark reportedly also demonstrated gastroprotective effects against HCl/ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in Sprague Dawley rats (Ramirez, R.O. and C.C. Jr. Roa, 2003). Notably, the bark, fruit, and seed of the plant is used by the Kavirajes of the present survey areas in their treatment. The fruits of Emblica Officinalis (used by the Kavirajes to ameliorate vitamin C deficiency) has been shown to have high ascorbic acid content (Majeed, M., 2009; 36. Scartezzini, P., 2006) again validating its folk medicinal use. Since most of the plants used by the Kavirajes are yet to be examined for their relevant pharmacological activities, it is possible that more plants will be found after appropriate scientific inquiries to validate their medicinal uses by the Kavirajes. It is therefore of the utmost importance that such pharmacological studies be conducted as quickly as possible, because many of the plants reported in the present survey are rapidly getting endangered. It is expected that more scientific studies conducted with these plants can lead to discovery of lead compounds and newer drugs.

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