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Medicinal Plants Used by the Mandais - a Little Known Tribe of Bangladesh

Ishita Malek
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Tabibul Islam
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Ehasanul Hasan
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Shakila Akter
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Masud Rana
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Protiva Rani Das
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Walied Samarrai
Biological Sciences Department, NYCCT, CUNY, USA

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

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The Mandais are a little known tribe of Bangladesh inhabiting the north central regions, particularly Tangail district of Bangladesh. Their population has been estimated to be less than 10,000 people. Although the tribe has for the most part assimilated with the mainstream Bengali-speaking population, they to some extent still retain their original tribal customs, including their traditional medicinal practices. Since this practice is also on the verge of disappearance, the objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among Mandai tribal practitioners to document their use of medicinal plants for treatment of various ailments. Four traditional practitioners were found in the exclusive Mandai-inhabited village of Chokchokia in Tangail district. Information was collected from the practitioners with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and guided field-walk method. It was observed that the four traditional practitioners used a total of 31 plants distributed into 23 families for treatment. The various ailments treated included diabetes, low semen density, jaundice, gastrointestinal tract disorders (stomach ache, indigestion, dysentery, and diarrhea), leucorrhea, pain (rheumatic pain, joint pain), skin disorders, respiratory tract disorders (coughs, mucus, and allergy), debility, fever, and helminthiasis. From the number of plants used (seven), it appeared that gastrointestinal tract disorders formed the most common ailment among the Mandai community, possibly brought about by the low income status of the people coupled with unhygienic conditions of living.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, CAM, Ethnomedicine, Mandai

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

The younger generations are losing interest and have started to forget their ancient rituals and practices. As a result, the elderly people, who have still maintained their own culture, apprehend that the language and traditional knowledge of the Mandais will soon be forgotten. This knowledge includes knowledge of their traditional medicinal practices. It was, therefore, the objective of the present study to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the still existing Mandai tribal medicinal practitioners (TMPs) to document their traditional medicinal practices, including usage of medicinal plants for treatment of various ailments.

Methodology:

The present study was conducted among the Mandai tribal medicinal practitioners (TMPs) of the Mandai community residing in Chokchokia village of Shakhipur sub-district in Tangail district, Bangladesh. Chokchokia village was exclusively inhabited by the Mandai community. Overall, the condition of the community was poor in socio-economic terms, and nearly 100% of families within the community did not possess any agricultural lands of their own. Able-bodied men of the community worked as agricultural laborers in adjoining villages inhabited by the mainstream Bengali-speaking population. Since agricultural labor demand peaks only during times of sowing and times of harvesting crops, the Mandai people remained jobless at other times of the year and lived in dire straits for most parts of any given year. The Mandais were in general considered as an inferior class of people by adjoining village populations. The survey was conducted during the first eight months of the year 2011.

The Mandai community had four TMPs, namely, Nipen Chandra Cooch, Nimai Cooch, Nirupam Cooch, and Narendra Chandra Cooch. Informed consent was obtained from all four practitioners to publish their names and any information given by them. At the request of the TMPs, interviews were conducted at any given time with all four TMPs with the help of a semistructured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995). In this method, the TMPs took the interviewers on field-walks through areas from where they collected their plants and described the uses of those plants. Plant specimens were photographed, collected, dried and brought back to Dhaka for identification done by Mr. ManjurUl-Kadir Mia, ex-Principal Scientific Officer and Curator of Bangladesh National Herbarium. Voucher plant specimens were deposited at the Medicinal Plant Collection Wing of the University of Development Alternative. More details as to the uses of individual plants were obtained from the TMPs in evening sessions. All interviews were conducted in the Bengali language, it being observed that all four TMPs had an excellent command of this language. The Bengali language was also the language of the interviewers.

Source of Information: Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. (2012) 9(4):536-541

Article Link (Online Journal): Web page: /http://journals.sfu.ca/africanem/index.php/ajtcam/index http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajtcam.v9i4.10

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

It is, however, possible that much of the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Mandais has been forgotten and only knowledge of treatment of a few common diseases remains. Nevertheless, this knowledge is important not only for anthropological purposes, but also because if these treatment formulations can be validated through modern scientific research, it can offer the Mandais a low-cost effective alternative for pricier allopathic medicines, which they are not able to afford currently. It is also an undeniable fact that the vast majority of the world’s population and particularly the people of under-developed countries are poor, live under sub-standard conditions, and either lack access to or cannot afford the cost of allopathic medicine. If the Mandai TMP medicinal formulations can be validated through proper research, these formulations can benefit the people of the whole world. Ficus racemosa was found to be used by the Mandai TMPs for treatment of coughs and rheumatic pain. An anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant glucoside, racemosic acid, has been isolated from the plant (Li et al, 2004). As such, the plant can prove useful in coughs, which can result from inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi as well as rheumatism, which is also an inflammatory disease. Therefore, at least some plants used by the Mandai TMPs for treatment have been validated through research. The rest of the plants merit further potential for appropriate studies and research to be conducted leading towards discovery of possibly cheaper and more efficacious drugs.

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