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A Randomized Survey of Medicinal Plants Used by Folk Medicinal Practitioners in Daudkandi Sub-district of Comilla District, Bangladesh

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

Md. Abdul Momen
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Md. Mahbubur Rahman
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dilruba Nasrin
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Md. Shahadat Hossain
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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

Farhana Israt Jahan
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Mst. Afsana Khatun
Dept. of Pharmacy, Lincoln College, Mayang Plaza, Block A, No 1, Jalan SS 26/2, Taman Mayang Jaya, 47301, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Rownak Jahan
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Folk medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) are possibly the most ancient practitioners of traditional medicine in Bangladesh and in general are the primary health-care providers to a majority of the rural population and a substantial segment of the urban population in the country. The major characteristic that separates the folk medicinal practitioners from other systems of existing medicinal practices is their almost exclusive use of simple preparations of medicinal plants for treatment of various ailments. Since the population of Bangladesh is primarily rural, village Kavirajes form the major unit from whom ethnomedicinal data can be obtained. The objective of the present study was to conduct a randomized ethnomedicinal survey among the Kavirajes of four villages, Kalakandi, Gorashal, Kadamtoli, and Gunjar, all villages being situated in Daudkandi sub-district of Comilla district in Bangladesh. Informed consent was obtained from the Kavirajes and surveys were carried out with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method, where the Kavirajes took the interviewers to places from where they collected their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants and described their uses. All plant specimens were collected and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. It was observed that the Kavirajes of the four villages surveyed used 44 plant species distributed into 32 families. The Lamiaceae family contributed 4 plants, followed by the Leguminosae, Rutaceae, and Solanaceae families with 3 plants each. Leaves constituted the major plant part used (45.3%), followed by roots (13.2%), and whole plants, fruits, and seeds (7.5% each). The various ailments treated included respiratory tract problems, gastrointestinal disorders, sexual problems, fever, cardiovascular disorders, mental disease, diabetes, loss of hair, vomiting, menstrual problems, skin disorders, hepatic disorders, piles, leprosy, calcium deficiency, dental diseases, cracked foot, bleeding, insect bites, mumps, rabies, chicken pox, body ache, and bone fracture. Cumulatively, the plants obtained in the present survey present considerable potential for further scientific research towards discovery of lead compounds and more efficacious drugs.

Keywords: Folk medicine, Medicinal plants, Daudkandi, Comilla, Bangladesh

Location: Daudkandi sub-district is a part of Comilla district, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

It was the objective of the present study to conduct a randomized ethnomedicinal survey among the Kavirajes of four villages, namely, Kalakandi, Gorashal, Kadamtoli, and Gunjar in Daudkandi sub-district of Comilla district, Bangladesh.

Methodology:

Daudkandi sub-district is a part of Comilla district, which falls in the central part of Bangladesh. The main occupation of the people of this sub-district is agriculture. However, to a certain extent the area is also noted for its local handicrafts. The present survey was conducted in the villages of Kalakandi, Gorashal, Kadamtoli, and Gunjar in the sub-district. A total of 4 Kavirajes were interviewed for the present survey, one from each village. The Kavirajes were Md. Salam Sarker, Md. Jiauddin Mollah, Haji Md. Shirajuddin Sarker, and Md. Fatik Sen. It is to be noted that each Kaviraj was the only practicing Kaviraj in his village. Informed consent was obtained from the Kavirajes prior to the survey. The Kavirajes were told that the results may be disseminated both nationally and internationally, to which they had no objections. Interviews were conducted in the Bangla language (spoken by both Kavirajes and interviewers) with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin (Martin, 1995) and Maundu (1995). In this method, the Kavirajes took the interviewers to places from where they collected their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, gave their local names and described their uses. All information was cross-checked with the Kavirajes in later sessions. Plant specimens were collected, dried in the field, and brought back to Bangladesh National Herbarium at Dhaka for complete identification.

Source of Information: Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 4(2): 99-104, 2010 ISSN 1995-0748

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

That the medicinal plants used by the Kavirajes of the four villages surveyed in Daudkandi sub-district do not owe any success in treatments due to placebo effects have been demonstrated clearly for three plants, where the relevant pharmacological activities have been studied. Other plants used by the Kavirajes need to studied only for validation of their use by the Kavirajes, but also for their potential in obtaining newer and more efficacious drugs. Ethnomedicine has played and is still playing an important role in novel drug discoveries. Furthermore, newer discoveries on medicinal plants used by the Kavirajes can lead sustainable conservation efforts to save these plants, which are rapidly dying out in Bangladesh because of gradual loss of their natural habitat.

Knowledge Management: Journal