A Survey on medicinal plant usage by folk medicinal practitioners in different villages of Haluaghat Upazila, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh

• Published in: Indian journal of research in pharmacy and biotechnology Vol. 4; no. 5; p. 200
• Main Authors: Zohora, Fatama Tous, Mahmud, S M Neaz, Kar, Antora, Mahmud, Shahin, Shibly, Abu Zaffar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2016
• Subjects: Anacardiaceae; Apocynaceae; Araceae; Asteraceae; Fabaceae; Lamiaceae; Lauraceae; Liliaceae; Moraceae; Musaceae; Piperaceae; Rutaceae; Verbenaceae
• ISSN: 2321-5674; 2320-3471

Medicinal plants are an important and often the only component in the formulations used by the folk medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh for treatment of various ailments. Folk medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) are possibly the most ancient practitioners of traditional medicine in Bangladesh. In general they 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 Kavirajes rely almost exclusively on medicinal plants for treatment of various ailments. It was the objective of the present study to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the selected Kavirajes of different villages at Haluaghat Upazila situated in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh because such information is important for the people of this district. After obtaining informed consent from the Kavirajes, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the various Kavirajes practicing within this Upazilla. Ethnobotanical methods like guided field walks were undertaken, where the informants showed the medicinal plants used by them from areas where they usually collected them and at the same time mentioned their names and described their uses. Plant specimens were collected and dried on the field and later brought back and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. It was observed that the Kavirajes of the five villages surveyed used mainly 80 plant species distributed into 51 families. The Fabaceae family provided the largest number of species (5) followed by Rutaceae, Araceae, Liliaceae families provide 4 plants. The Lamiaceae and cucarbitaceae families provided 3 plants each. The Piperaceae, Apocynaceae, Musaceae, Verbenaceae, Asteraceae, Lauraceae, Lythroceae, Anacardiaceae, Moraceae families provided 2 plants each. The rest of the families contain single plant. Leaves constituted the major plant part used (39.1%), followed by fruits (20.65%), root (13.04%), bark (5.43%), seed (7.6%), flower (5.43%), and stem (8.6%). The percentage of whole plant used in treatment is 8.75%. This medicinal plant or plant part are used to treat various common disease like respiratory tract problems (cough, mucus), fever, helminthiasis, debility, skin disorders (itches), gastrointestinal disorders (dysentery, bloating, indigestion), pain, bleeding from cuts and wounds, animal bites, insomnia and tooth problems. This alignment are also used to treat some complicated ailments like diabetes, cancer or tumor, cardiovascular problems, hepatic disorders, spleen disorders, mental disease, epilepsy, piles, leprosy and nerve disorders.