A Survey on Medicinal Plants used by the Folk Medicinal Practitioners in Tangail Sadar Upazilla, Tangail, Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract:Medicinal plants form 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, otherwise known as Kavirajes, perform an integral role in the delivery of primary health-care to substantial segments of both rural and urban population of the country. To get a comprehensive view of the medicinal plants of Bangladesh, it is therefore important to conduct extensive interviews of individual Kavirajes of both urban and rural areas. Towards obtaining such comprehensive information, the present ethno-medicinal survey was conducted among the Kavirajes of 15 randomly surveyed villages of Tangail Sadar Upazila in Bangladesh to document their use of medicinal plants and the ailments treated by those plants. Information was obtained from the Kavirajes with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. The results showed that the Kavirajes of the 11 villages surveyed used a total of 55 plants distributed into 35 families in their formulations. The Mimoceseae family provided 4 plants, while the Acanthaceae, Liliaceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae families provided 3 plants each. Mainly leaves were used for this purpose. Other plant parts roots and stems were also used. The various ailments treated included gastrointestinal disorders, cuts and wounds, fever, respiratory tract disorders, snake bites, pain, menstrual problems, physical weakness, diabetes, mental disorders, cardiovascular disorders, skin disorders, chicken pox, burns, spermatorrhea, bone fractures and cattle ailments.

Ethnopharmacological Survey on Traditional Medicinal Plants at Kalaroa Upazila, Satkhira District, Khulna Division, Bangladesh

“…A considerable segment of the population has income beneath the poverty line of US $1 per day; subsequently, an enormous segment of the population suffers from starvation [ 3 ] and do not use modern health-care services because of insufficient transportation, lack of allopathic doctors and nonexistence of hospitals or clinics, nonaffordability to buy modern medications, and age-old dependency on folk medicinal practitioners, who are locally known as Kavirajes. The Kavirajes depend largely on medicinal plants for the healing of various illnesses [ 4 ].…”

Exhaustive Plant Profile of “Dimocarpus longan Lour” with Significant Phytomedicinal Properties: A Literature Based-Review

“…In Bangladesh, the local "kaviraj" in Barisal use it for different diseases, such as gastrointestinal disorders, cuts and wounds, fever, snake bites, menstrual problems, chickenpox, bone fractures, cattle disorders, and so on; it is more prevalently used as the antidote for poison [47]. In Tabgail, longan is used locally to treat neurological disorders and reproductive health [52].…”

Evaluation of Antioxidant, Cholinesterase Inhibitory Properties, and Antibacterial Potentials of Glycomis Pentaphylla Leaf Extract Relevant to the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

“…It is widely distributed in Bangladesh, India Malaysia and Southern China to the Philippine Islands but this plant is native to eastern, southern, and southeastern Asia and north-eastern Australia [23]. Traditionally, this plant is used to reduce fever, liver complications, various intestinal parasites [23], and toothache and bleeding [22], all forms of cancers, hepatic disorder, rheumatic fever [24]. This traditional use should be supported by the scientific evaluations.…”