Ethnomedicinal plants of folk medicinal pr actitioners of two villages in Bagerhat district of Bangladesh (original) (raw)

An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted among the folk medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) of two villages, namely, Shat-tola Bazaar and Talbari, in Bagerhat district of Bangladesh. Kavirajes use mainly medicinal plants for treatment of various ailments, and as such, proper documentation of such medicinal plants can not only give a comprehensive account of various medicinal plants of the country (many of which are still undocumented), but also spur scientific research and conservation efforts on these medicinal plants. Three Kavirajes from the afore-mentioned two villages were interviewed for the survey. It was observed that the Kavirajes used a total of 71 medicinal plants for treatment of a diverse variety of ailments. Two of the plants could not be identified. The rest 69 plants were distributed into 40 families. Plant parts were mostly used for treatment versus whole plants, and it was observed that different plant parts from the same plant were used for treatment of different diseases. The plant parts used included leaves, roots, stems, barks, tubers, rhizomes, flowers, fruits, seeds, and exudates (sap) from a plant. An interesting feature of the Kavirajes was that, in most cases, the same plant or parts from the same plant was used for treatment of a wide variety of diseases. Phytochemicals produced in a plant are responsible for different pharmacological activities, which, in turn can be utilized for amelioration or cure of various diseases. Different parts from the same plant may produce and usually do produce different types of phytochemicals. Thus different parts from the same plant possess the potential to be used for treatment of different diseases based on the relevant activity of the phytochemicals. That different plant parts were used by the Kavirajes, taken together with the fact that the same plant and sometimes the same plant part was used for treatment of multiple diseases, suggest strongly that considerable medicinal knowledge exists among the Kavirajes on the medicinal values of different plants and plant parts, even though the Kavirajes were totally ignorant of the identity of the actual phytochemicals present. Modern science and allopathic treatments can benefit a lot from the knowledge gained from traditional medicinal practices, for many important allopathic drugs have been discovered through close observations of such indigenous medicinal practices. Since the various diseases treated by the Kavirajes included diseases like diabetes and rheumatism, which cannot be cured with allopathic medicine, it can be hoped that further scientific research on the medicinal plants used by the Kavirajes can be fruitful towards the discovery of novel and perhaps more efficacious drugs.