A COMPREHENSIVE ETHNOMEDICINAL DOCUMENTATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS OF ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY, REGION, BANGLADESH

A COMPREHENSIVE ETHNOMEDICINAL DOCUMENTATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS OF ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY, REGION, BANGLADESH

Gazi Ziaul Haque Masum*, Biplab Kumar Dash, Shital Kumar Barman and Monokesh Kumer Sen

Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, Islamic University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT: An ethnobotanical survey was carried out through semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method in Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh to document the utilization of medicinal plants by local people for general ailments. A total of 87 species belonging to 51 families with their local names, useable parts and mode of application were recorded for their usages for curing at least 70 ailments. Ethnomedicinally most important families are Asteraceae, Combretaceae, Moraceae, Solanaceae, Apocynaceae. These plant species are utilized by local peoples against various ailments such as dysentery, fever, cough, sexual debility, asthma, skin disease, diarrhea, indigestion, wound healing, toothache, malaria, etc. Indigenous knowledge of Kavirajes or knowledgeable local persons have great contributions in formulating applicable strategy for the development of various medicine using plants as either fresh or raw sources or both. These scattered, selective, fast eroding and highly valuable knowledge needs proper documentation.

Ethnobotanical, Survey, Islamic University, Kavirajes, Ailments

INTRODUCTION: The fundamental rights of mankind are treatment, food, clothing, education and abode. Traditional medicinal practices exist in a number of countries of the world including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, because most of the people, here cannot face their health service demand, principally treatment, because health service present in the elementary level and poor economy. Medicinal plants offer alternative remedies with tremendous opportunities to generate income, employment and foreign exchange for developing countries ¹.

The World Health Organization (WHO) shows that more than half of the world’s population does not have access to adequate health care services². Alternative innovative approaches are needed to mitigate this problem that will ensure adequate health care service.

From the dawn of human civilization, many herbal plants are being used as traditional healing by the rural peoples which are the indispensable part of their daily life. The WHO estimates that more than 80% of the world’s population rely either solely or largely on traditional remedies for health care ². Over a period of thousands of years, especial systems Ayurveda and Unani were developed when peopled learned to use a variety of plants for different ailments ³. It is estimated that around 70,000 plants species from lichens to towering trees, have been used for medicinal purposes ⁴.

The present study was conducted at Islamic University campus region- a rich flora of medicinal plant located in Kushtia, Bangladesh. The local Kabirajes and the beneficiary local people are largely dependent on this region to fulfill their need of raw medicinal plants to treat their common ailments and disorders.

Albeit this region is found to be a rich source of a variety of medicinal plants, no systematic study conducted yet. The purpose of the current study was to identify the local medicinal plants and document them in a scientific way.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We invited three Kavirajes to check the plant out that is it a medicinal plant namely, Shree Nipendro Kobiraj from Jainta Pur, Bador Kabiraj practicing in Sheikh Para Bazar, Kalachan from Tribeni these have notched fame up for their good hand including gardener of Applied Science and Technology Faculty, Khalada Zia Girls Hostel and BSRM Hall also two knowledgeable local persons helped us to pile up data and perform this ethnomedicinal survey. The collection of data through interviews of Kavirajes, Gardeners and Locals were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method ^{5, 6}.

Briefly, in this method, the Kavirajes and others took the interviewers on field-walks to campus where they usually collected their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants and described their uses. All provided information was double-checked with them in later evening sessions. Plant specimens were collected, sampled and sent identified by the Bangladesh National Herbarium. Information obtained from the Kavirajes, Gardeners and other folk medicinal practitioners during daytime field-walks were cross-checked in evening meetings with the practitioners and any other interested person of the village present at those meetings.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The present survey documented 87 plant species distributed into 51 families that are being traditionally used for treatment of various diseases (Table 1). Major families contributing plant species towards treatment of various diseases included the Asteraceae, Combretaceae, Moraceae, Solanaceae, Apocynaceae, Arecaceae, Rutaceae, Rubiaceae families. Some plant families including   Araceae, Cyperaceae, Meliaceae, Sapotaceae contributing lower number of plant species (Table 2).

The large number of plant species used for treatment of diseases testified to the Kavirajes’ knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants growing within the surveyed area. It was documented that most of the plant were short lived with 54.02% are commonly used as a medicinal plant (Table 3). It can be said that most of the medicinal plant is naturally occurring because the report in the surveyed area showed 63.22% (Table 3).

Among the selected species ethnomedicinally the maximum contribution was recorded for herb with 33 species (36.78%) and the lowest contributor was recorded for climber with 5 species (6%) (Figure 1). It was observed that virtually all parts of plants were used for treatment. Whole plant constituted the plant part most frequently used, forming 39% of total uses. Whole plant was followed by leaves at 25% and fruits at 16% while barks formed 6% of total uses. Other plant parts used included stems, flowers, seeds, gum, rhizome and latex (Figure 2).

TABLE 1 ETHNOMEDICALLY IMPORTANT SPECIES IN STUDY AREA

*N.B. W-wild, P-planted, SL-short live, LL-long live, H- Herb, S- Shrub, T-Tree, C- Climber

TABLE 2: PLANT FAMILIES AND NUMBER OF PLANTS PER FAMILY          

TABLE 3: LIFE SPAN AND PERCENTAGE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

TABLE 4: ORIGIN AND PERCENTAGE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

FIGURE 1: LIFE FORM OF PLANTS USED AS MEDICINAL PLANTS

FIGURE 2: PLANT PARTS USED FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF VARIOUS HEALTHCARE

The mode of treatment of the Kavirajes was quite simple. In most cases juice would be extracted from the whole plant or plant part through macerating, crushing or boiling in water followed by administration of the juice either topically or orally, depending on the disease. Skin infections, cuts, wounds, burns or eye diseases usually had topical applications of plant parts; for other diseases, the mode of administration was mostly oral. However, various parts from the same plant were observed to be used to treat different diseases. A single plant part also would be used for treatment of multiple diseases. For instance, leaf juice Aloe barbadensis was used for treatment of stomach disorders it also used to treat lung disease even it used by them to cure skin burns.  In several cases different parts of different plants were used to the treatment of   same disease, leaf juice of Anthocephalus Chinensis, latex and fruit of Carica papaya, whole plant juice of Oxalis corniulata were used to treat fever.

Occasionally plant juice or plant part would be mixed with sugar, salt or honey prior to oral administration, usually to make the juice more palatable, but also sometimes for additional therapeutic purposes. A decoction of leaves of Aloe barbadensis was advised to be taken with sugar.

Powder prepared from dried leaves of Terminalia arjuna were also advised to be taken with sugar as treatment for heart disease. Fruit of Dillenia indica advised to take orally with honey and nigella for sex stimulant. For treatment of abdominal pain, leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata were advised to be chewed with salt. Honey is usually considered a medicine by the Kavirajes, and is commonly advised to be taken for cold. The use of honey in this instance can serve a synergistic purpose on top of the effects of the leaf juice in relieving cold. Sometimes Kavirajes advised to patients to take smoke of stem and leaf of Datura metel in asthma.

A remarkable thing about the Kavirajes was their claim to have effective treatments for cancer, diabetes, sex stimulant and rheumatism. These are diseases for which allopathic medicine has no easy cure or no cure at all. The Kavirajes had no proper diagnostic procedures for cancer or diabetes. Any unusual or unexplainable swelling of any body part together with gradual wasting away of body was determined to be cancer. Diabetes was usually determined through report of frequent urination and sweet taste of urine. Cancer was treated with three plants, namely, Catharanthus roseus, Hyptis suaveolens and Calotropis gigantean. Diabetes was treated with Ocimum tenuiflorum, Catharanthus roseus, Musa sapientum and Andrographispan iculata. Irrespective of the lack of modern diagnostic procedures among the Kavirajes, it is interesting that out of the three plants used by the Kavirajes to treat cancer, scientific research has already shown the anticancer activity present in Catharanthus roseus ⁷, Ageratum conyzoides8, Hyptis suaveolens ⁹. The antidiabetic activities of whole plants or plant parts of Catharanthus roseus ¹⁰.

The scientific validation of medicinal plant usage by the Kavirajes indicate that folk medicinal knowledge is not only not to be ignored but modern science can benefit a lot through extensive investigation of the plants used by folk medicinal practitioners and their mode of usage.

In the present study, a brief account on ethnomedicinal usages of documented plant species has been verified by Kavirajes, gardeners and knowledgeable local persons, therefore brief pharmacological as well as traditional and toxicological studies   are very much required for sustaining human benefit also cultivation and conservation of these plant species will help to maintain the ecological balance in this University as well livelihood security of local inhabitants.

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    How to cite this article:

    Masum GZH, Dash BK, Barman SK and Sen MK: A Comprehensive Ethnomedicinal Documentation of Medicinal Plants of Islamic University, Region, Bangladesh. Int J Pharm Sci Res 2013; 4(3); 1202-1209.

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