TRADITIONAL PHYTOTHERAPEUTIC USES IN PURBA MEDINIPUR, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

TRADITIONAL PHYTOTHERAPEUTIC USES IN PURBA MEDINIPUR, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Arjun Patra ¹, Amal Kumar Mondal ^*2 and Debdulal Banerjee ³

Department of Botany ¹, Prabhat Kumar College, Contai - 721401, West Bengal, India.

Plant Taxonomy, Biosystematics and Molecular Taxonomy Laboratory ², Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory ³, UGC - DRS - SAP Department, Department of Botany and Forestry, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore - 721102, West Bengal, India.

ABSTRACT: The traditional health care system has been significantly used from ancient time. The rural people of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal still continue to depend on indigenous plants to cure their different types of primary health treatment. The present study explore 79 plant species belong to 41 families are systematically used in traditional health care system. Information was collected by the structures questionnaire, consultation and interviews with rural people, knowledgeable persons and women folk. The plants are principally used for the treatment of digestive disorder (24.4 %), respiratory trouble (25.64 %), dysentery (16.66 %), bleeding (12.8 %), snake and insect bite (11.53 %), skin infection (12.8 %) and sugar control (10.25 %). These wild medicinal plants are declining in number due to demolition and unscientific collection of plants. There is a requisite need to conserve the indigenous medicinal plants. This document will help to prepare a database of valuable indigenous plants and their issues for mankind.

Traditional Phytotherapy, Indigenous plants, Purba Medinipur

INTRODUCTION: Ancient Indian literature incorporates a remarkably broad definition of medicinal plants and considers all plant parts to be potential source of medicinal substances ¹⁰. Traditional plants contain various compounds such as phenolic, alkaloids and tocopherols which have shown antioxidant activity. Also some other compounds show antimicrobial activity which inhibit the growth of different microorganism (bacteria). Phytochemicals are bioactive compounds of plant origin ². Phytotherapy promotes proper utilization and also to conserve these plant resources for further future use.

As per different reports India is one of the richest biological heritages with more than 50 million tribal people under 300 tribal communities, constituting about 8% of the total population of the country. About 15% of the total geographical area of the country is inhabited by the tribal’s ^{1, 9}. The Indian sub-continent has a very rich diversity of plants species in a wide range of ecosystems. The Indian sub-continent approximately 8,000 species are considered as medicinally important and used for human as well as veterinary care across the country by village communities or in traditional medicinal system ¹⁴.

The knowledge of these indigenous drugs has come through verbally since generation to generation and played an important role in conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity ^{5, 17}. A major part of the developing countries still uses traditional folk medicine from plant resources ¹¹. Documentation of traditional knowledge of ethno medicinal use of plants has been considered as a high priority to support the discoveries of drugs benefiting mankind. The tribal populations, who have been the primary inhabitants of natural habitats, hold tremendous amount of traditional knowledge on the use of various biotic resources, which may have greater importance to the ongoing research and discoveries in the field. It is well acknowledged in literature that their age old practices of using plants to cure numerous ailments have paved the way to further the discovery of many lifesaving drugs ¹⁶.

The tribal ethno-botanical information is significant not for the tribal people themselves, but also beneficial for the whole world. Unfortunately, these old civilizations, traditional skills and beliefs are going to be lost due to modernization, industrialization and also by discarding the traditional lifestyle by younger generation ¹³. Traditional medicines comprises of formalized forms with well documented remedies practiced by lay people (e.g. European cloister medicine, Ayurveda, ancient Iranian medicine, Islamic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine etc.) as well as more informal practices orally handed down from generation to generation. Herbal remedies exert therapeutic activity because of their active constituents that act either alone or in combination ⁶. The people of the tribal areas are the repository of accumulated experience and knowledge about traditional uses of medicinal plants ¹⁵.

The knowledge of medicinal plant was developed through trial and error, rural health care is dominated by traditional medicine because of its affordability and accessibility to rural populace relative to the high cost of orthodox medicines and lack of access to hospital facilities. It is a fact that the 25% of all medical prescriptions are based on substances derived from plants or plant-derived synthetic analogues. Over 80% of rural population depends on herbal therapeutics leading to increased exploitation of herbal plants coupled with the high rate of deforestation resulting in forest depletion and destruction ¹². The traditional practitioners revealed that some ailments are effectively treated through herbal sphere and claimed to have herbal cure for lunatic, epilepsy, barrenness, impotence, poisoning or charming and fibroid, but the practitioners would not reveal the steps involved in the treatment to even their children not talk of the outsiders. They gained the knowledge of herbal drugs based on many beliefs, assumption and superstitions. It is difficult to unveil the much acclaimed curative potential of some methods of healing because of the mystical and secrecy which usually accompanied their practices ⁷.

The present study was carried out to explore different indigenous medicinal plants and their uses by the rural people in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal for the treatment of human aliments.

Study Area: Purba Medinipur is a quiet large area latitude 21° 56’ 14’’ N and longitude 87° 46’ 35’’ E and elevation 5 meters with agricultural belt of West Bengal. The Bay of Bengal lies in the south, the Hoogly River and South 24 Pargana to the east with coastal area. The soli type of this area is fertile and vast expanse of younger alluvial soils. This area is important for its tourism, fishing and processing industries.

FIG. 1: STUDY AREAS IN MAP

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethno-medicinal study was carried out in villages of different blocks in Purba Medinipur district. The work was carried out through field study and conducted throughout the season during August 2015 to November 2016. Information was collected by the questionnaire, consultation and interviews with rural people, knowledgeable persons and women folk. The information was also cross verified with local aged and experienced practitioners. Plant specimens were collected and identified with the help of standard taxonomic literature.

RESULTS: From the present study, 79 species of medicinal plants belong to 41 families were surveyed to use for the treatment of different diseases. The major plant families were used by the rural people for their health cares are Acanthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae (12, 7 and 4 species of each), Apiaceae, Palmae and Rutaceae (3 species of each).

The plant species which were used by the rural people of Purba Medinipur district with scientific name, family, local name, parts used and medicinal uses are given in Table 1.

TABLE 1: THE TRADITIONAL USES OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN PURBA MEDINIPUR DISTRICT

FIG. 2: PERCENTAGE (%) OF PLANT PARTS USED

FIG. 3: PERCENTAGE (%) OF DIFFERENT DISEASE TREATED WITH PLANT PARTS

DISCUSSION: The use of traditional medicine is wide range in Purba Medinipur district. The information documented in this study is completely based on the primary source and the uses of locally available plants by the rural people as their household remedies. To treat various disease the rural people were using leaves (52%) most commonly and followed by Root (12%), Stem(11%), Fruit (11%), Bark (7%), latex (3%), Whole plant (2%), Rhizome (1%) and Bulb (1%). The plants were used for the treatment of Digestive disorder (24.4 %), Respiratory trouble (25.64 %), Dysentery (16.66 %), to stop bleeding (12.8 %), Snake and Insect bite (11.53 %), Skin infection (12.8 %), Sugar control (10.25 %), Muscular and joint pain (8.97 %), Eye and Hair problem (3.84 %), Fever and Sexual disease. The medicinal use varies according to the symptoms as well as a particular medicinal plant is sometime used for different ailments in different localities. Sometimes plant parts are applied mix with other plant for remedy of disease.

Early researchers have also documented 50 species belonging to 20 families are used by rural and tribal people of Paschim Medinipur. Another documented 43 species belonging to 32 families were used by the rural people of Contai subdivision and 20 plants belonging to 16 families were used by Bharai village of Himachal Pradesh.

CONCLUSION: The rural area of Purba Medinipur district is an important source of the traditionally used medicinal plants with indigenous in nature. There was lack of organize data about the medicinally important plants throughout the entire district. The knowledge about uses of these medicinal plants is confined in different areas, which are not explored for human welfare. Medicinal plants with indigenous habit play an important role in providing knowledge to the researchers. So this article may help inhabitants, botanists, scientist or other interested persons for the general idea about diversified use and will also attract the attention of Pharmacologist and Phytochemists for future critical investigation of medicinal plants present in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India.

AKNOWLEDGEMENT: The authors are thankful to the local people of Purba Medinipur district for their valuable co-operation. The authors are also thankful to Professor Ranjan Chakraborti, Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Vidyasagar University for giving me the opportunity to carry out Ph.D work.

CONFLICT OF INTERST: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

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    How to cite this article:

    Patra A, Mondal AK and Banerjee D: Traditional phytotherapeutic uses in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India. Int J Pharm Sci Res 2017; 8(9): 3904-10.doi: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.8(9).3904-10.

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