Abstract
The paper describes the traditional knowledge related to ethnomedicinal knowledge and plant parts utilization for curing various ailments by the Khasia community of Moulvibazar district. Total 45 plants were identified belonging to 37 families used by the Khasia community to treat different ailments. These medicinal plants were mostly used for treatment of anemia, asthma, cough, cold, constipation, dysentery, diarrhea, eczema, fever, headache, heart disease, itches, injury, jaundice, menstrual problem, piles, skin diseases, stomach problem, sex problems, toothache, urinary problem, rheumatism and others. Leaves were mostly used (35%), rhizome (19%) and root (12%) along with bark, stem, flowers, fruit and gum/resign.
Introduction
Medicinal plants play an important role in the primary healthcare systems for the majority of the rural people [1]. 2003).The indigenous people of different countries of the world, living amid nature, have first-hand knowledge on benefits provides by the plants including medicinal value. They used plants not for only the treatment of various ailments, but also used as preventive measures against different ailments [2]. A number of important modern pharmaceuticals have been derived from plants used by indigenous people [3] including antibiotics, anti-malarial drugs, cardiotonics, sympatho and para-sympathomimetics etc. The ethnomedicinal knowledge about the uses of medicinal plants can be a resource for the scientists to identify potential drugs and also may have high impact from a future bio-economic point of view [4]. Thus proper documentation of these knowledges overtime is crucial to protect them from extinction [5]
There are several reports of an ethnomedicinal survey conducted among the herbal practitioners in Bangladesh [6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22]. However, there is no information on ethnomedicinal plant uses by the Khasia community of Bangladesh. So, Khasia community is selected for the purposes.
The Khasia’s are an indigenous group of people living in the forested regions of Moulvibazar district, north-eastern part of Bangladesh. They have their own traditional medicinal practitioners, called Baidday who uses plants for therapeutic as well as preventive purposes. Since this uses has been going on for centuries, it was decided to document the uses of these plants for treatment of various diseases, as practiced by the Khasia tribal practitioner. Accordingly, a survey was carried out at different Khasia village (Punji) of Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh.
Methodology
The Khasia community people lives in the Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habigonj districts of Sylhet division. Moulvibazar was selected for the study area as most of the Khasia people lives in this district. Within Moulvibazar district three Khasia Punji (small village) were selected purposively. The selected Punji’s were Lawachara, Magurchara and Kalinji under Sreemongal and Kamolgonj Upazilla. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted during 2015-16 in the selected Khasia villages. The community people particularly Baidday’s and Montri’s (Head of the Khasia village) were briefed extensively about the purpose of the survey and told that information obtained from them may be disseminated in both national and international journals and conferences. Information were collected with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire followed by Martin [23] and Maundu [24]. In this method Baidday’s were interviewed on guided field-walks through areas from where they collected their medicinal plant. Information collected on the mentioned local names, uses, and method of use, formulations, diseases for which the formulations were used and dosages. Information also collected on the season of collection, which plants parts used. Collected information were validated through eight group discussion. The collected voucher specimens were identified with the help of Forest Botany Division of Bangladesh Forest Research Institute.
Results and Discussion
The study reveals a rich diversity of medicinal plants used to treat various disease conditions by the Khasia people in Moulvibazar district. It was further revealed rich ethnomedicinal knowledge among the Khasia community people. The families like Asclapidaceae, Apocynaceae, Liliaceae, Lauraceae, Meliceae, Piperaceae and Verbenaceae, were the dominant in this study are consistently recorded in other ethnomedicinal studies.
A total of 45 plants were identified by the Baidday’s of Khasia community along with their medicinal uses. The plants were distributed into 37 families (Table 1).
Table 1: List of plants used by the Khasia people for treating different ailments.
Sl. No
Scientific Name
Vernacular Name
Khasia Name
Family
Habit
Plant parts used
Uses/Indication
1
Abroma augusta L.
Ulatkambal
Tulhadar
Sterculiaceae
Shrub
Stem
Gas formation and indigestion
2
Acampe papillosa Lindl.
Mar
Mar
Orchidaceae
Herb
Root
Rheumatism and sciatica
3
Adiantum philippense L.
Goyalelata
Crakeria
Adiantaceae
Fern
Leaf, root and stem
Stomach problem and burning sensation
4
Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.
Banga- gandina
Bon-pias
Liliaceae
Herb
Rhizome
Skin disease and pain
5
Alstonia scholaris L
Shhaitian
Therosi
Apocynaceae
Tree
Leaf, bark and latex
Chronic diarrhea and malarial fever
6
Azadirachta indica A. Juss.
Neem
Tamaka
Meliaceae
Tree
Leaf and bark.
Skin disease, fever and pyorrhea
7
Bombax ceiba L.
Shimul
Tuluh
Bombacaceae
Tree
Root
Sexual weakness and dysentery
8
Calotropis procera R. Br.
Akand
Cele-bao
Asclepiadaceae
Shrub
Leaf, latex and flower
Toothache and pain, constipation and asthma
9
Calotrpis gigantea (L.) R.Br.
Boro-akonda
Chilibou
Asclepiadaceae
Shrub
Leaf
Pain and wound
10
Centella asiatica (L.) Urban
Thankuni
Cracro
Apiaceae
Creeper
Leaf
Blood dysentery and sexual diseases
11
Clerodendrum viscosum Vent
Bhat
Cradum
Verbenaceae
Shrub
Leaf and root
Chest complaint, tumors, treat impotency
12
Curculigo orchioides Gaertn.
Talmul
Le-liang-khudak
Hypoxidaceae
Herb
Root
Insect bite
13
Desmodium gangeticum L.
Shalpani
Madani
Fabaceae
Shrub
Stem and leaf
Stomach pain and menstrual pain.
14
Dioscorea alata L.
Mete alu
Crapung
Dioscoreaceae
Twiner
Tuber
Body pain and stomach pain.
15
Drimia indica (Roxb.) Jessop
Gorasun
Cra-nia
Liliaceae
Herb
Tuber
Ascites, asthma, rheumatism and skin diseases
16
Elaeocarpus floribundus Blume.
Jalpai
Bel-foi
Elaeocarpaceae
Tree
Leaf
Diarrhea
17
Ficus semicordata Buch.- Ham. ex Smith
Dumur
Shoshco
Moraceae
Tree
Root and fruit
Leprosy and ear diseases
18
Hemidesmus indicus L.
Anantamul
Crasara
Asclepiadaceae
Creeper
Root and stem
Cough asthma, skin diseases and pain.
19
Ichnocarpus frutescens (L.) R.Br.
Shyamlata
Crathera
Apocynaceae
Creeper
Leaves
Injury
20
Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq
Bhuikumra
Cralohid
Convolvulaceae
Twiner
Tuber
Body injury and sexual disease’s
21
Justicia gendarussa Burm.
Jagatmadan
Berabaha
Acanthaceae
Shrub
Leaf
Fever, rheumatism,
22
Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers.
Pathorkuchi
Sha
Crassulaceae
Herb
Leaf
Stomach pain and wound
23
Leucas aspera (Roth) Spreng
Shetadrone
Young pra
Lamiaceae
Herb
Leaf, Stem, and flower
Cold, cough, Stomach pain and toothache
24
Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) Roxb.
Menda
Ra-rang gra
Lauraceae
Tree
Bark and leaf
Boils, carbuncles and dysentery
25
Ludwigia hyssopifoa (G.Don) Exell.
Long gach
Pagla gash
Onagraceae
Herb
Leaf and fresh stem
Sores in foot
26
Microcos paniculata L.
Assar
Pristi
Tiliaceae
Tree
Bark
Stomach pain, blood dysentery and diarrhea
27
Mikania cordata (Burm. f.) Rob.
Assam lata
Japani-lot
Asteraceae
Climber
Leaf
Body injure, gastric ulcer and dysentery
28
Mimosa pudica L.
Lajjabati
Budialahari
Mimosaceae
Shrub
Leaf
Piles, urine tract stone and skin diseases
29
Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent.
Khana/Kanaidinga
Tuliliang
Bignoniaceae
Tree
Bark
Jaundice and wound by insect bite
30
Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb
Polaopata
Cra-plang
Pandanaceae
Herb
Leaf
Body pain
31
Phyllanthus emblica L.
Amloki
Aola
Euphorbiaceae
Tree
Fruit
Anemia and dyspepsia
32
Piper nigrum L.
Golmarich
Merit
Piperaceae
Climber
Fruit
Cold and cough
33
Polygonum lapathiflium L.
Biskatali
Hajra
Polygonaceae
Herb
Leaf juice
Jaundice and liver problems
34
Psidium guajava L.
Peyara
Supriam
Myrtaceae
Tree
Leaf, flower
Dysentery, wounds, and asthma
35
Scoparia dulcis L.
Bandhane
Slibkhar
Scrophulariaceae
Herb
Leaf
Urinary problem,, anemia, gastric ulcer , weakness
36
Swietenia mahogany (L.) Jacq.
Mahogini
Sowa
Meliaceae
Tree
Bark
Indigestion
37
Tamarindus indica L.
Tetul
Saken-chili
Caesalpinaceae
Tree
Fruit and leaf
Body pain , gastric, dysentery and dyspepsia
38
Tectaria decurrens Copel
Fern
Daynna
Tectariaceae
Fern
Leaf
Insect bite
39
Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) W.and A.
Arjun
Arjune
Combretaceae
Tree
Bark
Dysentery, asthma, heart diseases, menstrual problems and leucorrhoea
40
Tinospora cordifolia (Willd) Hook. f.
Gulancho
Jermay
Menispermaceae
Climber
Stem
Acidity, jaundice chronic dysentery and diarrhea.
41
Zingiber montanum (Koenig)
Wild-ada
Chiangpra
Zingiberaceae
Herb
Rhizome
Cough, indigestion and weakness
42
Piper betel L.
Paan
Pratah
Piperaceae
Climber
Leaf and root
Cough, indigestion and gonorrhea
43
Gmelina arborea Roxb.
Gamar
Sagamay
Verbenaceae
Tree
Root and leaf
Fever, constipation, anemia and dysentery
44
Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk.
Agar
Agru
Thymelaceae
Tree
Resin
Chronic diarrhea, asthma and rheumatism
45
Cinnamomum tamala Nees.
Tejpata
Isli-pariang
Lauraceae
Tree
Leaf and bark
Cough, piles, skin diseases, heart diseases and gonorrhea
Most of the plants recorded during the study found to possess multi uses. The plants used to cure different ailments by the Khasia’s were tree 36% (16 species) followed by herb 24% (11 species), creeper 20% (9 species) shrub 16% (7 species), and fern 4% (2 species) (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Habit-wise classification of ethnomedicinal plants used by the Khasia people.
Plant parts like leaf, stem, root, rhizome, bark, fruit, flower and gum/resin were used for treatment of different diseases. Leaves constituted the major plant part used (35%), followed by rhizome (19%), root (12%) and bark (11%). Other plant parts used included stem (10%), fruit (5%), flower (4%) and resin/gum (4%). The results are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Percentage of use of plant parts by the Khasia people.
About 26.5% plants were used to treat stomach problem followed by different type of pains (24%), dysentery (17.5%), cough (13%), asthma (13%), sexual diseases (13%), skin diseases (13%) and diarrhea (11%).
Fever, diarrhea, skin diseases, rheumatism, insect bite, tooth ache, injury and jaundice are the other major complaints treated by Baidday’s. The most common disorder skin diseases and rheumatism treated with 6 medicinal plants (13%). However, the Baidday’s used 12 plants for the treatment of stomach problem, 11 plants for pain and 8 plants for dysentery which suggests this is a common disorder among the Khasia people of Moulvibazar district.
Table 2: Types and frequency of different ethnomedicinal plants used by the Khasia people.
Diseases
Tree
Herb
Shrub
Creeper
Fern
Total
Frequency of use (%)
Anemia
2
2
4.5
Asthma
3
1
1
1
6
13
Boils
1
1
2
Cold ailments
1
1
2
4.5
Constipation
1
1
2
4.5
Cough
1
2
3
6
13
Diarrhea
4
1
5
11
Dysentery
5
3
8
17.5
Ear ache
1
1
2
Fever
3
1
1
5
11
Heart diseases
2
2
4.5
Indigestion
3
1
1
1
6
13
Injury
3
3
6.5
Insect bite
1
1
1
3
6.5
Jaundice
1
1
1
3
6.5
Leprosy
1
1
2
Menstrual problem
1
1
2
4.5
Pain
2
5
2
2
11
24
Piles
1
1
2
4.5
Rheumatism
1
2
1
4
9
Sexual diseases
2
1
3
6
13
Skin ailments
2
2
1
1
6
13
Stomach problem
2
4
2
3
1
12
26.5
Tooth ache
1
1
1
3
6.5
Tumor
1
1
2
Urinary problem
1
1
2
4.5
Weakness
2
2
4.5
Conclusion
It is important that modern scientific studies to be done on these medicinal plants, so that the plants may be used as remedies in a more rational scientific manner. The result of this study revealed a rich diversity of medicinal plants used to treat various disease condition and ethnomedicinal knowledge, among the Khasia people. Through proper scientific investigation may yield novel compound to treat both old and emerging diseases. The study should be extended other parts of the country to discover an unknown potential use of any medicinal plants that have not been noticed earlier, but is being used for the centuries to treat many difficult diseases.
Acknowledgement
We like to express sincere appreciation and deep gratitude to all participants in this work particularly the Khasi’s of Moulvibazar who have given the permission to conduct the study.
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