Aim: The traditional source of medicinal plants is an important way for daily curative uses in the rural area throughout Bangladesh. An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted in a randomized manner among the traditional medicinal practitioners to find out the medicinal plants of Kalaroa, Bangladesh.
Materials and methods: The information was collected through conducting interviews, discussion and field observation with herbal healers and knowledgeable elder people of the study areas from 01 November 2015 to 31 December 2015 who pointed out various medicinal plants and described their uses, using semi-structured questionnaires.
Results: A total of 29 plants distributed into 21 families had found to be used by the 3 Kavirajes interviewed for the treatment of various ailments. 42 different individual sicknesses were claimed to be cured by plants mentioned by the Kavirajes .The Malvaceae family contributed the highest number of plants with four plants, followed by the Amaranthaceae three plants and the Leguminosae and Euphorbiaceae family with two plants respectively. Leaves were the major plant parts used solely or mixed with other parts forming 33% of total users. This was followed by roots 22%, whole plant 12%, stem & bark, fruit & seeds, and flowers 10% each, and pods, rhizomes, and sap 2% each. 7 plants for skin diseases. 4 plants for erectile dysfunction. Cough, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, and ulcer were treated by 5 plants each. asthma, diuretic, leucorrhoea were treated by 3 plants each. hypertension was treated by two plants.
Conclusion: It is expected that the other plants observed to be used for the treatment of various diseases by the Kavirajes can be subjected to further bio-activity and phytochemical studies, which can lead to the discovery of newer drugs.
Key words: Herbal medicine, Kavirajes, medicinal plants, traditional medicine, kalaroa satkhira.
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