Mohammed Rahmatullah

A Medicinal Plant Study of the Santal Tribe in Rangpur District, Bangladesh

OBJECTIVES The Santals form the largest tribal community in northern Bangladesh and reside primarily in the districts of Rangpur and Dinajpur. The tribe has a long history of medicinal plant use and has its own medicinal practitioners, who usually administer medicinal plant formulations for treatment of various ailments. The objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the Santal communities residing in Rangpur district to collect information on their use of medicinal plants. DESIGN Interviews were conducted with the Santal traditional medicinal practitioners in their own dialect with the help of a semistructured questionnaire and using the guided field-walk method. Plant specimens as pointed out by the practitioners were collected and pressed on the field, and identification was completed at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. SETTINGS/LOCATION The location was the Rangpur district, Bangladesh. SUBJECTS Subjects consisted of the Santal tribe. RESULTS Information on 52 medicinal plants distributed into 33 families was obtained in this survey. Ailments treated by these plants included skin disorders, respiratory tract disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, impotence, diabetes, cancer, malaria, and paralysis. CONCLUSIONS The medicinal plants used by the Santals are worth detailed scientific studies because they are used to treat ailments such as cancer and paralysis.

Medicinal Plants Used by Traditional Practitioners of the Kole and Rai Tribes of Bangladesh

Indigenous medicinal practices can provide valuable information for discovery of new and more efficacious drugs. Most indigenous people or tribes still rely on their traditional medicinal practitioners, who cater to their various ailments by administering medicinal plants, which may or may not be supplemented with various species of animals, insects, fish, amulets, and incantations. Since such practice has continued for centuries, indigenous medicinal practitioners, over time, can possess considerable knowledge of medicinal plants, particularly plants found within the vicinity of their habitat. Observation of indigenous medicinal practices has led to the discovery of a number of important allopathic drugs from plants, and can still provide important information leading toward discovery of new drugs for difficult-to-cure diseases by allopathic medicine. Many diseases such as diabetes or arthritis have no effective cure in allopathic medicine, and a number of medicines used for treatment of microbial diseases are fast losing their efficacies because of the emergence of drug-resistant vectors. From that angle, documentation of indigenous medicinal practices is important, not only because such documentation can provide important information leading to discovery of new drugs, but also because under the influences of globalization, indigenous people are fast losing their age-old ways of living and traditional knowledge, including knowledge of medicinal plants. The Kole and the Rai tribes are two extremely small indigenous communities of Bangladesh. Very little is known about the two tribes, and nothing is known to be reported about their traditional medicinal practices. A recent ethnographic survey has located remnants of the Kole tribe to be present in several small isolated villages of Rajshahi and Nawabganj districts of Bangladesh. Their surviving population is around 1500. They possibly belong to the Austric race of people and may have originated from Africa in the distant past. They claim to be the first tribe to settle in the Bengal region. Their society is patriarchal. Every Kole village has a Headman (Morol), who arbitrates village disputes with the help of the village elders. Marriage is mediated through a middleman (Ghotok), and following marriage, the wife goes to live with the husband’s extended family, which may consist of the husband’s parents and siblings. Their economic status is very poor, with most men working in the fields of the mainstream Bengali-speaking population as agricultural laborers. During food shortages (which is common), the women go to the forests to collect edible plants and the men engage themselves in hunting. Families may own a few poultry, which they raise for selling at village markets to gather some much-needed cash. Women also weave mats from the leaves of date palms, which they sell to get some extra income. Houses are built of earth with thatched roofs. They mostly follow the Hindu religion and emphasize the worship of deities such as Bhagavati, Kali, and Durga; some have, in recent years, converted to Christianity. Since the Koles prefer to stay apart from the mainstream Bengalispeaking population, they lack access to civic amenities and rely on their own traditional medicinal practitioners for treatment of various ailments. Rice is their main diet, which is supplemented with pulses, vegetables, snails, and turtles. Many wild plants are dried and powdered and eaten throughout the year. The Rai tribe is located primarily in several villages in the Godagari area of Rajshahi district in Bangladesh; some of their villages are in close proximity to Kole villages. They are presumed to have originated from the Dumka Hills and Murshidabad region in India. Their present number is unknown, but cannot be more than 800 persons. They believe in a supreme deity, Dharmeshwar, who they believe to reside in the sun. Every village has a village council (Panchayet) comprising of a Headman (Morol), one elder, one churedar (who delivers news to village people), and 2 other members. Their language belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages, but in recent years, like the Kole tribe, they can speak Bengali. They have three clans, namely, the Rai Khatriya, Singh Bhuiyan, and Mota Bhuiyan, with the present study being conducted among the Rai Khatriyas. The Rai Khatriyas have three totems, Nag, Shankha, and Kocchop. Their main occupation is serving as agricultural laborers to the mainstream population, and their economic status is very poor.

A survey of medicinal plants used by the Deb barma clan of the Tripura tribe of Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh

BackgroundThe number of tribes present within Bangladesh has been estimated to approximate one hundred and fifty. Information on traditional medicinal practices, particularly of the smaller tribes and their clans is lacking. It was the objective of the study to document the tribal medicinal practices of the Deb barma clan of the Tripura tribe, which clan can be found residing in Dolusora Tripura Palli of Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh. A further objective was to determine the extent of the community households who still prefer traditional treatment to other forms of treatment, particularly allopathic treatment.MethodsInterviews of the tribal healer and the tribal community regarding their ethnomedicinal practices were carried out with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. All together 67 clan members were interviewed including the Headman, tribal healer, 19 Heads of households and 46 other adult members of the clan. Information on number of members of household, their age, gender, educational status, occupation of working household members and preferred mode of treatment was obtained through the semi-structured questionnaire. In the guided field-walk method, the healer took the interviewers on field-walks through areas from where he collected his medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, and described their uses.ResultsThe clan had a total of 135 people distributed into 20 households and had only one traditional healer. Use of medicinal plants, wearing of amulets, and worship of the evil god ‘Bura debta’ constituted the traditional medicinal practices of the clan for treatment of diseases. The healer used a total of 44 medicinal plants distributed into 34 families for treatment of various ailments like pain, coughs, cold, gastrointestinal disorders, cuts and wounds, diabetes, malaria, heart disorders, and paralysis.ConclusionsAvailable scientific reports validate the use of a number of plants by the traditional healer. A number of the plants used by the clan healer had reported similar uses in Ayurveda, but differ considerably in their therapeutic uses from that reported for other tribes in Bangladesh. The present survey also indicated that in recent years the Deb barma clan members are inclining more towards allopathic medicine.

Zingiber officinale: A Potential Plant against Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease particularly affecting elderly people which leads to massive bone destruction with consequent inflammation, pain, and debility. Allopathic medicine can provide only symptomatic relief. However, Zingiber officinale is a plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family, which has traditionally been used for treatment of RA in alternative medicines of many countries. Many of the phytochemical constituents of the rhizomes of this plant have therapeutic benefits including amelioration of RA. This review attempts to list those phytochemical constituents with their reported mechanisms of action. It is concluded that these phytochemicals can form the basis of discovery of new drugs, which not only can provide symptomatic relief but also may provide total relief from RA by stopping RA-induced bone destruction. As the development of RA is a complex process, further research should be continued towards elucidating the molecular details leading to RA and drugs that can stop or reverse these processes by phytoconstituents of ginger.

A Pharmacological and Phytochemical Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Used by the Harbang Clan of the Tripura Tribal Community of Mirsharai Area, Chittagong District, Bangladesh

BACKGROUND Recent years have witnessed a continual decline of medicinal plant availability as well as a decline in the numbers of tribal traditional healers and their medicinal knowledge in Bangladesh. Yet these medicinal plants used for treatment of various ailments by tribal traditional healers can be of considerable interest to modern science in their potential for discovery of lead compounds, which can lead to better drugs. OBJECTIVE The primary objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the traditional healers of the Harbang clan (Tripura tribe) of Mirsharai to gain information on medicinal plants used to treat various ailments with the further objective of evaluating the efficacy of these medicinal plants when compared with known phytochemicals and modern-research-based pharmacologic activity studies on these plants. METHODS Semistructured interviews and guided field-walk methods were used to gather information on medicinal plants used by the Tripura traditional healers. Along with plants, information was also collected on plant parts used, formulations, and dosages. Information on phytochemicals as well as pharmacologic activity studies on these plants (if any) was obtained from several data bases. SETTING The survey was conducted among the traditional healers of the Harbang clan (Tripura tribe) residing in Mirsharai, Chittagong district, Bangladesh. RESULTS The traditional healers of the Tripura tribal community of Mirsharai use 64 plant species distributed into 38 families for treatment of various ailments. CONCLUSIONS Information on phytochemicals and pharmacologic activity studies conducted on a number of the plants (used by Tripura tribal healers) by modern scientific methods validated the traditional use of a number of plants and suggested that they can form a good source of newer drugs. The survey further highlighted the importance of gathering such ethnomedicinal information for effective conservation of tribal medicinal knowledge and medicinally important plant species.

Proposed structural basis of interaction of piperine and related compounds with monoamine oxidases.

Several studies have revealed piperine and a few related compounds as potent inhibitors of monoamine oxidases without delineating the underlying mechanism. Using in silico modelling, we propose a structural basis of such activity by showing that these compounds can successfully dock into the inhibitor binding pockets of human monoamine oxidase isoforms with predicted affinities comparable to some known inhibitors. The results therefore suggest that piperine can be a promising lead for developing novel monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

Medicinal Plants Used by Various Tribes of Bangladesh for Treatment of Malaria

It has been estimated that 300–500 million malaria infections occur on an annual basis and causes fatality to millions of human beings. Most of the drugs used for treatment of malaria have developed drug-resistant parasites or have serious side effects. Plant kingdom has throughout the centuries proved to be efficient source of efficacious malarial drugs like quinine and artemisinin. Since these drugs have already developed or in the process of developing drug resistance, it is important to continuously search the plant kingdom for more effective antimalarial drugs. In this aspect, the medicinal practices of indigenous communities can play a major role in identification of antimalarial plants. Bangladesh has a number of indigenous communities or tribes, who because of their living within or in close proximity to mosquito-infested forest regions, have high incidences of malaria. Over the centuries, the tribal medicinal practitioners have treated malaria with various plant-based formulations. The objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among various tribes of Bangladesh to identify the plants that they use for treatment of the disease. Surveys were conducted among seven tribes, namely, Bawm, Chak, Chakma, Garo, Marma, Murong, and Tripura, who inhabit the southeastern or northcentral forested regions of Bangladesh. Interviews conducted with the various tribal medicinal practitioners indicated that a total of eleven plants distributed into 10 families were used for treatment of malaria and accompanying symptoms like fever, anemia, ache, vomiting, and chills. Leaves constituted 35.7% of total uses followed by roots at 21.4%. Other plant parts used for treatment included barks, seeds, fruits, and flowers. A review of the published scientific literature showed that a number of plants used by the tribal medicinal practitioners have been scientifically validated in their uses. Taken together, the plants merit further scientific research towards possible discovery of novel compounds that can be used to successfully treat malaria with less undesirable sideeffects.

Folk Medicinal Uses of Verbenaceae Family Plants in Bangladesh

Folk medicinal practitioners form the first tier of primary health-care providers to most of the rural population of Bangladesh. They are known locally as Kavirajes and rely almost solely on oral or topical administration of whole plants or plant parts for treatment of various ailments. Also about 2% of the total population of Bangladesh are scattered among more than twenty tribes residing within the countrys borders. The various tribes have their own tribal practitioners, who use medicinal plants for treatment of diseases. The objective of the present survey was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the Kavirajes and tribal practitioners to determine which species of plants belonging to the Verbenaceae family are used by the practitioners. The Verbenaceae family plants are well known for constituents having important bio-active properties. The present survey indicated that 13 species belonging to 8 genera are used by the folk and tribal medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh. A comparison of their folk medicinal uses along with published reports in the scientific literature suggests that the Verbenaceae family plants used in Bangladesh can potentially be important sources of lead compounds or novel drugs for treatment of difficult to cure debilitating diseases like malaria and rheumatoid arthritis.

Ethnopharmacological Significance of Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk. (Asteraceae)

Eclipta alba can be found growing wild in fallow lands of Bangladesh where it is considered as a weed by farmers. Traditional medicinal systems of the Indian subcontinent countries as well as tribal practitioners consider the plant to have diverse medicinal values and use it commonly for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory tract disorders (including asthma), fever, hair loss and graying of hair, liver disorders (including jaundice), skin disorders, spleen enlargement, and cuts and wounds. The plant has several phytoconstituents like wedelolactone, eclalbasaponins, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, luteolin, and apigenin. Pharmacological activities of plant extracts and individual phytoconstituents have revealed anticancer, hepatoprotective, snake venom neutralizing, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Phytoconstituents like wedelolactone and ursolic and oleanolic acids as well as luteolin and apigenin can form the basis of new drugs against cancer, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases, and liver disorders.

Ethnomedicinal plants of the Bauri tribal community of Moulvibazar District, Bangladesh

Context: Bangladesh reportedly has more than 100 tribal communities; however, documentation of their medicinal practices is markedly absent. Aim: The aim of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the little known Bauri tribe of Bangladesh, whose tribal medicinal practices are yet to be documented. Settings and Design: The survey was carried out among the Bauri tribal community of Purbo Tila village in Moulvibazar District. The community is believed to be the only Bauri community in the country and had four tribal healers who continue their traditional medicinal practices. Materials and Methods: Interviews of the healers were carried out with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method where the healers took the interviewers on guided field-walks through areas from where they collected their medicinal plants. Here they identified the plants and described their uses. Results: The Bauri healers were observed to use 40 different plant species and one bird species for treatment of ailments such as fever, respiratory tract disorders, pain, gastrointestinal disorders, eye problems like cataract and conjunctivitis, jaundice, abscess, cardiovascular disorders, urinary problems, paralysis, dog bite, snake bite, helminthiasis, lesions on the tongue or lips and piles. Leaves were the major plant part used and constituted 38.3% of total uses followed by fruits at 14.9%. Conclusions: A review of the relevant scientific literature showed that a number of medicinal plants used by the Bauri healers possess pharmacological activities, which were in line with the traditional uses, thus validating their use by the Bauri tribe.