Abstract

MEDICINAL USES OF PLANTS BY A FEMALE FOLK MEDICINAL PRACTITIONER OF NARAYANGANJ DISTRICT, BANGLADESH

Md. Shuayeb Alam, Md. Alamin, Ahmed Nayem Bari, Arabindo Chandra Adhikary, Mst. Moriom Khatun, Mst. Roksana Parvin, Erena Islam, Mohammed Rahmatullah*

ABSTRACT

Background: Female folk medicinal practitioners are comparatively rare but they can possess remarkable knowledge on medicinal plants and their properties, because female members are the ones who tend to the sick members of the family. The objective of the present study was to document the use of medicinal plants by an elderly female folk medicinal practitioner in Narayanganj district, Bangladesh. Methods: Interview of the folk medicinal practitioner was carried out with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. Results: The folk medicinal practitioner used a total of 27 plants distributed into 20 families for treatment. The various diseases treated included cuts and wounds, gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, skin infections, hypertension, bone fracture, fever, helminthiasis, obesity, pain, coughs, mucus, hair loss and insomnia. Conclusion: The medicinal plant knowledge of the folk medicinal practitioner, if validated scientifically, can substantially lower the primary health cost of particularly rural population of Bangladesh.

Keywords: Folk medicine, medicinal plants, Narayanganj, Bangladesh.