medicinal plant diversity and local healthcare among the people living in and around a conservation...

8/12/2019 Medicinal Plant Diversity and Local Healthcare AMONG THE PEOPLE LIVING IN AND AROUND A CONSERVATION ARE

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Int. J. For. Usuf. Mngt. 8(2) : 50-63 (2007) ISSN 0972-3927

Department of Forestry, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and

Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh* Author for all correspondence; E-mail:[email protected]

MEDICINAL PLANT DIVERSITY AND LOCAL HEALTHCARE AMONGTHE PEOPLE LIVING IN AND AROUND A CONSERVATION AREA OFNORTHERN BANGLADESHSharif Ahmed Mukul*, Mohammad Belal Uddin andMashiur Rahman Tito

AbstractAn ethno-medicinal investigation was carried out to understand the medicinalplants (MPs) diversity and local healthcare practice among the people living in

and around a conservation area of northern Bangladesh. Study was conducted byinterviewing 103 households; through a series of intensive field visits duringFebruary to June, 2006. Study revealed that, the area is very rich in MPs andpeoples living in and proximity of the conservation area relies traditionally onthese plants for their primary health care purpose. During the study a total of 40species were identified having medicinal or curative value, including 15 tree, 11shrub, 11 herb and 3 climbers. Among the identified MPs, local peoplestraditionally collected 60% species from the wild sources (i.e. from theconservation area) followed by cultivated (13%) and domestic (7%) sources. It wasalso observed that, local people used the identified MPs mostly for curing coldailments followed by cough, cut and wounds, fever, dysentery, skin diseases andfor other common ailments. Leaves were found to use heavily for medicinalpreparations; other plant parts used to manufacture medicine were bark followedby fruit, root/rhizome, seed and whole plant.

Key words: Medicinal plants; Traditional uses; Satchari National Park;Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTIONMillions of people throughout the worldtraditionally use natural or herbalremedy for their primary health caresince time immemorial. In fact, thesenatural products are readily available,environment friendly, cheap and withoutany side effects. Even now, many of theremoter areas of south-east Asia barely

have been touched by modern medicine;western health care provision is beyondthe reach of many rural people, for whomtraveling to urban centers for treatment isdifficult, time consuming and costly(Young et al.1988). Traditional medicineon the other hand, because of itsdecentralized nature, is generally easilyand quickly available (Elliot et al. 1986).

Yet again, in recent years, there has beena growth of interest on traditional natural

medicines in part driven by the interestsin complementary medicine in industrialcountries and in part resulting from theinterests of the internationalpharmaceutical industry (Bodekar et al.1997). The global demand for naturalmedicine is now growing day by day asalmost 80% of the human population indeveloping countries relies chiefly on

traditional, largely natural medicine tomeet their primary healthcare needs(Farnsworth et al.1985).

Bangladesh is a country considered to berich in MPs genetic resources by virtue ofits favorable agro-climatic condition andseasonal diversity. About 5 000 species ofphanerogams and pteridophytes grows inthe countrys forests, wetlands, farms andeven roadside as indigenous, naturally-


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occurring or cultivated plants. Of these,more than a thousand have been claimedto possess medicinal or curativeproperties (Haque, 2004). In recent years,like most other countries of the worldthese natural medicines have gained awider recognition within the country.However, although the country issupposed to be a treasure house of variousnatural medicines; still there is a lack of

systematic inventory or knowledgeregarding its rich diversity of MPs andtheir traditional usage in various parts ofthe country (Dixie et al. 2003).

The linkage between biodiversity andhuman health is now well established(Bodeker, 2005). Conservation areas likeprotected area apart from their otherconservation values contributingsignificantly to MP conservation. Yetagain, people living in and around theseconservation areas relies extensively onthese areas to meet their primary healthcare needs like other subsistencerequirements (i.e. fuelwood, fodder,weaving and building materials,bushmeat etc). Our study was aimed toassess the diversity and richness of MPsin and around a northern biodiversity richconservation area of Bangladesh and theirtraditional usage for primary healthcareneeds among the people living in andaround that area, viz; Satchari NationalPark. The study will be helpful to reassess

the invaluable role of conservation areasin MP conservation and to realize thelocal dependency and healthcare patternthrough these natural medicinal products.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study areaWe purposively selected SatchariNational Park (Satchari NP) for the studyconsidering its unique geo-physical

features and rich biological diversity. Thepark is newest among the eighteenprotected areas (PAs) of Bangladesh andone among the four PAs of northernBangladesh (Mukul et al. 2006). Fromvarious literatures it is evident that thepark has been supported more than 241species of local and exotic flora. Although,the area was previously classified asmoist evergreen forest, but the large-scale

conversion of the indigenous forest coverto plantations has changed it to just 200ha of natural forest (Choudhury et al.2004); the rest is secondary (raisedplantation) forest.

The area of the park is about 243 hawhich comprised the forests ofRaghunandan Hills Reserve Forestswithin the Satchari Range.

Administratively, the park is located inthe Chunarughat Upazilla (sub-district) ofHabiganj District and is situated nearly130 km north- east of Dhaka. TheRaghunandan Hill Reserve borders thepark on its north-western part whileIndia lies on the southern part of the park(Figure 1).Other adjacent areas arecovered by tea estates, rubber gardens,agar plantations and paddy fields.

The topography of the park is undulatingwith slopes and hillocks, locally calledtilla, ranging from 10 to 50 m in elevation.

A number of small, sandy-bedded streams

drain the forest, all of which dry out inthe winter dry season after November.The total annual average rainfall is 4,162mm. July is the wettest month having anaverage of about 1,250 mm of rain, whileDecember is the driest with no rainfall.May and October, the hottest months,have an average maximum temperaturearound 320C, while January is the coldestmonth when the minimum temperaturedrops to about 120C. The relative


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humidity of the area is about 74% duringDecember while it is over 90% duringJuly-August (Choudhury et al.2004).

Brief summary of community livelihoodsin the areaA total of 19 villages having varied degreeof interests with the Satchari NP have sofar been identified. Of them, one village islocated within the national park area,

which is inhabited by a tribal community,the ethnic Tripura tribe. The other

settlements that have stakes with thenational park are located about 3-8 kmaway from the park. Local people havetraditionally collected various resourcesfrom the Satchari NP and adjacentreserve forest. Many households,particularly poor households from thesurrounding villages, rely entirely orpartially on the national park forcollecting fuelwood, timber, bamboo and

natural remedies.

Figure 1. Location map of the study site


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MethodologyWe interviewed 103 households living inand outside villages of the national park.Respondents were selected randomly fromfour villages having different stakes withthe park. The villages were also selectedrandomly from each of the first four forestdependency categories as identified byMollah et al. (2004), including the onlyvillage inside the parkTiprapara. Any

villages with only minor dependency onthe park were not selected.

We conducted intensive householdsurveys in our four sample villagesTiprapara, Ratanpur, Deorgach andGoachnagarfrom mid-February to late-June, 2006. Before household survey somerandom field visits were arranged on the

edge of this conservation area with localage old and resource person to assess andnote the available MPs in the locality,specimens were collected in case ofunidentified species.

In Tiprapara,we took a 100% sample, asvillagers were highly dependent on thepark for their subsistence. In othersample villages we took a 10% sample of

households (Table 1). During the course ofthe household survey participant groupmeetings were conducted and semi-structured interviews were undertakenwith members of the participatinghouseholds to provide additionalinformation regarding our field ofinterests.

Table 1. Study villages, location and sample size from the corresponding villagesVillage Location Forestdependency PopulationSize (HHs) Samplesize (n) ForestPractices*

Tiprapara Inside Major 22 n = 22

Collect firewood, housebuilding materials, fruitsand other NTFPs,cultivate lemon andothers

Ratanpur OutsideMedium to

major156 n = 16

Mainly involved withillegal tree felling, andcollecting firewood

DeorgachOutside

eastMedium 316 n = 32

Mainly collect firewood,some involved withillegal tree felling

Goachnagar Outsidewest

Medium tominor

328 n = 33 Mainly collect firewood,some involved withillegal tree felling

* As described by Mollah et al.(2004)

For data collection we used a semi-structured questionnaire where thedetails about the MPs collected, theirtraditional usage, parts used for treating

various ailments, sources of collection andthe ethnomedicinal preparation wererecorded. Additional data were alsogathered on the market potential of MPs.


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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONMedicinal plant diversity in and aroundSatchari NPOur study revealed a rich diversity ofMPs in and around the Satchari NP.During our field investigations, a total of40 plant species (Table 2) belonging to 29families and distributed in 37 generawere recorded from the area whichpossesses some curative value. Many

species of the family Rutaceae (4),Combretaceae (3), Euphorbiaceae (3) andZingiberaceae (3) were found to frequently

use. All the MPs were found to collect bylocal users mainly for their ownconsumption (63%) followed by forcommercial purpose (37%). Study alsorevealed that majority of the species usedby the local inhabitants was tree followedby some shrub, herb and climber (Figure2). It was also found that, 60%of speciesused by the local inhabitants of Satchariwere collected through wild harvesting.

Other collecting sources of MPs wererural homesteads (33%) and agriculturalfields (7%).

Figure 2.Habit-wise distribution of medicinal plants in Satchari

37%

27%

28%

8%

Tree / Palm Herb Shrub Climber

Traditional usage of medicinal plants andtheir using patternDuring our study approximately 74%respondents were found to use some sortof MPs in their every day life. Howeverusing of the MPs was not uniform in all ofour studied villages. All the respondentsof Tiprapra reported some kind of MP usein their primary healthcare purpose;however peoples from Ratanpur,Deorgach and Goachnagar used MPs atthe percentage of 81%, 69% and 58%

respectively. It was also evident from ourfield investigation that, peoples of the

area basically used the identified MPs fortreating 29 different ailments whichincludes simple cut injury to highlycomplicated heart disease. In addition,some MPs were found to use to cure morethan one ailment. As for example;Terminalia chebula and Azadirachtaindica alone used to treat six differentailments. It was also revealed from thestudy that, 22.5% of MPs of the area were


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used for treating cold ailments followed bycough (17.5%), cut and wounds (15%),fever (12.5%), dysentery (10%), skindiseases (10%) and other ailments. Table3 shows the different type of MP speciesused by the people of the Satchari area fortreating various ailments and theirfrequency of use. The study also showedthat, peoples were mostly used leaves (19

ailment) preferably in fresh and greencondition for medicinal preparation; otherplant parts used were fruits (11 ailments),bark (3 ailments), rhizome and root (4ailments), seed (3 ailments), whole plants(2 ailments) and latex (1 ailments). Figure3 explains the percentage of differentplant parts used for treating variousailments in Satchari area.

Figure 3.Medicinal plants break-up by parts used

11%

23%

43%

9%

6% 2% 6%

Bark Fruit Leaves Rhizome/Root Seed Latex Whole plant

Study suggests that, about 68.5% MPs inSatchari were taken orally followed byexternally (21%) and both orally andexternally (10.5%) used. In some cases

different parts of an individual plant wasfound to use to cure different ailments indifferent ways. As for example; afterboiling the fresh green leaves ofA. indicathe water is taken externally to treatsskin disease and chicken pox and takenorally for curing fever, dysentery, diabetesand intestinal worm. Again, the green

leaves of Calotropis gigantea was found toputted on knee joint after heating on fireto relieve joint ache and the latex of thesame species was used externally to

treated cut injury. In addition, peoplesoften used the mixture of more than oneplant to cure an ailment. They use themixture of leave juice ofAdhatoda vasicaalong with Zingiber officinale to relievefrom cold ailments and cough. Table 4lists some ethno-medicinal preparationscommonly used at Satchari area.


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Figure 4. C. gigantea, A. vasica and A. cardamomum (clock wise); three widely usedmedicinal plants in Satchari area (Photographs: S. A. Mukul)

Again, although the people living in andaround the Satchari NP were found tohighly dependent on herbal remedies andhave had a greater understanding onMPs. However, most of the speciesreported to use frequently against variousailments in that area were also evidentfrom the study of many authors fromdifferent regions through out the world.

Aegle marmelos (Kar et al. 2003); A.indica (Kar et al. 2003; Chattopadhay,

1999) C. gigantea (Miah and Chowdhury,2003); Cymbidium aloifilium(Sandhya etal. 2006); Terminalia chebula(Ignacimuthu et al. 2006); Piper betel(Miah and Chowdhury, 2003) are a fewexample.

Households knowledge gathering patternregarding ethnomedicinal plant usageDuring our field survey it was observedthat, the ethno-medicinal use of different

plant parts for treating various ailmentsis common among the ethnic Tripuracommunity, whereas it is comparativelylesser in other outside villages. Perhaps,this is due the rich ethno-culturalbackground and forest dwelling nature ofTripura community. Throughout thestudy it was also found that, the elderpersons (above 45 years of age) of thefamily possess more knowledge regardingMPs use and identification of than that of

younger generations. Similar observationis also evident from the study of Uniyal etal. (2006); Ladio (2002) and Ladio &Lozada (2001, 2003) in various regions ofthe world. Data also showed that, femalesknew more about the usage of MPs thanthat of male. Most of the age-old femalein our study area were found to familiarwith the traditional uses of MPs growingin forest and in their vicinity.


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CONCLUSIONOur study fairly accurately represents thelocal healthcare practice through locallyavailable MPs in Satchari area. Duringthe study, it was estimated that most ofthe supply (58%) of MPs in that areacame through wild harvesting whichgenerally collected from the national parkarea. This wild and sometimesunsustainable collection severely affected

the existence of various importantmedicinal species, even, which may causeextinction of those species in near future.To stop this species extinction and copewith the vulnerable rural economy,domestication and cultivation ofalternative supply sources of potentialMPs outside the core conservation area isessential.

Besides, during the study we found that,in Satchari NP area collection and sellingof some species like the medicinal bark ofLitsea monopetala and the seed of

Ammomum aromaticumplay a significantrole to households cash incomegeneration. Introducing andprioritizations of such species in ForestDepartments buffer zone plantationstrategy also with homestead agroforestrysystem might bring a positive impact inrural household economy as well as inforest conservation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe study was partially funded by USAIDunder a joint fellowship program of East-West Center, Hawaii and NishorgoSupport Project (NSP), Bangladesh. Wewould like to thanks Dr. Jefferson Fox ofEast-West Center and Dr. MohammadZashim Uddin of Dhaka University fortheir invaluable assistance and commentsduring preparing this manuscript. Thanksalso to Mr. Joydip Roy for his hospitality

and consistent support during our fieldvisits. Field Assistance of Nobel andPranto are also gratefully acknowledged.Finally, we appreciate the help providedby the residents of Tiprapara, Ratanpur,Deorgach and Goachnagar by sharingtheir knowledge on medicinal plants andtheir uses during our field visits.

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Orrell, T.M., Paglinawan, L.E., Brewer,P.W., Bailly, N., van Hertum, J. (eds.)(2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue ofLife: 2007 Annual Checklist. CD-ROM;Species 2000: Reading, U.K.

Bodeker, G. (2005) Medicinal PlantBiodiversity & Local Healthcare:Sustainable Use & LivelihoodDevelopment. In: Proceedings of the 17thCommonwealth Forestry Conference heldat Colombo, Sri Lanka. pp. 14.

Bodeker, G. Bhat, K.K.S., Burley, J. &

Vantomme, P. (eds.) (1997) Medicinalplants for forest conservation and healthcare. Non-Wood Forest Products Seriesno. 11. Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy. pp.158.

Chattopadhyay, R.R. (1999) A comparativeevaluation of some blood sugar loweringagents of plant origin, Journal ofEthnopharmacology; Vol. 67 (3): 367-372.

Choudhury, J.K., Biswas, S.R., Islam, S.M.,Rahman, O. & Uddin, S.N. (2004)Biodiversity of Shatchari ReservedForest, Habiganj. IUCN Bangladesh

Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh. pp.30.

Dixie, G., Hussain, M.J. & Imam, S.A. (2003)Medicinal plant marketing inBangladesh. Intercooperation and South

Asia Enterprise Development Facility. pp8-22.

Elliot, S. & Brimacombe, J. (1986) The MedicalPlants of Gunung Leuser National Park,Indonesia. WWF, Gland, Switzerland.


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Farnsworth, N.R., Akerele, O. & Bingel, A.S.(1985) Medicinal plants in therapy,Bulletin of World Health Organization;

Vol. 63: 965-981.Haque, M.M. (2004) Inventory and

documentation of medicinal plants inBangladesh In: Medicinal PlantsResearch in Asia, Volume1: TheFramework and Project Work plans (Eds.P.A. Batugal, J. Kanniah, L.S. Young, &J.T. Oliver). International Plant Genetic

Resources Institute-Regional Office forAsia, the Pacific and Oceania (IPGRI-APO), Serdang, Selangor DE, Malaysia,pp. 45-47.

Ignacimuthu, S., Ayyanar, M. & Sivaraman,S.K. (2006) Ethnobotanical investigationsamong the tribes in Madurai District ofTamil Nadu (India), Journal ofEthnobiology and Ethnomedicine; Vol. 2:25.

Ladio, A.H (2002) Las plantas comestibles enel noroeste patagonico y su utilizacionpor las poblaciones humanas: unaaproximacion cuantitativa. In: Tesis

doctoral. Universidad Nacional delComahue, Bariloche, Argentina. pp. 271.

Kar, A., Choudhary, B.K. & Bandyopadhyay,N.G. (2003) Comparative evaluation ofhypoglycaemic activity of some Indianmedicinal plants in alloxan diabetic rats,Journal of Ethnopharmacology; 84 (1):87-93.

Ladio, A.H. & Lozada, M. (2001) Non-timberforest product use in two humanpopulations from northwest Patagonia: aquantitative approach, Human Ecology;

Vol. 29: 367380.Ladio, A.H. & Lozada, M. (2003) Comparison

of wild edible plant diversity and foraging

strategies in two aboriginal communitiesof northwestern Patagonia, Biodiversityand Conservation; Vol.12: 937951.

Miah, M.D. & Chowdhury, M.S.H. (2003)Indigenous healthcare practice throughmedicinal plants from forests by the Mrotribe in Bandarban region, Bangladesh,INDILINGA- African Journal of

Indigenous Knowledge Systems; Vol. 2(2):61-73.

Mollah, A.R., Kundu, D.K. & Rahman, M.M.

(2004) Site-Level Field Appraisal forProtected Area Co-Management: SatchariReserve Forest. Nature ConservationManagement (NACOM), Bangladesh. pp.110.

Mukul, S.A., Uddin, M.B. and Tito, M.R.(2006) Study on the status and varioususes of invasive alien plant species in andaround Satchari National Park, Sylhet,Bangladesh, Tigerpaper; Vol. 33(4): 28-32.

Sandhya, B., Thomas, S., Isabel, W. &Shenbagarathai, R. (2006)Ethnomedicinal plants used by the

Valiyan community of Piranmalai Hills(Reserved Forest), Tamilnadu, India. - Apilot Study, African Journal ofTraditional, Complementary and

Alternative Medicines; Vol. 3(1): 101-114.Uniyal, S.K., Singh, K.N., Jamwal, P. & Lal,

B. (2006) Traditional use of medicinalplants among the tribal communities ofChhota Bhangal, Western Himalaya,Journal of Ethnobiology and

Ethnomedicine; Vol. 2: 14.Young, D., Ingram, G. & Swartz, I. (1988) The

Persistence of Traditional Medicine in theModern World, Cultural Survival

Quarterly; Vol. 12(1): 39-41.


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Table 2.Medicinal plants and their traditional uses of in and around Satch

Family Botanical name1 Local name Parts used Traditional use

Acanthaceae

Adhatoda vasicaNees Basak Fresh greenleaves

Cough, cold ailments andasthma

Apiaceae Centella asiatica (L.)Urban

Adamoni Whole plant Dysentery, diarrhoea,gastric pain

Apocynaceae

Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br.

Chatim Leaves Fever

Arecaceae Cocos nucifera L. Narikel Tender fruit Hair falls, burns

Araceae Alocasia indica(Lour.)Spach.

Harinpaya Whole plant Stomach trouble

Aslepiadaceae

Calotropis gigantea (L.)Ait. f.

Akanda Leaves, latex Joint pain, cut andwounds

Chromolaenaodorata(L.)King & H.E. Robins

Uzaru Green leaves Cut and wounds Asteraceae

Mikania scandens(L.)Willd.

Assam lata Green leaves Cut and wounds

Bromeliaceae

Ananas comosus (L.)Merr.

Anaras Fruit Jaundice, intestinalworm

Caricaceae Carica papayaL. Pepe Fruit Stomach trouble Terminalia arjunaW & A Arjun Bark Heart disease, cold

ailments, cough

Terminalia belericaRoxb. Bohera Fruit Constipation, stomachtrouble, eye disease, lossof appetite

Combretaceae

Terminalia chebula

(Gaertn.) R etz.Horitaki Fruit Constipation, fever, heart

disease, cough, urinaryproblems, loss of appetite


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Convolvulaceae

Ipomoea fistulosa Roxb. Donkalos Whole plant Cold ailments

Cucurbitace

ae

Coccinia cordifolia Linn. Telkucha pata Green leaves Cold ailments, diabetes

Dilleniaceae Dillenia indica Linn. Chalta Fruit Hair falls Phyllanthus emblica

Linn.Amoloki Fruit Dysentery, skin diseases,

hair falls, indigestionEuphorbiaceae

Trewia nudifloraLinn. Chagal ledi Leaves Fever

Fabaceae Cassia fistula Linn. Sonalu Fruit, bark Constipation Lamiaceae Ocimum tenuiflorum L. Tulsi Fresh green

leavesCough, cold ailments, cutand wounds

Lauraceae Litsea monopetala(Roxb.) Pers.

Menda Fresh greenleaves andbark

Amoebic dysentery,diarrhoea, constipation

Azadirachta indicaAdr.Juss.

Neem Fresh greenleaves andseed

Skin diseases, chickenpox, fever, dysentery,diabetes, intestinal worm

Meliaceae

Melia azedarach Linn. Bokain Green leaves Skin diseases Mimosoideae

Mimosa pudica Linn. Lazzabati Roots Not-specified

Moringaceae

Moringa oleifera Lamk. Sajna Bark Cold ailments

Orchidaceae Cymbidium aloifolium(L.) Sw.

Kuntus pata Leaves,seeds

Ear ache, cut and wounds

Piperaceae Piper betelLinn. Paan Fresh greenleaves

Indigestion, loss ofappetite

Cymbopogon citratus

(DC. ex Nees) StapfLemon ghass Leaves Not-specified Poaceae

Cynodon dactylon(L.)

Pers.

Durba ghass Tender

leaves

Tooth ache, cut and

woundsPolygonaceae

Polygonum hydropiper L. Biskatali Green leaves Insect bites

Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr.Serr.

Bel Fruit Weakness, colitis,diarrhoea

Rutaceae

Citrus acida (Linn.) Jambura Fruit Jaundice


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Citrus limon (Linn.)Burm. f.

Lebu Fruit, Leaf Indigestion

Glycosmis pentaphylla

(Retz).

Fatikgila Green leaves Fever

Sterculiaceae

Abroma augusta (L.) Lf. Ulatkambal Bark, root Female disorders

Theaceae Camellia sinensis (L.) O.Kuntze

Chaa Tenderleaves

Heart disease, coldailments, cough

Verbenaceae

Vitex negundo Linn. Nimunda Green leaves Tooth ache

Ammomum aromaticum

Roxb.Taragota Seed Cough, cold ailments

Curcuma longa Linn. Holud Rhizome Skin diseases

Zingiberaceae

Zingiber officinale Roscoe Ada Rhizome Cough, cold ailments

1As per suggested by Bisby et al.(2007)

2Use frequency = number of people reported MPs use in relation to the total number of times tcited.

Key: Cl-climber, H-herb, Sh-Shrub, Tr-tree, Pa-palmC-common, FC-fairly common, R-rareCu-cultivated, D-harvested from domestic sources, W-wild harvesting


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Table 3. Traditional medicinal uses of different MPs for different ailmentsby the people of Satchari areaNumber of species reportedName of ailments Tree / Palm Herb Shrub Climber Total

Percentageof total ( )Asthma - - 1 - 1 2.5Burns 1 - - - 1 2.5Chicken pox 1 - - - 1 2.5Cold ailments 2 1 5 1 9 22.5Colitis 1 - - - 1 2.5Constipation 4 - - - 4 10Cough 2 1 4 - 7 17.5Cut and wounds - 4 1 1 6 15Diabetes 1 - - 1 2 5Diarrhoea 2 1 - - 3 7.5Dysentery 3 1 - - 4 10Ear ache - 1 - - 1 2.5Eye disease 1 - - - 1 2.5Female disorders - - 1 - 1 2.5Fever 4 - 1 - 5 12.5Gastric pain - 1 - - 1 2.5Hair falls 3 - - - 3 7.5

Heart disease 2 - 1 - 3 7.5Indigestion 1 - 1 1 3 7.5Insect bites - 1 - - 1 2.5Intestinal worm 1 1 - - 2 5Jaundice 1 1 - - 2 5Joint pain - - 1 - 1 2.5Loss of appetite 2 - - 1 3 7.5Skin diseases 3 - 1 - 4 10Stomach trouble 1 1 1 - 3 7.5Tooth ache - 2 - - 2 5Urinary problems 1 - - - 1 2.5Weakness 1 - - - 1 2.5

Not-specified - 2 - - 2 5


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Table 4. Some common medicinal preparations of Satchari areaLocalname Used part Therapeuticuse Using pattern

Ada Rhizoime Cough, coldailments

The rhizomes are sliced and are takenwith tea liquor or eaten directly withslight salt.

Adamoni Wholeplant

Dysentery The whole plant along with the roots arecrushed in pestle, mixed with salt andeaten with rice.

Akanda Leaves Joint ache The leaves are warmed lightly over thefire and placed on the sprain joint.

Anaras Fruit Jaundice,intestinal worm

The fruit is eaten raw.

Arjun Bark Heart disease After grinding the bark is soaked in water.The decanting water is then drunk mixedwith 1-2 drop of honey.

Assamlata

Greenleaves

Cut andwounds

The leaves are squeezed. After decantingthe juice of leaves used externally on thecut injury.

Basak Freshgreenleaves

Cough, coldailments

The juice of leaves with small slice ofzinger is drunk with warm water.

Bel Fruit Weakness The inner part of the fruit is rubbed withwater, mixed with slight sugar and thendrunk.

Durbaghass

Freshgreenleaves

Tooth ache Fresh clean leaves along with slight saltare crushed with teeth.

Menda Freshgreenleaves

Dysentery,diarrhoea,

The leaves are rubbed with slight water.The resulting slippery juice is drunkdirectly.

Neem Freshgreenleaves

Skin diseases,chicken pox,

The bark and leaves are boiled with water.After decanting the warm water is usedexternally on infected area.

Sajna Bark Cold ailments The bark of the plant along with rawmustard, garlic and dried chilies arecrushed in pestle and eaten with rice.

Taragota Seed Cough, coldailments

The seeds boiled with tea liquor or waterand then drunk.

Telakuchapata

Freshgreenleaves

Cold ailments,diabetes

The leaves along with garlic are processedas vegetables and eaten with rice.

Tulsi Freshgreenleaves

Cough, coldailments

The juice of leaves with 1-2 drop of honeyis mixed with warm water. The resultingliquid is then drunk.

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