Ethnomedicinal plants used by the ethnic people living in fringe villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar District , West Bengal, India

Aninda Mandal  lowast; Puja Saha; Afreen Begum; Anipa Saha; Bidisha Chakraborty; Shyamali Dutta; Karan Kumar Roy  nbsp

doi:10.17485/IJST/v13i16.380

Article

Ethnomedicinal plants used by the ethnic people living in fringe villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar District , West Bengal, India

VIEWS 2351
PDF 419

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

DOI: 10.17485/IJST/v13i16.380

Year: 2020, Volume: 13, Issue: 16, Pages: 1676-1685

Original Article

Ethnomedicinal plants used by the ethnic people living in fringe villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar District , West Bengal, India

Aninda Mandal^1∗, Puja Saha¹ , Afreen Begum¹ , Anipa Saha¹ , Bidisha Chakraborty¹, Shyamali Dutta¹ , Karan Kumar Roy¹

1 Department of Botany, A.B. N. Seal College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India. Tel: +91- 9434602182

∗Corresponding author:
Aninda Mandal
Department of Botany, A.B. N. Seal College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India.
Tel: +91-9434602182
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:22 April 2020, Accepted Date:11 May 2020, Published Date:10 June 2020

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Objectives: The field study was undertaken at the adjoining villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal, India to record the ethnomedicinal plants used by the Rava, Santal and Oraon people and to explore their traditional knowledge to treat common ailments. Methods: With the help of pretested semi-structured questionnaire, tribal men and women were interviewed on ethnomedicinal uses of local flora during July 2018 to January 2020. The questionnaire covered aspects like local name, scientific name, family, used parts, ethnomedicinal uses, among others. Routine methods of plant collection and herbarium techniques were followed and the collected species were identified using relevant sources. Findings: A total of 57 plant species of 34 families were found to be used to treat several diseases like cough and cold, diabetes, among others. In few cases, the plant parts were used in combination with other plant parts to prepare traditional medicine. The plant family Fabaceae represents the highest number (6 species) of ethnomedicinal plants among others. Among different plant parts used for the preparation of medicine, leaves were most frequently used (49.12%) for the treatment of diseases. Besides, fruits, seeds, roots, etc. were also found to be used as traditional medicine for the treatment of ailments among human beings. Applications: The traditional knowledge of ethnic people regarding the utilisation of ethnomedicinal plants may be used in the preparation of pharmaceutical products which could contribute towards availability of essential drugs at much reduced cost. In addition, populations of medicinal plants must be monitored in order to conserve them and aid in planning sustainable utilisation. Novelty: In comparison to earlier reports, present study revealed 14 more plant species having immense ethnomedicinal values and frequently used by the tribal people in the area. In this regard, the study is significant to enrich the existing database.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine; Medicinal plants; Rava; Santal; Oraon; Rasikbil; Cooch Behar

References

Organization WH. Geneva: World Health Organization Traditional Medicine. World Health Organization. Traditional Medicine. (accessed 2020) Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/traditional-complementary-and-integrative-medicine#tab=tab_1
Sasidharan N, Muraleedharan PK. The Raw Drugs Requirement of Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing industry in Kerala. Kerala Forest Res. Inst., Peechi. 2009. Available from: http://docs.kfri.res.in/KFRI-RR/KFRI-RR322.pdf
Reyes-García V, Luz AC, Gueze M, Paneque-Gálvez J, Macía MJ, Orta-Martínez M, et al. Secular trends on traditional ecological knowledge: An analysis of changes in different domains of knowledge among Tsimane' men. Learning and Individual Differences. 2013;27:206–212. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.011
Tiwari DN. Medicinal plants for healthcare. Yojana. 1999;44(6):8–17. Available from: http://yojana.gov.in/cms/(S(uawpx4eotnju5xnxtxhpg455))/pdf/Yojana/English/1999/2008-02-11%20(6).pdf
WHO. Geneva, World Health Organisation Diet, nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases. Report of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series. (accessed 2020) Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42665/WHO_TRS_916.pdf;jsessionid=2831897D7F4EE1E2419E2884E5F77C38?sequence=1
Payyappallimana U, Fadeeva Z, O’donoghue R. Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity within Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. In: UP, ZF., eds. In: Innovation in Local and Global Learning Systems for Sustainability: Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity – Learning Contributions of the Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. (pp. 8-9) Japan. United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS): Yokohama. 2013.
Bandyopadhyaya S, Mukherjee SK. Traditional medicine used by the ethnic communities of Koch Bihar District (West Bengal - India) Journal of Tropical Medicinal Plants. 2006;7(2):303–312.
M C, AP D. Folk medicines used by the Rabha tribe in Coochbehar district of West Bengal: a preliminary report. In: Das AP, AKP., eds. In: Advances in Ethnobotany. Dehra Dun, India. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh. 2007.
Bandyopadhyaya S, Mitra S, Mukherjee SK. Traditional uses of some weeds of Asteraceae by the ethnic communities of Koch Bihar district, West Bengal. International Journal of Pharmacology Research. 2014;4(1):31–34.
Datta T, Patra AK, Dastidar SG. Medicinal plants used by tribal population of Coochbehar district, West Bengal, India–an ethnobotanical survey. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. 2014;4(4):S478–S482. doi: 10.12980/apjtb.4.2014c1122
Roy S. An ethnobotanical study on the medicinal plants used by Rajbanshis of Coochnehar district. Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies. 2015;3(5):46–49. Available from: http://www.plantsjournal.com/archives/?year=2015&vol=3&issue=5&part=A&ArticleId=236
Bandyopadhyaya S. Observation on the traditional herbal remedies of pain from Koch Bihar district. West Bengal. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 2017;6(16):1497–1509. Available from: https://wjpr.net/download/article/1512552446.pdf
Pala NA, Sarkar BC, Shukla G, Chettri N, Deb S, Bhat JA, et al. Floristic composition and utilization of ethnomedicinal plant species in home gardens of the Eastern Himalaya. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2019;15(1):1–16. doi: 10.1186/s13002-019-0293-4
Jain SK, Rao RR. A Handbook of Field and Herbarium Methods. New Delhi. Today and Tomorrow's Printers and Publishers. 1977.
Sajem AL. Ethno_medico botany of a few tribal communities in north Cachar hills district of Assam. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University thesis
Prain D. Bengal Plants. In: Botanical Survey of India. (Vol. I-II) Kolkata. 1963.
Hooker JD. The Flora of British India. (Vol. 7, pp. 1872-1879) 1989.
Bhattacharyya U. Flora of West Bengal. In: Botanical Survey of India. (Vol. I, p. 235) Kolkata. 1997.
Uniyal SK, Singh K, Jamwal P, Lal B. Traditional use of medicinal plants among the tribal communities of Chhota Bhangal, Western Himalaya. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2006;2(1):14. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-2-14
Rajendran SM, Chandrasekar K, Sundaresan V. Ethnomedicinal lore of Valaya tribals in Seithur hills of Virudhunagar district. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 2002;1:59–71. Available from: http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/19377/1/IJTK%201(1)%2059-71.pdf
Mahishi P, Srinivasa BH, Shivanna MB. Medicinal plant wealth of local communities in some villages in Shimoga District of Karnataka, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2005;98(3):307–312. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2005.01.035
Ignacimuthu S, Ayyanar M, Sankarasivaraman K. Ethnobotanical investigations among tribes in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu (India) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2006;2(25):1–7. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-2-25
Jagtap SD, Deokule SS, Bhosle SV. Some unique ethnomedicinal uses of plants used by the Korku tribe of Amravati district of Maharashtra, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2006;107(3):463–469. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2006.04.002
Ignacimuthu S, Ayyanar M, Sankarasivaraman K. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Paliyar tribals in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India. Fitoterapia. 2008;79(7-8):562–568. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2008.06.003
Choudhury S, Sharma P, Choudhury MD, Sharma GD. Ethnomedicinal plants used by Chorei tribes of Southern Assam, North Eastern India. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease. 2012;2(1(suppl)):S141–S147. doi: 10.1016/s2222-1808(12)60140-6
Bhattacharya S, Maity R, Sarkar G, Ghosh G, Mukherjee D, Mukhopadhyay C. Socio-Environmental Survey of an Ecologically Important Forest Edge Hamlet in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India. International Letters of Natural Sciences. 2016;52:67–83. doi: 10.18052/www.scipress.com/ilns.52.67
Larsen HO, Olsen CS. Unsustainable collection and unfair trade? Uncovering and assessing assumptions regarding Central Himalayan medicinal plant conservation. In: Hawksworth D, AB., eds. Plant Conservation and Biodiversity. (Vol. 16, pp. 105-123) Dordrecht. Springer. 2006.
Uprety Y, Asselin H, Dhakal A, Julien N. Traditional use of medicinal plants in the boreal forest of Canada: review and perspectives. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2012;8(1):7. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-8-7
Chen SL, Yu H, Luo HM, Wu Q, Li CF. Steinmetz A. Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants: problems, progress, and prospects. Chinese Medicine. 2016;11(37):1–10. doi: 10.1186/s13020-016-0108-7

Copyright

© 2020 Mandal, Saha, Begum, Saha, Chakraborty, Dutta, Roy. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Published By Indian Society for Education and Environment (iSee)