A Survey of Medicinal Plants used by Folk Medicinal Practitioners in Balidha village of Jessore District, Bangladesh

Folk medicinal practitioners form the primary line of health-care among a substantial section of the rural and urban population of Bangladesh. These practitioners (Kavirajes) use a variety of medicinal plants to treat various ailments and possess considerable expertise on use of medicinal plants. Since the medicinal plants used by the Kavirajes can differ widely even between adjoining areas, it was the objective of the present study to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the Kavirajes of Balidha village situated in Jessore district in the southern part of Bangladesh. Informed consent was obtained of the Kavirajes and interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. A total of 73 plant species distributed into 43 families were obtained from the Kavirajes. The Fabaceae family contributed the maximum number of plants (6) followed by the Rutaceae and the Solanaceae family with 4 plants each. The Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae, Myrtaceae, and Zingiberaceae families contributed 3 plants per family. Leaves constituted the major plant part used (44.3%), followed distantly by roots (17.5%) and fruits (9.3%). Gastrointestinal disorders and sexual disorders formed the major disorders treated by the Kavirajes. 19 plants were used for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders and 17 plants for treatment of sexual disorders. 9 plants were used to treat pain and 7 plants for treatment of respiratory tract infections. 3 plants were used to treat diabetes. A perusal of the scientific literature showed that uses of several plants by the Kavirajes are validated by scientific studies on the pharmacological activities of the relevant plant species. Overall, the plants present considerable potential for further scientific studies leading to discovery of novel drugs.