Ethnomedicinal Studies of Lalmohan Thana in Bhola District, Bangladesh

The purpose of the present study was to document the medicinal plants of a Unani folk medicinal practitioner in Lalmohan Thana that located in Bhola district in Bangladesh. There is very narrow information about plants used by traditional healers and general people in Bhola District in Bangladesh, for treating general ailments. An ethnomedicinal survey conducted among folk medicinal herbalists of one village in Bhola district resulted in the finding of 146 plants distributed into 64 families used by the herbalists. The various plants were used for treatment of ailments like Urinary Disorders, Contraceptive, Diuretics, Fever, Constipation, Menoxenia, Jaundice, Respiratory Disorders (Coughs, Mucus), Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Sexual disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders (Dysentery, Diarrhea, Indigestion, Constipation), Vomiting, Helminthiasis, Jaundice, Infections, Heart Disorders, Skin Disorders, Gonorrhea, Urinary Problems, Edema, Typhoid, Liver Disorders, Blood Poisoning, Eye Disorders, Memory Loss, Ovarian Problems, Vaginitis, and Hypertension. This study could play an important role for future phytochemical and pharmacological investigation.


Introduction
In Greece the Unani system of medicine originated. Hippocrates is the father of this system of medicine. Disease is a usually caused by imbalance of the humors. Pharmacotherapy is resorted the balance of the humors. At present, Unani medicine is practiced in the Indian subcontinent countries of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the practitioners being known as Hakims. Traditional medicine in Bangladesh is a unique blend of different ethnomedicinal combination [1]. Folk medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) form the primary healthcare providers to a significant section of the rural and urban population of Bangladesh. They exploit a variety of medicinal plants for treatment of different ailments. Folk medicine possibly is the most common form of these traditional medicinal practices, and folk medicinal practitioners (FMPs) can be found in every village, towns and cities within the country. From ancient time, the tradition of ethno-medicine practice has been established in Bangladesh and such medicine practitioners are known as Kavirajes. According to the WHO, about 80% of the world's population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care [2,3]. About 80% of more than 4,000 million inhabitants of the world rely chiefly on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs [4]. Lalmohan is located in Bhola District. Bhola district is an administrative district in southwestern part of Bangladesh, which includes Bhola Island. Bhola Island is the largest island of Bangladesh. The objective of the present study was to document the medicinal plants used by FMPs in one villages of Lalmohan Thana in Bhola district, Bangladesh [5]. Rural people are heavily depend on natural resources due to lack of modern medical knowledge [6]. Thus, over time, a practitioner can build up quite extensive knowledge on the medicinal properties of any given plant species [7]. The development of western medicine is believed to have been influenced by the writing of Greek philosophers, in particular, Hippocrates (460-377 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) [8].
The folk medicinal practitioners do not have their own medicinal books or follow any standardized custom [9]. Medicinal plants play a significant role in the primary healthcare systems for the majority of the rural population. The ethomedicinal knowledge about the use of medicinal plants can be a resource for the scientist to identify potential drugs, thus, proper documentation of this knowledge overtime is very essential to protect them from extinction [10]. It has been estimated that about 64% of the total global population still remains dependent on traditional medicines for healthcare needs [11].

Materials and Methods
The survey was carried out in the villages of Purbophara 3No. Ward, Lalmohan Thana, which is located in Bhola district in Bangladesh. It is a part of Lalmohan Thana. The villages had one medicinal practitioner, who practiced folk medicine. However, his name is Hakeem Md. Jamal Uddin (M. M, D.U.M.S) the Hakeem title suggesting that his selection of medicinal plants was influenced by the ancient Unani system of medicine. Actual interviews were conducted with the help of a semistructured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method of Martin and Maundu. Briefly, in this method, the practitioners took the interviewers on guided field-walks through areas from where they collected medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, and as interviewers belonged to the mainstream Bengali-speaking population [12,13]. The interviews were conducted among the locals of different age groups, mostly between 25 to 65 years, including herbal practitioners (Kabiraj).
The interviews focused on basic questions concerning the informant's knowledge of the uses of local plants and there different characteristics. A typical question would be: which local plants do you know and/or use? How many people in your area use the plant as medicine? [14]. In this method, the Hakim took the interviewers on guided field-walks through areas from where he collected his medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, and described their uses [15] (Table 1).

Results and Discussion
In our study, we found large number participants who are female. According to Ikhtiar Alam SM, in Developing countries, society is, in general, male dominated in terms of participation in household decision making [16]. In Bangladesh, the male villagers are more knowledgeable than female in term of medicinal knowledge. Again, aged person are more knowledgeable than younger one.
According to Dr. Abdul Ghani almost 455 medicinal plants name so far been enlisted as growing or available in Bangladesh [17] (Figure 1). Percentages were calculated as the ratio between the number of plants in which a certain part is used and the total number of plants.

Data analysis
The FC of the species of plants being utilized was evaluated using the formula: FC= (Number of times a particular species was mentioned/Total number of times that all species were mentioned) x 100 [18] (Figure 2).

Conclusion
Our study reveals that plants are still a major source of medicine for the local communities of most of the portions of our surveyed area, as modern health care facilities are still not sufficient. This report may represents a useful and long-lasting document, which can contribute to preserve knowledge on the use of medicinal plants in this region and also stimulate the interest of future generations on traditional healing practices. The information provided in the paper is limited and there is a scope to initiate further ethno botanical study among the communities to gather information as far as possible. The medicated claims incorporated in the study need to be evaluated through phytochemical and pharmacological investigations to discover their potentiality as drugs. It is urgent need for documenting these before such valuable knowledge becomes inaccessible and extinct.