A preliminary study on the efficacy of medicinal plants from Sundarbans used against all forms of cancer

Abstract

Sundarbans, the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world, located in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It lies on the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta at the point where it merges with the Bay of Bengal. The forest lies a little south to the tropic of cancer between the latitudes 21°30′N and 22°30′N, and longitudes 89°00′E and 89°55′E. With its array of trees and wildlife the forest is a showpiece of natural history. Cancer continues to be one of the leading killers of the century. No matter how much information is gained about this dreadful and mysterious disease, it still haunts the imagination of humanity, which continues to suffer from its relentless attack. Despite the huge advancement in science and technology: its new age and all-round research breakthroughs involving billion dollar marketing of its new generations of drugs, this disease still continues to wreak havoc among the lives of millions of people across the world, particularly among the less privileged lots. We conducted an ethnobotanical survey amongst the traditional healers in Sundarbans area of Bangladesh and noted that their formulations contain a number of medicinal plants not usually used by traditional healers in other regions of Bangladesh. Plant specimens as pointed out by the traditional healers were collected and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. These plant species (with family name given in parenthesis) included Leonurus sibiricus (Labiatae), Croton tiglium (Euphorbiaceae), Zizyphus mauritiana (Rhamnaceae), Swertia chirata (Gentianaceae), Vitex negundo (Verbenaceae), Carica papaya (Caricaceae), Kaempferia galanga (Zingiberaceae), Jatropha gossypifolia (Euphorbiaceae), Wedelia chinensis (Asteraceae), Randia dumetorum (Rubiaceae), Streblus asper (Moraceae), Acanthus ilicifolius (Acanthaceae), Hygrophila auriculata (Acanthaceae), Mucuna pruriens (Leguminaceae), Withania somnifera (Solanaceae), Morus alba (Moraceae), Pilea microphylla (Urticaceae), and Piper betle (Piperaceae). It was clearly observed that medicinal plants from Sandarbans did have a positive healing effect upon many cancer cases. It was also shown to produce some encouraging effects in terms of several important factors like: delaying the tumor progression, pain reduction, enhancing the immune response and life expectancy, and over all well-being of the patients. Project support received in part by the Peoples Integrated Alliance and SHACO-Health & Education Society.