A Review Study on Traditional Herbal Medicines of Bangladesh against Different Skin Disorders

Abstract

Traditional herbal medicines (THM) are used by almost 75%–80% of the people in Bangladesh to treat various types of skin diseases. This review includes ethnobotanical data as well as relevant scientific studies on plants used in traditional medicine in Bangladesh to treat various types of skin disorders like inflammatory skin disorders, viral infections, bacterial infections, fungal infections, parasitic infections, pigmentation disorders, skin cancers, trauma and other skin disease conditions. Using specified key phrases, information on the traditional herbal medicinal plants of Bangladesh that are effective against various skin ailments was collated from several electronic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Springer and others. A total of 45 relevant publications were investigated, providing complete information on 221 distinct herbal plant species belonging to 73 families utilised by the diverse peoples of Bangladesh for the treatment of skin problems. The most often utilised plant organ in this study was leaves, followed by roots, fruits, entire plants, barks, seeds, stems, rhizomes and flowers. The Asteraceae family has the most species, whereas in terms of plant habit, herbs have the most species. Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Vitex negundo, Aegle marmelos, Allium sativum and Lawsonia inermis are the most commonly utilised species. This research might be used as a beginning point for a systematic search for natural herbal remedies to treat skin diseases in Bangladesh’s flora.