Traditional Practices, Formulations and Dosages of Medicinal Plants: A Survey in Faridpur District of Bangladesh

Abstract

Nature is a storehouse of enormous remedies and plants, as a part of nature, have a long history of cured different ailments of human beings. The present ethnobotanical survey found that the people of Faridpur district preferred a total of 26 plant species for their traditional healthcare systems. The recorded plant species were belongs to 22 families, and only Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae and Piperaceae families possess more than one species to use. As for plant habits, 62% of species on the list were herbaceous and tree. Leaves and fruits were mostly useable parts as traditional medicines. The highest number of ailments for traditional practice was found related to skin problems (19%) following external injury (15%) and stomach related problems (13%). The amount of dosages and the mode of application also were included in this report. In total 52 traditional practices with 7 new records from Bangladesh were listed. Moreover, the new generations were found to be comparatively less interested in traditional health care systems than the older people. It was the first attempt to explore the traditional values of some medicinal plants with their mode of applications from this region.