An observation on the phytotherapeutic uses of plants by the tribal people of some forest areas in Birbhum and Burdwan districts , West Bengal , India

Article history: Received on: 04/03/2014 Revised on: 26/03/2014 Accepted on: 09/04/2014 Available online: 28/04/2014 In this study observations have been made on traditional knowledge related with ethnomedicinal uses of plants by the tribal people of different forest areas of Birbhum and Burdwan districts, West Bengal, India. A total of 29 medicinal plants have been recorded from the study areas which are used by the tribal people in formulation of 19 types of herbal preparation for curing 15 types of diseases and ailments. Many of these preparations are new as they have not been recorded earlier in standard literature. The investigated plant taxa have alphabetically been enumerated providing their botanical names along with families, local or tribal names, parts used, name of the diseases, mode of administration, locality of collection, etc. Bioassay of these ethnomedicinal claims has to be carried out for their scientific validation in future.


INTRODUCTION
Ethnobotany can be defined as the total natural and traditional relationship and interactions between man and his surrounding plant wealth.In India, organised studies in ethnobotany have been initiated long ago and during last few decades scientific studies have been proceeded on various lines of work like ethnobotany of specific tribes, of certain regions, of particular plant groups or diseases and on many other miscellaneous sub-or interdisciplinary approaches (Bandyopadhyay and Mukherjee, 2005;2009;Bhattacharyya and Mukherjee, 2006;Chanda and Mukherjee, 2012;Jain, 1965;1981;1987;1991;1997;Maheshwari, 2000;Mandal, 1988;Mandal and Yonzone, 1988;Rahaman, 2012;Rahaman and Mandal, 1998;Singh and Pandey, 1998;Trivedi and Sharma, 2004).The present investigation provides the significant informations regarding ethnomedicinal uses of plants by the Santal tribe of Birbhum and . .Burdwan districts of West Bengal (Fig. 1) which are new to the existing inventory of Indian Ethnobotany.The data of this study can be used in future for preparing a full length detailed inventory of ethnobotany of these respective districts as well as West Bengal.
The district Birbhum is quite rich in natural resources.It extends over about 4528.61 sq km and is situated between 87 0 10 / and 88 0 02 / East longitude and between 23 0 33 / and 24 0 35 / North latitude.Tribal population of the district is 6.7% of its total population (Census of India, 2001).
The district Burdwan extends over about 7024 sq km and it is situated between 87 0 54 / and 87 0 90 / East longitude and between 23 0 04 / and 23 0 06 / North latitude.The total population of the district is 6,895,514 (Census, 2001).It is bounded on the north by Birbhum and Murshidabad districts, on the east by Nadia district, on the southeast by Hooghly district and on the southwest by Bankura and Purulia districts.The northwest part of the district is bounded by Dhanbad district of Jharkhand.The tribal people of these two districts are dependent to some extent upon the forest flora for their livelihood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Frequent field trips were conducted to collect the ethnomedicinal information from different tribal areas of Birbhum and Burdwan districts of West Bengal for last two years.Prior Informed Consent (PIC) has been taken from the respective tribal medicine men and other knowledgeable persons.The informations have been collected from the informants of the study areas following the standard methods (Jain, 1987;Jain and Mudgal, 1999).A standard questionnaire was employed to collect the information about local name of the plants, plant parts used, preparation of herbal medicine, its mode of administration, etc.To confirm the authenticity of the collected data, it has always been cross checked by interviewing other tribal medicine men of the same and different localities.The collected plant species have been identified with the help of different floras (Guha Bakshi, 1984;Sanyal, 1994;Varma, 1981).The collected plant specimens have been preserved following the standard method (Jain and Rao, 1977) and kept in the Visva-Bharati Herbarium (VBH) of the Botany Department, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan for future references.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 29 ethnomedicinal plants have been recorded from the study area which are used by the tribal people in formulation of 19 types of ethnomedicine that cure 15 types of diseases and ailments.Among 19 ethnomedicinal formulations, 10 formulations are administered in the form of single drug preparation (monoherbal) for treatment of hemi-crania, body ache, cold and cough, measles, pox, toothache, etc.In 9 cases, multiple herb preparations (polyherbal) are used in treatment of intermittent fever, burn, stomach ache, acidity, white discharge, dysentery, dyspepsia, etc.Through statistical analysis it has been found that different plant parts are used in different frequencies (Table-1).
Of the total 29 plants involved in formulation of ethnomedicines, materials of 24 plants are collected by the tribal people from the wild, 2 from cultivation and 3 plant materials are procured from commercial sources (Table-2).Lime [Ca(OH) 2 ] and salt (NaCl) are also procured from the commercial sources which are used by the tribal people as ingredients in preparation of herbal drug.These investigated plant taxa spread over 25 species, 24 genera and 19 families of dicotyledons and 4 species, 4 genera and 3 families of monocotyledons (Table -3).Habitually the investigated taxa fall under 4 groups like Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers.The numbers of species present in each group and their respective percentage have been defined as: Trees-15 (51.72%),Shrubs-2 (6.89%), Herbs-10 (34.48) and Climbers-2 (6.89%) (Table -4).

CONCLUSION
The awareness has been created regarding the documentation of indigenous knowledge of any traditional society worldwide.Like other indigenous knowledge system, this traditional knowledge of herbal medicine practised among the Santal community of Birbhum and Burdwan districts should be conserved through its documentation before its loss from the respective tribal societies forever.The data documented here in this study will be helpful in preparation of the district as well as state level inventory of ethnobotany and ethnomedicine.The information of this investigation has to be exploited further for their scientific validation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to the tribal people of the districts for sharing their valuable knowledge.We express our heartiest thanks to the reviewers for their constructive suggestion in modifying our article.We are also thankful to the Head, Department of Botany, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan for necessary laboratory facilities.
taxa: A.Monoherbal preparation -1.Botanical name and family -Acacia nilotica (Lam.)Willd.ex Del subsp.indica (Benth.)Brenan (Mimosaceae) Common English name -Indian gum Arabic tree, Black babon.Local name-Babla Tribal name -Kikar Parts used -Leaves Disease -Toothache Mode of administration -Fresh leaves (3-7cm) are chewed once in the morning for 7 days.Field No.-162, 29.Locality of collection -Goalpara and Kanakpur.2.Botanical name and family -Aerva javanica Juss.exSchult.(Amaranthaceae) Common English name -Kapok bush, Desert cotton.Local and Tribal name -Bishahari Parts used -Leaves Disease -Cuts and wounds Mode of administration-About 3-5gm fresh leaves are made into paste and applied twice a day for 2 -3 days on affected areas.Field No.-125, 192, 46.Locality of collection -Khairdanga, Bautia and Fuldanga.3.Botanical name and family -Bambusa aurundinacea Roxb.(Poaceae) Common English name -Thorny bamboo Local and Tribal name -Bans, Ketua Parts used -Bark Disease -Cuts and wounds Mode of administration-Bark paste is mixed with lime (1:1) and applied on affected areas once a day for 4-5 days.Field No.-20.Locality of collection -Goalpara.4.Botanical name and family -Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae) Common English name -Coconut Local and Tribal name -Narkel Parts used -Fruits Disease -Measles and pox Mode of administration -Water of green coconut applied on the body twice a day for 3 days.Field No.-106, 117.Locality of collection -Raipur and Gonpur.5.Botanical name and family -Datura metel L. (Solanaceae) Common English name -Datura, Thorn apple, Hindu Datura.Local -Dhutra Tribal name -Marang-tunture, Dhatura, Tantura-ba Parts used -Leaves Disease -Cold, cough and swelling of throat.Mode of administration -Slightly warmed fresh leaf (1-2) paste is administered twice daily for 3 days on the swelled throat.Field No.-38.Locality of collection -Ballavpur 6.Botanical name and family -Elephantopus scaber L. (Asteraceae) Common English name -Elephant's foot Local and Tribal name -Phudna, Gogealata, Shamdulum Parts used -Roots Disease -Hemi-crania Mode of administration -About 10gm of roots are made into paste and applied on affected area of the head once a day for 5-7 days.Field No.-121,209,145.Locality of collection -Khairdanga, Gonpur and Illumbazar.7.Botanical name and family -Holoptalea integrifolia (Roxb.)Planch.(Ulmaceae) Common English name -Indian elm, Kanju, Entire leaved palm.Local and Tribal name -Pata badam, Charrah Parts used -Bark Disease -Body ache Mode of administration -50-60 gm bark paste mixed with 10-20 gm salt (Nacl 2 ) and after mild warming applied on the body twice a day for 2 -3 days.Field No.-160.Locality of collection -Bidyadharpur.8.Botanical name and family -Justicia gendarussa Burm.f.(Acanthaceae) Common English name -Warer willow, Gandarusa, Daun Rusa.Local andTribal name -Bishalyakarani, Jagatmadan, Vataghni Parts used -Whole plant Disease -Body ache Mode of administration -Whole plants are cut into small pieces and boiled in water.Half cup of the decoction applied as body massage thrice a day for 2-3 days.Field No.-57.Locality of collection -Bautia.9.Botanical name and family -Tagetes patula L. (Asteraceae) Common English name -French marigold Local and Tribal name -Genda Parts used -Leaves Disease -Cuts and wounds Mode of administration -3-5 leaves are made into paste and applied on the affected parts twice a day for 4-5 days.Field No.-199.Locality of collection -Goalpara.10.Botanical name and family -Terminalia chebula (Gaertn.)Retz.(Combretaceae) Common English name -Chebulic Myrobalan Local -Haritaki Tribal name -Rola-daru, Hora-dary Parts used -Fruits Disease -Cold and cough Mode of administration -A fruit is taken by chewing once a day for 3 days.Field No.-44,23,180.Locality of collection -Khairdanga, Ahmmedpur and Bautia.B.Polyherbal preparation -1.a) Botanical name and family -Sida rhombifolia L. (Malvaceae) Common English name -Common bala, Broomjute sida.Local -Lalberela Tribal name -Kuruni Parts used -Stem b) Botanical name and family -Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae) Common English name -Black pepper Local and Tribal name -Golmorich Parts used -Fruits Disease -Dyspepsia Mode of administration -About 50-60 gm stem of S. rhombifolia L. and 21 fruits of P. nigrum L. are made into paste and administered orally once a day for 7 days in the morning in empty stomach.Field No.-107, 43.Locality of collection -Shibarampur and Ahmmedpur.2.a) Botanical name and family -Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae) Common English name -Turmeric Local and Tribal name -Halud, Haldi Parts used -Flowers b) Botanical name and family -Nymphaea nouchali Burm.f.(Nymphaeaceae) Common English name -Indian red water lily.Local -Lal shaluk Tribal name -Sapla-ba Parts used -Rhizomes Disease -Menstrual problem Mode of administration -Rhizomes of N. nouchali Burm.f. and flowers of C. longa L. are made into paste, then administered orally once a day for 4-5 days.Field No.-156, 133.Locality of collection -Goalpara and Sehera.

4
.a) Botanical name and family -Papaver somniferum L. (Papaveraceae) Common English name -Opium Poppy Local and Tribal name -Posta, Pustu Parts used -Seeds b) Botanical name and family -Saccharum officinarum L. (Poaceae) Common English name -Sugarcane

Table . 1
: Percentage composition of different plant parts used as drugs.
Table.2: Percentage composition of sources of the recorded plant.

Table . 3
: Percentage composition of the recorded plant species and their groups.