Children ailments treated with medicinal plants: Results from a cross-sectional survey within Meherpur district, Bangladesh

Background/Question/Methods: Uses of medicinal plants in the indigenous cultures of developing countries are numerous and diverse. This indigenous knowledge evolved for along time through trial and error. Though the majority of people in the Meherpur district of Bangladesh rely on medicinal plants to manage a wide range of children ailments, a lot the indigenous knowledge largely remains undocumented. An ethnopharmacological survey was conducted on medicinal plants used to manage children ailments in the Meherpur district of Bangladesh. Informed consent was obtained from the herbalists. Interviews were conducted in the native dialect, and medicinal plant samples as pointed out by the herbalists in guided field-walks were collected, and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. Herbalists administered treatment mainly by the concoctions, decoctions majorly through oral and dermal routes to treat children ailments such as diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, malaria, chest, and skin related complications. It was also noted that most herbalists preferred using herbal preparations consisting of more than one medicinal plant to treat one or a number of children ailments.

Results/Conclusions: During interviews with herbalists from the Meherpur district in the Bangladesh, thirty-nine medicinal plants were reported to be useful in management of children ailments. The medicinal plant names obtained in this survey included Achyranthes aspera L., Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f., Amaranthus spinosus L., Ananas comosus (L.) Merr., Azadirachta indica A.Juss., Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst., Boerhavia repens L., Bombax ceiba L., Brassica napus L., Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken, Cassia fistula L., Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., Cissus quadrangularis L., Cocos nucifera L., Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, Curcuma longa L., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Dillenia indica L., Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Justicia adhatoda L., Litsea liyuyingii H. Liu, Musa acuminata Colla, Nigella sativa L., Nymphaea nouchali Burm.f., Ocimum tenuiflorum L., Oxalis perdicaria (Molina) Bertero, Paederia foetida L., Piper longum L., Phoenix sylvestris (L.) Roxb., Phyllanthus emblica L., Saccharum officinarum L., Scoparia dulcis L., Metroxylon sagu Rottb., Swertia chirata Buch.-Ham. ex Wall., Terminalia arjuna (Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn., Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb., Terminalia chebula Retz., Vitex negundo L., and Zingiber officinale Roscoe. Preliminary physiochemical and bioactivity analyses of these medicinal plants showed that they were active against microorganisms. Information on indigenous use of medicinal plants has led to discovery of many medicines in use today. It is hoped that the information collected shall stimulate both scientific studies as well as promote conservation of these medicinal plants.