2019, Vol. 7, Issue 5, Part B

author(s)
Jannatul Ferdush Nishi, Suhel Arman, Khoshnur Jannat and Mohammed Rahmatullah

abstract
Although folk medicine in Bangladesh is mostly dependent on plants for treatment of diseases, such phytotherapy is occasionally augmented with incantations (reading from holy books), amulets and other esoteric practices. The objective of the present study was to document the multi-modal folk medicine (FM) practice by two folk medicinal practitioners (FMPs) of Brahmanbaria district, Bangladesh. Although they used plants as an essential ingredient for disease treatment, such treatment was augmented with readings from the holy Quran and esoteric practices like using plants from three directions, uprooting plant in one breath, and tying of plant parts to the head. Altogether, nine plant species distributed into nine families were used in their treatment methods. The efficacies of esoteric practices along with the pharmacological properties of the plants are discussed.