2019, Vol. 7, Issue 4, Part A

author(s)
Nasrin Akter Shova, Maidul Islam and Mohammed Rahmatullah

abstract
Folk medicinal practitioners (FMPs) form a major group of traditional medicinal practitioners in Bangladesh using phytotherapy as their major mode of treatment. The diverse nature of their plant selection, if properly documented, can form a basis for further research and conservation of medicinal plants. Female FMPs are comparatively a rarity; the objective of the present survey was to document the phytotherapeutic practices of a female FMP in Gopalnagar village of Cumilla district, Bangladesh. The FMP was found to use 21 different plant species in her monoherbal and polyherbal formulations, which formulations were used to treat a diverse variety of diseases including gastrointestinal tract disorders, paralysis, diabetes, eczema, pneumonia, infertility, and menstrual pain. A number of the formulations of the FMP appear to be novel and previously not documented in other ethnomedicinal surveys. Taken together, the plant species used by the FMP can prove valuable for further scientific studies leading to new drug discovery as well as spurring conservation efforts.