MEDICINAL PLANTS AND FORMULATIONS USED BY THE SOREN CLAN OF THE SANTAL TRIBE IN RAJSHAHI DISTRICT, BANGLADESH FOR TREATMENT OF VARIOUS AILMENTS

The Santals form the largest tribal community in northern Bangladesh reside primarily in Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions, where they live in the districts of Rajshahi, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, and Panchagarh. Although they are fast losing their traditional medicinal practices, they still have their own medicinal practitioners who rely mostly on medicinal plants for treatment of a variety of ailments. The traditional medicinal practices vary quite extensively between the twelve clans of the Santals. The objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey amongst the Soren clan of the Santal community residing in two villages of Tanor Santal Para in Rajshahi district to collect information on their use of medicinal plants. Interviews were conducted of the two existing Santal traditional medicinal practitioners of the Soren clan with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and using the guided field-walk method. Plant specimens as pointed out by the practitioners were collected and pressed on the field and identification completed at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. Information on 53 medicinal plants distributed into 32 families was obtained in this survey. Ailments treated by these plants included skin disorders, respiratory tract disorders, gastro-intestinal disorders, sexual dysfunctions, sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes, helminthiasis, pain, urinary problems, filariasis, leprosy, tuberculosis, epilepsy, snake bite, enlarged heart, and paralysis. The medicinal plants used by the Santals merit further scientific studies for some of their formulations are used to treat diseases like diabetes, paralysis, enlarged heart, tuberculosis, and filariasis for which modern medicine has no known cure or medicines have developed resistant vectors.