Medicinal Plants Used by Tribal Population in West Bengal
Tribal people have kept alive the use of medicinal plants in the cure of diseases as a part of tradition and necessity. This knowledge has been passed on through the generations and the efficacy of cure validated through the use of these medicinal plants for treating particular medical conditions over hundreds of years.
The tribal population in our country has kept the knowledge of plant-based traditional medicines alive and has also in many cases preserved the plant species with medicinal values.
Researchers from Ananda Chandra College, Jalpaiguri, conducted an extensive documentation of the medicinal use of local flora by the tribal population in the district of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal by interviewing traditional healers and resource persons in the district.
The survey revealed the use of 46 plant species were being used for treating 33 physical ailments. Among different plant parts used for the preparation of medicine, leaves were most frequently used for the treatment of diseases.
Some of the medicinal plants used by the tribal populations in Bengal is indicated below:
| Some of the Medicinal Plants Used by Tribal Population in West Bengal | ||
| Name | Local Bengali Name | Use |
| Amaranthys spinosus | Amarnath/ Kantanotya | Leaves taken as a vegetable to treat anemia; root paste applied on the stomach to treat urinary disorder |
| Ageratum conyzoides | Uchunti | Leaves used to treat cut |
| Alstonia scholaris | Chhatim | Bark extract used to treat intestinal worm; bark juice used to treat fever |
| Andrographis paniculata | Kālmegh | Leaf extract to treat jaundice; dried leaf extract to treat body pain |
| Azadirachta indica | Neem | Young twig used in cleaning teeth; leaf extract to treat liver ailment |
| Cajanus cajan | Tur | Leaf decoction for jaundice; leaf extract to treat dysentery |
| Calotropis gigantea L | Aakand | Leaves used to treat rheumatism |
| Calotropis procera | Aakonda | Leaves used to treat rheumatism and cuts; latex used in dog bite |
| Cassia occidentalis | Kalkashunda | Root extract applied to treat snake bite |
| Centella asiatica | Thankuni | Leaf used to treat diarrhea and dysentery; leaf extract to treat eczema |
| Chenopodium album L | Bethusag | Leaves used to treat intestinal worm |
| Cleome rutidosperma | Holdey Hurhure | Seeds used in menstrual problems |
| Coccinia grandis | Telakucha | Leaves used to treat hypertension |
| Croton bonplandianum | Ban Tulsi | Leaf extract used to treat cut and wounds |
| Curcuma | LongaHalud | Rhizome paste applied in cuts and wounds |
| Cyperus rotundus | Nagarmutha | Root extract used to treat cuts |
| Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. | Sissoo gach | Leaf juice used to treat stomach disorder |
| Drymaria diandra | Avijal | Dried leaves smoked to treat cough |
| Eclipta prostrata | Bhringraj | Leaf extract used to disinfect cut and wounds |
| Eupatorium odoratum | Ashoke lata | Fresh leaf juice externally applied to cuts and wounds to stop bleeding |
| Euphorbia hirta | Barokarni | Leaves used to treat menstrual problems and extract used to stop irregular periods |
| Glycosmis arboroea | Ashsheora or Matkhila | Root powder used in fever, hepatopathy, eczema, skin diseases, to treat wounds and liver complaint |
| Gmelina arborea Roxb. | Gomari | Root extract used in stomach disorder |
| Heliotropium indicum | Hatisura | Juice of plant used to treat an eye infection |
| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L | Jabakusum | Leaves used to treat burning sensation, fatigue and skin diseases; root extract used to treat cough and fever |
| Hygrophila auriculata | Kulekhara | Leaf extract used to treat anemia |
| Jatropha curcas L | Bagbherenda | Latex used to treat wounds and dysentery |
| Justicia adhatoda L | Basak | Leaf juice is taken for several days as an expectorant to treat chronic bronchitis, cough, and cold |
| Leucas plukenetii syn. L. aspera | Ghal ghase | Leaf juice used in jaundice |
| Ludwigia perennis | Bon Lobongo | Boiled plant extract used externally to reduce fever |
| Malvaviscous arboreous | Lonka joba | Flower buds are used to stop bleeding |
| Mangifera indica L | Aam | Bark used for the treatment of loose motion |
| Ocimum basilicum L | Tulsi | Seed paste applied against stings of wasps, bees and other venomous insects |
| Ocimum gratissimum | Ban tulsi | Leaf extract applied on cut to stop bleeding |
| Plumbago zeylanica | Chitrak | Root used to treat high fever; leaves used to treat cut |
| Psidium guajava | Pyara | Bark used as a contraceptive; young leaf used to treat stomach pain |
| Rauvolfia serpentina (L) | Sarpagandha | Root extract used in stomach pain and to treat intestinal worm |
| Ricinus communis | Veranda | Seed oil is used as a pain killer |
| Scoparia dulcis | Bon dhonia | Leaf juice against stomach disorder |
| Sesamum indicum | Til | Fried fruit taken in case of fever |
| Sesbania grandiflora | Bakpul | Extract of leaves used in jaundice |
| Sida acuta | Berela | Root extract used against blood urea, boils and nephritis |
| Solanum indicum | Tit begun | Seed applied on teeth and gum to treat infection |
| Stephania glandulifera | Hailakandi | Root used in a headache |
| Vitex negundo | Nishinda | Extract of leaves used against whitening of hair and memory loss, also to treat cancer |
Refn: Medicinal plants used by tribal population of Coochbehar district, West Bengal, India-an ethnobotanical survey, Tanmay Datta,* Amal Kumar Patra, and Santanu Ghosh Dastidar. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2014 May; 4(Suppl 1): S478–S482
We at Branolia Chemical Works use many of the medicinal plants known to the traditional healers in Bengal in our ayurvedic formulations. Use of Kulekhara in our formulation Kulleron, to fight anemia, has been inspired from the traditional knowledge of rural Bengal where Kulekhara is used extensively to fight low hemoglobin count even today. Use of Brahmi is also found extensively in rural areas of Bengal for help in general wellness and mental alertness. This goodness of Brahmi is found in our formulation Branolia. Our other formulations like Livonia, Bellytone, and Bitocough also use the medicinal plants used for ages by the indigenous population of Bengal.
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