Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources

Vol. 4(1), March 2013, pp. 110-118

Ethno-medicinal uses of plants by tribal communities in Hili block of Dakshin

Dinajpur district, West Bengal
Tulika Talukdar1 and Dibyendu Talukdar2*
1
Plant Taxonomy and Systematic section, Department of Botany, University of Kalyani
Kalyani-741 235, West Bengal, India
2
Department of Botany, R.P.M. College, University of Calcutta, Uttarpara, Hooghly 712 258, West Bengal, India
Received 14 November 2011; Accepted 3 October 2012

Use of plants by different ethnic tribal communities for treatment of various ailments in ‘Hili’ block of Dakshin
Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India has been documented. As many as 62 plant species belonging to 34 families
(61 Angiosperms and one fern), used by Santhal, Oraon, Munda and other communities (Polia, Sabar, Lodha) for medicinal
purposes were identified. Largest number of plants was found in the family Fabaceae (8), followed by Amaranthaceae and
Euphorbiaceae (4 each), Acanthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Rubiaceae and Poaceae (3 each). Malvaceae,
Scrophulariaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Moraceae and Polygonaceae contained two plants each, while rest of the families
possessed one plant each. The common health problems such as fever, diarrhoea and dysentery, indigestion and respiratory
troubles dominated among the tribes for which herbal medicines were used. Significantly, fairly high numbers of plants have
been used in treating sexually transmitted diseases and diabetes. Among the plant parts, leaves have been used most
frequently by ethnic peoples, of which Santhals were the best among tribal communities under study in acquiring,
maintaining and using traditional knowledge of herbal plants.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, Ethnic tribal communities, Santhal, Oraon, Munda, Dakshin Dinajpur.
IPC code; Int. cl. (2011.01) −A61K 36/00.

Introduction North Bengal. Hili is a remote, small administrative

During the last few decades, there has been an
increasing interest in the study of medicinal plants
and their traditional use in different parts of the
world1-4. Documenting indigenous knowledge through
ethnomedicinal studies is important for the
conservation and utilization of biological resources.
The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested
that as many as 80% of the worlds’ people depend on
traditional medicine for their primary healthcare
needs5. With the introduction of different state and
national levels organizations and growing awareness
among people from different strata about herbal
medicines, ethnobotanical activities increased many
folds in different parts of India6,7.
The district Dakshin Dinajpur was created on April 1,
1992 by bifurcating erstwhile West Dinajpur district of
West Bengal, India. Dakshin Dinajpur is
predominantly agriculture based area and one of the
backward districts in India. It is situated north to
Gangetic basin and constitutes sub-Himalayan plain of
____________
*Correspondent author:
E-mail: dibyendutalukdar9@gmail.com
division in Balurghat subdivision of this district (Plate
1a-b), but is becoming an important foreign trade
route of India with Bangladesh. According to census
2011 (http://www.census 2011.co.in/census/district),
schedule caste comprises about 30%, while schedule
tribes constitute nearly 17% of total population of
Hili. Predominant tribal communities are Santhal,
Oraon and Munda, while polia, Sabar and Lodhas are
of sporadic presence in remote areas. Among the
communities, Santhal and Oraon are fluent with
Bengali language, besides their mother tongues. The
primary inhabitants of natural ecosystems or the
community people possess vast amount of traditional
knowledge using local biodiversity8. Although tribal
constitutes a sizable portion of local population and
the region is very rich in floral diversity, widening of
state highway 10 as well as foreign trade-related
activities are seriously threatening the natural habitats
of both tribal and plant population. Some reports
regarding ethnobotanical activities in several districts
of North Bengal plain including Dakshin Dinajpur are
available9-12. However, no area specific study has
been carried out in Hili block. Therefore, systematic
 TALUKDAR &TALUKDAR: ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY IN DAKSHIN DINAJPUR, WEST BENGAL 111

Plate 1 Location (not in scale) of Dakshin Dinajpur district in West Bengal, India (a), position (*) of ‘Hili’ block within Balurghat
sub-division (b), and five gram panchayat samities in Hili block where study was carried out (c).

documentation of traditional knowledge and available
medicinal plants in this tiny block are urgently
needed.
Materials and Methods
Study area
All the five gram panchayat (GP) samiti of Hili
block (25°17′10″N/88°59′38″E) namely Hili, Panjul,
Dhalpara, Jamalpur and Binsira were included in the
present study (Plate 1c). The river Yamuna traverses
through the Hili block, entering in Dhalpara GP of
India from Bangladesh, flows nearly 3 Km in Indian
Territory before re-entering Bangladesh through
Gamalpur GP. Ten villages namely Iswarpara,
Srirampur, Paschim Govindapur, Agra, Aptoir,
Dharanda, Hili proper, Rainagar, Baikunthapur and
Ujal have been surveyed along with other villages.
There is no drought-prone area; instead approximately
7.5% of total land areas are low-land. The entire
landscape roughly has an altitude of about 30 m above
sea level. As Yamuna carries water throughout the
year, it plays an important role in maintaining
viability and soil moisture and making it a
biodiversity rich landscape. Among indigenous
people living here, Santhals, Oraon and Munda are
major communities, maintaining traditional
knowledge of treatment in systematic manner to some
extent through socio-cultural, spiritual and religious
ways. Like other parts of India, existence of these
people is increasingly threatened due to continuous
influx of outsiders, leading to change in their life
styles. This, however, does not affect their mentality
to acquire and maintain the rich heritage of traditional
healing practices.
Methodology
Regular field trips were carried out in study areas
during 2008, 2009 and 2010 for gathering information
on ethnomedicinal knowledge of the area with the
help of elderly people, members of local socio-
cultural organizations and community leaders. Several
local folk-healers (Baidyas, Kavirajs) were also
approached and requested to share their knowledge on
use methods and usage of plants in treating different
112 INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2013
ailments and health problems. The second author
being native to this district conducted the interviews
of the informants, after establishing oral prior
informed consent. During the course of interview,
semi-structured questionnaires were used to obtain
information on medicinal plants with the local name
of the plants, name of the particular disease for which
a particular plant is used, part of the plant used for
particularly disease and so on. Available knowledge-
persons were also accompanied in the field to
approach different plants, confirming the species used
and their usage during growing season. Adopting
participatory and group interaction approach, data
were further cross checked. Using standard
monographs, books and other available literature the
species were identified. Primary morphological
features of the selected plant samples were
documented and compared with published literatures.
Voucher specimens were deposited in departmental
herbaria of R.P.M. College, Uttarpara, Hooghly, West
Bengal and serially arranged in Table 1. Other
taxonomic information on plant was verified from the
relevant local flora, ‘Bengal Plants’13. Since all the
ethnic communities are more or less acquainted with
Bengali, there was no problem during interaction.
Local weekly markets (hats) were also surveyed
during the study period to check the demand and
availability of the herbal plants. In majority of cases,
the respondents (both male and female; the male
constituted over 70% of respondents) targeted were
over 35 years of age. Also, younger generation was
taken into confidence to get their awareness and
interests in the traditional ethnobotanical practices.
Results and Discussion
In total 190 informants (125 males and 65 females)
were interviewed which included 74 Santhal medicine
men, 29 Oraon men, 21 Munda healers and remaining
66 included people belonging to other tribes (Polia,
Sabar, Lodha) and different categories like farmers,
housewives, teachers, shopkeepers, contractors, etc., of
which 47 were males and 19 were females in different
villages. The study documented 62 medicinal plant
species, distributed across 34 families have been
arranged alphabetically by their botanical names in
Table 1. These medicinal plants are used to cure over
30 ailments which can further be grouped under 11
broad categories. Out of 62 species documented, 10
plants are used in diarrhoea and dysentery, 8 plants
each in case of fever and bronchitis/respiratory
troubles/asthma, 6 in constipation/indigestion-related
problems, 5 in cough, cold and sore throat, 4 in
cut/wounds/burns, 3 plants each in bone-related
problems and as abortifacient and 19 plants are used in
treating other health problems. Remarkably, eight
plants have been identified in treating diabetic patients,
while 10 plants were detected as useful in
preventing/controlling various types of male and
female sexual diseases. Many species are used to treat
more than one disorder. Use of medicinal plants in
diabetes has been reported in some parts of Gangetic
and sub-Himalayan plain of West Bengal14,15 and by
ethnic tribes in Sikkim Himalayas16, 17. Among the
ferns (Pteridophyte), only Marselia was identified as
used extensively by the tribal communities in the study
area, although use of other Pteridophytes in traditional
practices was reported in some other parts of this
district12. The various plant parts used included leaves,
roots, stems, flowers, inflorescence, receptacles, fruits,
barks, seeds, gum, and rhizomes (Fig. 1). Of these,
leaves formed the part of the plant predominantly
(45%) used, and it was followed by
roots/rhizome/tuber (24 %), whole plant (17%), fruits
(12%), flowers and seeds (9 % each), stem (including
bark 4 %), and receptacle (3%). Out of a total of 62
plants, it was observed that 16 plants had more than
one plant part used in combination for medicinal
purposes. In most cases, juice was extracted from the
plant part(s) and paste was prepared before application.
Other modes of preparations were cooking, boiling and
dry powder of the plant part (Table 1). Applications
also included crushed plant part to affected area (e.g.
Justicia adhatoda L.), mixing powdered plant parts
with mustard oil (e.g. Carissa carandas L.) or mixing
plant part paste with salt followed by application (e.g.
Echinochloa crus-galli Beauv.). Santhals emerged as
dominant tribe in using maximum number (55) of
herbal plants, followed by Oraon, Munda and other
communities such as Polia, Sabar and Lodhas (Fig. 2).
Within the documented samples, 11 were trees, 4
shrubs, 6 climbers and 41 were herbs. Out of 34
families, dicot family Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
dominated with 8 taxa, followed by Amaranthaceae
and Euphorbiaceae with 4 each, Acanthaceae,
Asteraceae, Rubiaceae, Apocynaceae and monocot
family Poaceae with 3 each, Malvaceae,
Scrophulariaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Moraceae with 2
each. Rest of the families was marked with one taxon
each. Present study indicates that local communities
in study area have been able to maintain their
traditional knowledge built up over time and still
prefer herbal medication in most of the cases.
TALUKDAR &TALUKDAR: ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY IN DAKSHIN DINAJPUR, WEST BENGAL 113
114 INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2013
TALUKDAR &TALUKDAR: ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY IN DAKSHIN DINAJPUR, WEST BENGAL 115
116 INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2013
TALUKDAR &TALUKDAR: ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY IN DAKSHIN DINAJPUR, WEST BENGAL 117

Figure 1Comparison of eight different plant parts used by

ethnic communities,

Figure 2Comparative share of six ethnic tribal communities in

use of medicinal plants; data for Polia, Sabar and Lodha
communities were combined and described as ‘other’ in text and
table 1.

A number of plants were found among the 62

medicinal plants in which plant parts can serve both
nutritive and medicinal purposes and so can be
classified as functional foods. These plants were
Abelmoschus moschatus Medic., Aegle marmelos
Correa ex Roxb., Amaranthus viridis L., Bacopa
monnieri (L.) Penn., Boerhaavia diffusa L., Carissa
carandas L., Coccinia grandis Wight & Arn.,
Dentella repens Forst., Echinochloa crus-galli
Beauv., Elaeocarpus serratus, Emblica officinalis
Gaertn., Ficus hispida Linn. f., Momordica
cochinchinensis Spreng., Nymphaea nouchali Burm.
f., Phyllanthus fraternus Web., Spilanthes acmella
Murr. and Tamarindus indica L. Besides, a new
variety of Lathyrus sativus L. (Fabaceae, grass pea)
called as ‘Jamalpur khesari’ by local people was also
identified in Jamalpur GP (data not in table). Its
tender leaves are cooked as vegetables (‘sak’) during
winter, whole plant is used as fodder and seed flour
mixed with gram is used as ‘besan’ to prepare local
tasty foods in ‘hats’ mainly by women folks
belonging to Santhals and Munda tribes. As grass pea
118 INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2013
contains high natural antioxidant and flavonoid
components, its use by local people as an important
food supplement and animal feedstock suggested
growing acceptance of this legume as a dual-purpose
crop in marginal areas; the process of improvement of
this ‘poor man’s crop’ is becoming obvious in various
recent reports18-20. Although a survey on medicinal
and nutritional plants was conducted in two areas of
Dinajpur district of neighbouring Bangladesh21,
involvement of ethnic communities was not observed.
The present work in Indian part assumes significance
in this aspect.
Conclusion
Results of the present study indicate that medicinal
plants play a pivotal role in day-to-day functioning of
ethnic tribal communities in Hili block of Dakshin
Dinajpur district. The valuable ethnomedicinal
information and bioresources need to be conserved.
Efforts should be made to start sustainable cultivation
and modern harvesting programs for the plants of
ethnomedicinal values of this region. The concerned
authorities and parties need to build local people’s
confidence to prepare Biodiversity Register jointly. At
the same time, research on exploitation mechanisms,
marketing and strategies to improve the livelihoods of
the local population is needed to contribute to a plan
for the long term sustainable management of this
important resource. The present investigation is the
first landing towards this direction in this region.
Acknowledgements
Authors are grateful to all members of ‘Adivasi
Lok Shilpi Sangha’, Hili for their continuous help in
our study and also to Prof. (Retd.) Nirmalendu
Talukdar, Balurghat College for his skilful conduct in
organizing talks with social bodies and village folks
during the entire study period.
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