Documentation of Medicinal Plants from the Undivided Area of Puri District, Odisha, India

The present study was done to record the ethnobotanical information from hill -dwelling aboriginal tribes of the undivided Puri district (Khurda and Nayagarh), Odisha, India. The aim was also to gather the information on medicinal uses of plants by conducting personal interviews with socio-economically backward tribals and to record the accumulated knowledge with the snowball technique. Plants were identified by the users on forest floor and were botanically classified. This study recorded the use of different parts of 52 plant species belonging to 51 genera of 28 different flowering plant families, against 61 human ailments, with special reference to Asthma, Stomach disorder, and Fever. The healers use these plants to cure several diseases like asthma, stomach disorder, skin diseases, piles, constipation, diabetes, fever, cough, toothache, wound healing, headache, leucorrhea, infertility in women, mouth ulcer, heart pain, pimples, indigestion, snake bites, ring worms, thirst, eczema, dysentery, diarrhoea, blood purification, high blood pressure and sore throat. These plants are used as herbal healing sources as a part of cultural practice of local traditional healers down the ages. Among these plants, many are specific to the climate identified zone of the hilly forest patches of the district. The present record of ethnomedicinal data indicated that the backward local ethnic people use plants from their surroundings, as healing sources for all possible ailments. It was revealed from the study that the commonly used plants for the treatment of asthma and malaria, are A. vasica, A. marmelos, A. galangal, C. crista, C. sepiaria, N. arbor-tristis, R. dumentorum, S. indicum and V. negundo.

Evolving locally appropriate models of care for Indian sickle cell disease.

The sickle cell gene in India represents a separate occurrence of the HbS mutations from those in Africa. Sickle cell disease in India occurs against different genetic and environmental backgrounds from those seen in African patients and there is evidence of clinical differences between the populations. Knowledge of the clinical features of African disease was drawn from the Jamaican Cohort Study, based on prospective follow up of all cases of sickle cell disease detected by the screening of 100,000 consecutive newborns in Kingston, Jamaica, and supplemented by observations from the Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease in the US. Defining the principal causes of early morbidity in African sickle cell disease led to successful interventions including pneumococcal prophylaxis, parental education in the early diagnosis of acute splenic sequestration, and the early detection by trans-cranial Doppler of cerebral vessel stenosis predictive of stroke but their success depended on early diagnosis, ideally at birth. Although reducing mortality among patients with African forms of SS disease, the question remains whether these interventions are appropriate or justified in Indian patients. This dilemma is approached by comparing the available data in African and Indian forms of SS disease seeking to highlight the similarities and differences and to identify the deficiencies in knowledge of Indian disease. These deficiencies could be most readily addressed by cohort studies based on newborn screening and since much of the morbidity of African disease occurs in the first five years of life, these need not be a daunting prospect for Indian health care personnel. Newborn screening programmes for sickle cell disease are already underway in India and appropriate protocols and therapeutic trials could quickly answer many of these questions. Without this knowledge, Indian physicians may continue to use possibly unnecessary and expensive models of care.

An observation on the phytotherapeutic uses of plants by the tribal people of some forest areas in Birbhum and Burdwan districts, West Bengal, India.

In this study observations have been made on traditional knowledge related with ethnomedicinal uses of plants by the tribal people of different forest areas of Birbhum and Burdwan districts, West Bengal, India. A total of 29 medicinal plants have been recorded from the study areas which are used by the tribal people in formulation of 19 types of herbal preparation for curing 15 types of diseases and ailments. Many of these preparations are new as they have not been recorded earlier in standard literature. The investigated plant taxa have alphabetically been enumerated providing their botanical names along with families, local or tribal names, parts used, name of the diseases, mode of administration, locality of collection, etc. Bioassay of these ethnomedicinal claims has to be carried out for their scientific validation in future.

Ethnomedicinal Observations from the Anantprasad and Jeypur Tribal Villages of district Cuttack, Odisha, India.

Ethnobotanical survey tours were conducted during year 2010-2011 to document the ethnomedicinal remedies for various ailments of the Kondh tribe inhabiting in the Anantprasad and Jeypur villages of district Cuttack, Odisha, India under Athagarh Forest Division. The paper presents 24 plants species belonging to 23 genera and 16 families used by Kondh tribes of this area and other local inhabitants etc. for the treatment of various diseases i. e. boils, cuts & wounds, joints pain, jaundice, constipation, earache, headache, dysentery, menstrual problems, snake-bite etc. The Plants are arranged alphabetically with their botanical name, family in bracket, local name, unani name wherever available, locality with collection number, part used, name of the disease(s) against which used, mode of preparation and administration and Informant who shared his valuable information is given for each recipe discussed. The information provided will help to discover new herbal drugs for many of the diseases, thus far, incurable in modern medicine.

Healthcare-seeking Behaviour among the Tribal People of Bangladesh: Can the Current Health System Really Meet Their Needs.

Despite the wealth of studies on health and healthcare-seeking behaviour among the Bengali population in Bangladesh, relatively few studies have focused specifically on the tribal groups in the country. This study aimed at exploring the context, reasons, and choices in patterns of healthcare-seeking behaviour of the hill tribal population of Bangladesh to present the obstacles and challenges faced in accessing healthcare provision in the tribal areas. Participatory tools and techniques, including focus-group discussions, in-depth interviews, and participant-observations, were used involving 218 men, women, adolescent boys, and girls belonging to nine different tribal communities in six districts. Data were transcribed and analyzed using the narrative analysis approach. The following four main findings emerged from the study, suggesting that the tribal communities may differ from the predominant Bengali population in their health needs and priorities: (a) Traditional healers are still very popular among the tribal population in Bangladesh; (b) Perceptions of the quality and manner of treatment and communication can override costs when it comes to provider-preference; (c) Gender and age play a role in making decisions in households in relation to health matters and treatment-seeking; and (d) Distinct differences exist among the tribal people concerning their knowledge on health, awareness, and treatment-seeking behaviour. The findings challenge the present service-delivery system that has largely been based on the needs and priorities of the plainland population. The present system needs to be reviewed carefully to include a broader approach that takes the sociocultural factors into account, if meaningful improvements are to be made in the health of the tribal people of Bangladesh.