title: A medicinal plant study of the Santal tribe in Rangpur district, Bangladesh.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Santals form the largest tribal community in northern Bangladesh and reside primarily in the districts of Rangpur and Dinajpur. The tribe has a long history of medicinal plant use and has its own medicinal practitioners, who usually administer medicinal plant formulations for treatment of various ailments. The objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the Santal communities residing in Rangpur district to collect information on their use of medicinal plants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted with the Santal traditional medicinal practitioners in their own dialect with the help of a semistructured 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 was completed at the Bangladesh National Herbarium.
  
  
  METHODS
  The location was the Rangpur district, Bangladesh.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects consisted of the Santal tribe.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Information on 52 medicinal plants distributed into 33 families was obtained in this survey. Ailments treated by these plants included skin disorders, respiratory tract disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, impotence, diabetes, cancer, malaria, and paralysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The medicinal plants used by the Santals are worth detailed scientific studies because they are used to treat ailments such as cancer and paralysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh. rahamatm@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahmatullah
authors.forename: Ariful Haque
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Mollik
authors.forename: Sahidur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Nazmul
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: Bipasha
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Agarwala
authors.forename: Rownak
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jahan
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D001459:Bangladesh; D019448:Ethnobotany; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts