Invited Speakers

Abstract

Neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders encompass a broad spectrum of problems that includes gastroesophageal reflux disease, non-cardiac chest pain, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and obesity. These ailments are spread world-wide and particularly in the developed countries. Allopathic medicine has no known remedy for cure of neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders but merely serves to control secondary symptoms. On the other hand, traditional health practitioners claim to treat neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders with medicinal plants resulting in complete cure. The traditional health practitioners rely on decoctions made from medicinal plants or plant parts to treat neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders, which decoctions can vary widely between traditional health practitioners in the various districts of the country. The objective of this present study was to conduct a systematic identification of medicinal plants used to treat neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders of people in Khulna district, Bangladesh which area because of its proximity to the Sunderbans forest region contains a diversity of medicinal plants. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to twenty-four traditional health practitioners to evaluate the traditional health practitioners' perceptions and practice relating to causation and treatment of one or more neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders related infections. Medicinal plant specimens were photographed and brought to Bangladesh National Herbarium for identification. The collected information indicates that the following medicinal plants are used to treat neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders: Terminalia arjuna, Lepidagathis hyalina, Abrus precatorius, Nigella sativa, Aconitum napellus, Olea europaea, Plantago ovata, Heritierafomes, Calamus rotang, Smilax zeylanica, Amaranthus gangeticus, Calotropis procera, Zingiber officinale, Lawsonia inermis, Aloe vera, Piper cubeba, Picus religiosa, Centella asiatica, Datura metel, Aegle marmelos, Vitex negundo, Ricinus communis, Cocos nucifera, Kalanchoe pinnata, Ocimum sanctmuM, Withania somnifera, Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Dillenia indica, Bacopa monnieri, Swertia chirata, Piper nigrmuM, and Ceriops tagal. Information on traditional medicinal uses of mangrove medicinal plants is scant in the scientific literature. From that view point, it is interesting to know that two true mangrove medicinal plants like Ceriops tagal and Heritiera fomes are used by the traditional health practitioners of Khulna district to treat difficult to cure diseases like neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders. Since allopathic medicine does not have a cure for neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders, the above-mentioned medicinal plants are potentially interesting for discovery of novel compounds, which can be effective in controlling or curing neurogastroenetrology & motility disorders.