Medicinal plant sources and traditional healthcare practices of forest-dependent communities in and around Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary in southeastern Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's forest-dependent people rely on medicinal plants for traditional healthcare practices, as plant-based medicines are easily available and cost-effective. This study evaluated and documented ethnomedicinal practices for, and traditional knowledge of, utilising plants to cure ailments. Ethnobotanical indices quantified the use value (UV), frequency of citation, relative frequency of citation (RFC) and the informant consensus factor. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, the study interviewed 231 respondents from 18 villages in and around Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS). The study documented 134 medicinal plant species from 60 families; tree species were dominant (37.31%). Malvaceae (seven species), Rutaceae and Lamiaceae (six species each) families covered more species. Nearly half of the species (46.02%) were collected from CWS. Both above-ground and below-ground plant parts treated 71 types of ailments under 21 categories, with leaves (66 species) being the most widely used plant part. In total 33 species were used to treat dysentery, 25 species each for fever and jaundice, and 24 species for cuts and wounds. The average UV value was 0.24 and RFC value was 0.47%. Communities were found to utilise medicinal plants more at home than to sell at markets, substantially relying on medicinal plants to meet their domestic needs. Plants used for healthcare and cultural and religious beliefs have a strong connection that plays a vital role in plant conservation. This study identified 42 medicinal plant species that could be considered to treat COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh. The findings suggest that community awareness of sustainable harvesting and commercial cultivation could lead to conservation and use of these invaluable plant species for healthcare, new drugs discovery and sustainable forest management.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42398-022-00230-z.