Traditional Hepatoprotective Herbal Medicine of Bongaigaon District, Assam (N.E. India)

Background: Assam is known for its rich flora and diverse forests and vegetation due to its unique topography, climate and altitude patterns. In rural areas of Western Assam ethnic medicinal plants always play a key role in the healthy system among different ethnic tribes. The district is rich in diverse vegetation including medicinal plant species. Along with diversified groups of people the Koch Rajbanshi and the Bodo are two most dominant indigenous tribes of the district of Bongaigaon. The tribes belong to original culture, posses a good deal of information about properties and uses of primitive or medicinal plants. The practice of using indigenous plants for the treatment of various health ailments has been an old practice. But the ethnic tribes of this region still use several plants for their primary health problems, which are commonly found in this region.
Objectives: Present paper deals with use of certain indigenous medicinal plants among the ethnic tribes of Bongaigaon, a district of northern part of Western Assam for treatment of jaundice and liver disorder.
Method: Field survey was carried out during January 2012 to August 2014 in the entire Bongaigaon district of Western Assam to collect ethnobotanical information. A specially designed questionnaire was used to do a survey on the local health practices of the study area which will include most relevant questions that can give data to fulfil the objectives of the work. Questionnaire is thematic in nature. The questionnaire is a simple one and is having elicited simple answer. The information about ethno medicinal uses, local names of plants, plant parts used, formulation and preparation of recipes, dose regimen, duration and mode of administration were sought from local healers.
Result and conclusion: This paper provides information about 16 folklore medicinal plant species belong to 16 genera of 14 families of Bongaigaon district of Western part of Assam. There is immense use of various plants to cure Jaundice in the study area and these practices are transmitted from generation to generation as local health traditional practice.

Author(s): Kishor Deka* and Namita Nath

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