Medicinal plants used against malaria in several regions of bogra district, Bangladesh

Malaria is widely prevalent in many countries of the world, including Bangladesh. In recent years, scientific attention has focused on traditional methods for treatment of malaria because of the emergence of drug-resistant forms of this disease. In Bangladesh, malaria is often treated by traditional medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) who use plant decoctions to treat this disease. The objective of the present study was to collect information amongst the Kavirajes of several regions of Bogra district, Bangladesh on medicinal plants used to treat malaria. Kavirajes were interviewed and plant specimens as pointed out by them were collected and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. A total of 23 plant species was found to be used by the Kavirajes for treatment. These plant species (with family name given in parenthesis) included Daucus carota (Apiaceae), Momordica charantia (Cucurbitaceae), Mallotus paniculatus (Euphorbiaceae), Smilax china (Smilacaceae), Thevetia peruviana (Apocynaceae), Michelia champaca (Magnoliaceae), Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), Carissa carandas (Apocynaceae), Kaempferia galangal (Zingiberaceae), Adansonia digitata (Bombacaceae), Siegesbeckia orientalis (Asteraceae), Hyptis suaveolens (Lamiaceae), Drynaria quercifolia (Polypodiaceae), Helminthostachys zeylanica (Ophioglossaceae), Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae), Camellia sinensis (Theaceae), Swietenia mahagoni (Meliaceae), Eucalyptus globules (Myrtaceae), Bixa orellana (Bixaceae), Delonix regia (Leguminaceae), Tectona grandis (Lamiaceae), Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae), and Piper nigrum (Piperaceae). Taken together, the plants can prove to be potentially important for isolation of components, which are active against drug-resistant forms of malaria.