Download Some ethnomedicines used by the Tai Ahom of Dibrugarh district

Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources
Vol. 1 (4), December 2010, pp. 507-511
Some ethnomedicines used by the Tai Ahom of Dibrugarh district, Assam, India
Dilip Kalita1* and Bonoranjan Phukan2
1
Department of Botany, Dibru College, Dibrugarh-786 003, Assam, India
2
Institute of Pharmacy, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh-786 002
Received 8 January 2010; Accepted 16 August 2010
It is well known fact that from the time immemorial, large number of plant species were used by the mankind for the
treatment of different kind of diseases. The ethno-medico-botanical folklore of Tai Ahom of Dibrugarh district of Assam is
very rich. An attempt has been made to study ethnomedicines used by the Tai Ahom people of the study areas for the
treatment of 17 commonly occurring diseases like abdominal pain, abscess, cough, cut-injury, diarrhoea, dysentery,
epilepsy, epitaxis, fracture, gastric, inflammation, loosening of teeth, loss of appetite, migraine, sleeplessness, sour in mouth,
whooping cough and worms. A total number of 24 medicinally important plant species are reported in this paper.
Keywords: Assam, Dibrugarh, Ethnomedicine, Medicinal plants, Tai Ahom.
IPC code; Int. cl.8  A61K 36/00
Introduction
Assam is situated in the north east corner of
India. The state is located between 90º-96° East
longitude and 22º-28º North latitude. Dibrugarh
district is located in the eastern part of Assam and
is situated between 27°5‫׳‬28′-27º42‫׳‬30′ North latitude
and 94º30‫׳‬46′-95º29‫׳‬8′ East longitude, covering an
area of 3301 sq. km. The district is surrounded by
Dhemaji district of Assam in the North, Tinsukia
district in the East, Sivsagar district and Arunachal
Pradesh in the South and Sivsagar district in the
West (Fig. 1). The soil of Dibrugarh district is
mainly alluvial, deposited by the river Brahmaputra
and its tributaries. Relatively long rainy season,
high humidity and moderate to high temperature are
suitable factors for luxuriant growth of the vegetation
in this district. The natural vegetation of the district
can be divided into the monsoon forest, with an
admixture of evergreen and deciduous forests, the
grasslands and swamp growth.
The total population of Assam are 2,66,55,528
out of which 33,08,570 are tribal population. In
Dibrugarh district there are total 11,85,072 population
of which only 88,337 are tribal1. The main tribal
ethnic groups of Dibrugarh district are Sonowal
kachari, Mishing and Deuris.
The Tai Ahom is one of the major ethnic group of
Assam and are of Mongoloid in origin, which belong
——————
*Correspondent author. E-mail:[email protected]
to other backward class under Indian Constitution.
The total Tai Ahom population of Assam
are approximately 40,00,000 which are mainly
concentrated in upper Assam districts like Dibrugarh,
Tinsukia, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sivsagar, Jorhat
and Golaghat2. This cultivators ethnic tribe has a
vast knowledge about plants as they entirely depend
on the plants to meet their day-to-day needs like
food, fodder, medicine, cloth, shelter and haj (country
liquor). The medicine men and women of this
community gathered knowledge about plants usages
from their ancestors, who learned this by observing
nature and by a long term trial and error experiments.
Recently some ethnobotanical works have been
carried out by different workers in Dibrugarh
district3-7, but unfortunately Tai Ahom group remained
Fig. 1  Map of Assam, showing study area
508
INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, DECEMBER 2010
untouched in their study, therefore, to document their
knowledge on plants present study was carried out.
deposited to the herbarium of Botany department,
Dibru College, Dibrugarh, Assam.
Methodology
The study was conducted between 2008 and 2009.
A number of bejes (local medicine men) and bejinis
(local medicine women) were contacted and information
on medicinal plants was collected. Efforts were made
to see the plants in wild and collect plant specimens
with their reproductive parts (Plate 1). Herbarium
sheets were prepared according to conventional
herbarium technique as suggested by Mitra8.
Collected plants were identified with the help
of Flora of Assam9 and Flora of British India10 and
Observations
Information on 24 different plant species used
traditionally by the Tai Ahom people of Dibrugarh
district, Assam is enumerated in the Table 1. Out of
these 17 are wild and 7 are cultivated.
Traditional and indigenous systems of medicine
persist all over the world. Ethnobotanical knowledge
of primitive tribes has gained popularity in developed
as well as developing countries. Some of the plant
species mentioned in this paper are also reported
in some earlier works by various authors such as,
Plate 1 — Medicine man and some of the medicinal plants used by Tai Ahom of Dibrugarh district
KALITA & PHUKAN: ETHNOMEDICINES USED BY TAI AHOM OF DIBRUGARH
509
Table 1  Ethnomedicines used for the treatment of various diseases by the Tai Ahom of Dibrugarh district
Name of the
disease
Abdominal
pain
Abscess
Cough
Cut injury
Diarrhoea
Dysentery
Epilepsy
Epitaxis
Fracture
Gastric
Inflammation
Name of the
plant/Family
Oxalis corniculata Linn.
Oxalidaceae
English name/
Vernacular name
Indian sorrel/
Bortengeshi
Parts used
Mode of preparation and dosage
Aerial vegetative About 25ml of extract of aerial
portion
vegetative portion is mixed with a
glass of water and a tea spoonful
sugar. The mixture is given to take 5
times in a day until cure.
Clerodendrum colebrookianum Wall. Clerodendron/Nephafu
Leaf
Three tea spoonful leaf extract is
Verbenaceae
mixed with small amount of
common salt and given to take
thrice daily for 4 days.
Paederia foetida Linn./Rubiaceae
Bhedailata
Leaf
As above
Tabernaemontana coronaria R. Br. Wax flower/Kathana
Stem bark
Sufficient amount of ash obtained
from the dried stem bark is mixed
Apocynaceae
with suitable amount of coconut oil
and applied over the infected
portion thrice daily until cure.
Piper betle Linn./Piperaceae
Betel/Pan
Leaf
Three teaspoonful leaf extract is
mixed with equal amount of honey
and given to take five times in a day
until cure.
Sida rhombifolia Linn./ Malvaceae Country
Leaf
Finely crushed leaf is applied over
mallow/Chakamora
the injured area.
1 Alternanthera sessilis DC.
Alligator weed/ Matikaduri Young aerial
Equal amount of each plant species
Amaranthaceae
parts
(aerial parts) are boiled in water
2 Oxalis corniculata Linn.
Indian sorrel/Bortengeshi ″
with suitable amount of common
Oxalidaceae
salt and given to take thrice daily.
-/Banjaluk
″
3 Oldenlandia corymbosa
Linn./ Rubiaceae
Spondias pinnata Kurz/Anacardiaceae Wild mango/Amora
Fruit
A mature fruit is boiled and given to
take twice daily for three days.
Psidium guajava Linn./Myrtaceae
Common guava/Madhuri Leaf
About 100g of young leaf of both
Spondias pinnata Kurz/
Wild mango/Amora
plant species are crushed and boiled
Anacardiaceae
in water. The filtrate obtained from
the above preparation is mixed with
a teaspoonful honey and given to
take four times in a day for five
days.
Vitex negundo Linn./Verbenaceae
Chaste tree/Pachatia
Leaf
Sufficient amount of fried young
leaves are given to take twice daily
for three days.
Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.)
Sprout leaf plant/Dupar
Leaf
Crushed leaves (2-3) are inserted
Kurz/ Crassulaceae
tanga
into the mouth at the time of
senselessness.
Bambusa balcooa Roxb./Poaceae
Bamboo/Bhaluka banh
Leaf
For a dose, 21 young leaves of B.
Cucumis sativus Linn./Cucurbitaceae Cucumber/Tiyanh
balcooa and 5 matured leaves of
C. sativus are crushed finely and
given to take orally. It is continued
for a week.
Bombax ceiba Linn./
Silk cotton tree/Shimalu Stem bark
Sufficient amount of bark of 3-5
Bombacaceae
years old plant are crushed finely
and tied over the fractured area with
the help of banana leaf and kept as
such for 15 days.
Psidium guajava Linn./
Common guava/
Leaf
Young leaves (3) are given to take
Myrtaceae
Madhuri
after food for a week.
Bryophyllum pinnatum
Sprout leaf plant/
Leaf
Leaves (3) are crushed finely and
(Lam.)Kurz/Crassulaceae
Dupar tanga
tied over the affected area for 6 h
and is repeated for 3 days.
(Contd.)
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INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, DECEMBER 2010
Table 1  Ethnomedicines used for the treatment of various diseases by the Tai Ahom of Dibrugarh district—Contd.
Name of the
Name of the
English name/
Parts used
Mode of preparation and dosage
disease
plant/Family
Vernacular name
Loosening of Brassica alba Hook./
White mustard/Baga
Seed
Finely crushed seeds are applied over
the affected gum for half an hour. It
teeth
Brassicaceae
hariyah
is continued thrice daily for a week.
Banana/Bhim kal
Inflorescence
Curry is prepared by boiling using
Loss of appetite Musa balbisiana Colla./
Musaceae
portion with suitable amount of
common salt, and given to take
thrice daily for a week.
Amaranthus spinosus
Prickly
Young vegetative As above
Linn./Amaranthaceae
amaranthus/Khutora
portion
Migraine
Vitex negundo Linn./Verbenaceae
Chaste tree/Pachatiya
Root
About 12cm root of V. negundo and
Piper nigrum Linn./Piperaceae
Long pepper/Jaluk
Fruit
two fruits of P. nigrum are crushed
finely and mixed with a cup of goat
milk. The mixture is drawn through
nostrils early in the morning for a
week.
Sour in mouth Leucas aspera Spreng./Lamiaceae
Duran
Leaf
Sufficient amount of fried young
leaves are given to eat twice daily
for a week.
Centella asiatica (Linn.)
Indian Pennywort/Bor
Vegetative part Half cup of extract of using portion
Urban/ Apiaceae
manimuni
is given to drink twice daily for a
week.
Paralysis
Leucas aspera Spreng./Lamiaceae
Duran
Aerial vegetative Extract of using portion is given to
shoot
message 5 times in a day until cure.
Sleeplessness Cinnamomum tamala
Bay leaf/Tejpat
Stem bark
About 150g of stem bark is crushed
Nees & Eberm./Lauraceae
and boiled in one litre of water for
few minutes. The filtrate is kept in
bottle and two spoonfuls filtrate is
given to take 3 times a day for a
week.
Whooping
Clitoria ternatea Linn./Fabaceae
Butterfly pea/Aparjita
Root
About 20g of root is crushed and
cough
boiled in one litre of water for few
minutes. Two teaspoonful extracts
are given to take twice daily for a
week just before going to bed at
night.
Worm
Punica granatum Linn./Punicaceae Pomegranate/Dalim
Stem bark
About 100g of stem bark is crushed
and boiled in one litre of water for
few minutes. Three teaspoonful
filtrate is given to take thrice daily
for a fortnight.
Leucas aspera in gastric ulcer11, Spondias pinnata
in urinary problem12, Centella asiatica in cough13,
Oxalis corniculata in piles14. The biochemical
analysis and pharmacological investigations of plant
species used by this tribe will bring some new
information of immense scientific values.
the cultivation of ethnomedicinal plants at large
scale and development of ethnomedicinal garden.
Such a step will be helpful in conserving the vast
natural resources. Along with this conservation and
documentation of ethnomedicinal information is also
required for the development of the society.
Conclusion
The conservation of ethnomedicinal plants wealth
requires serious consideration. Lack of awareness
among the common people, establishment of small
tea garden by cleaning the jungle, change of life
style, increase of population, flood, soil erosion,
frequent change of course of rivers are the
main factors which cause extinction of many
ethnomedicinal plants. There is a need to encourage
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