A survey of medicinal plants used by the Rakhain tribe, Bangladesh which can serve as food supplements

The Rakhain tribe inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts area and Patuakhali district in the south and south-east regions of Bangladesh. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted amongst the tribe. During the course of this survey, it was found that the tribal people use a number of medicinal plants or plant parts towards both treatment as well as prevention from occurrence of certain ailments. These medicinal plants therefore serve as food supplements. Medicinal plants were collected and appropriate botanical names obtained from the Bangladesh National Herbarium, where specimen copies were also deposited. These medicinal plants (with family name, plant parts used, and ailments treated given in parenthesis) included Syzygium jambos (Myrtaceae; leaf; rheumatic pain, muscle pain, urinary problems), Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae; leaf, seeds; inflammation, burning sensations in the urinary tract, gastrointestinal problems, toothache, skin diseases), and Dillenia indica (Dilleniaceae; fruit, bark; fever, skin diseases, rheumatic pain, cold, fever, respiratory problems).