Survey and scientific evaluation of medicinal plants used by the Pahan and Teli tribal communities of Natore district, Bangladesh

The Pahans and the Telis are two of the smallest indigenous communities in Bangladesh. The Pahans, numbering about 14,000 people are widely scattered in several northern districts of the country, while the Telis are such a small community that nothing has been reported on their numbers and lifestyle. Both tribes are on the verge of disappearance. One each of the Pahan and the Teli community was located after much search in two adjoining villages of Natore district, Bangladesh. Since the tribes were found to still depend on their traditional medicinal practitioners for treatment of ailments, it was the objective of the present study to document their traditional usage of medicinal plants and to evaluate such plants against modern research-based pharmacological activity studies on these plants. Interviews were conducted of the practitioners of the Pahan and Teli community of Natore district with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and using the guided field-walk method. Plant specimens aspointed out by the practitioners were collected and pressed on the field and identification completed at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. The Pahan tribal practitioners used 13 plants distributed into 9 families for treatment of 14 different ailments. The Teli tribal practitioner used 15 plants divided into 14 families for treatment of 17 different ailments. Eight out of the thirteen plants used by the Pahan tribal practitioner (61.5%) had reported relevant pharmacological activities in the scientific literature, while six out of the fifteen plants used by the Teli tribal practitioners (40%) had such relevant pharmacological activities in accordance with their usage. The medicinal plants used by the Pahans and Telis warrant further scientific studies toward discovery of lead compounds and efficacious drugs and the documentation and protection of the traditional medical knowledge held by these tribes

Botany, chemistry, and pharmaceutical significance of Sida cordifolia: a traditional medicinal plant

Sida cordifolia Linn. belonging to the family, Malvaceae has been widely employed in traditional medications in many parts of the world including India, Brazil, and other Asian and African countries. The plant is extensively used in the Ayurvedic medicine preparation. There are more than 200 plant species within the genus Sida, which are distributed predominantly in the tropical regions. The correct taxonomic identification is a major concern due to the fact that S. cordifolia looks morphologically similar with its related species. It possesses activity against various human ailments, including cancer, asthma, cough, diarrhea, malaria, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, obesity, ulcer, Parkinson’s disease, urinary infections, and many others. The medical importance of this plant is mainly correlated to the occurrence of diverse biologically active phytochemical compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and steroids. The major compounds include β-phenylamines, 2-carboxylated tryptamines, quinazoline, quinoline, indole, ephedrine, vasicinone, 5-3-isoprenyl flavone, 5,7-dihydroxy-3-isoprenyl flavone, and 6-(isoprenyl)- 3-methoxy- 8-C-β-D-glucosyl-kaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucosyl[1–4]-α-D-glucoside. The literature survey reveals that most of the pharmacological investigations on S. cordifolia are limited to crude plant extracts and few isolated pure compounds. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate many other unexplored bioactive phytoconstituents with evidences so as to justify the traditional usages of S. cordifolia. Furthermore, detailed studies on the action of mechanisms of these isolated compounds supported by clinical research are necessary for validating their application in contemporary medicines. The aim of the present chapter is to provide a detailed information on the ethnobotanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological aspects of S. cordifolia

Nutrient composition of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) fruits

The Nelumbo nucifera known as sacred lotus is an ornamental plant having medicinal possessions. Lotus seeds, which are currently the oldest known plant seeds, contain many functional constituents. The seeds have been widely used as both medicine and food. In the present studies, the nutrient composition of collected from two separate beels at Tarakanda, Mymensingh were determined. The nutrient composition was determined as moisture 17.727 (± 0.053), ash 9.49 (± 0.059), crude protein 16.563 (± 0.076), crude lipids 4.146 (± 0.038), crude fiber 7.755 (± 0.045), carbohydrate 44.042 (± 0.011). The results showed that lotus seeds contained a high content of moisture, crude protein, crude lipids, crude fiber, ash and carbohydrate. From this research, it found that lotus seeds were rich in crude protein and carbohydrate. The study may conclude that seeds could be incorporated in feed formulation as a source of nutrients. The present experiment may provide a guideline for the use of lotus seeds as human food.&#x0D; Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2020, 5 (3), 115-120</jats:p

Effect of fractional temporal variation on the vibration of waves on elastic substrates with spatial non-homogeneity

&lt;abstract&gt;&lt;p&gt;The current manuscript examines the effect of the fractional temporal variation on the vibration of waves on non-homogeneous elastic substrates by applying the Laplace integral transform and the asymptotic approach. Four different non-homogeneities, including linear and exponential forms, are considered and scrutinized. In the end, it is reported that the fractional temporal variation significantly affects the respective vibrational fields greatly as the vibrations increase with a decrease in the fractional-order $\mu$. Besides, the two approaches employed for the cylindrical substrates are also shown to be in good agreement for very small non-homogeneity parameter $\alpha$. More so, the present study is set to play a vital role in the fields of material science, and non-homogenization processes to state a few.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/abstract&gt;</jats:p

Study on sustainable livelihoods of fishers from Chalan beel, Bangladesh

An assessment was carried out to observe the impacts of fish sanctuary on the livelihoods from fishers of Ruhul beel and Bamonji beel under Chalan beel in Pabna district of Bangladesh. Data were collected from selected sanctuary sites with prepared and pretested questionnaire and analyzed through statistical tests like ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), regression, correlation, Chi-square were used to identify the relationships between variables and significant differences/association among them. From physical capital point of view, it was found that 91.3% of fishermen’s houses were katcha, 6.52% were semi-pacca, and only 2.17% were pucca in case of Ruhul beel and in case of Bamonji beel 90.54% of fishermen’s houses were katcha, 8.11% were semi-pacca, and only 1.35% were pacca. There was no significant variation (ANOVA; P&gt;0.05, Chi Square test; non-significant at 0.05 level) among the residences by well-being. From human capital, average age of the household heads (HHH) was 37.95(±) 1.354 for Ruhul beel respectively, whereas for Bamonji beel the average age were 38.05(±) 1.064. The medium aged group fishermen were dominant in Ruhul beel than Bamonji beel. There were no significant difference (P&gt;0.05) found between the age groups by well-being. From income capital it was observed highest part of income were come from fishing contributing 64.89% (653.72±128.82 US$), 43.58$) for Ruhul beel and Bamonji beel respectively. As per as natural and social capital, average used land holding was 0.274±0.136 ranging 0.065 ha to 0.534 ha for Ruhul beel and 0.228±0.305 ha ranging 0.040 to 0.267 ha for Bamonji beel. The average land holdings did not vary significantly (P&gt;0.05) between the sites.&#x0D; Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2020, 5 (3), 100-114</jats:p