Traditionally Used Medicinal Plants for Treatment of Stomach Disorder in West Bengal, India: A Scrutiny and Analysis from Secondary Literature

ABSTRACT The state of West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India. It is rich with high value medicinal plants on which a large number of communities depend for their medicinal needs. The present documentation has gathered information from published literature on plant based traditional medicine used by the dependent communities along with their traditional way of treating different stomach related diseases/disorders recorded from different regions of the state. The researchers found a total of 118 plant species which were used to treat different stomach diseases/disorders. Tree species dominated the list. Leaves/foliage of 44 species was dominantly used followed by roots. Common stomach diseases/disorders treated were dysentery, ulcer and stomach ache. Administration of medicine was either oral or external in the form of infusion, decoction, paste and latex either as a sole formulation or in combination with other species. The collected evidence/data can be useful to scientific community for further evaluation and recommendations to the practicing communities.