Are Famine Food Plants Also Ethnomedicinal Plants? An Ethnomedicinal Appraisal of Famine Food Plants of Two Districts of Bangladesh

Table 1

Nonconventional (famine) food plants of four villages in Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts, Bangladesh.

Serial number	Species	Family	Local name; (English name)	Part(s) used	Mode of consumption	Local medicinal use(s)
1	Abroma  augusta (L.) L.f.	Malvaceae	Ulot kombol; (Devil’s cotton)	Bark, root	Juice obtained from crushed bark is taken with a little salt. Smashed roots are cooked.	Roots used against menstrual problems, leucorrhea, stomach pain, and sexual weakness. Bark used against jaundice.
2	Alternanthera sessilis (L.) R. Br. ex DC.	Amaranthaceae	Shanti shak; (Sessile joyweed)	Leaf, stem	Fried with little oil and water.	Leaves used against scabies and eczema.
3	Amaranthus spinosus L.	Amaranthaceae	Kanta khuria; (Spiny Amaranth)	Leaf, stem	Fried with little oil and water.	Leaves and stems used against boils, stomach pain, and weakness.
4	Amaranthus tricolor L.	Amaranthaceae	Chorie danga shak; (Joseph’s coat Amaranth)	Leaf, stem	Fried with little oil and water.	Leaves and stems used against skin diseases and dysentery.
5	Amaranthus viridis L.	Amaranthaceae	Khai khuria; (Green Amaranth)	Leaf, stem	Fried with little oil and water.	Leaves and stems used against boils, constipation, and severe malnutrition.
6	Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.	Moraceae	Kanthal; (Jackfruit)	Seed	Roasted seeds are eaten directly or in the mashed form.	Seeds used against constipation.
7	Bombax ceiba L.	Bombacaceae	Shimul; (Silk cotton tree)	Root	Cut into small pieces and boiled with a little salt.	Roots used against sexual weakness.
8	Caryota urens L.	Arecaceae	Cha guwa; (Solitary fishtail palm)	Fruit	Fruits are eaten raw.	No local medicinal uses reported.
9	Centella asiatica (L.) Urb.	Apiaceae	Khudi manimuni; (Indian pennywort)	Leaf	Juice obtained from crushed leaves is added to lentil soup.	Leaves used against indigestion, diarrhea, and dysentery.
10	Chenopodium album L.	Chenopodiaceae	Bothua; (Lamb’s quarters)	Leaf, stem	Fried with little oil and water.	Leaves and stems used against liver diseases, helminthiasis, hemorrhoids, constipation, and bloating.
11	Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.	Araceae	Kochu; (Elephant’s ear)	Leaf, stem, tuber	Leaves and stems are fried with little oil and water. Tubers are boiled in water containing salt and consumed in the mashed form.	Leaves and stems used against indigestion. Tubers used against tuberculosis, rheumatism, and paralysis.
12	Corchorus capsularis L.	Tiliaceae	Paat shak; (Jute)	Leaf from young plants	Cut into small pieces and cooked with little salt and water.	Leaves used against stomach pain, liver disorders, and loss of appetite.
13	Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill	Dioscoreaceae	Boro alu; (Lesser yam)	Leaf, tuber	Boiled in water and then taken in the mashed form after mixing with oil and hot peppers.	Tubers used against malnutrition.
14	Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) Sw.	Dryopteridaceae	Dhakia shak; (Vegetable fern)	Leaf	Cut into small pieces and cooked.	Leaves used against fever.
15	Ehretia acuminata R. Br.	Boraginaceae	Kath guwa; (Kodo weed)	Fruit	Fruits are eaten raw.	No local medicinal uses reported.
16	Enhydra fluctuans Lour.	Asteraceae	Hanchi shak; (Water cress)	Leaf	Fried with salt and then cooked.	Leaves used against diabetes, low semen density, and weakness.
17	Ficus hispida L.	Moraceae	Khoksha; (Hairy fig)	Fruit	Fruits are eaten raw.	Fruits used against diabetes and hypertension.
18	Glinus oppositifolius (L.) Aug. DC.	Molluginaceae	Teeta shak; (Bitter leaf)	Leaf	Leaves are boiled in water followed by discarding the water and cooking the boiled leaves as vegetable.	Leaves used against indigestion, fever, and burning sensations in hands or feet.
19	Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.	Convolvulaceae	Kolmi shak; (Water spinach)	Leaf	Cut into small pieces and cooked with salt and water.	Leaves used against chicken pox and rheumatism, and to increase lactation in nursing mothers.
20	Ipomoea batatas (L.) Poir.	Convolvulaceae	Misti aloo; (Sweet potato)	Leaf	Cut into small pieces and cooked with salt and water.	Leaves used against diarrhea and debility.
21	Leucas aspera (Willd.) Link	Lamiaceae	Kanshika; (White dead nettle)	Leaf from young plants	Cut into small pieces and cooked with a little salt.	Leaves used against body pain, coughs, and mucus.
22	Malva verticillata L.	Malvaceae	Napa shak; (Chinese mallow)	Leaf	Cooked with little water and salt.	No local medicinal uses reported.
23	Marsilea minuta L.	Marsileaceae	Dhel manimuni; (Dwarf water clover)	Leaf	Leaves are squeezed to obtain juice, which is consumed with lentil soup.	Leaves used against edema, sexual weakness, mucus and fever.
24	Moringa oleifera Lam.	Moringaceae	Saazna; (Drumstick tree)	Leaf, immature fruit	Leaves are cooked with a little soda and consumed. Fruits are cooked as vegetables.	Leaves and fruits used against fever, boils, cold, and joint pain.
25	Musa x paradisiaca L.	Musaceae	Anajee kola; (Plantain)	Flower, fruit, pseudostem	Immature flowers are taken in the mashed form with a little salt after boiling. Unripe fruits are boiled and taken in the mashed form or cooked as vegetable. Pseudostems from young plants are cooked as vegetable.	Fruits used against anemia, hematemesis, and dysentery. Flowers and pseudostems used against chronic dysentery.
26	Musa x sapientum L.	Musaceae	Aeeta kola; (Banana)	Flower, fruit	Immature flowers are boiled and taken in the mashed form with a little salt. Ripe fruits are taken raw or smashed and kept in water for 10–12 hours followed by drinking the mixture.	Fruits against stomach pain, diarrhea, and skin eruptions. Flowers used against diabetes.
27	Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.	Nelumbonaceae	Padma, Dhepra; (Sacred lotus)	Leaf stalk	Leaf stalks are fried with a little salt.	Leaves and leaf stalks used against weakness.
28	Nymphaea pubescens Willd.	Nymphaeaceae	Shapla, Shaluk; (Hairy water lily)	Leaf stalk, corm	Leaf stalks are fried with a little salt. Corms are roasted and taken with a little salt.	No local medicinal uses reported.
29	Oxalis corniculata L.	Oxalidaceae	Amrul; (Creeping woodsorrel)	Leaf	Juice obtained from crushed leaves is taken with lentil soup.	Leaves used against dysentery and as antidote to poison.
30	Raphanus sativus L.	Cruciferae	Mula; (radish)	Leaf	Cut into small pieces and cooked in water with some salt and a little oil.	No local medicinal uses reported.
31	Saccharum spontaneum L.	Poaceae	Keshur, Kashia danda; (Wild sugar cane)	Stem	Stems are chewed and the ensuing juice is taken orally.	Stem juice used against jaundice and sexual weakness.
32	Scoparia dulcis L.	Scrophulariaceae	Misti pata; (Sweet broomweed)	Leaf	Leaves are cooked with a little salt.	Leaves used against fever, dysentery, blood dysentery, and gastric ulcer.
33	Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers.	Fabaceae	Bokful; (August flower)	Flower	Fried.	Flowers used against biliary disorders and diabetes.
34	Spilanthes paniculata Wall. ex DC.	Asteraceae	Oshun shak, Roshun shak; (Para cress)	Leaf, stem	Cut into small pieces and cooked.	Leaves and stems used against rheumatism.