Reported by Mrinal Kanti Banik
Agartala: A study involving eight researchers has documented 67 medicinal plant species used by traditional bonesetters across Tripura, underscoring the importance of preserving indigenous healing knowledge while scientifically evaluating the plants and ensuring fair benefit-sharing if such knowledge contributes to future medical applications.
Titled “Traditional Healing Practices in Tripura: Exploring Ethnomedicinal Plants Employed by Local Healers for Bone Fractures,” the study was published in the book Ecorestoration and Biodiversity Conservation, edited by Debabrata Das and Pampi Ghosh.
The research was conducted under the Regional Ayurveda Research Centre in Agartala, with support from the Tripura Forest Department, as part of a project supported by the National Medicinal Plants Board.
Between July 2022 and October 2023, the researchers travelled across all eight districts of Tripura and interviewed 122 traditional healers. Among them, 32 specialised in treating bone fractures. The team documented their experience, methods of learning, diagnostic approaches and the medicinal plants they use.
Plant samples were also collected during the fieldwork and later identified and preserved for further reference.
The research team comprised Prasenjit Patari, Niral Hansrajbhai Sojeetra, Sanjoy Das, Rohit Kumar Ravte, Nikhil Krishna, Deepika Tewari, Vimal Tewari and Devanjal Bora. The researchers said the study aimed to record traditional healing practices followed by different communities in Tripura.
Of the 32 bone-setting practitioners interviewed, 29 were men and three were women. Twenty-two belonged to Scheduled Tribe communities, while seven were from the Forward caste category and three from Minority communities. Their ages ranged from 30 to 90 years.
The researchers found a strong association between the age of practitioners and their knowledge of medicinal plants. Older healers generally demonstrated greater ethnobotanical knowledge than younger practitioners.
The study documented 67 plant species used across 34 traditional treatment methods. Of these, 40 species were collected from the wild, eight were cultivated and 19 were found in both cultivated and wild conditions.
Trees accounted for the largest group, with 25 species, while leaves were the most commonly used plant part, featuring in the traditional use of 41 species.
Among the plants recorded, Antidesma roxburghii had the highest relative frequency of citation at 0.406. Practitioners reported 13 different uses of the species in traditional bone-fracture treatment. It was followed by Litsea glutinosa at 0.218, while Cassia fistula and Cissus quadrangularis each recorded 0.156.
However, the researchers stressed that the study does not establish the clinical effectiveness or safety of these plants for treating bone fractures. They called for further phytochemical, pharmacological and clinical studies before any therapeutic conclusions can be drawn.
The researchers specifically recommended phytochemical screening of Antidesma roxburghii to investigate its potential properties.
The findings also highlight concerns surrounding the conservation of medicinal plants. The researchers observed that some species are declining and noted growing interest among traditional practitioners in cultivating medicinal plants in household gardens.
The study further emphasised the need to safeguard indigenous knowledge and ensure that communities receive an equitable share of benefits if their traditional knowledge or biological resources are eventually used for commercial purposes.
Tripura’s location within the Indo-Burman biodiversity hotspot and its long-standing relationship between forest-dependent communities and medicinal plants provide an important context for the findings.
According to the researchers, documenting traditional knowledge can provide baseline information for traditional medicine research and potential drug discovery. However, they cautioned that such uses require rigorous scientific validation before therapeutic claims can be established.
The study acknowledged the contributions of traditional healers, local communities, forest personnel and others involved in the fieldwork, while calling for continued conservation of medicinal plants alongside systematic scientific research into their traditional applications.