~ 131 ~ Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies 2019; 7(2): 131-133 ISSN (E): 2320-3862 ISSN (P): 2394-0530 NAAS Rating: 3.53 JMPS 2019; 7(2): 131-133 © 2019 JMPS Received: 14-01-2019 Accepted: 16-02-2019 Meem Mustarin Shandhi Department of Pharmacy, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka- 1207, Bangladesh Tania Khatun Department of Pharmacy, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka- 1207, Bangladesh Nupur Mondol Department of Pharmacy, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka- 1207, Bangladesh Samiun Alam Patwary Department of Pharmacy, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka- 1207, Bangladesh Khoshnur Jannat Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka, Bangladesh Mohammed Rahmatullah Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka, Bangladesh Correspondence Mohammed Rahmatullah Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Lalmatia, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh Tying or hanging of plants to body to cure diseases: an esoteric method of treatment Meem Mustarin Shandhi, Tania Khatun, Nupur Mondol, Samiun Alam Patwary, Khoshnur Jannat and Mohammed Rahmatullah Abstract Oral administration and topical application of plant paste, decoction, juice and fermented plants are the usual methods of treating diseases in traditional phytotherapeutic practices. Other less common modes of phytotherapeutic practices are tying of plants to the body, wearing plants or plant parts in the form of garlands, and wearing amulets containing a tiny section of a plant or plant part. The less common modes of plant-based therapy can be considered esoteric ways of treating diseases, which are practiced by folk medicinal practitioners in Bangladesh. We herein describe two such esoteric methods of treatment. The first comprises wearing a garland of small branch pieces of Achyranthes aspera on the head to cure jaundice. In the second treatment, one inch piece of root of Heterophragma adenophyllum is tied around the waist with a string to cure waist pain. Whether any cure from such esoteric treatments result from volatile components emitted from the plant parts or merely reflect a placebo effect is an open question but which merits further studies, since such treatments are practiced in different parts of the world. Keywords: folk medicine, esoteric, Gopalganj, Bangladesh Introduction Folk medicine, although possibly the most common form of treatment in Bangladesh, is also the most diverse in terms of treatment ingredients and mode of treatment. Folk medicinal practitioners (FMPs) do not need to undergo any formal training or Governmental approval to initiate their medical practices. Anybody can start practicing anytime; whether the practice is successful depends on the experience and medicinal plant knowledge of the FMP. Most FMPs use medicinal plants as their chief and only ingredient in their treatment. The mode of administration of a given plant or plant part is also simple being either oral or topical. However, occasionally unusual modes of treatment bordering on the esoteric are used by FMPs as well as households (the latter in the form of home remedies) and tribal people of Bangladesh to treat diseases [1-3] . Documentation of indigenous medicinal practices has led to discovery of many modern allopathic drugs [4] . Not only because of this, but also documentation of indigenous medicinal plants is important from the view point of their conservation and further scientific studies. With the rapid growth of urbanization and human habitat, previous forest lands, fallow lands, and water bodies are disappearing at a rapid rate, which is disturbing because these are the prime places for wild medicinal plants to grow. As such, we have been documenting folk and tribal medicinal practices of Bangladesh for a number of years, which documentation includes mode of usage [5-30] . Among various esoteric usages of medicinal plants observed in our studies are use of plants in amulets, which are then worn around the waist, neck or wrist, and use of numerology and verses from holy books along with plants. In this study we document the use of two plants, which are tied to the body to cure jaundice and waist pain. It is to be noted that besides tying the plants to the body, the plants were not administered to the patient in any way like oral or topical and the plants were not used in the form of decoction, juice or paste. Materials and Methods Information was collected from Kiron Chandra Mondol, Debashur village, Gopalganj district, Bangladesh, male, age 75 years, and by religion belonging to the Hindu religion. Interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin [31] and Maundu [32] . In this method, the FMP took the interviewers to locations from where he collected his medicinal plants, pointed out the plants,