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Souhardya Ray1, Sutibra Narayan Mondal1, Mithun Biswas1 and Asim Mandal2*
1Department of Botany, Murshidabad University, West Bengal, India
2Department of Botany, Krishnath College, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India
Email: asimbotvu@yahoo.com
Received-22.01.2026, Revised-09.02.2026, Accepted-26.02.2026
Abstract: Since ancient times, plants have been utilized to treat a wide range of ailments. Conventional medical practices, such as Homeopathy, Ayurveda, and Unani, utilize the understanding of ethnomedicinal plants to address human health problems. Among tribal communities, these plants continue to be used for various traditional healthcare practices. Plants possess a multitude of bioactive chemicals that serve as the foundation for medical care; known as Secondary metabolites. The present study deals with the phytochemical screening and ethnomedicinal documentation of aquatic plants used by the tribal people of Lalbagh block of Murshidabad district. Fourteen aquatic and semi-aquatic plant species belonging to different families have been documented through field surveys and interviews, highlighting their medicinal importance. Each species then subjected to phytochemical screening using aqueous and organic solvent extracts to detect the different secondary metabolites. Results confirmed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, phenol etc. These secondary metabolites are associated with specific pharmacological activities that validate the indigenous therapeutic claims. This study aims towards detailed documentation of tribally used ethnomedicinally important aquatic plants with their potential reservoirs of bioactive compounds for future drug development and sustainable healthcare approaches.
Keywords: Phytochemical screening, Secondary metabolites, Tribal ethnomedicinal profiles, Murshidabad
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