Human & Disaster: Analysis of the Actual Use of Northern Bamboo in Folk Remedies

Abstract

Purpose: Northern bamboo is an evergreen broad-leaved shrub. It reaches 1~2m in height and 3~6mm in diameter, spread throughout Korea. Northern bamboo leaves, also called bamboo leaves, have been used to treat children s convulsion, vomiting blood, and severe thirst in fever. Women with repressed anger illnesses boiled bamboo leaves covered with frost and drank the water. Therefore, this study investigated the folk remedies relat-ed to Northern bamboo. The researchers tried to analyze the studied data and examine the possibility of using northern bamboo as a multi-purpose natural health food. Method: This study investigated and analyzed the folk remedies related to northern bamboo at herbal medi-cine stores, herbal medicine pharmacies, and medicinal herb decocting shops in Daegu metropolitan city and Yeongcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Researchers also searched and collected valuable materials in the Naver blog. This paper conducted a Frequency analysis on the collected data with several categories, such as the collecting season of bamboo, the usable parts of it, the processing ways of it, the ingestion types of it, and the frequency of its utilization by disease. Results: In analyzing the use of northern bamboo to folk remedies, cardiovascular disease was the most fre-quently used for each related disease. The frequency of use for cancer-related diseases, diabetes-related diseases was also high percentage. Bamboos were collected regardless of the season, but most were collected during the spring when new shoots were born. All bamboo parts were usable, but leaves were used the most. Bamboos were used in various processing ways, but ‘drying’ regardless of sunlight and shade was the most common method. As for the ingestion types, tea was the most common style. Conclusion: Northern bamboo has been used for various diseases in folk remedies, and it is easy to obtain be-cause it grows anywhere in the country. Eggplant seeds, jujube, licorice, and others are added when processing or ingestion, but in many cases, it is consumed alone without adding anything else. As a result of investigating and analyzing the folk remedies related to northern bamboo, the researchers reaffirmed the value of bamboo through this study. This paper evaluated that northern bamboo has the excellent potential to be used as a multi-purpose natural health food.