Oral traditional knowledge for the treatment of digestive system diseases investigated in North Jeolla Province, Korea

Abstract

This study aims to record and conserve oral traditional knowledge for the treatment of digestive system diseases in North Jeolla Province, Korea. Data was collected with semi-structured questionnaires through the participatory rural appraisal method (PRA). This study reveals that overall 29 digestive system diseases have been treated with a total of 74 species of medicinal plants belonging to 69 genera in 40 families. This study also reports 447 different modes of plant-based therapeutic application of medicinal material. The informant consensus factor (ICF) for the digestive, bloody stool, enteritis and gastritis are 1.00, the highest among 29 different digestive ailments. Twenty medicinal plants with 100% fidelity level (FL) were found in 8 digestive ailments. These results will help to prepare the way for advanced research such as new medicines and new therapies.