Ethnomedicinal Plant Knowledge Research Articles

Traditional knowledge of Ethno-medicinal plants in Lohit and Anjaw districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Traditional knowledge of Ethno-medicinal plants in Lohit and Anjaw districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Perspectives of the rural communities of Impendle, Bulwer, and Kokstad in South Africa using ethnomedicinal plants to cure flu and associated symptoms in the advent of COVID-19

The contribution of ethnomedical research in the advent of infectious illness is not new. Ethnomedicinal plants have historically embodiment of wisdom from the ancestors and play a significant role in treating various human disorders. This study embodies qualitative research methods as well as the Social Constructivist Theory to understand how the rural communities (Impendle, Bulwer and Kokstad), located within the geographical landscape of South Africa use ethnomedicinal plants to cure flu and other associated symptoms in the advent of COVID-19. Through telephonic interviews, twenty (20) research participants were recruited using the snowballing-chain referral sampling technique. Research participants contributed by noting that rural communities/cultures have a rich knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants that they have used for decades to treat flu symptoms and even cure people suffering from flu. This paper strongly recognises that people’s voices in rural communities are important in understanding their illness or disease experience and how they ethnomedical respond to them. Data analysis revealed African activism towards the COVID-19 impact on rural communities. This paper thus recognises indigenous knowledge as ancestral learning, as the source of social, domestic wisdom as well as a guide on the use of ethnomedicinal plants/ethnomedicine. Ethnomedicinal plants remain the wealth of rural communities as they are able to demonstrate their agency and resilience when confronted by different illnesses. This is their contribution to the decolonial agenda which seeks to recognize the wealth of ethnomedical plants against the hegemonic pragmatism of biomedicine. This paper then proposes that discussed ethnomedicinal plants should be acknowledged in South Africa as well as in Southern Africa as their indigenous wealth and should be vetted as traditional remedies that people have used to cure flu and associated symptoms. This recognition will thus achieve decolonial thinking of African indigenous/ethnomedicinal plants.

Ethnomedicinal study of medicinal plants used by Mizo tribes in Champhai district of Mizoram, India

BackgroundMedicinal plants have been used countless times for curing diseases mainly in developing countries. They are easily available with little to no side effects when compared to modern medicine. This manuscript encompasses information on ethnomedicinal plants in Champhai district, located in the North East Region (NER) of India. The region lies within Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. This study will be the first quantitative report on the ethnomedicinal plants used by the local tribes of this region. Knowledge of medicinal plants is mostly acquired by word of mouth, and the knowledge is dying among the local youths with the prevalence of modern medicine. Hence, there is urgency in deciphering and recording such information.MethodsInformation was gathered through interviews with 200 informants across 15 villages of the Champhai district. From the data obtained, we evaluate indices such as used report (UR), frequency of citation (FC), informant consensus factor (Fic), cultural values (CVs) and relative importance (RI) for all the plant species. Secondary data were obtained from scientific databases such as Pubmed, Sci Finder and Science Direct. The scientific name of the plants was matched and arranged in consultation with the working list of all plant species (http://www.theplantlist.org).ResultsTotally, 93 plant species from 53 families and 85 genera were recorded. The most common families are Euphorbiaceae and Asteraceae with six and five species representatives, respectively. Leaves were the most frequently used part of a plant and were usually used in the form of decoction. Curcuma longa has the most cultural value (27.28 CVs) with the highest used report (136 FC), and the highest RI value was Phyllanthus emblica. The main illness categories as per Frequency of citation were muscle/bone problem (0.962 Fic), gastro-intestinal disease (0.956 Fic) and skin care (0.953 Fic).ConclusionThe people of Mizoram living in the Champhai district have an immense knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants. There were no side effects recorded for consuming ethnomedicinal plants. We observed that there is a scope of scientific validation of 10 plant species for their pharmacological activity and 13 species for the phytochemical characterisation or isolation of the phytochemicals. This might pave the path for developing a scientifically validated botanical or lead to semisyntheic derivatives intended for modern medicine.

Botanical Survey of Thar Desert in Barmer District of Rajasthan, India

The District Barmer belongs to state Rajasthan which is important part of Thar Desert. This region contains a number of endangered and vulnerable medicinal plants used as drugs and medicines in pharmaceutical industries. Ethno-medicinal plants of this area are used to treat and cure various diseases. We have collected the information through survey in region of Barmer. Local communities and villagers of Barmer District as Kalbelia, Lohar, Jogi, Ojha, Nath, Bheel, Bhopa, Baba, Bhagda, Mangniyaar, Langa, Banjara and Raika are there. They have huge knowledge of ethno-medicinal plants that are used in their daily life. Diminishing of plant species of this Thar region is because of anthropogenic activities. This study mainly focuses on survey, conservation, awareness, of ethno-medicinal endangered plants. Currently requirement of legal documentation and record of ethno-medicinal traditional knowledge, it will be useful in making new drug discovery in the future.

Evaluation of Nutritional, Phytochemical, and Mineral Composition of Selected Medicinal Plants for Therapeutic Uses from Cold Desert of Western Himalaya.

The aim of this study was to determine the elemental and nutritive values of leaf parts of 10 selected wild medicinal plants, Acer pictum, Acer caecium, Betula utilis, Oxalis corniculata, Euphorbia pilosa, Heracleum lanatum, Urtica dioica, Berberis lycium, Berberis asiaticaand, and Quercus ilex, collected from the high hills of the Chitkul range in district Kinnaur, Western Himalaya. The nutritional characteristics of medicinal plant species were analyzed by using muffle furnace and micro-Kjeldahl methods, and the mineral content in plants was analyzed through atomic absorption spectrometry. The highest percentage of used value was reported in Betula utilis (0.42) and the lowest in Quercus ilex (0.17). In this study, it was found that new generations are not much interested in traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants due to modernization in society. Therefore, there is an urgent need to document ethnomedicinal plants along with their phytochemical and minerals analysis in study sites. It was found that rural people in western Himalaya are dependent on wild medicinal plants, and certain steps must be taken to conserve these plants from extinction in the cold desert of Himalayan region. They are an alternative source of medicine because they contain saponin, alkaloid, and flavonoid etc. as well as minerals. The leaves used for analysis possesses good mineral content, such as Na, N, K, P, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ca, Mg, and S. Hence, in the current study it was observed that medicinal plants are not only used for therapeutic purposes, but they can also be used as nutritional supplements.

Ethnomedicinal study of plants used in the Uvira Territory (Democratic Republic of Congo)

This study aimed to investigate the ethnomedicinal plant knowledge among people living in The Uvira Territory. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with and field observation in seven villages. The ethnomedicinal data was analyzed using the informant consensus factor (ICF), family importance value (FIV), and Jaccard index (JI). Sixty-nine medicinal plants belonging to 61 genera and 34 families were used to treat eight disease categories. Fabaceae was not only the dominant family but also a family with the high FIV. Decoction and pound were the most common methods of preparation, while leaves were the most used part. We compared this study with 24 other ethnomedicinal studies conducted in RD Congo and neighboring countries, and the results showed that the Jaccard index ranged from 0.57 to 10.94. The highest degree of similarity (10.94) was found with another study conducted in Congo, while the lowest degree of similarity (0.57) was found with a study conducted in Rwanda. The disease category for which there was the highest number of use (66) and plant species (39) was “diseases of the digestive system disorders and intestinal parasites” (ICF 0.42). The investigation of the plants used as drugs in the study area revealed that the population daily relies on medicinal plants to treat different diseases.

Indigenous knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants by the Assamese community in Dibrugarh District, Assam, India

The present investigation is an attempt to study the uses of ethnomedicinal plants in traditional knowledge system among the Assamese community of Dibrugarh District in Assam. All the relevant data were collected during 2017–2019 by following standard ethnobotanical methods through personal interviews as well as through focus group discussions with a total of 193 informants including 62 men and 131 women. The use value (UV) of the medicinal plants and informant consensus factors (FIC) values were determined. In the study 174 ethnomedicinal plant species were documented belonging to 147 genera and 78 families. Except for three species, the 171 species are Angiosperms mostly collected from the wild. Among the 174 species of medicinal plants, 12 species are listed under various categories by IUCN and CITES. All these plants are used to treat various diseases that are grouped under 13 ICPC (International Classification of Primary Care) disease categories, with the highest use value (0.54) recorded in Leucas aspera followed by Paederia scandens with (0.5) use value. This confirms that these plants are important traditional herbs with potent medicinal uses. The highest informant consensus factor with the highest number of species (93) being used for the digestive system (FIC= 0.76%), followed by oral and dentistry (FIC= 0.73%) category. The ethnic communities in the district are rich in traditional knowledge which is evident from the use records and high degree of consensus among the informants.

Accessing the himalayan herbs traded in the streets of itahari by sherpa community of Taplejung, Nepal

Sherpa community are the oldest ethnic groups of Himalayas and chiefly known for their ability to climb mountains and their knowledge on medicinal plants found in the high Himalayas. The main objective of this study was to document the medicinal plants available for trade-in Itahari. The study reported 40 species of medicinal plants belonging to 34 families from an interview with twelve herbal traders. The habit of the medicinal plant recorded were herbs (53%), trees (20%), shrubs (13%), vines (8%), fungus (5%), and lichen (3%). Herbal medicines were mostly found for curing minor diseases like cuts, wounds to major diseases like jaundice, typhoid, and also cancer. The knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants has been preserved from ancestors to ancestors, is still in existence and are also spreading towards their younger generations. Furthermore, More researches should be done to access the medicinal plants traded across the country and also their conservation strategy followed by the ethnic community during the collection of medicinal plants.

Ethnomedicinal Plant Knowledge of the Karen in Thailand.

The Thai Karen, the largest hill-tribe in Thailand, guard substantial ethnomedicinal plant knowledge, as documented in several studies that targeted single villages. Here, we have compiled information from all the reliable and published sources to present a comprehensive overview of the Karen ethnomedicinal plant knowledge. Our dataset covers 31 Karen villages distributed over eight provinces in Thailand. We used the Cultural Importance Index (CI) to determine which species were the most valuable to the Karen and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) to evaluate how well distributed the knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants was in various medicinal use categories. In the 31 Karen villages, we found 3188 reports of ethnomedicinal plant uses of 732 species in 150 plant families. Chromolaena odorata, Biancaea sappan, and Tinospora crispa were the most important medicinal plants, with the highest CI values. The Leguminosae, Asteraceae, Zingiberaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Acanthaceae, Apocynaceae, and Menispermaceae were the families with the highest CI values in the mentioned order. A high proportion of all the 3188 Karen use reports were used to treat digestive, general and unspecified, musculoskeletal, and skin disorders.

Sustainability of the Loita Maasai Childrens’ Ethnomedicinal Knowledge

Knowledge and practice of medicinal plant use is embedded in the Maasai culture. However, it is not known how that knowledge and practices are acquired by children and transferred across generations. We assessed children’s knowledge of medicinal plants and their uses, methods of knowledge acquisition and transfer, and how that process is influenced by demographic attributes such as gender, level of education, and age. We interviewed 80 children who were 6–17 years old. Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis tests and Spearman Rank order correlation were performed to determine the influence of gender, level of education, and age when they are in the process of acquiring ethnomedicinal plant knowledge. The Maasai children acquired knowledge of medicinal plants progressively with their age. Ethnomedicinal knowledge was not influenced by gender or level of education. The children were introduced to the knowledge of local medicinal plants and their use at an average age of seven years and the knowledge was transferred indiscriminately to both girls and boys. This study aids in the protection and conservation of medicinal plant knowledge by encouraging the sustainability of the local cultural heritage.

Ethnoveterinary contemporary knowledge of farmers in pre-alpine and alpine regions of the Swiss cantons of Bern and Lucerne compared to ancient and recent literature – Is there a tradition?

Ethnopharmacological relevanceThe term “traditional” is well established in European (human) medicine and even appears in recent European regulations on herbal medicinal products connected to a simplified registration. In contrast, a scientific discussion of a Traditional European Veterinary Herbal Medicine is still lacking in spite of a rising interest, in herbal medicine for animals in particular of veterinarians. There is only limited systematic ethnoveterinary research in Europe, with exception of the Mediterranean region, Switzerland and Austria. We conducted a survey on the ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in the pre-alpine and alpine regions of the Swiss cantons of Bern and Lucerne. We compared the findings with earlier studies conducted in Switzerland and with recent and past human and veterinary medicinal literature. Aim of the studyWe wanted to know to what extent (dependent to different definition of the term “traditional”) the ethnoveterinary knowledge of Swiss farmers could be considered as “traditional” in a European veterinary medicinal context. Material and methodsSemistructured interviews with 44 dialog partners, mainly smallholder cattle farmers, were conducted in 2014. Detailed information about homemade herbal remedies (plant species, plant part, manufacturing process) and the corresponding use reports (target animal species, category of use, route of administration, dosage, source of knowledge, frequency of use, last time of use and farmers satisfaction) were collected. To compare our data with literature, one German book of veterinary pharmacology published in 1900, one typescript of Swiss lectures in veterinary pharmacology from 1944, four books of veterinary herbal medicine published between 1984 and 2016, and one recent publication comparing current Swiss (human) ethnomedicinal plant knowledge with modern and past literature were analyzed. ResultsInformation on a total of 315 homemade remedies containing one single plant species (homemade single species herbal remedy reports, HSHR) was collected from participating farmers. These HSHR were prepared from 83 plant species belonging to 46 botanical families. Plants of the families Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae were most frequently used. Matricaria recutita L., Calendula officinalis L., Quercus robur L., Thymus vulgaris L. and Symphytum officinale L. were the most frequently documented species. A total of 404 use reports (UR) were gathered for the 315 HSHR. The largest number of UR was for treatments of gastrointestinal disorders and metabolic dysfunctions, followed by skin alterations and sores. For more than half of the UR the source of knowledge was family, ancestors and friends, and for approximately one quarter the information was from courses and other educational events. For nearly 90% of the UR farmers mentioned at least one use during the last 10 years, and in more than 50% of the UR the last use was within the past year.Compared with recent and past literature and depending on different definitions of the term “traditional” as used for human medicine, between 43% and 84% of all 83 and between 57% and 100% of the most often mentioned 21 plant species show a “traditional” European veterinary use. ConclusionFor the treatment of their animals farmers in the pre-alpine and alpine regions of the Swiss cantons of Bern and Lucerne mostly used plants which have a track record as medicinal herbs in Europe over several centuries. Almost half of the plant species had specific veterinary uses for about 120 years and even more for at least 30 years. The majority of the plant species thus fulfill the criteria of “traditional” according to several definitions and even more up to a certain degree the criteria of “traditional use” as defined in European regulations for human medicinal products. Ethnoveterinary research combined with data from historical sources may serve as a sound foundation for the development and definition of a Traditional European Veterinary Herbal Medicine maybe even with regard to the recent discussion about a simplified registration for Traditional Herbal Veterinary Medicinal Products.

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ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND DIABETES BY BHIL AND BHILALAS TRIBES OF ALIRAJPUR DISTRICT, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA

An extensive survey of Alirajpur district of M.P. was made to document the traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants used by tribal communities. Tribals like Bhil, Bhilala, Barela, Patliya and Naik are residing in the area. These people and their medicine men have valuable information about properties of medicinal uses of plants. They successfully treat diabetes and hypertension using plant based medicine. The present survey recorded the use of 20 medicinal plants belonging to 15 families.

Knowledge of Ethnomedical Plants and Informant Consensus in and Around Lawachara National Park

Consensus of the people’s healthcare knowledge of ethno-medicinal plants in and around Lawachara national park was conducted from December 2014 to November 2015. The main aim of the study was to record and document plants species used for the treatment of various ailments and to find out level of consensus and agreement between informants regarding uses of plant for particular ailment categories. Data of medicinal uses of plants were recorded through semi-structured interviews, key informant discussions and informal conversations with local and ethnic people including herbal practitioners. A total of 124 medicinal plant species with 245 formularies to treat 53 ailments were recorded. For each species scientific name, local name, family, part used, ailments to be treated and mode of treatment are presented. Leaf is the dominant part used followed by fruit, root and rhizome, whole plant, seed, stem, bark, petiole, bulb, peduncle, latex and flower. In the documented 124 species, herbs were represented by 43%, trees by 31%, shrubs by 15% and climbers by 11% species. Oral consumption is the main mode of treatment in the study area and followed by external application. Maximum formularies were found in the six ailment groups including gastrointestinal complain, diarrhoea and dysentery, fever and cough, dermatitis, jaundice and impotence. According to the local people most of the plants (59%) were harvested from the park vegetation and minimum (41%) harvested from cultivated source. Maximum consensus values (Factor Informants Consensus (Fic) values more than 0.80) were obtained in case of cut and wounds and followed by Jaundice, Respiratory related ailments, Diabetes, Diarrhoea and dysentery, Anthelmintic, Gastrointestinal complain, Impotence, Dermatitis and High blood pressure. Chromolaena odoratum, Cericoides campanulata, Oroxylum indicum, Cuscuta reflexa, Averrhoa carambola, Cajanus cajan, Justicia adhatoda and Citrus aurantifolia showed 100% Fidelity values (Fl). Litsea glutinosa, Mikania cordata, Ocimum sanctum and Azadirachta indica were scored maximum Percent of Respondents knowledge values (PRK). It is recommended that species which showed high Fic, Fl and PRK values could be used for further ethno-lead phytochemical analysis to investigate active compounds to discover drugs from plants. Finally, a number of threats to medicinal plants were identified and some measures for conservation are also suggested.
 Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 43(1): 101-123, June 2017

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The ethnomedicinal uses of plants reported by 22 herbalists in the Rivercess County of Liberia show a rich knowledge of medicinal plant usage for both common and less common health problems. We set out with the objectives of documenting the ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and assessing gender differences in the use of the plants by male and female herbalists. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with herbalists, a total of 112 species belonging to 52 families in 93 genera were recorded to be in use. Seven plant families were known to account for 43.9% of the total number of species utilized including Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Costaceae, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae and Verbenaceae. Traditional herbalists comprising male (64%) and female (36%) possessed extensive knowledge of the use of these plants, with male and female herbalists showing specializations in several categories of health problems based on their knowledge of medicinal plants. Female herbalists possessed a slightly higher knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants than male herbalists. Many ailments were reported with a large number of the plants utilized for malaria, snakebites, ulcer, spiritual/witchcraft, infection and diarrhoea. New and unrecorded ethnomedicinal uses for several plants were documented, including Tetraberlinia tubmaniana J. Léonard, Delpydora gracilis A.Chev., Campylospermum subcordatum (Stapf) Farron, Cyathula prostrata Blume, Heisteria parvifolia Sm., Keetia rufivillosa (Robyns ex Hutch. & Dalz.) Bridson, Pavetta sonjae W.D.Hawth., Chrysophyllum pentagonocarpum Engl. & K.Krause, Placodiscus pseudostipularis Radlk, and the naturalized plant, Caladium bicolor (Aiton) Vent. Further documentation of this knowledge is recommended, with the goal of assessing gender differences in the use of medicinal plants in Liberia. Key words: Ethnomedicine, medicinal plants, herbalists, remedies, Liberia.

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Plant remedies are still the most important in therapeutics of treat livestock diseases, though large knowledge of ethno medicinal plants is declining to deterioration due to the oral passage of herbal heritage verbally. The objective of the study was to identify and document ethno-veterinary medicinal plants. The study was carried out from January to July 2014 at selected Horro Gudurru districts of western Ethiopia. The study sites were selected purposefully based on the recommendations of elders and local authorities. Ethno-botanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, field observations and group discussion. About 51 study participants were involved in this study during the study period. A total of 25 ethno-veterinary medicinal plant species belonging to 19 families were documented with details on their local name, family, habitat, their traditional preparation and mode of application. Solanaceae families constituted the highest proportion (16%) followed by Euphorbiaceae (12%). The informants reported that there were 14 known livestock diseases which are treated by traditional healers. Herbs (44%) were the most widely used followed by shrubs (32%). Oral route of administration (76%) was the most commonly used followed by topical (24%). About 78.4% of the plant taxa were available every time. Agricultural expansion (43.3%) has been found to be the first main threat followed by deforestation (21.2%). The study revealed that the traditional healers and some livestock owners had knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat livestock diseases. Hence, further research should be conducted to evaluate the efficacy and possible toxicity of the plants in the study area.   Key words: Ethno-veterinary, disease, Horro Guduru Wollega, medicinal plants, livestock.

Ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and practice of people of Javadhu hills in Tamilnadu

Objective To conduct an ethnobotanical survey and collect information from local people about the medicinal plants used in the treatment of diseases by the tribes of Javadhu hills. Methods A random interview for 237 natives in Javadhu hills was performed by using semi-structured questionnaires and regular field visits. Results The investigations revealed that there were about 40 different plants recorded, with their vernacular names and economically useful parts used in traditional medicine. Conclusions The study indicates that the local inhabitants rely on medicinal plants for the treatment of diseases of microbial origin.

Ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and practice of the Oromo ethnic group in southwestern Ethiopia

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and use by traditional healers in southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Data were collected from 45 randomly selected traditional healers using semi-structured interviews and observations. Sixty-seven ethnomedicinal plant species used by traditional healers to manage 51 different human ailments were identified and documented. Healers' indigenous knowledge was positively correlated with their reported age but not with their educational level. High degree of consensus was observed among traditional healers in treating tumor (locally known as Tanacha), rabies (Dhukuba Seree) and insect bite (Hadhaa). The use of more than one species was significantly cited for remedy preparations. The reported abundance of the ethnomedicinal plant species varied significantly with respect to the presence of multiple uses of the reported species. Our results showed that ethnomedicinal plant species used by healers are under serious threat due to several factors, which indicates the need for urgent attention towards their conservation and sustainable utilization.

Do the aged and knowledgeable men enjoy more prestige? A test of predictions from the prestige-bias model of cultural transmission

The propensity to imitation over other forms of learning is one of the major differences between humans and other species and one that has allowed for cumulative cultural evolution. However, imitation alone cannot explain increases of average fitness in human populations. Anthropologists have hypothesized that people do not imitate behaviors from random people; rather, transmission of some cultural traits (e.g., healing skills) follows biases designed to extract reproductive benefit from the flow of socially transmitted information. In an article in this journal, Henrich and Gil-White argued that important sources of bias in the acquisition of culturally transmitted information come from prestige processes. Here, we test predictions from the prestige-bias model of cultural transmission. We use quantitative information on ethnomedicinal plant knowledge of adult (age >16) Tsimane' men ( n=288) collected during 2005. To measure prestige, we asked Tsimane' to list important villagers and counted the number of nominations each person received. We find weak evidence that prestige is associated with ethnomedicinal plant knowledge, and we find no evidence that prestige is associated with age. Rather, we find a secular decline in prestige by decade of birth. Last, prestige bears a positive association with other attributes, such as participation in village organizations. Future empirical research needs to decouple power from prestige.