Ethnobotany

Herbal drugs have been used since ancient times as medicines for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, for both human and l ivestock. A study conducted in the Lake Victoria Basin Kenya revealed vast knowledge and reliance on traditional medicine as a source of healthcare. The study documented 34 medicinal plant species distributed among 21 botanical families and 34 genera, u sed in the management of human ailments. The highest numbers of species were from the families Asteraceae and Leguminosae. The most commonly ha rvested plant pa rts were leaves (46.51%) and roots (34. 88%). The m ost co mmon growth forms utilised were herbs (40.54%) followed by shrubs (27.03%). The major methods of herbal drug preparation were concoction (31.03%) and decoction (24.14%) administered mainly through oral and dermal routes, (64.29%) and (32.14%) respectively. The use of herbal drugs as mixtures was reported to be a common practice by the herbal practitioners; 57.14% of the preparations were dispensed as mixtures while 42.86% of th e pre parations composed of single pl ants. A rich kno wledge of medicinal plants was recognized and phytochemical and bio activity analyses of thes e herbal plants are rec ommended to determ ine th eir safety and efficacy.

The indigenous people of Nepal have accumulated knowledge of plants and their uses spanning millennia of oral history, but the current sociodemographic trend threatens the transition of this knowledge. Recording the uses and knowledge of these plants is therefore imperative for revitalizing the traditions and culture and the sustainable use and availability of plant species. We interviewed a total of 80 Sinja Valley residents. We calculated the relative frequency of citations (RFC) of recorded edible oil plants. Using the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Wilcoxon test for gender, the difference in the use of edible oil plants mentioned by age group, education level, and occupation of the respondents was determined. These interviews yielded knowledge on 13 different edible oil-producing plant species (EOPPs) including nine indigenous species and six collected from the wild. EOPPs helped effectively treat 19 disorders with Prunus mira being considered a very good treatment for gastritis. P...

Plants are different all over the world and its indications change according to the country they are located. This paper is developed in order to perform a comprehensive literature´s review about plants used as anti-parasitic either in traditional or popular medicine in Argentina, and to provide a scientific support for their use in this medical indication. All Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, Phytomedicine books from Libraries of the Faculty of Exact Sciences Faculty of Medical Sciences, Agricultural Science, from all National Universities in Argentina were included in the study. Herbal characteristics and therapies were searched in online databases such as Medline PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus. The results obtained show the potential of Ethnomedicine in Argentina as a source of active ingredients for phytotherapy, providing data about species for anti-parasitic treatment. Thus, we found many Argentinean’s plants with anti-parasitic properties which might be considered alternatives ...

Studies on African medicinal plants have been limited to some geographically areas, and even though more than  5400 medicinal plants are recognized and documented, other valuable medicinal plant species have not been  studied. Ethnopharmacological studies are important for documenting traditional knowledge associated with the  medical use of biodiversity. This study aims to document the use of medicinal plants from the Province of  Cuanza Norte (Angola). The field work was conducted from December 2018 to January 2019 and the  ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Informants were selected in accordance  with their residence and community recognition as healers. Recorded plants are listed along with their popular  name, traditional use, part used, and method of preparation. A total of 131 species of medicinal plants were cited.  Mukumbi (Lannea welwitschii), Santa Maria (Chenopodium ambrosioides) and Ditumbata (Boerhavia difusa)  were the most cited spec...

The present study provides an over view of 44 medicinal plants belonging to 30 families have been used for indigenous medication by the tribe Kurichar of Wayanad district of Kerala. Among them Asclepiadaceae, Fabaceae, Acanthaceae, Rutaceae, Apocynaceae, Marantaceae, Rubiaceae and Solanaceae are the most common plant families, respectively. The different parts of plants of these famililies are used to cure various ailments like stomach problems, urinary complaints, rheumatism, leprosy, eye diseases, bronchitis, malaria, diabetes, chicken pox, cough and cold, head ache, hair tonic, cuts and wounds, skin problems etc. The botanical, vernacular and family names along with mode of preparation and uses have been provided for further pharmacological and clinical evaluations.

Introducción y objetivos: El sahumar es una actividad que se mantiene presente y vigente en diversos contextos indígenas, campesinos y urbanos en Latinoamérica. Se aborda el estudio desde una botánica urbana desarrollada por mujeres, las sahumeras, que recolectan, secan, tejen e intencionan cuerpos vegetales. Se exploran usos y significaciones de las plantas que integran los sahumos en el litoral fluvial del río Paraná.M&M: Por medio de herramientas propias de la etnografía, se realizaron entrevistas a siete mujeres (entre 23 y 42 años de edad), sahumeras que confeccionan, emplean y comercializan atados de plantas “sahumos”. Se estableció el origen biogeográfico de las especies, así como las formas de obtención y los lugares a los que se accede para la obtención de las plantas.Resultados: Se registró un total de 58 especies, 30 de ellas de origen nativo. La recolección es la forma de adquisición más común (93%). Es en la recolección, la identificación y en el mismo transitar donde c...

The present paper describes medicinal properties of mangroves and halophytes used by local inhabitants of Pichavaram village on East coast of Tamil Nadu, collected through survey of the area. Information on 11 species from 8 families used for therapeutic purposes with their botanical names, vernacular names, family, habit and manner of using recipes have been enumerated.

People care about all this variety of life, about sustaining and enhancing genetic resources, recovering endangered species, restoring riparian areas, maintaining old growth or consuming trees. The answer is both aesthetic and practical. A diversity of living things provides subtle needs; people enjoy picnicking, visiting seashores and a variety of other recreational activities. Our homes, air live stock, vegetables, fruits and grains are all products of diverse and healthy ecosystems. Diverse communities of plants, animals and microorganisms also provide indispensable ecological services. They recycle wastes, maintain the chemical composition of the atmosphere and play a major role in determining the world's climate. Many people also feel that we must maintain biodiversity because our role as the dominant species on earth confers upon us th e responsibility for the wide and careful stewardship of life. But the value of biodiversity goes for beyond the aesthetic aspects. The pre...

Agricultural diversification with neglected and underutilized species is a viable way to sustainably increase the productivity of agrosystems. Understanding the social, cultural, and ecological roles of these species is crucial for their promotion. White fonio (Digitaria exilis), a neglected cereal endemic to West African Sahelian countries, is recognized as a crop for the future due to its cultural, nutritional, and economic values. In this study, we described fonio farming systems in Senegal through an ethnobotanical approach. As expected in family farming systems, farmers largely practiced diversified subsistence agriculture on small plots and relied on local seed exchange networks. The importance of fonio varied among agroecological zones, ethnic groups, and gender. In the Groundnut Basin, where agriculture is more mechanized, late-maturing landraces of fonio are cultivated as a cash crop rather than a staple crop. However, in southern Senegal, where food shortages are recurrent...

La domesticación del maíz comenzó en México  hace aproximadamente 9,000 años, cuando los  seres humanos tenían como actividad principal la recolección de frutos, semillas, tubérculos y hojas  tiernas, en esas épocas identificaron las potencialidades alimenticias del teocintle. El cual, es una  especie nativa altamente emparentada con el maíz,  que crece de forma silvestre, se considera su antecesor debido a su estrecha similitud genética y, por  lo tanto, su ancestro en el proceso de domesticación

The paper describes two biological presences in Western Australia which appear to derive from Madagascar, elephant bird eggs and boabs [i.e. baobabs]. These have been described as consequences of oceanic drift, but this is an implausible scenario. The paper argues these are a consequence of early Austronesian maritime voyages

Background: Ethnobotanical pharmacopoeia is confidently used in disease intervention and there is need for documentation and preservation of traditional medical knowledge to bolster the discovery of novel drugs. The objective of the present study was to document the indigenous medicinal plant utilization, management and their extinction threats in Samburu District, Kenya. Methods: Field research was conducted in six divisions of Samburu District in Kenya. We randomly sampled 100 consented interviewees stratified by age, gender, occupation and level of education. We collected plant use data through semi-structured questionnaires; transect walks, oral interviews and focus groups discussions. Voucher specimens of all cited botanic species were collected and deposited at University of Nairobi's botany herbarium. Results: Data on plant use from the informants yielded 990 citations on 56 medicinal plant species, which are used to treat 54 different animal and human diseases including; malaria, digestive disorders, respiratory syndromes and ectoparasites. The ethnomedicinal use of plant species was documented in the study area for treatment of both human and veterinary diseases. The local population has high ethnobotanical knowledge and has adopted sound management conservation practices. The major threatening factors reported were anthropogenic and natural. Ethnomedical documentation and sustainable plant utilization can support drug discovery efforts in developing countries.

Aim: To document the medicinal uses of homegarden plants by local healers. Study Design: Semi-structured interview was conducted with the prior approval from the gewog official. Five local healers were contacted for interview before field visits based on their popularity and experience of using medicinal plants in their locality. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Gosiling gewog, Tsirang District, Bhutan between May and June 2016. The homegarden and agricultural practices are common amongst people in this gewog. Methodology: Six local healers were identified based on their experience on ethnomedical practice. Multiple approaches were taken such as botanical inventories, collection of plant specimens, structured and informal interviews with local healers including freelisting and preference ranking to collect the information on medicinal use/s using questionnaires. Original Research Article Chetri et al.; AJRIB, 1(2): 1-11, 2018; Article no.AJRIB.45775 2 Results:...

Bu çalışma, 17. yüzyıl Osmanlı seyahat literatürünün en önemli seyyahı olarak kabul edilen Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi içerisindeki botanik verilerin, Büyük Dil Modelleri (BDM) destekli otomatik sistemler aracılığıyla çıkarılmasını ve sınıflandırılmasını konu edinmektedir. Araştırmanın temel motivasyonu, dilsel katmanları ve hacmi itibarıyla manuel analizin pratik açıdan sürdürülebilir olmadığı bu tür devasa tarihî metinlerde, Adlandırılmış Varlık Tanıma (AVT) süreçlerini optimize etmektir. Bu kapsamda, Claude Sonnet 4.5 mimarisi kullanılarak geliştirilen algoritmik yapı ile eserin on cildi taranmış; bitki taksonomisine ait veriler sistematik bir biçimde etiketlenmiştir. Metodolojik süreçte, Osmanlı Türkçesi'nin çok katmanlı yapısı göz önünde bulundurularak, özellikle Arapça ve Farsça kökenli arkaik botanik terimlerin (örn. engür, sanavber, gendüm) modern terminoloji ile semantik eşleştirilmesi üzerinde durulmuştur. Elde edilen bulgular, yapay zekâ tabanlı modellerin tarihî derlemlerin işlenmesinde yüksek başarı sağladığını göstermekle birlikte; metaforik kullanımlar ve düşük frekanslı terimlerin tespitinde modelin bağlamsal çıkarsama yeteneğinin belirli sınırlar dâhilinde kaldığını ortaya koymuştur. Çalışma sonucunda oluşturulan bu geniş ölçekli veri seti, Osmanlı dönemi biyo-çeşitliliği ve bitki coğrafyası üzerine yapılacak araştırmalar için bir zemin sağlamaktadır. Ayrıca bu girişim, manuel iş yükünü minimize ederek Dijital Beşerî Bilimler alanında tarihî veri madenciliği yöntemlerinin geçerliliğini ve ölçeklenebilirliğini somut bir örneklem üzerinden kanıtlamakta, dilsel değişim süreçlerinin izlenmesine de katkı sunmaktadır.

Background: Miombo woodlands play an important role in the livelihood of people living in sub-equatorial African countries, contributing to satisfy basic human needs such as food, medicine, fuelwood and building materials. However, over-exploitation of plant resources and unsustainable harvest practices can potentially degrade forests. The aim of this study was to document the use of Miombo plant products, other than medicinal plants, in local communities, within a wider framework in which we discussed possible links between traditional uses and conservation status of the used species and of the whole Miombo environment. Methods: Fieldwork took place in four communities of Muda-Serração, central Mozambique. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 52 informants about their knowledge, use and harvesting practices of useful plants. A survey on local Miombo vegetation was also carried out in order to assess abundance and distribution of useful woody plants cited in the interviews in areas exposed to different exploitation rates. A Conservation Priority index was also applied to rank conservation values of each used woody species. Results: Ninety-eight plants cited by the informants were botanically identified. The most relevant general category was represented by food plants (45 species), followed by handicraft plants (38 species) and domestic plants (37 species). Among the 54 woody species observed in vegetation plots, 52% were cited as useful in the interviews. Twenty-six woody species found in 'natural' Miombo areas were not found in 'degraded' ones: of these, 46% were cited in the interviews (58% in the food category, 50% in the handicraft category, 25% in the domestic category and 8% in the fishing category). Results of conservation ranking showed that 7 woody species deserve conservation priority in the investigated area. Conclusions: This study shows that the communities investigated rely heavily on local forest products for their daily subsistence requirements in food, firewood/charcoal and building materials. However, over-exploitation and destructive collection seem to threaten the survival of some of the woody species used. A sustainable approach including the involvement of local communities in the management of woody species is recommended.

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of medicinal plants by healers in Juazeiro do Norte, Northeast Brazil, as well as to understand their role in prayer/healing practices. 30 residents from 20 neighborhoods, 18 urban neighborhoods and 2 randomly selected rural locations, were interviewed using a sample method known as "snowball", with two pilot interviews being initially conducted, where for greater method reliability and for the analysis of the importance attributed to the plants by the respondents, a calculation to determine their Relative Importance (RI) index was used. The results indicate the use of 60 species distributed across 34 families. The most representative families were: Fabaceae (7), Lamiaceae (6) and Asteraceae (5), where 10 species (eight exotic and two native) obtained a Relative Importance (RI>1):

Ao longo da elaboração deste estudo, tive a oportunidade de contar com o apoio de diversas pessoas,que contribuíram também para o meu sucesso. Em primeiro lugar quero agradecer à minha família que esteve sempre disponível para me apoiar, refiro especialmente aos meus pais e avós. Quero agradecer também a todos aqueles que, com a sua sabedoria e experiência, contribuíram com a sua colaboração e o seu apoio crítico, dispuseram a valiosa orientação essencial à elaboração do estudo, especialmente ao professor doutor José Pedro Matos Fernandes e à professora mestre Margarida Rebelo dos Santos Silveira. Um especial agradecimento à professora Madalena Gonçalves, à professora Albertina Raposo e ao gestor administrador Jorge Ponciano que se disponibilizaram a ajudar e contribuíram muito na conclusão deste estudo. Para finalizar, quero agradecer de todo o coração aos maravilhosos alunos que me ajudaram para que o meu estudo se concretiza-se, podendo realizar com eles diversas atividades e até uma visita de estudo. Um muito obrigado a todos aqueles que estiveram do meu lado, contribuindo para o meu melhoramento profissional enquanto futura educadora e professora do 1º Ciclo. Este projeto de investigação teve como objetivo primordial contribuir para desenvolver nos alunos atitudes de cuidado com o meio onde vivem, proporcionando oportunidades de aquisição de conhecimentos, valores, atitudes e interesse ativo para protegê-lo e melhorá-lo. Os participantes deste estudo de investigação foram alunos de 2º ano com idades compreendidas entre os seis e os dez anos, de uma escola de 1º Ciclo pertencente ao distrito de Beja. Trata-se de um estudo que adotou a metodologia de estudo de caso de natureza qualitativa. Foram utilizados como instrumentos de recolha de dados três entrevistas semi-estruturadas a dois especialistas e à professora titular da sala de 2º ano referida anteriormente. Os resultados, mostraram, numa primeira fase desta investigação que os alunos adaptaramse às atividades que lhes eram propostas, já que o tema de Educação Ambiental não era trabalhado até então com esse alunos. Estes alunos, após a implementação do plano de ação demonstraram-se mais sensibilizados e com uma atitude diferente para com certas situações ocorrentes do dia-a-dia.

This study contributes to the literature on the effects of extractive capitalism on sedentary subsistence herding and the loss of traditional knowledge, in this case about a wild edible, the oak manna gezhemgen. I present local narratives explaining the relationships between oak forests, climatic conditions and the agricultural cycle in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Gezhemgen is a sign of a good harvest and signifies the power of fertility (being also called "the power of Hızır", a deity). Pastoralist practices are affected by intrastate war and the appropriation of governance rights to grazing. There is a relationship between accessibility of pastures and the vertical transmission of knowledge on the flora of the highlands to young generations. Narratives were gathered during ethnographic fieldwork between 2011-2017 in the Pülümür, Ovacık, Nazımiye and Kalan districts of Dersim. The food gathering behaviors of local populations are also influenced by urbanization, military violence and expropriation of use rights on common grazing grounds. The article reveals multiple effects of the transitions from customary systems of sedentary pastoralism to commercialized modes of agricultural production.

Bauhinia variegata Linn (Mountain Ebony) is a medium-sized, deciduous tree, found throughout India, ascending to an altitude of 1,300 m in the Himalayas. The plant is widely used by the tribals throughout India and popular in various indigenous systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy. Following the various traditional claims on utility of this plant in curing number of diseases, considerable efforts have been made by researchers to verify its utility through pharmacological screenings. The notable biological activities reported are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumour, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antigoitrogenic, hepatoprotective and haemagglutination. Industrially, the plant is widely used for the manufacture of wood wool board, production of tannin, oil, gum and fibre. The plant is also utilized for afforestation to conserve the nature. In this article, a comprehensive account of the cultivation, microscopy, phytochemical investigation, traditional and biologically evaluated medicinal uses of B variegata is presented.

Background: The primary goal of this study was to collect and document uses of plants by local residents of Shawal Valley, South Waziristan, Pakistan. The report of the present study can be useful for the continued investigation of the study area with the aim of obtaining further traditional information about local plants in the study area. The current report will also take part in further phytochemical studies. Methodology: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 65 residents (24 females and 41 males). The results were expressed as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and Jaccard Index (JI). Results: The research region is abode to 60 plant species belonging to 32 families of ethnobotanical significance. Lamiaceae family contributed the highest number of species (7 species), followed by Pinaceae (6 species). The most preferred plant parts among the reported species were the leaves (60%), followed by the stem (28.3%). Thymus mongolicus was found to have the highest RFC (0.86), while Adiantum capillus-veneris had the lowest (i.e. 0.02). The UV was between 0.02 and 1. Thymus mongolicus was found to have the greatest UV (UV=1); whereas Adiantum capillus-veneris had the lowest UV (0".02). Twelve plants had a fidelity level of 100%, while Quercus dilatata had the lowest (33.3%). Plants' ICF values varied from 0.87 to 0.96. The Average Direct Matrix Ranking revealed that Quercus dilatata received the highest rating (1 st ) for its diverse uses, followed by Pinus wallichiana (2 nd ), Rumex dentatus (3 rd ), Pinus gerardiana (4 th ), and Zingiber officinale (5 th ). Conclusion: Ethnobotanical research indicates that indigenous people in the studied area are knowledgeable on the use of plants. These plants and indigenous knowledge must be preserved.

This exclusive study focuses on the medicinal plants indigenous to the mountains of South Western Saudi Arabia, resulting in the documentation of 83 vascular plant species belonging to 69 genera and 33 families. Among these, 34 plants are noted for their previously unrecorded medicinal properties, including the documentation of new medicinal plants such as Pyrostria phyllanthoidea and Chenopodium fasciculosum. Fabaceae emerges as the dominant family, with 11 medicinal plant species, followed by Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Moraceae. The most abundant genus is Vachellia, represented by 4 species, followed by Euphorbia, Ficus, Indigofera, Aloe, Capparis, Cissus, Commiphora, and Ziziphus. The medicinal plants encompass various growth forms, with shrubs being the most commonly observed, followed by herbs, trees, and climbers. Leaves are the most frequently used plant part for medicinal preparations, followed by stems, roots, latex, bark, and fruits. The preparations primarily involve making a paste, followed by raw use, infusion, and decoction. Diverse routes of administration are noticed, including topical, oral, toothbrush, nasal, and optical applications. Among the species surveyed, Salvadora persica stands out as the most useful, with a significant use value of 1.9. The informant consensus factor (FIC) analysis highlights 48 use reports for treating cuts and wounds. Furthermore, 42 species exhibit 100% fidelity, indicating a high preference among informants for their effectiveness in treating specific ailments. To safeguard and preserve this traditional knowledge for future generations, further scientific documentation, along with phytochemical and pharmacological studies, is essential. This study underscores the importance of conserving the rich ethnobotanical heritage of medicinal plants in the region and encourages further exploration of their potential therapeutic benefits.

Ethnobotanical knowledge and ethnomedicinal methodologies from different parts of the world are of comprehensive significance and documentation of ethnobotanical, and ethnomedicinal data is a key prerequisite for further research in the domain of herbal medicine and its implementation in modern clinical research. The important sources of beneficial natural products and ethnomedicinal elements are majorly contributed by the wild edible fruits. The Docynia indica is a wild edible fruit that belongs to the Rosaceae family and mainly disseminates in the eastern region of the Himalayas. Since immemorial time Docynia indica is an integral part of ethnomedicine and traditionally implemented for treating innumerable health diseases. It is a valuable ethnomedicinal plant with important sources of minerals and vitamins and is conventionally used for treating common ailments. In the traditional system of medicine, it is regarded as a wonderful prophylactic for combating enteric diseases. The natural compounds extracted from the fruits of Docynia indica contain polyphenol especially alkaloids and flavonoids which significantly have an antihyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic property. The wild edible fruits are underemphasized despite their fascinating ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal characteristics. Similarly, Docynia indica is a less explored endemic fruit that contains eminent natural compounds and ethnomedicinal importance. Though it is less popular in urban regions but in ethnic groups it is a key component in indigenous traditional medicine system. This article mainly discusses the morphological features and phytochemical constitutes of Docynia indica and ethnobotanical characteristics highlighting the ethnomedicinal perspective.

In Assam, ninety-six numbers of different tea and ex-tea garden tribes are residing mainly in the “Labour Lines” within the Tea Estates (TE) and neighbouring villages of TEs. Like other communities of Assam, raising plants as bio fencing as well as in the backyard garden is a traditional practice among tea garden tribes (TGT). A significantly large section of TGT relies on age old traditional system of healing by collecting herbs from their backyard and nearby forest. An ethnobotanical study was carried out through personal and group interviews with the tribal practioners in order to document the indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) about these plants. Fifty-five (55) numbers of plant species distributed over 32 families have been documented that included almost all types of plants from trees to herbs. Highest number of plant species were found under the family Leguminaceae followed by Euphorbiaceae which were utilized for preparation of the medicine. Among all, leaves were the mo...

Background The risk of losing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and their use and conservation is very high. Documenting knowledge on distribution and use of medicinal plants by different ethnic groups and at spatial scale on a single platform is important from a conservation planning and management perspective. The sustainable use, continuous practice, and safeguarding of traditional knowledge are essential. Communication of such knowledge among scientists and policy makers at local and global level is equally important, as the available information at present is limited and scattered in Nepal. Methods In this paper, we aimed to address these shortcomings by cataloguing medicinal plants used by indigenous ethnic groups in Nepal through a systematic review of over 275 pertinent publications published between 1975 and July 2021. The review was complemented by field visits made in 21 districts. We determined the ethnomedicinal plants hotspots across the country and depicted th...

BackgroundThere are handful hypothesis-driven ethnobotanical studies in Nepal. In this study, we tested the non-random medicinal plant selection hypothesis using national- and community-level datasets through three different types of regression: linear model with raw data, linear model with log-transformed data and negative binomial model.MethodsFor each of these model, we identified over-utilized families as those with highest positive Studentized residuals and underutilized families with highest negative Studentized residuals. The national-level data were collected from online databases and available literature while the community-level data were collected from Baitadi and Darchula districts.ResultsBoth dataset showed larger variance (national dataset mean 6.51 < variance 156.31, community dataset mean 1.16 < variance 2.38). All three types of regression were important to determine the medicinal plant species selection and use differences among the total plant families, alth...

This study seeks to better understand the human-nature interface and to measure the variability of plant use knowledge among cultures, through inter- and intracultural analyses. We compared plant collection, use, and management of two culturally distinct groups (Baitadi and Darchula) of the Nepal Himalaya. They inhabit different physiographic regions, yet share the same ecological landscape, environmental resources, and livelihood challenges. We hypothesized that the elderly, native, and traditional healers living in remote and rural places possess more diverse and detailed knowledge of plant use and conservation than young, non-native, and non-healers. A total of 106 people were contacted for interviews, and 100 (68 men and 32 women) agreed to share ethnobotanical, demographic, and socioeconomic information. They were asked about the three most important plants for their socioeconomic benefit, culture, primary health care, and livelihood. The knowledge of plant collection, use, and...

Background: Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the Indian Himalayas is very interesting because of the wide range of medicinal plants used in traditional medical practice. However, there is a danger of knowledge being lost because the knowledge sharing is very limited and passed on orally. The present study is the first ethnomedicinal study in Jakholi area of Rudraprayag district of Northwestern India. The aim of present study was to identify traditional medicinal plants used by the inhabitants to treat different ailments and document the associated knowledge of these medicinal plants. Methods: An ethnomedicinal survey was carried out in 72 of 133 villages and alpine pastures of Jakholi block (800-4000 m asl). Door to door surveys and group discussions, applying semi-structured questionnaires were conducted with traditional healers and villagers in local language (Garhwali). Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) was computed to analyse collected ethnomedicinal data. Results: A total of 78 species (Gymnosperms 3 species, Monocotyledons 12 and 63 Dicotyledons) belonging to 73 genera in 46 families were identified to treat 14 different ailments categories. Most dominant family is Asteraceae (5 species). In disease treated categories, Diseases of the skin (DE) have the highest proportion (29.55%) followed by Gastro-intestinal disorder (GA) (25.89%). The most life form of plants used was herb (56%) followed by tree (23%) while root was the most frequently used part of the plants and the traditional preparation was mainly applied in the form of paste (37%). The highest ICF value (0.99) was found for hair ailments (HA) followed ophthalmologic complaints (OP) and mental afflictions (MA) (0.98). The present study provides valuable information about traditional knowledge of medicinal plants of Jakholi Block in the Northwestern Himalaya, India. Local communities still possess large traditional knowledge of plants and their therapeutic uses and that the link of that traditional knowledge to modern research could be of importance for the isolation of new phytotherapeutic compounds leading to the development of novel therapeutic active agents. Some of the ethnomedicinal plants are facing high threats and are becoming rare, and conservation initiatives are needed to conserve them for sustainable management in the region.

Ethnopharmacological knowledge is common and import among tribal populations but much of the information is empirical at best lacking scientific validation. Despite widespread use of plant resources in traditional medicines, bioassay analysis of very few plant species have been conducted to investigate their medicinal properties, and to ascertain safety and efficacy of traditional remedies. The present study analyses indigenous uses of medicinal plants of far-west Nepal and compares with earlier ayurveda studies, phytochemical assessments and pharmacological actions. A field study was carried out in Baitadi and Darchula districts of far-west Nepal. Group discussions, informal meetings, questionnaire surveys and field observations were employed for primary data collection. Voucher specimens were collected with field notes and codes and deposited at Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium (TUCH), Kathmandu. Only 50% of species surveyed shared common uses with ayurvedic medicine. This implies that these herbal remedies are part of an independent health care system in the Nepal Himalaya, which is indigenous and influenced by ayurveda. The folk uses of some of the species were contradicting to those of ayurveda and phytochemical bioassays. A detailed phytochemical study on those species would be an important line of research.

Traditional plant use in Nepal has been documented for millennia. The importance of plants as medicine has not diminished in any way in recent times, and traditional medicines are still the most important health care source for the vast majority of the population. This paper examines the ethnobotany and traditional use of plants extracted from the vulnerable alpine zone in the Dolpa, Humla, Jumla and Mustang districts of Nepal. The results of this ethnobotanical study indicate that a very large number of plant species is used as traditional medicines. There were 107, 59, 44 and 166 species of ethnomedicinal importance in surveyed areas of Dolpa, Humla, Jumla and Mustang district respectively. Of these, 84 common species, used at least in two districts, were selected to enumerate their ethnomedicinal properties. The 84 species belonged to 75 genera and 39 families. The commonest species in this pharmacopoeia were: Allium wallichii, Cordyceps sinensis, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, and Rheu...

Indigenous plant use-systems have evolved under, and constantly adapted to human and non-human impacts. In the last decades however, increasing socioeconomic and cultural transformations, including land-use change, outmigration, globalized markets, the introduction of new species, and climate change have led to a decreasing availability of indigenous resources, and are ultimately leading to a reduction of local use-knowledge. Participant observations, discussions, walks-in-the-woods, semi-structured interviews and informal meetings were carried out in 12 villages of far western Nepal between 2011 and 2015 to assess how sociocultural changes have affected the sustenance of indigenous systems and local biodiversity, when compared to studies carried out in the previous decades. Our findings show that there were no statistically significant differences in subject variable means, but differences were relatively important to plant parts-use and plant growth-forms (p = 0.183 and 0.088 resp...

Background: This study has focused on the Garrigues district, one of the most arid regions in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula), which, in general terms, has remained unexplored from the ethnobotanical point of view. This area, of 22,243 inhabitants, comprises 33 municipalities distributed across 1123.12 km 2 . The natural vegetation is dominated by holm oak forests and maquis called 'garriga', the latter giving its name to the district. During the last few decades, this landscape has been transformed by agricultural activities, nowadays in recession. The main aim of this work was to collect and analyse the ethnoflora of this area in order to fill a gap in the ethnobotanical knowledge in Catalonia. Methods: The followed methodology was based on semi-structured interviews. The obtained data have been qualitatively and quantitatively analysed and compared with other available ones. Results: Data were gathered from 68 interviews involving 101 informants, whose ages range from 24 to 94, the mean being 73.07. The number of taxa reported in this study was 420, belonging to 99 botanical families. The interviewed informants referred 4715 use reports (UR) of 346 useful taxa, 1741 (36.93) of them corresponding to medicinal uses, 1705 (36.16%) to food uses, and 1269 (26.91%) to other uses. This study has inventoried, apart from individual plant uses, 260 plant mixtures, of which 98 are medicinal and 162 food. In the present study, 849 vernacular names with 116 phonetic variants have been collected, as well, for 410 taxa. The informant consensus factor (F IC ) obtained for our interviewees is 0.93, and the ethnobotanicity index is 23.47% for the studied area. Apart from plants belonging to the typical Catalan, Iberian or European ethnofloras, the present work contributes information on some plants from semiarid or arid regions, such as Artemisia herba-alba and Plantago albicans, much rarer in the ethnobotany of the quoted areas. Conclusions: The results of this study reveal the persistence of ethnobotanical knowledge in the prospected area and the importance of filling the existing gaps in the ethnofloristic sampling of the Catalan territories. The almost complete dataset, now including some arid territories, will allow us to carry out a global analysis and to provide an accurate overview.

Plant biodiversity refers to total of all variety and variability of plants in a particular area. plant diversity of india is enriched with various medicinal plants which are still unexplored. ethnobotany is the study of regional plants and its particular uses through the traditional knowledge of local tribes which has greater scope and applications in herbal medicine. there is lack of scientific knowledge in tribal community, so they are completely dependent on plants for survival and for treatment of diseases and disorder. in present study, various ethnomedicinal information was collected from local tribes of murbad taluka and their uses for several diseases were enlisted. the study revealed the importance of sacred groves in conservation of diversity. key-words: ethnobotany, plant diversity, medicinal plants, sacred groves.

espanolSe revisa de manera sucinta la evidencia etnobiologica disponible para el entorno de la laguna de Petrola (Albacete, Espana). Cabe destacar el extenso listado de etnoflora asi como los de etnofauna y el repertorio etnomicologico. Pese a la entidad de la laguna los usos recogidos se refieren mas a los cultivos y recursos silvestres del entorno de la laguna. EnglishThe ethnobiological evidence available for the surroundings of the Petrola lagoon (Albacete, Spain) is briefly reviewed. It should be noted the extensive list of ethnoflora as well as those of ethnofauna and the ethnomicological repertoire. In spite of the entity of the lagoon the uses collected refer more to the crops and wild resources of the surroundings of the lagoon.

Homemade herbal preparations from the East of Spain are the witness of traditional medicine inherited from the ancient complex formulas of herbal teas and medicinal wines. In this study, we document the use of traditional alcoholic beverages, identify their ingredients, almost exclusively botanical, record the local medicinal uses of these mixtures, and discuss patterns of distribution of this knowledge in regions of eastern Spain, the Balearic Islands and Andorra. We determine marker species and relevant patterns of herbal formulas in the different regions of the territory. Homemade liquors and liqueurs are consumed for their digestive and tonic-restorative properties but they also play in some cases an important social role. The elderly remember other medicinal uses such as aperitif, emmenagogue, or antidiarrheal, for some of the most popular preparations. The herbal liqueur formulas include predominantly Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae, and Apiaceae species. Herbs (58%)...

Worshipping of plants is an age old tradition of ancient India, which has taken a deep-root in believes, tradition and culture of India. This has provided the natives a need to undertake the traditional conservation practices, in the form of sacred grooves, which are forest areas protected by the rural communities since they believe that area to be the abode of their deities. This encourages interdependence between the forest and the local people for their livelihood. At the same time, it protects the delicate ecological balance, which has a key role to play in the sustainable development of mankind, but due to urbanization and modernization we are losing the sacred and valuable knowledge at a rapid pace, hence the need to document and preserve this diminishing sacred knowledge. The present study was done in and around Kullu region, of district Kullu (H.P.) India, lying between 31.2432°N and 32.2432°N latitude and 77.1455°E and 77.1892°E longitude covering an area of around 3,561 km...

Human beings have used wild edible plants (WEPs) for food since ancient times. The poor and underprivileged people of the district of Malakand, Pakistan, also depend on wild edible plants (WEPs) to fulfill their food and nutrition needs. Wild edible plants (WEPs) are a potential solution for overcoming food shortages for families living in rural areas. The current study evaluated the ethnobotanical, nutritional, and elemental potential of some wild edible plants (WEPs) commonly used by local people in the district of Malakand, Pakistan. Ethnobotanical information was collected from local people through a semi-structured questionnaire. The ethnobotanical information collected about wild edible plants revealed that two wild edible species belong to the family Fabaceae, two plant species belong to the family Polygonaceae, and one plant species belongs to each family Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Malvaceae, Oxalidaceae, and Portulaceae. The plants collected were all herbs...

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out among the Mitsogho people of thefour (4) villages located from Oyane 4 to Four-Place (Estuaire-Gabon). The objective of this study was firsttodraw up an inventory of plants used in their traditional medicine against infant diarrhea and then to describe the recipes applied by the local population. Sixteen (16) plants species belonging to sixteen (16) genus and eleven (11) families were identified. The most species cited were Sida rhombifolia (18%), Cyathula prostrata (12%), Desmodium adscendens (12%), andPsidium guineense (12%). Those with the lowest frequencies were among others Picralima nitida (6%) and Santiria trimera (6%). The most represented families are Malvaceae (25%), Apocynaceae (12.5%) and Fabaceae (12.5%). The plants inventoried are mainly woody (81%) trunk bark (56%) and leaves (37%) are the most used plant parts. Twenty-two (22) recipes have been described, of which 77% contain a single plant and 23% are mixture.

Le présent article porte sur le vocabulaire relatif à quatre cents spécimens de champignons représentatifs de 29 taxons comestibles qui ont été collectés parmi deux communautés pygmées du Gabon : les Baka et les Bakóya. Ce vocabulaire myconymique spécifique en kóya (langue bantue) et baka (langue oubanguienne) désignant les mêmes espèces de champignons est analysé sur les plans formel et sémantique. Cette analyse linguistique dévoile les stratégies lexicales dont les deux populations forestières se sont servies pour dénommer les champignons qu’ils consomment ainsi que les motivations sémantiques et les mécanismes cognitifs qui les sous-tendent. Il est aussi démontré que le kóya et le baka ne partagent aucun myconyme, ce qui aurait pu être l’indice de la subsistance d’une langue pygmée d’origine, perdue au profit des langues bantue et oubanguienne empruntées.

African breadfruit is an underutilized food security crop which is a delicacy for the Ibo ethnic group of South East Nigeria. It is commonly found in West and Central Africa. It is an evergreen large tree that bears about 20–30 pods containing edible seeds, annually. The edible seeds are used as specialty dishes by the Ibo tribe of South East Nigeria. African breadfruit meals have high dietetic value. The pods, leaves and roots are use in traditional medicine. The leaves are particularly rich in carbohydrates, phytochemicals (flavonoids, phenols, cardiac glycosides and anthraquinones) and minerals. These constituents contribute to its antioxidant, antimicrobial and wound healing properties. The stem bark extract is used as a cough remedy and has antimicrobial properties. The water and ethanoic extracts of the root possess antihyperglycaemic properties and also discourage the development of secondary complications of type 2 diabetes. Many of the perceived medicinal and chemical prope...

Body ornaments construct Indigenous bodies and guide movements. Their manufacture involves expeditions to collect and exchange seeds. Due to contact with colonization fronts, artefacts also tell stories of plants introduced in global systems of colonial exploitation. The widespread presence of Coix lacryma-jobi in ornaments is a testament to the impact of colonization and the introduction and adoption of exotic species by Indigenous peoples in the Amazon, including them into their aesthetic and artefactual repertoire.

Background: Wild edibles continue to be a significant contributor to the global food basket in much of the developing world. A consensus has now been formed that information on wild edibles is an important part of ethnobotanical knowledge and hence elucidating region-specific patterns of habitat management and consumption assists policy making with regard to natural conservation, human nutrition, and human health. Using an original data set from Gujarat, India, the present research aims to document the collective knowledge of wild edibles possessed by the local Vasava tribe, as well as the habitat usage and consumption trends of these species. Methods: Data were collected using three approaches: key informant interviews to record the local knowledge of wild edibles and methods of collection, village group discussions to quantify past and present consumption trends, and expert interviews to elucidate the reasons for changing consumption patterns. Results: Through key informant interviews, 90 species of wild edibles from 46 botanical families were identified along with their Vasavi names, plant parts utilized, habitats, and cooking methods. Of these, 60 species were also used medicinally and 15 carried economic value. Different habitats were preferred for collection at different times of the year. Village group discussions unanimously concluded that the consumption of wild edibles has significantly reduced over time. Expert interviews identified the decreased availability of these species in their natural habitats as the most important reason for their reduced consumption. The present study has demonstrated that the Vasavas' collective knowledge of wild edibles is vast and that these species contribute to their dietary diversity throughout the year. The finding of the present study, namely that anthropogenically managed habitats were often preferred over natural environments for the collection of wild edibles, suggests that conservation efforts should be extended beyond wild and human-uninhabited landscapes.

Ethnomedicinal survey has been carried out in the Keonjhar district of the state of Odisha in India to collect information on the prevailing medicinal plants used as medicine for the treatment of wound by local tribe and other forest dweller during 2018-2022. Forest area of the district is dominated by different ethnic group of tribes like Gond, Bathudi, Kol, Santal, Juang, Bhuyan, Bhumija and Saunti. It has been observed that people of these ethnic group depend on forest for their livelihood and medicine for primary health care. The present paper deals with 32 plant species belonging to 25 families, which are used as folk medicine for the treatment of wound. Ethnic group of the district are fully or partially depend on local medicinal plants because of the poor modern healthcare facilities and their inert poverty. An attempt has been made to document traditional knowledge from the local people, Baidyas and Gunia of Anandpur, Ghatgaon, Harichandanpur, Saharpada, Patna, Telkoi, Banspal and Joda blocks of Keonjhar district for the treatment of wound.

This paper deals with Ethnomedicinal uses of medicinal plants for the treatment of skin diseases by the tribal communities of Keonjhar district of Odisha in India. Ethnobotanical surveys and field investigations of medicinal plants have been under taken in different areas of Keonjhr district during the year 2021-2022. It has been observed that 40 species belonging to 39 genera and 31 families have been found to be used as traditional medicines by the local inhabitants for the treatment of skin diseases.

Local cassava varieties play an important role in food security and the autonomy of subsistence farmers. They can be important resources for breeding and conservation programs. We examined the genetic diversity of cassava through ethnobotanical knowledge and microsatellite markers to understand the dynamics of conservation and management of the varieties used local small-scale farmers of a rural quilombo (a slave-descendant community) in Mato Grosso, Brazil. To obtain ethnobotanical information, semi-structured interviews were applied to 10 family units who cultivated cassava. Each family cultivated from one to five varieties, with 2.3 ± 1.16 varieties/farmer, on average. Genetic analysis was was made of the 11 local varieties with microsatellite markers (12 loci). Despite low ethnobotanical diversity (H' = 2.05), high genetic diversity was found (Na = 6.75, HO = 0.92, HE = 0.75, on average) in these local varieties. These farmers, who derive their income mainly from cassava cul...

This section, presented as a book chapter in the form of an information sheet, constitutes the reference study on the traditional uses and knowledge of Verbascum thapsus L. and other related species, including Verbascum boerhavii L., Verbascum creticum (L.) Cav., Verbascum dentifolium Delile, Verbascum giganteum Willk., Verbascum lychnitis L., Verbascum rotundifolium Ten., and Verbascum virgatum Stokes, within the framework of the Spanish Inventory of Traditional Knowledge related to Biodiversity (IECTB).

The present study was carried out to document traditional ethnobotanical knowledge (TEK) of herbal flora of District Bhimber, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan to explore medicinal potential of wild indigenous plants (WIPs) for drug discovery. The research data was conducted during years 2015–2017 using questionnaire proforma employing structured and semi-structured interview models. The informants belonged from indigenous communities comprising of both genders with age ranging from 35–105 years. The interviews were conducted using local translator or guide who knew the dialects of all local languages. The study produced ethnobotanical inventory of 173 herbal species belonging to 45 families and out of these Poaceae was dominant family with 27 species. It was explored that maximum herbal species depicted multi-usage especially food, fodder and fuel. Among 173 herbal plant species, 69% species were used as fodder, 72% species as fuel source, 9.8% as ethnoveterinary medicines, 16...

Este trabajo constituye una primera contribución a la caracterización etnobotánica integral del herbolario más importante del Cono Sur Sudamericano: “Materia Medica Misionera”, atribuido al jesuita Pedro de Montenegro [1710] 1945. Su objetivo es sistematizar, cuantificar e interpretar en su preciso contexto histórico-médico todas las aplicaciones medicinales y de otro tipo que se le asignan a cada una de las plantas mencionadas en esta obra. El método empleado es aquel de la “etnobotánica histórica’, disciplina que considera a los datos del pasado como una fuente de información primaria, sobre la cual se aplica el método clásico etnobotánico. Se identificaron 1.234 (mil doscientos treinta y cuatro) usos agrupados en 17 categorías, los cuales fueron asignados a 141 entidades vegetales referidas en la ‘Materia Médica Misionera’ por su nombre vernáculo guaraní, tupí y/o español. Los usos medicinales representan el 92,3 % de los datos (1142), los cuales son referidos a 140 entidades veg...