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

Medicinal plant knowledge of the Bench ethnic group of Ethiopia: an ethnobotanical investigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plants have traditionally been used as a source of medicine in Ethiopia since early times for the control of various ailments afflicting humans and their domestic animals. However, little work has been made in the past to properly document and promote the knowledge. Today medicinal plants and the associated knowledge in the country are threatened due to deforestation, environmental degradation and acculturation. Urgent ethnobotanical studies and subsequent conservation measures are, therefore, required to salvage these resources from further loss. The purpose of the present study was to record and analyse traditional medicinal plant knowledge of the Bench ethnic group in Southwest Ethiopia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Bench informants selected during transect walks made to houses as well as those identified as knowledgeable by local administrators and elders to gather data regarding local names of medicinal plants used, parts harvested, ailments treated, remedy preparation methods, administration routes, dosage and side effects. The same method was also employed to gather information on marketability, habitat and abundance of the reported medicinal plants. Purposive sampling method was used in the selection of study sites within the study district. Fidelity Level (FL) value was calculated for each claimed medicinal plant to estimate its healing potential.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study revealed 35 Bench medicinal plants: 32 used against human ailments and three to treat both human and livestock ailments. The majority of Bench medicinal plants were herbs and leaf was the most frequently used part in the preparation of remedies. Significantly higher average number of medicinal plants was claimed by men, older people and illiterate ones as compared to women, younger people and literate ones, respectively. The majority of the medicinal plants used in the study area were uncultivated ones.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study revealed acculturation as the major threat to the continuation of the traditional medical practice in the study area. Awareness should, therefore, be created among the Bench community, especially the young ones, by concerned organizations and individuals regarding the usefulness of the practice.</p

Plantas medicinais utilizadas na comunidade caiçara da Praia do Sono, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Medicinal plants used in the "caiçara" community of Praia do Sono, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A comunidade caiçara da Praia do Sono ainda sustenta hábitos e tradições de antigas gerações, o que foi facilitado pelo difícil acesso a esta praia. O presente trabalho objetiva investigar o conhecimento sobre as plantas medicinais nesta comunidade. Foram realizadas entrevistas com 12 informantes especialistas (6 homens e 6 mulheres). As 89 espécies citadas estão distribuídas em 43 famílias, sendo Lamiaceae e Asteraceae as mais representativas. As indicações terapêuticas das plantas medicinais citadas foram agrupadas em 13 categorias de doenças, seguindo a CID-10, adotada pela OMS. As informações sobre as partes das plantas utilizadas, as indicações de uso e os locais de coleta foram indicados. Dez espécies apresentaram grande versatilidade quanto aos seus usos, com IR>1. Treze espécies, sendo Cecropia pachystachya Trec.; Davilla rugosa Poiret e Trema micrantha (L.) Blume nativas do bioma Mata Atlântica, apresentaram valores de CUPc maior que 50%. Estes resultados servem de estímulo para novos trabalhos nessa área e para futuros estudos sobre os constituintes químicos e as propriedades farmacológicas destas plantas.<br>The "caiçara' community of Praia do Sono retains some of the habits and traditions from ancient generations. This may be due to the difficulties of accessibility to that area. This paper aims to investigate the knowledge about the medicinal plants in this community. Twelve specialist informants were selected and interviewed (six men and six women). Eighty-nine species were cited, belonging to 43 botanical families. Lamiaceae and Asteraceae are the most representative ones. Therapeutic indications were decoded and grouped in 13 categories of diseases. Th is classification follows the ICD 10 adopted by WHO. Information regarding the plant tissue used, their uses and the collection sites were indicated. Ten species showed great versatility of uses, with IR>1. Of the 13 species that have CUPc values over 50%, Cecropia pachystachya Trec.; Davilla rugosa Poiret and Trema micrantha (L.) Blume are native to the Atlantic Forest. Th ese results can be used as a motivation for further studies in the area and also can provide the basis for future studies on chemical constituents and pharmacological proprieties of the plants cited

Archaeological hunting patterns of Amazonian horticulturists: The Guarani example

We analyse the hunting patterns based on faunal records of horticultural groups fromthe Atlantic Forest grouped in the Guarani archaeological unit, which are the materialand behavioural expression of populations of Amazon origin who practiced slash‐andburnagriculture in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay.The analysed temporal block ranges from ca. 1373 to 1698 of the Common Era.The characteristics of the faunal assemblages are the high level of the taxa richnessand the equitability, where no taxa predominate over the others. The capture decisionwas probably guided primarily by the weight of the potential prey (preferentiallyterrestrial mammals) considering thresholds above 10 kg per individual, which haveprovided the greatest biomass. Nevertheless, small preys are numerically importantand taxonomically very diverse. Fish mostly comprise small individuals, with no taxonomicselectivity. The hunted animals were transported completely to the villages.Terrestrial prey and fish were preponderantly boiled in ceramic containers. All thebest ranked preys locally available were hunted, so in the long term, there were noexceptions to consumption. The hunting strategies are concordant with historicaland ethnographic observations that include a broad diet with low taxonomic selectivity,small foraging range, and garden hunting.Fil: Acosta, Alejandro Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación. Dirección Nacional de Cultura y Museos. Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano; ArgentinaFil: Carbonera, Mirian. Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó; BrasilFil: Loponte, Daniel Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación. Dirección Nacional de Cultura y Museos. Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano; Argentin