Wild Edible Plants and Their Traditional Use in the Human Nutrition in Bosnia-Herzegovina

This article presents first systematical procedure results on traditional usage of wild, edible, vitaminous, and aromatic plants in the nutrition of human population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (W. Balkan peninsula; SE Europe). By method of an ethnobotanical interview, which comprised of over 250 persons, whose average age was 55, and by research on edible wild flora all around Bosnia and Herzegovina that extended over many years, detected were 308 plants belonging to 73 plant families that are being used in nutrition and diet of indigenous population. Edible wild plants are used as delicious vegetables, fruits, peer and spices, in either fresh, raw, or dried condition. Plants are being used for the making of cooked food (33%), fresh salads (19%), mush and bread (17%), or as fresh, wild fruits and drinks (13%) or as spices and ethno-pharmacological potions (10%). The majority of identified, wild edible plants may satisfy the daily human need for elementary nutrition material, particularly those of vitamins C and A, and for some minerals, according to the regulations of World Health Organization (WHO).     

民族药用植物毛大丁草的化学成分及药理作用研究进展

毛大丁草Gerbera piloselloides是极具特色的资源植物,被我国南方少数民族同胞广泛使用。本文对毛大丁草的民间利用、化学成分及其药理作用等方面的研究进展进行了全面回顾,总结了我国13个少数民族和汉族的相关传统知识。归纳了从毛大丁草中分离鉴定的83个化合物,包括香豆素类、萜类、黄酮类、糖苷类、苯乙酮类、甾醇类等化合物,这些化合物具有镇咳、祛痰、平喘、抗菌、抗肿瘤、子宫镇痛、免疫调节、美白等活性。近年来毛大丁草的研究主要集中于化学成分和主要生物活性等方面,具体的作用机理、生物合成途径以及民族药相关产品开发等方面仍有待进一步探究。该文系统地总结分析了毛大丁草的相关研究成果,为进一步研究与开发该资源提供线索。      

Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants Used by Kurd Tribe in Dehloran and Abdanan Districts,Ilam Province,Iran

This paper provides significant ethnobotanical information on pharmaceutical plant uses, where some degree of acculturation exists, so that there is urgency in recording such data. The aim of this work is to catalogue, document, and make known the uses of plants for folk medicine in Dehloran and Abdanan districts, Ilam Province, Iran. An analysis was made of the species used, parts of the plant employed, preparation methods, administration means, and the ailments treated in relation to pathological groups. A folk botanical survey was carried out from February 2007 to October 2009. The information was collected from 81 persons (60% men and 40% women) in 20 villages. The informants reported data on 122 species, belonging to 49 botanical families, were claimed as medicinal. This work is focused on human medicinal plant uses, which represent 95% of the pharmaceutical uses. The most commonly represented families were Asteraceae (37.5%), Lamiaceae (20.8%), Rosaceae (18.7%), Fabaceae (16.7%) and Apiaceae (14.6%). Some of the uses were found to be new when compared with published literature on ethnomedicine of Iran. The folk knowledge about medicinal plant use is still alive in the studied region, and a number of scarcely reported plant uses has been detected, some of them with promising phytotherapeutical applications. The results of the study reveal that some of species play an important role in primary healthcare system of these tribal communities.     

The predictive utility of the plant phylogeny in identifying sources of cardiovascular drugs

Context: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally, responsible for over 17 million (31%) deaths in the world. Novel pharmacological interventions may be needed given the high prevalence of CVD.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to find potential new sources of cardiovascular (CV) drugs from phylogenetic and pharmacological analyses of plant species that have experimental and traditional CV applications in the literature.

Materials and methods: We reconstructed the molecular phylogeny of these plant species and mapped their pharmacological mechanisms of action on the phylogeny.

Results: Out of 139 plant species in 71 plant families, seven plant families with 45 species emerged as phylogenetically important exhibiting common CV mechanisms of action within the family, as would be expected given their common ancestry: Apiaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Rosaceae and Zingiberaceae. Apiaceae and Brassicaceae promoted diuresis and hypotension; Fabaceae and Lamiaceae had anticoagulant/thrombolytic effects; Apiaceae and Zingiberaceae were calcium channel blockers. Moreover, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Rosaceae and Zingiberaceae species were found to possess anti-atherosclerotic properties.

Discussion and conclusions: The phylogeny identified certain plant families with disproportionately more species, highlighting their importance as sources of natural products for CV drug discovery. Though there were some species that did not show the same mechanism within the family, the phylogeny predicts that these species may contain undiscovered phytochemistry, and potentially, the same bioactivity. Evolutionary pharmacology, as applied here, may guide and expedite our efforts in discovering sources of new CV drugs.     

The world's longest surviving paediatric practices: some themes of Aboriginal medical ethnobotany in Australia

Contemporary paediatric practices of Australian Aboriginal men and women, in more than 100 Aboriginal Language Groups, comprise a living discipline whose origins predate Western medicine by tens of millennia. The history of paediatrics acknowledges this surviving continuum of the world's oldest child-care practices. Because of the inextricable nexus between Aboriginal men and women and the land in which they live, medical ethnobotany forms a major part of the medical aspects of Aboriginal child care. Traditional tribal healers, called 'Nungungi' in some language groups of Central Australia, are identified as such whilst still young children and are given special education in the healing arts, especially that of medical ethnobotany, by older healers. Distinct from this specialized role, all Aboriginal men and women (and in particular grandmothers) in traditional communities use a sophisticated botanical materia medica in the treatment of sick and injured children. In cultures in transition, medical ethnobotanical practices may persist long after the local use of flora as sources of traditional food, weaponry, totemic identity and religious rites have disappeared. Some selected botanical 'cures' were adopted by early European settlers and a number of such relict uses have become part of mainstream Western life today, particularly as this applies to self-medication. Drugs and medicaments used in the treatment of children are obtained from leaves, bark, roots and flowers, usually as fresh preparations. They are prepared as infusions, decoctions and macerations and may be enjoined with emollients such as emu or kangaroo fat for topical application. Botanical drugs and medicaments are usually prepared fresh for each administration and are rarely stored. Contemporary Australian ethnobotany exploits the medicinal properties of more than 100 genera - using such extracts as antiseptics, analgesics, astringents, antipyretics, sedatives, hypnotics, expectorants and carminatives. Their widespread use, by the world's oldest surviving cultures, reflect perhaps 50 millennia of acute observation and clinical interpretation, trial and error, serendipidity and experimentation. Australian medical ethnobotany generally, and that used specifically for children, is characterized by several features including (i) the multipurpose or 'broad-spectrum' use of many floral species; (ii) a paradigm of the use of botanical material to treat symptoms and symptom-complexes rather than disease-based treatment; (iii) the widespread and universal medical knowledge of botanical remedies by all members of local Aboriginal communities, not only traditional community or tribal healers and (iv) the use of botanical material in the context of preventive medicine. Seventy per cent of the world's population uses traditional herbal remedies in the treatment of sick or injured children. In this context, the detailed and extensive ethnobotanical pharmacopoeia of the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia holds an important place.     

侗药八角莲药用民族植物学研究

采用药用民族植物学研究方法,对侗药八角莲主产地广西的三江、湖南的通道、新晃、贵州的天柱、凯里等地进行了实地考察,收集了不同少数民族药用经验,明确了其独特的药用价值。介绍了侗药八角莲的文献记载、植物学形态、分布及品种、民间应用方法,以及当前对侗药八角莲的化学成分、药理作用、植物资源等方面的研究状况,通过对资料的收集整理,有助于充分开发和利用这一丰富的药用民族植物资源。     

Phytochemical, pharmacological and ethnobotanical studies of Rhazya stricta Decne

Rhazya stricta Decne. is an important medicinal species that is rich in alkaloids containing anticancer alkaloids also. This paper reviews phytochemical, pharmacological and ethnobotanical studies of R. stricta. Phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of the species have been thoroughly explored. Over 100 alkaloids have been isolated from R. stricta, but the pharmacological activities are known for only a few of these compounds. Very few ethnobotanical studies of R. stricta have been done, and there is a particular need for such studies in various regions of South Asia and in Middle Eastern countries where the species grows. These ethnobotanical studies should investigate herbal recipes of R. stricta and their use for curing diseases. The genetic diversity, chemotaxonomy and allelopathy of R. stricta have not yet been explored, and these studies are recommended, with the ultimate goal of benefiting local communities in regions where R. stricta grows. This should be achieved by sharing knowledge and through the manufacture of herbal drugs from R. stricta's active chemical constituents, while protecting intellectual property rights and following the World Health Organization's guidelines for safety and efficacy.     

Xanthosoma sagittifolium and Laportea aestuans: Species used to prevent osteoporosis in Brazilian traditional medicine

Context: Xanthosoma sagittifolium Schott. (Araceae) and Laportea aestuans (L.) Chew (Urticaceae) are two medicinal species used as food and to prevent and treat bone diseases, such as osteoporosis, in traditional Brazilian medicine.

Objective: To investigate the free calcium concentration and further support the traditional use of these species as medicine.

Materials and methods: L. aestuans and X. sagittifolium leaves were dehydrated and cooked to evaluate the presence of free calcium. The total oxalate content was determined by heat digestion in H₂SO₄, oxalate precipitation with CaCl₂ and permanganate titration.

Results: The calcium content found in L. aestuans was quite significant (638.00?mg/100?g), whereas the fresh and cooked leaves of X. sagittifolium demonstrated a low content of calcium, at 273.17 and 369.81?mg/100?g, respectively.

Discussion and conclusion: The use of this species for the prevention and treatment of bone diseases is in agreement with the results of the free calcium (Ca⁺⁺) analyses. Our data show that each species may be used as a health supplement in poor communities, provided that studies validate their safe use.     

白刺属的系统进化和生物多样性研究进展

在回顾白刺属研究历史的基础上,根据白刺属种间染色体倍数特征并结合形态学、生物地理学等方面的研究文献,提出新的白刺属种间分类系统:二倍体组(2n=2X=24)和四倍体组(2n=4X=48)。多倍化(2X→4X)是白刺属内种间进化的基本特征。白刺属的起源中心可能是古地中海沿岸地区;中亚及我国西北地区是白刺属的现代分布中心。并指出将该属作为模式系统来开展具有我国特色的民族植物学研究的前景。     

中国民族植物学:回顾与展望

本文对中国民族植物学发展史、研究进展和今后发展趋势进行了论述与讨论。民族植物学在中国起步较晚,但在过去二十年里已从无到有,建立起了民族植物学研究的理论框架、内容、方法和途径,将民族植物学从基础描述性研究(调查、记载、编目),推进到应用研究,在植物资源的可持续利用、生物多样性保护、农村发展和山区扶贫等方面取得若干进展。当前,我国民族植物学研究面临发展的新机遇和新的挑战,必须面向国民经济发展的新形势,投入西部大开发,加强了学科建设,推进研究与产业发展的结合,充分运用西部地区的学科资源优势,东部地区的人才智力优势与资本优势,把民族植物学由地区性研究推进到全国性研究,进一步完善中国特色的民族植物学研究体系,积极参与国际合作与交流,对我国国民经济的持续发展、民族地区的团结稳定和生物多样性保护作出更大的贡献。