Hmong herbal medicine and herbalists in Lao PDR: pharmacopeia and knowledge transmission

Dubost, Jean Marc; Phakeovilay, Chiobouaphong; Her, Chithdavone; Bochaton, Audrey; Elliott, Elizabeth; Deharo, Eric; Xayvue, Mouachan; Bouamanivong, Somsanith; Bourdy, Geneviève

doi:10.1186/s13002-019-0307-2

Cited by 23 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(51 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Another important medicinal plant family is Zingiberaceae, which is widely used in traditional medicine in many Asian countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Thailand [ 39 ]. In Thailand and Laos, species of Zingiberaceae (mainly species of Kaempferia and Zingiber ) have strongly aromatic rhizomes and are commonly used medicinal plants [ 40 ]. In northeastern Thailand, especially in Roi Et, traditional healers have cultivated or collected these plants in their home garden.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnomedicinal Knowledge of Traditional Healers in Roi Et, Thailand

Junsongduang

Kasemwan

Lumjoomjung

et al. 2020

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Traditional healers in Thailand are a primary source of health care for the Thai people. Highly experienced traditional healers are generally older people and they continue to pass away without recording or passing on their knowledge. Consequently, the cumulative knowledge held by traditional healers regarding the use of medicinal plants is being eroded and could be lost. In this study, we aimed to identify and document the medicinal plants and associated ethnobotanical knowledge held by traditional healers in Roi Et in northeastern Thailand. Data and plant specimens were collected from four traditional healers of the Phu Tai people. They were selected by purposive sampling and questioned using a semi-structured interview. The interviews covered their training, the ailments treated, treatment techniques, method of preparation and in addition, several healing sessions were observed. During field walks, we searched for the medicinal plants with the healers to review and document the availability of medicinal plants at each locality and in different habitats around the villages. Use values (UV) were calculated to estimate the importance of each medicinal plant and informant agreement ratios (IAR) were calculated to understand how widely known the uses were. The four Phu Tai traditional healers knew 162 medicinal plant species in 141 genera and 63 families. The family with the most medicinal plants was Leguminosae with 15 species. The plant part that they used most commonly was the stem, which was used for 82 species (49%). The most common preparation method was decoction, which was done for 124 species (75%). The most important and widely used medicinal plants were Rothmannia wittii, which had the highest use value (UV = 1.7). Most medicinal plants were used for treating tonic (34 species (21%)). Jaundice had the highest informant agreement ratio (IAR = 0.5). The most common life form among the medicinal plants was trees (56 species (34%)). The medicinal plants were mostly collected in community forests (81 species (49%)). Considering the richness of the healer’s pharmacopeia, and the fact that their profession is not being perpetuated, this study points to the urgent need to document the traditional knowledge from the old herbalists before it disappears with the last practitioners from rural communities in Thailand.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnomedicinal Knowledge of Traditional Healers in Roi Et, Thailand

Junsongduang

Kasemwan

Lumjoomjung

et al. 2020

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, Leguminosae was widely used in traditional medicines in Southeast Asian countries, whereas Asparagiaceae and Orchidaceae were widely used by the Chuanqing people. The reason for this difference was that Leguminosae was widely distributed in tropical flora and available in these countries [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. The area of southwest China populated by the Chuanqing people is a typical karst landform, with the majority of the plants distributed in Asparagaceae and Orchidaceae [45][46][47].…”

Section: Comparison With Chp the Qsg And Southeast Asian Medicinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies had pointed out that this was mainly related to living conditions, living habits, and sanitation facilities. For example, in the countries of Southeast Asia, people who worked in agriculture and lived in poverty were susceptible to the diseases of the digestive system, such as gastritis and diarrhea [32,37]. Alcoholism was also a reason for digestive system diseases [41].…”

Section: Comparison With Chp the Qsg And Southeast Asian Medicinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnobotanical study on herbal market at the Dragon Boat Festival of Chuanqing people in China

Wang

Zhao

Chi

et al. 2021

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The Chuanqing people (穿青人) are a linguistic group native to the Guizhou Province of China, with unique culture and rich knowledge of traditional medicinal plants. Herbal market at Dragon Boat Festival (DBF) plays an important role in the inheritance of traditional medicinal knowledge among the Chuanqing people. This study aims to record the profile of medicinal plants of the Chuanqing people, discuss the dilemmas faced by their inheritance, and propose some strategies for passing down information, which is critical for the inheritance and protection of the Chuanqing people’s traditional medical knowledge. Methods Data were collected through key informants and semi-structured interviews and free listing. Collected voucher specimens were identified using by botanical taxonomy method and deposited in the herbarium. Data were analyzed through use-value (UV) and cultural importance index (CI) values. Medicinal plants were compared with the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Results were compared with the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China (ChP), the Quality Standard of Traditional Chinese Medicine and National Medicine in Guizhou Province (QSG), and traditional medicines of Southeast Asian countries. Results A total of 102 species from 53 families and 92 genera were recorded, with Orchidaceae and Asparagaceae (six species each), and Berberidaceae and Asteraceae (five species each) as the predominant families. The whole plant (36%) was the most common medicinal part. Decoction (44%) was the most common preparation method. Seventy-one investigated human ailments were grouped into 12 categories. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (34 mentions) were most frequently mentioned in this study. Moreover, the most frequently used taxon was Hedera sinensis (Tobler) Hand.-Mazz. (UV and CI = 0.29). The Chuanqing people’s medicine was highly similar to ChP and QSG. In comparison with Southeast Asian countries’ traditional medicines, except for the same preparation methods, the similarities in terms of medicinal ingredients, plants, and disease treatment were very low. Conclusions The herbal market at the DBF is an important platform for exchanging knowledge about the Chuanqing people’s traditional medicinal plants. The Chuanqing people’s traditional medicine is facing many challenges to its inheritance and development. To solve these problems, this study highlights the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Chuanqing people, providing basic data for further research and protection of minority medicine.

show abstract

“…Some studies pointed out that it was mainly related to living conditions, living habits and health facilities. For example, in Southeast Asian countries, people who worked in agriculture and lived in poverty were prone to the diseases of digestive system, such as gastritis and diarrhea [33,38]. Moreover, alcoholism was also the reason for digestive system diseases [42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ethnobotanical study on the Chuanqing People of China based on an herbal market survey at the Dragon Boat Festival

Wang

Zhao

Chi

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The Chuanqing (穿青人) are an ethnic group native to the Guizhou Province of China, with a unique culture and rich knowledge of traditional medicinal plants. The herbal market at the Dragon Boat Festival (DBF) plays an important role in the inheritance of traditional medicinal knowledge among the Chuanqing. This study aims to record the profile of medicinal plants of the Chuanqing, discuss the dilemmas faced by its inheritance and propose strategies. Such information is important for the inheritance and protection of the Chuanqing’s traditional medical knowledge. Methods: Data were collected through key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews and free listing. The collected voucher specimens were identified and deposited in the herbarium. The medicinal plants were compared with the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results were compared with those of the pharmacopeia of the People's Republic of China (ChP) and the Quality Standard of TCM, and National Medicine in Guizhou Province (QSG) and traditional medicines of Southeast Asian countries. Data were analyzed with use-value (UV) and cultural importance index (CI) values. Results: A total of 102 species from 53 families and 92 genera were recorded, with Orchidaceae and Asparagaceae (6 species each), Berberidaceae and Asteraceae (5 species each) as the predominant families. Whole plant (36%) was the most common medicinal part. Decoction (44%) was the most common preparation method. Seventy-one investigated human ailments were grouped into 12 categories. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (34 mentions) were the most frequently mentioned in this study. Moreover, the most frequently used taxon was Hedera sinensis (Tobler) Hand.-Mazz. (UV and CI=0.29). A total of 9 medicinal plants were recorded in the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Chuanqing’s medicine had high similarity with ChP and QSG. While it had a high similarity in preparation method, and low similarity in medicinal parts, plant families and disease treatments with traditional medicines in Southeast Asian countries.Conclusions: The traditional herbal market at the DBF is an important platform for communicating traditional medicinal plant knowledge of the Chuanqing. There are some differences and connections between the Chuanqing's medicine, Chinese traditional medicines, and traditional medicines in Southeast Asian countries. The Chuanqing's traditional medicine is facing many difficulties in the inheritance and development. More scientific research and policies planning are needed to solve it. This study highlights the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Chuanqing, providing basic data for further research on and protection of minority medicine.

show abstract

Hmong herbal medicine and herbalists in Lao PDR: pharmacopeia and knowledge transmission

Cited by 23 publications

References 38 publications

Ethnomedicinal Knowledge of Traditional Healers in Roi Et, Thailand

Ethnomedicinal Knowledge of Traditional Healers in Roi Et, Thailand

Ethnobotanical study on herbal market at the Dragon Boat Festival of Chuanqing people in China

An ethnobotanical study on the Chuanqing People of China based on an herbal market survey at the Dragon Boat Festival

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About