Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ethnic Groups Living in Semi-Arid Region of Punjab, Pakistan

Waheed, Muhammad; Haq, Shiekh Marifatul; Arshad, Fatimah Mohamed; Bussmann, Rainer W.; Pieroni, Andréa; Mahmoud, Eman A.; Casini, Ryan; Yessoufou, Kowiyou; Elansary, Hosam O.

doi:10.3390/biology12020269

Cited by 22 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Several workers reported that such a situation opens up opportunities for a new type of food system that supports the local traditional market [30,31]. If such situations create food shortages, peoples turn towards traditional foods and wild edible plants as an important available source of minerals and vitamins, and herbal ingredients [7][8]32,33].…”

Section: The Importance Of Weps As a Source Of Food And Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Scenario of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs), their Importance, Possible Threats, and Conservation: A Mini Review

Jagtap¹,

Koche²

2023

JAERI

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The knowledge of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) is as old as human civilization and still, they are playing a supplementary role in global food security. WEPs are an integral part of their traditional food systems and have nutritional and cultural values in their routine livelihood. WEPs are increasingly considered a potential source of a naturally healthy diet. But in many cases, the available WEPs resources are under threat of various kinds like overexploitation, overgrazing, forest fires, agricultural encroachment, etc.; the changing climate also negatively impacts on WEPs. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the conservation of the diversity of WEPs and their sustainable management. The present mini-review is an attempt to present the current scenario of WEPs, their importance, and a potential source of nutrients for future food security, ethnic knowledge associated with them, threats encountered by WEPs, and their possible sustainable management scheme.

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Section: The Importance Of Weps As a Source Of Food And Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Scenario of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs), their Importance, Possible Threats, and Conservation: A Mini Review

Jagtap¹,

Koche²

2023

JAERI

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“…In the secluded valleys of the Himalayas, local communities rely on natural resources, including plants, for their livelihoods, often migrating with their livestock to summer pastures in accordance with the changing seasons. They possess valuable knowledge regarding ecosystem services [ 13 ]. However, the intensive use of plants for medicinal purposes, grazing, and fodder has resulted in heightened pressure on plant biodiversity, thereby posing significant implications for the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Keeping Healthy in Your Skin—Plants and Fungi Used by Indigenous Himalayan Communities to Treat Dermatological Ailments

Haq

Khoja

Lone³

et al. 2023

Plants

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Dermatological ailments are a major health problem, especially when related to human immune deficiency syndrome and acquired immune deficiency. The goal of this study was to identify the medicinal plants used by the indigenous peoples of the Northwestern Himalayas to treat dermatological diseases. Several field trips were conducted in the spring and summer seasons of 2020–2021 to collect the plants of dermatological value and information about their use through open-ended semi-structured interviews (n = 53) and group discussions (n = 33). The current investigation found 64 ethnomedicinal plants belonging to 34 families commonly used to treat a variety of dermatological ailments. The main growth form was herbs (80%), followed by trees (8%) and ferns (6%). It was found that leaves (51%) were the most commonly used plant part, followed by roots and the whole plant. Wound healing was the most dominant application, with 18 plant species used, followed by skin burns cured by 11 plant species and skin boils by eight plant species. Out of the total (18%) of medicinal plants with cosmetic uses, i.e., roots of Jurinea dolomiaea, Rheum webbianum, and Rheum spiciforme were crushed into powder and mixed with turmeric, and the paste is applied topically for glowing skin. Among the various preparation methods, paste (38%) was the most common way of preparation, followed by poultice (29%) and infusion (9%). Between ethnic groups, the maximum homogeneity was between Gujjar and Bakarwal ethnic groups (23 species, 36%), followed by Gujjars and Kashmiri (14 species, 22%). Bakarwals and Gujjar people live in the same geographical location, and they graze their animals in pastures, practice extensive transhumance pastoralism, and pass through different ecological landscapes, thus having sufficient experiences with certain plants and retaining more knowledge. The species identified with the highest utilization based on the number of citations and use value included Ficus carica, Cichorium intybus, Euphorbia wallichii, Pinus wallichiana, Plantago major, Jurinea dolomiaea, and Artemisia absinthium. The findings of this study demonstrate that people who reside in the Northwestern Himalayas region still rely on medicinal plants.

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“…Pakistan is the fth most populous country in the world with > 240 million population and multi-ethnic region, culturally diverse, with cultural and dietary in uences from neighboring countries like Afghanistan and Iran predominating in the north and south western regions of the country and Indian in uences in the eastern regions. Moreover, Pakistan shares genetic characteristics with the Indian population due to historic large-scale population immigration from India to Pakistan during the Indian sub-continent partition in 1947 (17). Pakistan is one of the underrepresented countries for microbiome research in South Asia (18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbial ecology and exposome of a healthy Pakistani cohort

Gul,

Herrema,

Davids

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: Pakistan is a multi-ethnic society where there is a disparity between dietary habits, genetic composition, and environmental exposures. The microbial ecology of healthy Pakistani gut in the context of anthropometric, sociodemographic, and dietary patterns holds interest by virtue of it being one of the most populous countries, and also being a Lower Middle Income Country (LMIC). Methods: 16S rRNA profiling of healthy gut microbiome of normo-weight healthy Pakistani individuals from different regions of residence is performed with additional meta-data collected through filled questionnaires. The current health status is then linked to dietary patterns through χ2 test of independence and Generalized Linear Latent Variable Model (GLLVM) where distribution of individual microbes is regressed against all recorded sources of variability. To identify the core microbiome signature, a dynamic approach is used that considers into account species occupancy as well as consistency across assumed grouping of samples including organization by gender and province of residence. Fitting neutral modeling then revealed core microbiome that is selected by the environment. Results: A strong determinant of disparity is by province of residence. It is also established that the male microbiome is better adapted to the local niche than the female microbiome, and that there is microbial taxonomic and functional diversity in different ethnicities, dietary patterns and lifestyle habits. Conclusions: This study provides a snapshot of the healthy core Pakistani gut microbiome by focusing on the most populous provinces and ethnic groups residing in predominantly urban areas. The study serves a reference dataset for exploring variations in disease status and designing personalized dietary and lifestyle interventions to promote gut health, particularly in LMICs settings.

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Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ethnic Groups Living in Semi-Arid Region of Punjab, Pakistan

Cited by 22 publications

References 41 publications

Current Scenario of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs), their Importance, Possible Threats, and Conservation: A Mini Review

Current Scenario of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs), their Importance, Possible Threats, and Conservation: A Mini Review

Keeping Healthy in Your Skin—Plants and Fungi Used by Indigenous Himalayan Communities to Treat Dermatological Ailments

Gut microbial ecology and exposome of a healthy Pakistani cohort

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