Search

Ethnopharmacological relevance Traditional and local medicinal knowledge would be useful for finding pharmaceutical resources. Ethnopharmacological methods, especially quantitative analysis could help us to pre-screen herbs in field studies. “Using different plants as the same herb” is common in both traditional and local medicinal systems in China. In terms of medicine safety, it is not best choice, for it would lead to difficulty in controlling the quality, safety and efficacy of herbs. However, from the perspective of finding new resources for pharmaceutical industry, it would be beneficial. The usage of Huang-lian is one of the typical examples of “using different plants as the same herb”. According to the previous Phytochemical and Pharmacological studies, berberine is the common effective compound of most of the species used as Huang-lian. Recently, berberine and other effective compounds of Huang-lian have gained much more attention and will become more popular in both medicinal researches and pharmaceutical industry. In our preliminary field work, we found that dozens of plant species might be used as Huang-lian by local people in Northwest Yunnan, an area well known by its rich biodiversity and culture diversity. These herbs might have potential value for pharmaceutical industry, for example, it could be used as the new resources to extract berberine and other effective compounds. Due to this, it is very necessary to collect, identify, document, and analyze the herbs used as Huang-lian in NW Yunnan. In the present study, we focused on that how to use traditional and local medicinal knowledge to find resources for pharmaceutical industry. Material and methods In the field work, interviews and participative observation were used. In the quantitative analysis of the local knowledge, Informant consensus factor ( Fic ), Use value ( UV ) and Relative frequency of citation ( RFC ) were used. Results and discussion A total of 230 key informants were interviewed and 29 plant species belonging to 8 families and 11 genera used as Huang-lian were collected in the study area. Diarrhoea had the highest value of Fic.xiana had the highest value of UV and RFC . The main effective compounds of most of these species were related to the protoberberine group of isoquinoline alkaloids, e.g. berberine, jatrorrhizin and palmatine, according to the previous phytochemical studies. Conclusion The range of sources of Huang-lian were very wide in NW Yunnan. Treating diarrhoea was the most common use of these species, most of which contained berberine. Based on the results of quantitative analysis, M. duclouxiana may had the greatest potential to future uses, e.g. as a resource for pharmaceutical industry. In the present study, we did not discuss whether the herbs used as Huang-lian could replace the standard Huang-lian in traditional or local medicine or not, and we just wanted to explore how this phenomenon could be used to find new resources for pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants from the family Ericaceae, and in particular those in the genus Rhododendron are frequently reported to contain grayanotoxins. Plant products such as honey and herbal medicines made from these plants occasionally contain grayanotoxins, and in turn may lead to intoxication. The balance between the benefits and risk of poisoning from Rhododendrons is of concerns. This study explores the ethnobotanical knowledge of the people in Yunnan, China as regards the consumption of Rhododendron flowers, and gives special focus to their assessment of the benefit-risk balance. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted across 14 county-level local markets in north and central Yunnan province, during which a total of 82 stalls selling Rhododendron flowers were visited and 204 people were interviewed. Voucher specimens were obtained under the guidance of collectors, and details about local practices and knowledge were recorded using semi-structured interviews and participatory observations. The consumption of the corollas of Rhododendron decorum Franch. Flowers (RD f) or Rhododendron pachypodum Balf. f. & W.W. Sm. Flowers (RP f) as a seasonal delicacy is a long-standing tradition in the study area. RD f are widely consumed in northwest and northeast Yunnan, while RP f are more prevalent in the central regions of Yunnan, and there is a high consistency in the knowledge of the process for detoxification or palatability for each species. The main reasons for eating the flowers were listed as health benefits (mostly clear heat), wild collected, tradition and good flavor. All RP f consumers stated that the corolla from this species is not toxic, while 67.4% of the RD f consumers claim that the corolla from RD f is toxic. We compared the two species and analyzed their process intensities, poisoning cases and cautions, market trade forms and existing toxicity studies, which agreed well and consistently that the corolla of RD f deserve more toxicity attention than RP f. Our study provides a window to look into the ways, beyond honey and herbal medicine, by which Rhododendron species have influenced human wellbeing. The local culture can justify eating Rhododendron flowers, and meanwhile, has developed a series of skills to avoid the side effects of eating them, and therefore the study also provides a good case to answer more general questions about the rationality of eating any plant products by assessing the trade-off between benefits and side effects. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uses of medicinal plants have a long history and become one of the important sources of the health cares in Gaomi City, Shandong Province, China. However, limited studies have been done to identify these medicinal plant species and to scientifically document their associated traditional knowledge. Many species used by indigenous people could potentially represent a novel resource of medicine. The study can aid in further investigations of modern pharmacology and planning of the wild species conservation. The study aimed to investigate and record the medicinal plant taxa and their associated traditional knowledge in Gaomi City, China. Field study was conducted from March 2018 to May 2019 with 184 residents of Gaomi City. Traditional medicinal plant specimens were collected from the field with the help of these residents and were identified and authenticated in the Herbarium of the School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University. Ethnobotanical knowledge was collected by semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed by using the informant consensus factor (ICF) method and the number of citations. A total of 181 species belonging to 137 genera and 65 families were collected in Gaomi City. Asteraceae was the predominant family and Fabaceae took the second place. River basins and the southern hills in Gaomi were rich in vegetation. However, the cultivated area of medicinal plants only accounted for 10% of agricultural acreage. The main preparation method was decocting (170, 94.48%) and the most frequent mode of administration was oral (177, 97.97%). The highest numerical ICF value was recorded for treating endocrine, metabolic, and nutritional (ICF: 0.85) conditions. Seven of the medicinal plant species used by the people in Gaomi have not been reported previously in China. Verbena officinalis L. was found in Gaomi City, which is a new distribution record for this species. People in Gaomi hold valuable knowledge about the use of medicinal plants; however, their knowledge has not been comprehensively documented. The therapeutic uses of the documented medicinal plants will provide a basis for further pharmacological and phytochemical investigations. Additionally, the result of this study indicated that the elder people in Gaomi have more traditional knowledge of plant medicines than the younger ones. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]