Search

Miao medicine in Guizhou dates back to ancient times. This study aimed to investigate the local botanical medicines, medicinal plants, and naming conventions used by Miao doctors in Leishan County, Guizhou Province. It is expected that the findings of this study would enhance understanding of the local medicinal plants used in Miao remedies for the treatment of various diseases. Structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 ethnobotanical experts in Leishan through participatory surveys. The survey results showed that the Miao people of Leishan use 226 wild plant species belonging to 197 genera and 97 families for medicinal purposes. Of these plant families, 10 families (of which Compositae is the most abundant) comprise at least 5 species each, collectively constituting 36.80% of all Leishan medicinal plant species. The surveys and interviews conducted also showed that male elders possessed extensive knowledge of Miao medical practices, including the categorization of medicinal plants, plant parts and their key medicinal properties, morphological characteristics, such as odor and color, and growth conditions (e.g., environmental habitat and season). Moreover, Miao doctors apply a unique set of rules to assign names to medicinal plants, based on the aforementioned plant characteristics and the specific diseases each plant type or structural part is used to treat. Notably, the analysis showed that 34.51% of medicinal plant names are derived from their shape, 26.55% on effective plant organ or position, and 21.24% from their medicinal properties. Medicinal plants are abundant in Leishan County, Guizhou Province. Local ethnic medicine doctors possess extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and their applications for disease prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The fluorite Sm-Nd isotopic data which yielded an isochron age of 152.0 ± 3.7 Ma. • C–H–O isotopes indicate the derivation of ore-forming fluids mixed with basinal water and meteoric water. • Origin of the ore-forming components from carbonate rocks in the deep crust. • The F-Li deposit was related to the flat-slab subduction and delamination of the Paleo-Pacific plate. Fluorite and lithium have become extremely important minerals globally. The newly discovered medium-to-large-scale Pingqiao fluorite-lithium deposit in the southwest Yangtze Block contains a rare mineral system with fluorite and lithium associations. This unique deposit provides an excellent example for the study of the origin and formation processes of the fluorite-lithium mineral system. The fluorite ore bodies in the Pingqiao mining area are hosted in the silicified limestone of the late Carboniferous Nandan Formation, and the lithium-bearing ore bodies occur in the claystone and micrite of the early Permian Longyin Formation. Fluorite and lithium clay show different REE patterns, but both have negative Eu and Ce anomalies. The isochron age yielded by the fluorite Sm-Nd isotope data was 152.0 ± 3.7 Ma. The δD V-SMOW values ranged between −63.1‰ and −56.8‰, and the δ18O V-SMOW values ranged from −5.7‰ to −4.9‰. The δ13C V-PDB values were between 1.3 and 2.7‰ for calcite. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios ranged between 0.708489 and 0.708810 for Li-clay and 0.708584 to 0.709180 for fluorite. The field geological, petrological, and geochemical data reported in this study indicate the following salient findings: (1) the ore-forming fluid was formed by mixing basinal water and meteoric water; (2) the ore-forming materials originated from the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Devonian carbonate rocks, and Carboniferous limestone; and (3) the deposit was formed in an extensional setting within the Yangtze Block and is closely associated with the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous polymetallic events and is related to the flat-slab subduction and delamination of the Paleo-Pacific plate. We propose a model of fluorite-lithium mineralisation that explains the fluid composition, transport, and precipitation mechanisms involved in the mineral system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]