Ethnobotanical study on medicinal plants used by Maonan people in China

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

Chunlin Long¹  Shaowu Meng²  Bo Liu³  Shanjun Wei³  Kunhui Huang³  Zhiyong Guo³  Liya Hong³ 

[1] Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People’s Republic of China;Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill 27599, NC, USA;College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China

关键词: Huanjiang county;    Ethnomedicine;    The Maonans;    Traditional knowledge;    Medicinal plants;   

Others  :  1212441
DOI  :  10.1186/s13002-015-0019-1

 received in 2014-11-29, accepted in 2015-04-11,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

This paper is based on an ethnobotanical investigation that focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by local Maonan people to treat human diseases in Maonan concentration regions. The Maonan people have relied on traditional medicine since ancient times, especially medicinal plants. The aim of this study is to document medicinal plants used by the Maonans and to report the status of medicinal plants and associated traditional knowledge.

Methods

Ethnobotanical data were collected from June 2012 to September 2014 in Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, northern Guangxi, southwest China. In total, 118 knowledgeable informants were interviewed. Following statistically sampling method, eighteen villages from 5 townships were selected to conduct field investigations. Information was collected through the approache of participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, ranking exercises, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory rural appraisals.

Results

A total of 368 medicinal plant species were investigated and documented together with their medicinal uses by the Maonans, most of which were obtained from the wild ecosystems. The plants were used to treat 95 human diseases. Grinding was a widely used method to prepare traditional herbal medicines. There were significant relationships between gender and age, and between gender and informants’ knowledge of medicinal plant use. Deforestation for agricultural purposes was identified as the most destructive factor of medicinal plants, followed by drought and over-harvest.

Conclusions

The species diversity of medicinal plants used by the Maonans in the study area was very rich. Medicinal plants played a significant role in healing various human disorders in the Maonan communities. However, the conflicts between traditional inheriting system and recent socio-economic changes (and other factors) resulted in the reduction or loss of both medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge. Thus, conservation efforts and policies, and innovation of inheriting system are necessary for protecting the medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge. Awareness is also needed to be raised among local Maonans focusing on sustainable utilization and management of both medicinal plants and traditional knowledge.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Hong et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

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