scholarly journals The Fig Tree in Alimentary Culture, Folk Medicine and Traditions among the Peoples of the Western Balkans

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Fig Tree

The Fig Tree in Alimentary Culture, Folk Medicine and Traditions among the Peoples of the Western Balkans [Inzhir v alimentarnoi kul’ture, narodnoi meditsine i traditsiiakh u narodov Zapadnykh Balkan]

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Alexander Novik ◽  
◽  
Marina Domosiletskaya ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Carl Linnaeus ◽  
Modern Classification ◽  
Fig Tree ◽  
The 19Th Century

The article analyzes the role of the fig tree in various spheres of culture of the Albanians, Croats, Greeks, and other peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the use of its fruit as food and raw material for the production of alcoholic beverages and medicine. Until the 19th century, the pollination of the plant remained a mystery (not even Carl Linnaeus, the “father of botany” and the creator of the modern classification of wildlife species, was able to solve the complex puzzle of nature), which led to the emergence and proliferation of numerous mythologemes, still recorded to date, that are consistently associated with the fig tree. Currently, notions about the magical properties of the plant and its fruit are being transformed under the influence of the global passion for environmentally friendly bio products. The discussion specifically focuses on the mechanism through which such “new meanings” enter the public discourse.

Breakfast Skipping Is an Independent Predictor of Obesity but not Overweight Among Children in a Southeastern European Population

2016 ◽  
Vol 86 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 242-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genc Burazeri ◽  
Jolanda Hyska ◽  
Iris Mone ◽  
Enver Roshi
Keyword(s):  
Task Force ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
European Population ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Communist Country ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Breakfast Skipping

Abstract.Aim: To assess the association of breakfast skipping with overweight and obesity among children in Albania, a post-communist country in the Western Balkans, which is undergoing a long and difficult political and socioeconomic transition towards a market-oriented economy. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was carried out in Albania in 2013 including a representative sample of 5810 children aged 7.0 – 9.9 years (49.5% girls aged 8.4 ± 0.6 years and 51.5% boys aged 8.5 ± 0.6 years; overall response rate: 97%). Children were measured for height and weight, and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Cut-off BMI values of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) were used to define overweight and obesity in children. Demographic data were also collected. Results: Upon adjustment for age, sex, and place of residence, breakfast skipping was positively related to obesity (WHO criteria: OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.3–1.9; IOTF criteria: OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.4–2.5), but not overweight (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.9–1.3 and OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.9–1.4, respectively). Furthermore, breakfast skipping was associated with a higher BMI (multivariable-adjusted OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02–1.07). Conclusions: Our findings point to a strong and consistent positive relationship between breakfast skipping and obesity, but not overweight, among children in this transitional southeastern European population. Future studies in Albania and other transitional settings should prospectively examine the causal role of breakfast skipping in the development of overweight and obesity.

Potential Uses of Vinegar as a Medicine and Related in vivo Mechanisms

2016 ◽  
Vol 86 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 127-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeshan Ali ◽  
Zhenbin Wang ◽  
Rai Muhammad Amir ◽  
Shoaib Younas ◽  
Asif Wali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Structure ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Positive Effect

While the use of vinegar to fi ght against infections and other crucial conditions dates back to Hippocrates, recent research has found that vinegar consumption has a positive effect on biomarkers for diabetes, cancer, and heart diseases. Different types of vinegar have been used in the world during different time periods. Vinegar is produced by a fermentation process. Foods with a high content of carbohydrates are a good source of vinegar. Review of the results of different studies performed on vinegar components reveals that the daily use of these components has a healthy impact on the physiological and chemical structure of the human body. During the era of Hippocrates, people used vinegar as a medicine to treat wounds, which means that vinegar is one of the ancient foods used as folk medicine. The purpose of the current review paper is to provide a detailed summary of the outcome of previous studies emphasizing the role of vinegar in treatment of different diseases both in acute and chronic conditions, its in vivo mechanism and the active role of different bacteria.

Antileishmanial and cytotoxic activities of three plants used in colombian folk medicine

Planta Medica ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
DA Barrera-Adame ◽  
G Delgado ◽  
ED Coy-Barrera
Keyword(s):  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Cytotoxic Activities

In Vivo Wound Healing Activity of Spirulina platensis

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 06-16
Author(s):  
R. Seghiri ◽  
A. Essamri
Keyword(s):  
Wound Healing ◽  
Spirulina Platensis ◽  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Conventional Medicine ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Chemical Burns ◽  
Amount Of Substance ◽  
Test Population ◽  
Wound Healing Activity

Spirulina is a microalga used in traditional folk medicine in Morocco for the treatment of various health disorders. The wound healing activity of Moroccan Spirulina is unknown. In the current study, aqueous extracts of Spirulina platensis were investigated for acute toxicity and wound healing activity in Swiss Albino mice and White New Zealand rabbits, respectively. The LD50 (amount of substance required to kill 50% of the test population) of the microalga was greater than 5,000 mg/kg. Healing after application of the same amount of ointment on differently induced (mechanical, chemical, and thermal) wounds was about the same, over five weeks. Aqueous extract had remarkable healing activity on rabbits’ skin, possessing significantly greater healing effect for mechanical and chemical burns than controls. Moreover, the hair growing time was faster in treated groups; Spirulina-treated groups did not show any contamination with microbes compared to others. This study affirms that Spirulina platensis can be considered as a potential therapeutic agent for wound healing not only as a complementary medicine but also in conventional medicine.

Pre-Hispanic Ophthalmology

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
José Dalma-Weiszhausz
Keyword(s):  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
The Universe

The pre-Hispanic cultures of Mesoamerica had a complex set of beliefs, philosophy and comprehensive medical knowledge. Their concept of the nature of disease included their place in nature, the universe, and their relationship with their gods and astrology. Unfortunately, most of that information was lost but what remains highlights a native herbal pharmacopeia and surgical abilities on par with their European counterparts from that time. Some of these remedies are still widely used as folk medicine in the region. prehispánico, precolombino, Mesoamérica, oftalmología, historia, remedios herbolarios, cirugía, códice, de la Cruz-Badiano; Florentino; de Sahagún Bernardino.

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