scholarly journals High-Value Plant Species Used for the Treatment of “Fever” by the Karen Hill Tribe People

Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Methee Phumthum ◽  
Nicholas J. Sadgrove
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Terminal Condition ◽  
World Population ◽  
Hill Tribe ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Cultural Importance Index ◽  
Karen People ◽  
Hill Tribes ◽  
The Hill

The symptom “fever” is generally not itself a terminal condition. However, it does occur with common mild to severe ailments afflicting the world population. Several allopathic medicines are available to attenuate fever by targeting the pathogen or the symptom itself. However, many people in marginal civilizations are obligated to use locally grown medicinal plants due to limited access to common pharmaceuticals. The Karen ethnic group is the biggest ethnic minority group in the hill-tribes of Thailand. They utilise a vast repertoire of medicinal plant species. Since many modern drugs were discovered out of traditional therapies, it is possible to discover new allopathic drugs in the treatment of fever and associated pathogens from the Karen people. Thus, this study aims to identify and record the ethnomedicinal plants they used for the treatment of “fever”. The names of plants used by the Thai Karen people for the treatment of fever were mined from publications on ethnomedicinal uses. Useful plant species and families were identified using the Cultural Importance Index (CI). With the mined data, 125 plant species from 52 families were identified, distributed across 25 Karen villages. A chemical cross-examination of these species provided valuable insights into chemical classes worthy of further investigation in the context of fever and associated pathogens.

scholarly journals Autosomal Microsatellite Investigation Reveals Multiple Genetic Components of the Highlanders from Thailand

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 383
Author(s):  
Aornpriya Mawan ◽  
Nonglak Prakhun ◽  
Kanha Muisuk ◽  
Suparat Srithawong ◽  
Metawee Srikummool ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Forensic Investigation ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Hill Tribe ◽  
Genetic Components ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Population Interactions ◽  
Hill Tribes ◽  
The Hill

The hill tribes of northern Thailand comprise nine officially recognized groups: the Austroasiatic-speaking (AA) Khmu, Htin and Lawa; the Hmong-Mien-speaking (HM) IuMien and Hmong; and the Sino-Tibetan-speaking (ST) Akha, Karen, Lahu and Lisu. Except the Lawa, the rest of the hill tribes migrated into their present habitats only very recently. The Thai hill tribes were of much interest to research groups focusing on study of cultural and genetic variation because of their unique languages and cultures. So far, there have been several genetic studies of the Thai hill tribes. However, complete forensic microsatellite database of the Thai hill tribes is still lacking. To construct such database, we newly generated 654 genotypes of 15 microsatellites commonly used in forensic investigation that belong to all the nine hill tribes and also non-hill tribe highlanders from northern Thailand. We also combined 329 genotypes from previous studies of northern Thai populations bringing to a total of 983 genotypes, which were then subjected to genetic structure and population relationships analyses. Our overall results indicated homogenous genetic structure within the HM- and Tai-Kadai (TK)-speaking groups, large genetic divergence of the HM-speaking Hmong but not IuMien from the other Thai groups, and genetic heterogeneity within the ST- and AA-speaking groups, reflecting different population interactions and admixtures. In addition to establishing genetic relationships within and among these populations, our finding, which provides a more complete picture of the forensic microsatellite database of the multiple Thai highland dwellers, would not only serve to expand and strengthen forensic investigation in Thailand, but would also benefit its neighboring countries of Laos and Myanmar, from which many of the Thai hill tribes originated and where large populations of these ethnic groups still reside.

scholarly journals Ethnomedicinal Plant Knowledge of the Karen in Thailand

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Methee Phumthum ◽  
Henrik Balslev ◽  
Rapeeporn Kantasrila ◽  
Sukhumaabhorn Kaewsangsai ◽  
Angkhana Inta
Keyword(s):  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Plant Knowledge ◽  
Informant Consensus ◽  
Hill Tribe ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Cultural Importance Index ◽  
Medicinal Use ◽  
Plant Uses ◽  
Ethnomedicinal Plant ◽  
Plant Families

The Thai Karen, the largest hill-tribe in Thailand, guard substantial ethnomedicinal plant knowledge, as documented in several studies that targeted single villages. Here, we have compiled information from all the reliable and published sources to present a comprehensive overview of the Karen ethnomedicinal plant knowledge. Our dataset covers 31 Karen villages distributed over eight provinces in Thailand. We used the Cultural Importance Index (CI) to determine which species were the most valuable to the Karen and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) to evaluate how well distributed the knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants was in various medicinal use categories. In the 31 Karen villages, we found 3188 reports of ethnomedicinal plant uses of 732 species in 150 plant families. Chromolaena odorata, Biancaea sappan, and Tinospora crispa were the most important medicinal plants, with the highest CI values. The Leguminosae, Asteraceae, Zingiberaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Acanthaceae, Apocynaceae, and Menispermaceae were the families with the highest CI values in the mentioned order. A high proportion of all the 3188 Karen use reports were used to treat digestive, general and unspecified, musculoskeletal, and skin disorders.

scholarly journals Experiences and expectations regarding COVID-19 prevention and control measures among the hill tribe population of northern Thailand: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siwarak Kitchanapaibul ◽  
Anusorn Udplong ◽  
Tawatchai Apidechkul ◽  
Ratipark Tamornpark ◽  
Thanatchaporn Mulikaburt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
The Other ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Hill Tribe ◽  
Prevention And Control Measures ◽  
Hill Tribes ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Hill

Abstract Background COVID-19 has been a major human threat for a year. A large number of people have been infected and killed globally, including hill tribe people living in remote and border areas between Thailand and Myanmar. Different expectations of and experiences with the implemented disease prevention and control measures by local, national and international organizations have been widely reported. This study aimed to understand the experiences and expectations regarding the disease prevention and control measures that were implemented among hill tribe people in Thailand. Methods Qualitative data were collected from participants aged 20 and older who belonged to the hill tribes living on the border of northern Thailand and Myanmar. A semistructured questionnaire was used to guide interviews. Information was extracted for thematic analysis by the NVivo program. Results Fifty-seven participants (36 female, 21 male) were interviewed; 27 participants were Thai Yai, 14 participants were Yunnan Chinese, 8 participants were Akha, and 8 participants were from other tribes. The average age was 45.8 years (min = 20 years, max = 90 years). Thirty participants had never attended school, and the other 27 participants had received education at different levels, from primary school to higher education. Forty participants were unemployed, 13 worked as agriculturists, and the other 4 were attending school. Both positive experiences, such as improving personal hygiene practices, maintaining close contact and increasing relationships among family members and demonstrating the leadership of the villager leaders, and negative experiences, including interruption of social interactions, family financial problems, poor access to medical care services, and invisible people to the government, were found. Different expectations were observed regarding organizations at the local, national, and international levels. Expectations at the local level included villagers and community leaders taking action to strongly contribute to prevention and control measures and to prevent unscreened people from entering the village. Obtaining accurate information about the disease and being financially supported were expectations at the national level, while closing borders to protect cases from overflowing into their villages was an international-level expectation. Conclusion Although hill tribes reside in very remote rural areas, they experience both positive and negative effects of the disease prevention and control measures implemented by organizations. Their expectations are formally and informally voiced to policy makers at the local, national and international levels.

scholarly journals Highland Hill tribe language - an extinct language system needed to be saved

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Tang Minh Chau
Keyword(s):  
Root Culture ◽  
Language System ◽  
Hill Tribe ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Hill Tribes ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Culture And Language

Highland is a typical area in Vietnam with a great deal of unique things for people to study and discover. Among them are culture and language, the two reciprocal elements to create communities called Hill tribes. Original Hill tribes came to the Highland long time ago and set up their life based on their root culture until now. When studying about Hill tribes, we realize that their culture is very interesting and worth tracing. Therefore, how to conserve Hill tribes’ culture is what we need to take into consideration as soon as possible.

The Akha, “Rife with Feasts”

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Political Structure ◽  
Sociopolitical Organization ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Surplus Production ◽  
Hill Tribe ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Hill

The Akha constitute the relatively poor end of the hill tribe spectrum, but they have a wide range of feasts that employ the available surplus production. This chapter shows how Akha feasts support the economic, ritual, and sociopolitical organization of communities. The role of taboos as aggrandizer strategies is explored and the internal dynamics of the ritual-political structure of villages is examined. Examples of the range of Akha feasts are described and explanations provided in terms of how they dovetail with various levels of sociopolitical groups, including household, clan, administrative, and village levels, but especially lineages. The important issue of why some households do not participate in feasts is raised. Material patterning of feasts is again discussed.

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