scholarly journals The Fading Wild Plant Food–Medicines in Upper Chitral, NW Pakistan

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2494
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdul Aziz ◽  
Zahid Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Adnan ◽  
Renata Sõukand ◽  
Andrea Pieroni
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
Food Ingredients

The subject of food–medicines (foods ingested in order to obtain a therapeutic activity or to prevent diseases) is garnering increasing attention from both ethnobiologists and ethnopharmacologists as diet-related chronic diseases are one of the major problems resulting in a large proportion of deaths globally, which calls for interest from the scientific community to make sensible decisions in the field of food and medicine. In this regard, the current study is an important attempt at providing baseline data for developing healthy and curative food ingredients. This study aimed at recording the culinary and medicinal uses of wild food plants (WFPs) in the remote Mastuj Valley, located at the extreme north of Chitral District, Pakistan. An ethnobotanical survey was completed via 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with local knowledge holders to record the food and medicinal uses of WFPs in the study area. A total of 43 WFPs were recorded, most of which were used as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. Leaves were the most frequently used plant part. A remarkable proportion (81%) of use reports for the recorded wild plant taxa were quoted as food–medicines or medicinal foods, while very few were reported as either food or medicines, without any relationship between uses in these two domains. Previous ethnomedicinal studies from nearby regions have shown that most of the recorded wild plants have been used as medicines, thus supporting the findings of the current study. A literature survey revealed that many of the reported medicinal uses (33%) for the quoted WFPs were not verifiable on PubMed as they have not been studied for their respective medicinal actions. We observed that most of the plants quoted here have disappeared from the traditional food and medicinal system, which may be attributed to the invasion of the food market and the prevalence of allopathic medicine. However, knowledge of these wild plants is still alive in memory, and women are the main holders of cultural knowledge as they use it to manage the cooking and processing of WFPs. Therefore, in this context, we strongly recommend the preservation of local biocultural heritage, promoted through future development and educational programs, which could represent a timely response to the loss of cultural and traditional knowledge.

scholarly journals Food Behavior in Emergency Time: Wild Plant Use for Human Nutrition during the Conflict in Syria

Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Naji Sulaiman ◽  
Andrea Pieroni ◽  
Renata Sõukand ◽  
Zbynek Polesny
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Region ◽  
Human Nutrition ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Current Crisis

Wild food plants (WFPs) have been an important source of human nutrition since ancient times, and it particularly revives when conventional food is not available due to emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. The war in Syria has entered 10 years since it started in 2011, and it has caused the largest war-related crises since World War II. Nearly 60% of the Syrian population (12.4 million people) are food-insecure. WFPs are already culturally important in the region, and may be supplementing local diets during this conflict. Our study aimed to uncover the conflict’s effect on the use of WFPs and to know what species are consumed by local people during the current crisis. The fieldwork was carried out between March 2020 and March 2021 in the Tartus governorate located in the coastal region of Syria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 participants (26 women and 24 men) distributed in 26 villages along the study area. We recorded the vernacular names, uses, plant parts used, modes of preparation and consumption, change in WFP use before and during the conflict, and informants’ perceptions towards WFPs. We documented 75 wild food plant species used for food and drink. Almost two-thirds (64%) of informants reported an increase in their reliance on wild plants as a food source during the conflict. The species of Origanum syriacum, Rhus coriaria, Eryngium creticum, and Cichorium intybus were among the most quoted species by informants. Sleeq (steamed leafy vegetables), Zaatar (breakfast/dinner food), and Louf (soup) were the most popular wild plant-based dishes.

scholarly journals Wild plants and the food-medicine continuum—an ethnobotanical survey in Chapada Diamantina (Northeastern Brazil)

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros ◽  
Karina Ferreira Figueiredo ◽  
Paulo Henrique Santos Gonçalves ◽  
Roberta de Almeida Caetano ◽  
Élida Monique da Costa Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Plant Component ◽  
Chapada Diamantina ◽  
Medicinal Value

Abstract Background Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the variables that influence the species’ cultural importance. Methods We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the variables that influence the cultural salience. Results The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values. Conclusion It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners, or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional importance and ease of acquisition of these plants.

scholarly journals The first contribution to the ethnobotany of inland Dalmatia: medicinal and wild food plants of the Knin area, Croatia

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Varga ◽  
Ivana Šolić ◽  
Marija Jug Dujaković ◽  
Łukasz Łuczaj ◽  
Martina Grdiša
Keyword(s):  
Hypericum Perforatum ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Native People ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Sambucus Nigra ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
Plant Parts

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out in the Knin area (northern Dalmatia, Croatia) with the aim of recording traditional plant use by the local (native) people and contributing to the knowledge of plant biodiversity in the investigated area. Ethnobotanical data were collected by interviewing 40 local people at 17 locations. Data on 123 plant taxa (on average 21 taxa per interview) and 122 unique medicinal and 18 food uses in the local community were recorded. Prevalent medicinal uses of the recorded taxa were the treatment of digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular disorders, and injuries. The most commonly used plant parts gathered were leaves (35%) and flowers (20%). The most commonly collected plants in the investigated area were: <em>Urtica dioica</em>, <em>Thymus longicaulis</em>, <em>Sambucus nigra</em>, and <em>Hypericum perforatum</em>.

scholarly journals Nutrient and Mineral Compositions of Wild Leafy Vegetables of the Karen and Lawa Communities in Thailand

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1748
Author(s):  
Kittiyut Punchay ◽  
Angkhana Inta ◽  
Pimonrat Tiansawat ◽  
Henrik Balslev ◽  
Prasit Wangpakapattanawong
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Wild Vegetables ◽  
In The Wild

Wild food plants are commonly used in the traditional diets of indigenous people in many parts of the world, including northern Thailand. The potential contribution of wild food plants to the nutrition of the Karen and Lawa communities remains poorly understood. Wild food plants, with a focus on leafy vegetables, were ranked by the Cultural Food Significance Index (CFSI) based on semi-structured interviews. Twelve wild plant species were highly mentioned and widely consumed. The importance of the wild vegetables was mainly related to taste, availability, and multifunctionality of the species. Their contents of proximate and minerals (P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu) were analyzed using standard methods. The proximate contents were comparable to most domesticated vegetables. The contents of Mg (104 mg/100 g FW), Fe (11 mg/100 g FW), and Zn (19 mg/100 g FW) in the wild leafy vegetables were high enough to cover the daily recommended dietary allowances of adults (19–50 years), whereas a few species showed Mn contents higher than the tolerable upper intake level (>11 mg/100 g edible part). The wild leafy vegetables, therefore, are good sources of minerals and we recommend their continued usage by indigenous people. Further research on these wild leafy vegetables’ contents of antioxidants, vitamins, heavy metals, anti-nutrient factors, and food safety is recommended.

scholarly journals Wild Plants and the Food-medicine Continuum – An Ethnobotanical Survey in Chapada Diamantina (Northeastern Brazil)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Muniz Medeiros ◽  
Karina Ferreira Figueiredo ◽  
Paulo Henrique Santos Gonçalves ◽  
Roberta Almeida Caetano ◽  
Élida Monique da Costa Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Plant Component ◽  
Chapada Diamantina ◽  
Medicinal Value

Abstract Background: Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the drivers of species’ cultural importance. Methods: We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the drivers of popularity and frequency of use. Results: The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values. Conclusion: It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional potential and ease of acquisition of these plants.

scholarly journals Wild Plants Used as Herbs and Spices in Italy: An Ethnobotanical Review

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 563
Author(s):  
Riccardo Motti
Keyword(s):  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Edible Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
Phytochemical Compounds ◽  
Herbs And Spices

Wild edible plants are an essential component of people’s diets in the Mediterranean basin. In Italy, ethnobotanical surveys have received increasing attention in the past two centuries, with some of these studies focusing on wild edible plants. In this regard, the literature in Italy lacks the coverage of some major issues focusing on plants used as herbs and spices. I searched national journals for articles on the use of wild food plants in Italy, published from 1963 to 2020. Aims of the present review were to document plant lore regarding wild herbs and spices in Italy, identify the wild plants most frequently used as spices, analyze the distribution of wild herbs and spices used at a national scale, and finally, to describe the most common phytochemical compounds present in wild plant species. Based on the 34 studies reviewed, I documented 78 wild taxa as being used in Italy as herbs or spices. The studies I included in this systematic review demonstrate that wild species used as herbs and spices enrich Italian folk cuisine and can represent an important resource for profitable, integrated local small-scale activities.

scholarly journals Contribution of the Wild Food Plants in the Food System of Tribal Belt of Pakistan; The Pak - Afghan Border Region

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shujaul Mulk Khan ◽  
Abdullah Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Food System ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Wild Food Plants

The tribal belt of Pakistan-the Pak-Afghan border region is famous for its unique culture, ethnography and wild food plants and traditional knowledge. People of these regions gather wild plants for number of purposes including plants or plant parts for direct use, use it in the traditional cuisines and selling in local markets. However, there is huge lack of documentation of food system particularly the Wild Food Plants (WFPs). In current study we have focused on the uses and contributions of the WFPs in the tribal traditional food system. The ethnobotanical data were gathered through questionnaire surveys with Eighty-four informants 69 men and 15 women belonging to 21 different villages. We documented Sixty-three WFP species belonging to 34 botanical families, of which 27 were used as vegetables, 24 as fruits, 6 in different kinds of chutneys (starters) formation and six as fresh food species. Fruits were the mostly used part (40%) followed by leaves (24%), aerial parts (24%), seeds (7%), stem (3%), legume (2%) and young inflorescence (1%). Use of Carthamus oxycanthus &amp; Pinus roxburghii seeds and Marsillea quadrifolia leaves were the novel reports for the gastronomy of Pakistan. The results elucidate that WFPs have a significant contribution in the Tribal Food Systems. Tribal people use WFPs not only due to their nutritional importance but also as a cultural practice - an inseparable component of the tribal communities. This important traditional Knowledge about the consumption of WFPs has been eroding with an alarming speed among the younger generations due to introduction of fast food chains, modernization, and globalization. Therefore, appropriates strategies are imperative not only to safeguard traditional knowledge but also the cultural heritage, food security and hence public healthcare via food supplement in the region.

scholarly journals Nutrtional profile of some selected food plants of Otwal and Ngai sub counties Oyam district, northern Uganda

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (57) ◽  
pp. 7428-7451
Author(s):  
A Acipa ◽  
◽  
M Kamatenesi-Mugisha ◽  
H Oryem-Origa
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Mineral Nutrient ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Nutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Indigenous Plants ◽  
General Decline

Wild food plants play an important role in the diet of inhabitants of Oyam District. Some of these plants are drought -resistant and gathered throughout the year . These wild foods are an important source of nutrients. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data re garding the nutrient content s of these indigenous plants. The purpose of this study was to document and assess the nutrient and mineral content s of the selected food plants. Ethnobotanical surveys were used to collect data through formal and informal inter views and focused group discussions. Voucher specimens were collected during field excursions and taken to Makerere Herbarium for proper identification . Nutrients and mineral analyses of wild and cultivated fruits, seeds, underground organs and vegetables from Ngai and Otwal sub counties were carried out using known procedures. They were analysed for mineral nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus concentrations. Additionally nutrients such proteins, beta carotene, vitamin C and dietary fibre were determined . On average, vegetables were found to be richer in organic nutrients and minerals followed by fruits and seeds in that order . Generally the wild food plant species were found to be richer sources of mineral nutrient than their cultivated relatives. F or example , the highest concentration of calcium 867.59 mg/100g was found in Acalypha bipartita leaves compared to 294.18 mg/100g in Cleome gynandra . Plant species that showed high iron contents [>30% ] were leaves of swamp hibiscus , African spider flowers , fruits of Tamarind , Black night shade and Jews mallow . It was also noted that among the food plant species analysed, fruits were low in nutrients and mineral elements. Some of these food plants were also considered to have medicinal properties by the locals such as African spider flower, Rattle pod among others. However, it should be noted that there is a general decline in the consumption of wild plants , despite the apparent high nutritional values . T he conservation of wild food plants is not taking place among the communities in the study area, thus the poor rural communities who are limited on balancing their diet could be faced with diseases associated with nutrient deficiencies .

Exploitation of wild plants by the early Neolithic hunter–gatherers of the Western Desert, Egypt: Nabta Playa as a case-study

Antiquity ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (274) ◽  
pp. 932-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Wasylikowa ◽  
Józef Mitka ◽  
Fred Wendorf ◽  
Romuald Schild
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Agricultural Societies

The role of plants in the subsistence economy of pre-agricultural societies of the eastern Sahara is poorly known because vegetal remains, except for wood charcoal, are seldom found in archaeological sites. Site E-75-6 at Nabta Playa, with rich assemblages of charred seeds and fruits, is exceptional. Around 8000 b.p. the inhabitants of this site collected a wide spectrum of wild food plants. Wild sorghum was of special interest and its occasional cultivation cannot be excluded.

scholarly journals Medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island (Balikesir – Turkey)

2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizem Bulut
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Herbal Remedies ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Study ◽  
Mentha Spicata ◽  
Salvia Fruticosa

Medicinal and wild food plants have always played an important role in people’s lives especially in rural areas. Similar situation can be said for islands due to the reason of them being isolated from mainland. This paper reports an ethnobotanical investigations performed in 2009 and 2014 to determine medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island. A total of 30 individuals were interviewed (19 men, 11 women). Totally, 22 plants are recorded as used as traditional folk medicine for the region, and nine of these are also used as a source of wild food. Furthermore, 18 taxa are wild sources of nutrition for the area. The plants most commonly used in the region as medicinal remedies were <em>Salvia fruticosa</em>, <em>Hypericum perforatum</em>, <em>Ficus carica</em>, and <em>Mentha spicata</em>. Plants are mostly used for the treatment of abdominal pain, the common cold, and haemorrhoids. The species most commonly used for food are: <em>Salvia fruticosa</em>, <em>Arbutus unedo</em>, <em>Rhus coriaria</em>, and <em>Rubus sanctus</em>. This ethnobotanical study conducted in this island will enable the traditional use of wild plants both as food sources and herbal remedies to be passed on to future generations.

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