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 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 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 Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrick Munyao Mutie ◽  
Peninah Cheptoo Rono ◽  
Vivian Kathambi ◽  
Guang-Wan Hu ◽  
Qing-Feng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Life Forms ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Edible Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
East African ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
The Common

Wild food plants are important resources for people living in dry areas of Kenya. A botanical inventory of vascular plants of Kitui county was compiled from specimens collected during field investigations in Kitui county, at the East African (EA) herbarium and from literature reporting on plants of Kitui county. To obtain an inventory of wild edible plants found in Kitui county, literature reporting on wild edible plants of Kenya were searched and combined with the use reports obtained from field surveys in Kitui county. A total of 199 wild plants found in Kitui county have the potential of being utilized as foods in different ways. Plant species growing either as trees or shrubs (83 species) and herbs (36 species) are the dominant life forms while the best represented plant families are Leguminosae (25 species) and Malvaceae (17 species). Fruits (124 reports) and leaves (56 reports) are the common plant parts collected for food. Fruits (120 species) and vegetables (44 species) are the common wild food types in Kitui county. Further studies on species distribution are necessary to address conservation concerns that may threaten such plants.

scholarly journals An ethnobotanical survey of wild food plants used by the local communities of Kumrat Valley in District Upper Dir, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Latif Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Riaz ◽  
Hammad Ahmad Jan ◽  
Andrew J Semotiuk ◽  
Imran Ahmad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Communities ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey

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.

Use of plants for food and medicine by Native Peoples of eastern Canada

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 2189-2325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thor Arnason ◽  
Richard J. Hebda ◽  
Timothy Johns
Keyword(s):  
Native People ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Native Peoples ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Wild Plant Foods ◽  
Calcium Iron

At least 175 food plants and 52 beverage plants were gathered by Native Peoples in eastern Canada. Iroquoian agriculturalists of southern Ontario cultivated corn, beans, squash, tobacco, and sunflowers, and gathered the greatest variety of food plants. Southern and eastern Algonkian hunters and gatherers ate a wide variety of wild plant foods including fleshy fruits, nuts, greens, and underground parts. Little is known about the use of wild food plants by northern Cree and Naskapi.Nutritional data for gathered plants indicate that many of these species exceed conventional plant sources for vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and fibre are particularly well represented in certain gathered plants. Some wild plant foods require special preparation or must be consumed in limited quantities because they contain toxic secondary metabolites.Over 400 plants are used in native medicine. Native medicine consists of rational and ritualistic components. Treatment of physical disorders, whose origin could be determined, was effective. At least 105 medicinal plants have a real effectiveness based on phytochemical constituents. Conifers were the most widely used group of plants in this category. Antibiotic monoterpenes, polyacetylenes and alkaloids, astringent tannins, and analgesic monoterpenes and salicylates are among the most rationally and widely used plant constituents.There is need for more research into nutritional constituents and pharmacological properties to assess the value and potential of plants used by Native People of eastern Canada.

scholarly journals Local knowledge as a tool for prospecting wild food plants: experiences in northeastern Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros ◽  
Gabriela Maria Cota dos Santos ◽  
Déborah Monteiro Barbosa ◽  
Laílson César Andrade Gomes ◽  
Élida Monique da Costa Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Rural Settlement ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
Xanthosoma Sagittifolium

AbstractThis study aims to provide a simple framework to identify wild food plants with potential for popularization based on local knowledge and perception. To this end, we also characterized the distribution of this knowledge in the socio-ecological system. We developed the study in the rural settlement Dom Hélder Câmara in northeastern Brazil. The species with the greatest potential for popularization considering the attributes accessed from local knowledge and perception were Psidium guineense Sw., Genipa americana L., Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott and Dioscorea trifida L.f. However, the high variation in local knowledge on wild food plants suggests that species that are not frequently cited can also be promising. The absence of age or gender-related knowledge patterns indicates that studies for prospecting wild food plants in similar socioecological contexts need to reach the population as a whole, rather than focusing on a specific group.

scholarly journals Wild food plants and fungi sold in the markets of Luang Prabang, Lao PDR

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Łuczaj ◽  
Vichith Lamxay ◽  
Khamphart Tongchan ◽  
Kosonh Xayphakatsa ◽  
Kongchay Phimmakong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lao Pdr ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Edible Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
Important Position ◽  
Open Air Markets

Abstract Background Open air markets hold an important position for ethnobiologists. In Southeast Asia, they are seriously understudied, in spite of their incredible biocultural diversity. In order to fill this gap we recorded plants and fungi sold in the open air markets of Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. Methods The markets were visited 38 times in four seasons: the dry season, early monsoon, mid-monsoon, and end-of-monsoon, at least 8 times per season. All items were photographed and voucher specimens were collected. Fungi were identified using DNA barcoding techniques. Results We recorded 110 species of wild edible plants and 54 species of fungi, including 49 wild-collected species. The sold plants included 86 species of green vegetables, 18 species of fruits and 3 species of flowers. Products from woody species constitute around half of all taxa sold. These include the young shoots of tree leaves, which are used for salads—an interesting feature of Lao cuisine. A large number of extremely rare Russula, with no reference sequences represented in databases or even species unknown to science is present on sale in the markets. Conclusions Luang Prabang markets are some of the richest in species of wild edible plants and fungi in Asia, and indeed in the whole world. It is worth pointing out the exceptionally long list of wild edible mushrooms which are sold in Luang Prabang (and probably elsewhere in Laos). We view the Morning Market of Luang Prabang as a cultural treasure that unites the traditions of eating a large number of living species with very diverse flora and fauna. Measures should be taken to strike a balance between local foraging traditions and nature conservation priorities.

scholarly journals The trauma of no-choice: Wild food ethnobotany in Yaghnobi and Tajik villages, Varzob Valley, Tajikistan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Sõukand ◽  
Julia Prakofjewa ◽  
Andrea Pieroni
Keyword(s):  
Global Change ◽  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Wild Food Plant ◽  
Forced Resettlement ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
High Level

AbstractDue to global change and the migration crisis both needing rapid attention, there has been growing debate about the drivers of change in the diet of migrants. Our study aimed to evaluate the consequences of forced resettlement on local ecological knowledge related to wild food plants among forcefully resettled Yaghnobi people in Tajikistan. We conducted 49 semi-structured in-depth interviews and recorded 27 wild food taxa and five unidentified folk taxa used by Yaghnobis and Tajiks in the villages surrounding Yaghnob Valley (including families ressetteled from Yaghnob Valley) in central Tajikitsan. The comparision between the two considered groups showed a high level of Tajikisation among Yaghnobis, both those who live alongside Tajiks as well as those living separately. The few families that still have distinct Yaghnobi plant uses are the ones which were given the opportunity to choose the spot in which to relocate and still visit the Yaghnob Valley regularly. On the basis of our study, we suggest that affording a choice of where to relocate is better than no choice, as the loss of motivation also affects the use of wild food plants. Given the pressure of the possible relocation of many groups of people in the light of global change, we suggest focusing efforts on studying similar cases in order to minimize the damage caused to people by relocation. The trauma of forced relocation, even just a few kilometers away, directly or indirectly affects wild food plant use and with this the food security of the community.

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