Ethnomedicinal survey among Kani Tribes and traditional healers in Selected Tribal populations of Trivandrum district

Indian tribes constitute around 8.3% of the total population. The health problems of tribal communities are influenced by the interaction of various socioeconomic and political factors. An attempt is made to document the traditional knowledge of the Kani tribes in the floristically rich Peringamala panchayath of Thiruvananthapuram district. The investigation revealed that the Kani tribes were using 127 species of ethnomedicinal plants, belonging to 57 families. The most cited family was Fabaceae and leaves were the most frequently used plant parts for the treatment of various diseases. Some medicinal plants used by Kani tribes which are included in the list of rare and endangered categories, such as Aristolochia tagala, Holostemma adakodien, Entada scandens, Anaphyllum beddomeii, decalepsis arayalpathra which are vanishing from the tribal settlement areas. So special attention should be given to cultivate and conserve these rare medicinal plants by making them available for mass cultivation, either through conventional methods or other non-conventional methods like micropropagation. The study showed that the Kani tribes have good knowledge about medicinal plants that have been passed orally from generation to generation. Current healers may be the final generation of Kani tribal healers. Due to rapid socio-economic and cultural changes, there is a possibility of losing the treasure of tribal knowledge in near future. The wealth of this tribal knowledge would lead to a greater potential for the Indian system of medicine towards new drug discovery and development.

Climate-Related Risks Faced by Low- and Moderate-Income Communities and Communities of Color: Survey Results

The impacts of climate change are creating new risks and exacerbating existing risks for individuals, communities, and the economy. Climate shocks and stresses disproportionately impact groups that have traditionally faced higher barriers to participating in the economy than the general population, including low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal populations. Our team fielded a survey targeting professionals in the western United States from a broad range of sectors whose work on community development‒related issues impacts the personal and economic well-being of low-income communities and communities of color. Over 250 respondents shared their perceptions of how climate-related risks may be affecting the communities they serve and their organizations’ work.

Climate-Related Risks Faced by Low- and Moderate-Income Communities and Communities of Color: Survey Results

The impacts of climate change are creating new risks and exacerbating existing risks for individuals, communities, and the economy. Climate shocks and stresses disproportionately impact groups that have traditionally faced higher barriers to participating in the economy than the general population, including low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal populations. Our team fielded a survey targeting professionals in the western United States from a broad range of sectors whose work on community development‒related issues impacts the personal and economic well-being of low-income communities and communities of color. Over 250 respondents shared their perceptions of how climate-related risks may be affecting the communities they serve and their organizations’ work.

A review on entomophagy: Natural food insects for ethnic and tribal communities of North-East India

Entomophagy insects are local food/ feed in most parts of the North Malay Archipelago. These insects are a standard natural resource that provides food and economical safety to most ethnic groups of Eastern Himalayas. Entomophagy not only supports the nutritional food security, but also provides the family livelihood to the tribal populations during difficult times of the year. Since, edible insects are great source of supplemental food item that would meet the people’s present and future need, they’re preferred by tribal communities as eggs, nymphs, larvae, pupa and adults insects, and eaten as fried, cooked, roasted or are even consumed as raw repeatedly. In India, a complete of 245 species, 50 families and 10 orders of edible insects have been recorded so far as food and it’s mostly practiced in eight North Eastern States of India. Among the edible species of insects, biggest consumption is of coleopteran species with 24.69%, followed by Hemiptera (22.63%), Orthoptera (17.28%), Hymanoptera (13.17%), Odonata (10.70%), Lepidoptera (5.35%), Isoptera (2.88%), Dictyoptera (2.06%) and therefore the least were Diptera (0.41%) and Ephimeroptera (0.82%). Study of edible insect in India evolved the uncharted natural resources of north-east region and medicinal, traditional beliefs of tribal people. This review paper discuss about the common edible insects consumed by different ethnic and tribal communities in North-east India.

Association of ACE I/D Gene Polymorphism and Related Risk Factors in Impaired Fasting Glucose and Type 2 Diabetes: A Study Among Two Tribal Populations of North-East India.

AIMType 2 diabetes is a serious public health concern in India, even the indigenous tribal populations are not felt unaffected. The present study aims to understand the association of major risk factors i.e obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, ACE I/D polymorphism with impaired (IFG) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) among two different Mendelian populations of North East India. METHODDemographic, somatometric and physiological variables along with fasting blood samples were collected from 609 individuals. ACE I/D polymorphism was screened. RESULTACE I/D polymorphism was found to follow HWE among Liangmai tribe but not among Mizo tribe. Distribution of DD genotype/D allele was found to be significantly higher for T2D among Mizo (OR 2.10; 95% CI 1.10-4.39, OR 2.10;1.16-4.09 respectively ).Significant association between DD genotype/D allele of ACE I/D polymorphism and TC in both IFG (OR 2.22; 95% CI 1.14-4.32) and T2D (OR 2.53;95%CI 1.51-4.23) were observed . LDL was also found to posed significant risk for IFG (OR 2.10;95% CI 1.10-3.91) and T2D (OR 1.04; 95%CI 1.02-1.06). CONCLUSIONThe present study is an example of gene-environment interaction where DD genotype or D allele and dyslipidemia (high TC and high LDL) are posing risk for IFG and T2D both independently and in combination only among Mizo tribe with relatively less physical activity attributed to their residence in less hilly terrain, but Liangmai tribe which resides in high hilly terrain shows no such association.

Validating mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) cut off points as an indicator of nutritional status among nine tribal populations of India

Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is an alternative anthropometric measurement to assess undernutrition but a universally accepted cut-off is yet to be established. The objectives of the present study are to determine whether the proposed sex-specific global cut-offs are suitable across several tribes in India. This cross-sectional study was conducted among nine tribal populations in India (1046 males, 1087 females). Weight, height and MUAC values were obtained, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The BMI cut-off (<18.5 kg/m2) was used to determine chronic energy deficiency (CED). The ROC Curve analyses of binomial logistic regression for MUAC versus CED revealed optimal cut-off point of MUAC as 23.8 cm (in males) and 21.8 cm (in females). MUAC cut-offs were similar in females, relative to males, in all tribes. Males with MUAC<24cm and females with MUAC<22 encompassed significantly higher numbers of CED than those with MUAC≥24 and ≥22 cm, respectively (χ2-value males: 254.9, p<0.001; females: 493.60, p<0.01). A single cut off point of MUAC may not be universally applicable for diverse populations and both sexes as well. It seemed that there is no alternative than to undertake further validation studies in various populations before using the MUAC cut off to identify undernourished or CED condition.

Decolonizing Tribal “Genealogies” in the Middle East and North Africa

The continued use of the term “tribe” to describe groups with segmentary organization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has long been recognized as problematic, albeit without viable alternative English translations of the local terms: qabīla, ‘ashīra, sha‘b, ‘ilt, and others. Yet the equally problematic but enduring uncritical acceptance of genealogical classification of MENA's tribes leads to fundamental misunderstandings of the basic principles of tribal organization as well as the multiple roles of kinship in the region. This propensity is not only misleading but is loaded with social evolutionary assumptions about presumed “stages of development” that hinder scholarship on tribes and have a negative impact on international policy toward countries like Yemen with significant self-identified tribal populations. Key to this essay is the wide diversity and flexibility in the terminology applied to tribal segments and in the sizes of segments.