Positive Health Online

Abstract

LUO and COLLEAGUES, 1 Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100081, China; 2 College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China; 3 Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Equipment and Technology, Ministry of Education, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China; 4 Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China; 5 Lehman College, City University of New York, Bronx, New York, 10468, USA; 6 Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100081, China. long@mail.kib.ac.cn ;7 College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China. long@mail.kib.ac.cn ; 8 Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China. long@mail.kib.ac.cn conducted ethnobotanical surveys and inventories in the medicinal market of Jianghua County and measured the frequency of occurrence for species and the relative importance index for a given species.

Background

The traditional medicinal markets held during the Dragon Boat Festival are common and important in China's countryside. In Jianghua, a Yao autonomous county in Hunan Province in China, the medicinal market also plays an important role for the application, conservation, and communication of traditional Yao medicinal knowledge.

Methodology

During the Dragon Boat Festival in 2016 and 2017, ethnobotanical surveys and inventories were conducted in the medicinal market of Jianghua County, and voucher plant specimens were collected, identified, and deposited in a herbarium. Quantitative analysis included measurement of frequency of occurrence for species in the marketplace and the relative importance index for the number of uses for a given species.

Results

A total of 306 plant species (249 genera, 113 families) and their related information about the medicinal market were collected. Some major findings include the following: (1) Using the whole plant as medicine is more common than other medicinal plant parts; (2) treating rheumatism and clearing inner heat are the most frequent medicinal uses; and (3) taking a medicinal bath is the most frequent modality to administer the traditional medicine. The frequency of occurrence and the relative importance index of some medicinal plants were analyzed, as well as the demographics and the number of stalls and the status of traditional Yao medicinal knowledge in Jianghua. Based on the investigation, suggestions were proposed for better protecting the medicinal market and preserving traditional medicinal knowledge in Jianghua County.

Conclusion

The medicinal market during the Dragon Boat Festival in Jianghua County possesses an important cultural value and helps to conserve the traditional Yao medicinal knowledge. The medicinal plants sold at the market showed great diversity and unique local characteristics. The medicinal market is facing some challenges in such a rapidly developing era. Cultivation of young healers and maintaining the local biodiversity might be the key solutions for the development of local medicinal market and local Yao medicinal knowledge.

References

Binsheng Luo  1   2 , Yujing Liu  3 , Bo Liu  1   2 , Sizhao Liu  1   2 , Beixi Zhang  1   2 , Linghan Zhang  1   2 , Chunrui Lin  4 , Yan Liu  4 , Edward J Kennelly  2   5 , Zhiyong Guo  1   2 , Chunlin Long  6   7   8. Yao herbal medicinal market during the Dragon Boat Festival in Jianghua County, China. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed.;14(1):61. doi: 10.1186/s13002-018-0260-5. Oct 17 2018.