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      Medicinal plants used by the Yi ethnic group: a case study in central Yunnan

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          Abstract

          Background

          This paper is based on ethnomedicinal investigation conducted from 1999–2002 in Chuxiong, central Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The Yi medicine has made a great contribution to the ethnomedicinal field in China. Neither case studies nor integrated inventories have previously been conducted to investigate the traditional Yi plants. This paper aims to argue the status and features of medicinal plants used in traditional Yi societies through a case study.

          Methods

          The approaches of ethnobotany, anthropology, and participatory rural appraisal were used in the field surveys. Twenty-two informants in four counties were interviewed during eight field trips. Medicinal plant specimens were identified according to taxonomic methods.

          Results

          One hundred sixteen medicinal plant species were found to be useful by the local people in the treatment of various diseases or disorders, especially those relating to trauma, gastrointestinal disorders and the common cold. Among these 116 species, 25 species (21.55%) were found to have new curative effects and 40 species (34.48%) were recorded for their new preparation methods; 55 different species were used in treating wounds and fractures, and 47 were used to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Traditional Yi herbal medicines are characterized by their numerous quantities of herbaceous plants and their common preparation with alcohol.

          Conclusion

          Totally 116 species in 58 families of medicinal plants traditionally used by the Yi people were inventoried and documented. The characteristics of medicinal plants were analyzed. Some new findings (such as new curative effects and new preparation methods) were recorded These newly gathered ethnobotanical and medicinal data are precious sources for the future development of new drugs, and for further phytochemical, pharmacological and clinical studies.

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          Most cited references37

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          WHO traditional medicine strategy 2002-2005

          (2002)
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            Botanical methods in ethnopharmacology and the need for conservation of medicinal plants.

            An imperative demand imposed on all scientific investigations is that they should be repeatable, which calls for adequate documentation from the very beginning. In medicinal plant research, botanical documentation plays a vital role since without correctly identified material and properly documented voucher specimens the results are at best suspect and at worst useless. The botanical contributions required for ethnopharmacological research thus include adequate naming of the material and deposition of properly labelled voucher specimens in at least two public herbaria. Ethnopharmacology depends, however, upon botanical assistance also in another respect, viz. concerning conservation. This field may seem to have little to do with ethnopharmacology, but without joint efforts to save the useful plants from extinction, ethnopharmacology will lose important parts of its main source at an appalling rate.
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              How to study the pharmacology of medicinal plants in underdeveloped countries.

              This paper presents a reflection based on 15 years' experience of studies on the pharmacology of medicinal plants in an underdeveloped country, Brazil. In these countries the investment in research is small and frequently interrupted. There is no new-medicines development program. Brazilian pharmaceutical companies have been short-sighted and have not developed new drugs. Although the diversity of the Brazilian flora is a remarkable opportunity for the development of new medicine products, natural product research is limited to a small group. These difficulties are common to all underdeveloped countries. Strategies for the pharmacological study of medicinal plants are proposed, the main difficulties are identified and a discussion of possible ways to overcome them is presented.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                J Ethnobiol Ethnomed
                Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
                BioMed Central
                1746-4269
                2009
                23 April 2009
                : 5
                : 13
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, PR China
                [2 ]College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, PR China
                [3 ]Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, PR China
                [4 ]College of Horticulture, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, PR China
                [5 ]Chuxiong Research Institute of Yi Medicine and Pharmacology, Yunnan 671000, PR China
                [6 ]South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, PR China
                Article
                1746-4269-5-13
                10.1186/1746-4269-5-13
                2679000
                19389251
                be7fbe57-cf84-4235-bbe3-99b787d73bd1
                Copyright © 2009 Long et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 25 January 2009
                : 23 April 2009
                Categories
                Research

                Health & Social care
                Health & Social care

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