Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine最新文献

Background: Traditional medicine is integral to the culture of the Ndau ethnic group in Chipinge district, Zimbabwe. Traditional healers use a wide range of plant and animal products to treat various ailments, and there is need for documentation and sustainable practices to preserve these resources for future generations and pharmaceutical potential. This study was aimed at documenting the medicinal ethnobotanical and ethnozoological knowledge of traditional healers in Chipinge, identify the species used, and assess the role of traditional healing practices in supporting healers' livelihoods.

Methods: Between December 2018 and March 2019, data were collected from 22 traditional healers using semi-structured questionnaires focusing on medicinal species, their uses, harvesting or collection methods, and their socioeconomic impacts. Plant voucher specimens were identified at the National Herbarium of Zimbabwe (SRGH) in Harare, and identities of animal species were confirmed by participants through use of images in the Mammals of Southern Africa field guide. Informant consensus factor (ICF) and use reports (Nur) were calculated to assess agreement among healers.

Results: Majority of participants (73.0%) attributed their knowledge to ancestral callings, while 27.0% had received mentorship. A total of 63 plant species from 31 families were documented, with roots (38.0%) and bark (33.0%) being the most commonly used parts. Of the ten vertebrate species reported, nine were mammals and one was a reptile. Ninety-five percent of the healers reported the local unavailability of some medicinal plant species. For plant-based remedies, the highest ICF (0.67) was recorded for AIDS-related infections and ulcers, while STDs had the most use reports (87). For animal-based treatments, AIDS had the highest ICF (0.8), followed by STDs (0.6), which also had the most use reports (11). The high use of traditional remedies for STDs and AIDS may reflect issues of stigma, accessibility, and trust in conventional health care, underscoring the need for culturally sensitive health education and integrated care approaches. Monthly incomes ranged from US$150 to US$600, with most clients coming from low-income local communities.

Conclusion: This study highlights the rich ethnopharmacological knowledge in Chipinge while underscoring challenges such as overharvesting and socioeconomic vulnerability. Sustainable harvesting and formal recognition of healers through national bodies like the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) are essential steps toward integrating traditional medicine into modern health care and preserving this vital cultural heritage.

Background: Wild and semi-wild edible plants (WSWEPs) play a critical role in sustaining rural livelihoods by contributing to food security, nutrition, traditional medicine, and cultural identity. In Yeki District, Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia Region, Ethiopia, where diverse ethnic groups coexist, these plants remain integral to local diets and health practices. However, factors such as agricultural expansion and urbanization threaten their availability, highlighting the need for comprehensive ethnobotanical documentation and sustainable management.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional ethnobotanical survey conducted from November 2023 to August 2024 across five purposively selected kebeles. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, market surveys, and guided field walks involving 175 informants. Plant specimens were collected, identified, and documented following standard taxonomic references. Quantitative analyses, including preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, and statistical tests (t-tests, ANOVA), were applied to assess knowledge variations and threats.

Results: A total of 74 WSWEP species belonging to 34 families were identified, with herbs being the dominant growth form and fruits the most frequently used edible parts. Significant knowledge differences were observed based on gender, literacy, ethnicity, and informant experience. Agricultural expansion and urbanization were identified as the primary threats. Consumption modes varied, with 46% eaten raw and others (54%) prepared by boiling or cooking. Some plants required careful processing due to mild adverse effects reported during consumption.

Conclusion: WSWEPs in Yeki district are vital for nutrition, health, cultural heritage, and environmental sustainability. Conservation efforts, community education, and policy integration are essential to safeguard these resources. Further research into their nutritional and pharmacological potential could enhance their sustainable use and value.

Introduction: According to folklore, some plants are created by divine beings and holy persons, while others appear on earth through demonic intervention. It is commonly believed that plants of divine origin are "good" plants, useful to humans, while plants of devilish origin are "bad" and not useful.

Aim of the study: This article analyses folk beliefs regarding the origins of selected plants, identifies which of them are considered to have a divine origin and which a demonic one, and examines whether the perceived divine or demonic origin of a plant influences its usefulness or harmfulness to humans.

Methods: This article first compares folk beliefs regarding the origins of selected plants, identifies their divine and demonic origins, and then evaluates the characteristics of these plants (edible/inedible, desirable/undesirable in cultivation, used in folk medicine, used in rituals, blessed throughout the year, used in apotropaic practices, associated with the devil/used in black magic). The aim is to determine whether there are any correlations between these characteristics and the plants' divine or demonic origins.

Results and discussion: The analyses carried out have shown that a given plant's divine or devilish provenance does not determine its usefulness or lack thereof, because in popular folkloristic imagery about plants we can find many characteristics that "escape" the sharp division into "good" and "bad" plants. Plants whose origin in folk imagery is associated with the activity of divine agents are edible plants, desirable to man, commonly used in (annual and family) rituals and in folk medicine, while plants associated with the devil are plants that are often poisonous, harmful, dangerous, stinging and prickly, undesirable as crops and classified as weeds, representing a dwelling place for forces hostile to man on the one hand, yet used in an apotropaic capacity on the other. At the same time, "devilish" plants were sometimes eaten as famine food, blessed and used in folk medicine, while "divine" plants, treated as weeds, were considered the abode of demons and used in black magic.

Conclusion: The study shows that the divine or devilish provenance of plants can be interpreted as information about the source of a plant's power-either divine or devilish. The article provides new insights for research on the perception of plants in Polish folk culture and also helps to promote Polish ethnolinguistic studies within the international academic discourse.

The accelerating erosion of traditional and local ecological and medical knowledge (LEK) systems is increasingly evident in the Global North and across many less marginalised regions of the Global South. This decline is primarily driven by overarching forces, i.e. globalisation, internalised coloniality created worldwide and over decades by non-rural leading classes, and, most remarkably, by a profound detachment from continuous, embodied interactions with nature. At the same time, sustainability-driven agendas and the expanding role of AI in science and daily life intertwine challenges, opportunities, and a few risks for ethnobiology and ethnomedicine in the coming decade. This editorial proposes four plausible scenarios for the evolution of these disciplines, navigating the intricate cobwebs of LEK loss, resilience, adaptation, and, most importantly, trying to open new horizons in the current problematic times. These scenarios are intended to inspire further theoretical and primarily further empirical engagement in the field, alongside a call to urgently foster commoning practices and innovative educational platforms for (re)experiencing LEK.

This study provides a critical reassessment of indigenous Latin American biotechnologies, uniquely integrating ethnographic, historical, and biochemical analyses to reveal their scientific sophistication and contemporary potential. It examines ancestral practices historically overlooked or marginalized, such as microbial fermentation in traditional beverages (masato, pozol, and pulque), medicinal and nutritional uses of plant mucilages, and natural encapsulation methods using clays and plant-derived polymers. We demonstrate that these indigenous biotechnological systems represent more than ethnographic curiosities; they are early examples of empirical technologies anticipating fundamental principles now central to probiotics, encapsulation pharmacology, and sustainable agriculture. By spotlighting previously under-documented practices and emphasizing their deep cultural and ecological integration, this review fosters a more inclusive understanding of scientific knowledge. It underscores both the ethical and epistemological imperative to recognize and incorporate indigenous innovations into contemporary scientific frameworks. This novel perspective not only recovers and revalues historically marginalized knowledge but also promotes intercultural collaboration, ultimately strengthening sustainability and modern biotechnological innovation.

Background: West Africa remains the stronghold for Critically Endangered hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus) and other species of vulture, but these populations are declining. Since anthropogenic threats pose the greatest risks to vultures, it is crucial to understand people's perceptions of these birds, and their ethno-cultural significance, in areas surrounding national parks to inform conservation policy through an understanding of cultural values and practices.

Methods: We used semi-structured interviews to collect data from 450 respondents in nine localities near three protected areas in northeastern Benin: Sota Forest, Trois Rivières Forest, and Alibori Supérieur Forest.

Results: The findings showed that 80% (n = 360) of participants had encountered vultures in the past three years, with the hooded vulture being the most frequently observed vulture species (98% of sightings). We found significant gender-based differences in people's awareness and perceptions of vultures, with men demonstrating greater awareness and more positive perceptions of vultures' roles in carcass disposal and locating missing livestock. Overall, 60% (n = 270) of respondents associated vultures with superstition and witchcraft. Most respondents (70%, n = 315) reported using vulture brains and bones for spiritual and medicinal purposes. Intentional poisoning was the most frequently reported cause of vulture population declines (70%, n = 315). Conservation measures suggested by survey respondents included the protection and restoration of critical nesting habitats (86%, n = 386, raising awareness about threats to vultures (84%, n = 378), equipping ecoguards to safeguard and monitor vulture nests (65%, n = 344), breeding vultures in captivity (60%, n = 270), and enforcing strict penalties for illegal vulture hunting (55%, n = 247). Younger adults (aged 18-30) showed significantly greater support for conservation efforts than older adults (aged > 30).

Conclusion: There is an urgent need for a multidimensional approach to vulture conservation in Benin. This approach should integrate awareness campaigns, population monitoring, better enforcement of environmental legislation, and improved habitat conservation to reverse the declines of these critical species.

In recent years, ethnobiology has undergone significant transformation. A renewed research framework has emerged that prioritizes an ethics of care-one that emphasizes relationships, interdependence, and responsibility towards both human and non-human others throughout all stages of research. This paradigm shift, led largely by Indigenous scholars and researchers from the Global South, invites European ethnobiologists to critically reflect on how they can engage with, contribute to, and learn from these evolving approaches in light of pressing environmental and social challenges. In this Perspective, we explore the future of European ethnobiology in two main ways. First, we reflect on the specificities of a European lens within global ethnobiology, considering how European ethnobiologists might participate more meaningfully in transdisciplinary and intercultural dialogues. Second, drawing on core principles of the emerging global paradigm, we outline five key avenues for future development: (1) deepening commitments to an ethics of care; (2) responding more directly to contemporary challenges; (3) expanding research contexts; (4) reimagining methodological approaches; and (5) enhancing the societal relevance and applied impact of European ethnobiologists, both within and beyond Europe. We highlight current examples of European ethnobiologists already advancing these directions and underscore the field's dynamic evolution. We conclude by identifying critical challenges faced by European ethnobiologists, including the need to engage with rapidly evolving digital technologies and to navigate institutional and epistemic barriers that hinder the co-creation of knowledge across diverse worldviews.

This paper introduces the concept of "malleability" as a lens for understanding human interactions with writhing animals, using leech-human relations as a case study. Our research is based on ethnographic fieldwork among Dagestani healers in Dagestan and Turkey, 2019-2024. We argue that the malleability of leeches influences leeches' capacity for reversibility and shapes human-leech communication through their physical transformations and social roles. Through their flexible bodies, leeches enable nuanced, multisensory exchanges, influencing how humans interpret their actions-whether as cooperative, resistant, or purposeful behaviour. Malleability also mediates human sensory and emotional responses, evoking reactions ranging from disgust to admiration. Our findings reveal that leeches occupy a spectrum of roles in human perception and practice, serving as near-companions or ethical subjects, despite the lack of bioethical protections for their use in research, and as commodities or tools in medical contexts. Their physical and semantic malleability enables this fluid reversibility in human perceptions and practices. Methodologically, we advocate for "immersive duo-ethnography", which incorporates the researchers' bodily experiences as tools for examining non-verbal interactions between writhing animals and humans. This approach reveals significant entanglements at the sensory and cognitive levels, avoiding reliance on oversimplified metaphors about molecular or chemical processes when precise tracking of such mechanisms is unfeasible. By focusing on embodied relationships, our work highlights the complex interplay of physicality and meaning in human-other taxa interactions.

Background: Ethnobiological and gastronomic knowledge of wild foods has long-shaped rural traditions in Italy. In Valdera, Central Tuscany, foraging has been especially important among older generations. This study explores shifts in wild food knowledge and practices over two decades, comparing data collected in 2024 with findings from a 2004 study.

Methods: The study was conducted in Valdera, Central Tuscany, through structured interviews with local residents. Using the same methodological framework as a 2004 survey, participants were asked about wild food plants, mushrooms, and wild animals they recognized, used, and how they incorporated them into traditional dishes. This approach enabled a diachronic comparison of taxa diversity, plant families, and culinary applications. Special attention was given to how social and ecological dynamics, such as aging populations, urbanization, and changing educational backgrounds, influenced the retention or erosion of local traditional knowledge over the past two decades.

Results: A total of 86 folk taxa of wild plants were documented. The findings reveal a decline in the number of recorded taxa, from 59 folk taxa and 28 botanical families in 2004 to 57 folk taxa and 26 families in 2024. Despite the samples including a similar number of informants, the decrease in used folk taxa is significant, with several species absent in 2024, including notable wild greens taxa such as Capsella, Coleostephus, Clematis, Daucus, Epilobium, Helosciadium, Lactuca, Muscari, Rubus, Scabiosa, Potentilla, and Viola spp., as well as a few wild seasoning plants such as Allium roseum, Ammi, Juniperus, and Thymus spp. and wild snack species (Gladiolus, Sulla, Oxalis, Lamium spp.). Shifts in plant family diversity and culinary applications were observed, with a decline in the use of wild leafy plants, wild seasoning plants, and wild plant snacks, possibly associated with a reduced role of women in foraging wild greens and less exposure to nature, i.e., fewer activities done into natural environments such as shepherding and/or collection of wild snacks by children and teenagers. A similar trend was observed in mushroom and animal foraging and hunting, where the interviewees could recall details about 24 taxa of food mushrooms and 62 taxa of wild animals, as well as their culinary transformations, which were often related to the past and their younger lives. The analysis revealed that the age group affects knowledge about local wild plants, mushrooms, and animals. While higher education was linked to better systematization of botanical knowledge, individuals with an agricultural background showed significantly greater practical familiarity with plant uses.

Conclusions: These findings emphasize how traditional plant knowledge is increasingly threatened by social and ecological changes, underscoring the importance of developing conservation strategi

Background: The Hakka are one of the major subgroups of the Han  Chinese in China, with a unique migration history and a rich traditional medicine system. Traditional markets serve as centers for the exchange of Hakka medicinal culture and play a vital role in maintaining residents' health. However, medicinal plants traded in traditional Hakka markets have not been documented in southeastern Guangxi, China.

Methods: We documented the medicinal plants traded in the market of Hakka communities in southeastern Guangxi, China, by interviewing 106 traditional shopkeepers. Relative frequency of citation (RFC) and relative importance value (RI) were used to evaluate the most medicinal plants traded in the market of Hakka communities, and the Jaccard index of similarity (JI) was used to assess the similarity of plants used by Hakka from different communities in China.

Results: We documented 305 medicinal plant species, with the Fabaceae family being the most represented (27 species). In terms of life form, herbs constituted the largest group, accounting for 130 species (42.62%). Regarding plant parts used, leaves were the most commonly utilized, reported for 122 species (32.36%). The recorded medicinal plants exhibit 63 therapeutic effects and are used to treat 117 ailments across 14 disease categories. The most frequently cited medicinal use was for the treatment of physical trauma (126 species, 41.31%), followed by digestive disorders (96 species, 31.47%), skin diseases (90 species, 29.51%), and detoxification (79 species, 25.90%). Twenty-eight plant species had a relative citation frequency (RFC) greater than 0.5, and 23 species had a relative importance (RI) value of ≥ 1.25. A comparative analysis with medicinal plants recorded in Hakka communities of Guangdong and Ganzhou revealed some similarities, with Jaccard index (JI) values of 0.10 and 0.06, respectively.

Conclusion: The local shopkeepers of traditional markets in Hakka communities in southeastern Guangxi are prosperous in their knowledge of medicinal plant use. We recommend conserving these medicinal plants of local people by promoting the traditional market, which fosters people's livelihood through income generation and supports the sustainability of the traditional knowledge system.