Ethnobotany and diversity of medicinal plants used by the Buyi in eastern Yunnan, China

• 作者: Yong Xiong Xueyi Sui Selena Ahmed Zhi Wang Chunlin Long
• 来源期刊: 植物多样性（英文）
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（6）
• 所属期刊栏目: Articles
• 页码范围: 401-414
• 页数: 14页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

The Buyi are a socio-linguistic group in Yunnan Province of southwest China that have a long history of using medicinal plants as part of their indigenous medical system. Given the limited written docu-mentation of the Buyi indigenous medical system, the objective of this paper is to document the me-dicinal plants of the Buyi and associated traditional knowledge and transmission. Field research was conducted in four villages in Lubuge Township of Luoping County in Yunnan Province using ethnobo-tanical methodologies including participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions to elicit information on medicinal plants. In total, 120 informants (including 15 key informants who are healers) were interviewed. This study found that a total of 121 medicinal plant species belonging to 64 families are used by the Buyi including by local healers to treat different diseases. Among the medicinal plants recorded in this study, 56 species (46％) have not pre-viously been documented in the scientific literature as having medicinal value, highlighting the pressing need for ethnobotanical documentation in indigenous communities. The most frequently used medicinal part was the leaf (24.9％ of documented plants), and the most common preparation method was decoction (62.8％of medicinal). Medicinal plants were mainly used to treat rheumatism (12.4％of plants), trauma and injuries (9.6％). The documented plants are also used for other non-medicinal purposes including food, fodder, fencing, and ornamental. In addition, 35 of the medicinal plants are considered poisonous and are used by local Buyi healers for medicine. The traditional Buyi beliefs and practices associated with the documented medicinal plants likely contributes to their conservation in the envi-ronments and around Buyi communities. This study further highlights that ethnomedicinal knowledge of the Buyi is at risk of disappearing due to increased introduction and use of modern medicine in Buyi communities, livelihood changes, rapid modernization, and urbanization. Research, policy, and com-munity programs are urgently needed to conserve the biocultural diversity associated with the Buyi medical system including ethnobotanical knowledge towards supporting both environmental and hu-man wellbeing.