Antiviral Activity of Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle Fractions Against HSV-1

An ethnopharmacological survey of natural remedies used by the Chinese community in Mauritius

OBJECTIVE

To collect, preserve and document primary ethnopharmacological information on common natural remedies (NRs) used by the Chinese community to treat and/or manage common diseases in Mauritius, a tropical multicultural island in the Indian Ocean.

METHODS

Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 52 key Chinese informants using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, namely, the informant consensus factor (FIC), the use value, the fidelity level, the index of agreement on remedies and the relative importance were calculated.

RESULTS

Plants (61) and animal species (17), belonging to 43 and 9 families respectively, constituted the exploited flora and fauna by the Chinese community. Based on the FIC the main categories of plants used were employed against injury and poisons due to external causes (FIC=0.97), diseases of the respiratory system (FIC=0.96), diseases of the eye and adnexa (FIC=0.95), undefined pains or illness (FIC=0.95), diseases during the postpartum period, diseases of the digestive system and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (FIC=0.94 each). For zootherapy, diseases of the circulatory system, diseases of the eye and adnexa, diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases had total consensus (FIC=1.00).

CONCLUSIONS

It was found that the Chinese community of Mauritius still relies, to a great extent, on NRs which need to be preserved and used sustainably. Nonetheless, further research is needed to probe the possible active constituents that could be the basis of an evidence-based investigation to discover new drugs.

Ethnopharmacological survey of native remedies commonly used against infectious diseases in the tropical island of Mauritius

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Infectious diseases (IDs) still remain a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. This study has been geared to gather primary ethnopharmacological information on common native remedies (NRs) used to treat and/or manage common infectious diseases from different regions of Mauritius, a tropical multicultural island in the Indian Ocean. Given the dearth of updated information on traditional medicine of Mauritius, this work can provide an opportunity to establish valuable primary information on the different NRs used by the local people and hence open new perspectives for further pharmacological research.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To collect, preserve and document primary ethnopharmacological data from the local population concerning NRs commonly used against IDs in the tropical island of Mauritius.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Face to face interviews were conducted with Mauritians and herbalists (n=307) using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative ethnobotany parameters such as informant consensus factor (F(IC)), fidelity level (FL), use value (UV) and variety of use (VU) were used for herbal and animal products. Statistical analysis such as Pearson correlation and Chi-squared test were performed to delineate any association.

RESULTS

It was found that 94.8% of the local people claimed that managing IDs with NRs was part of their culture and have been using it since childhood. A total of 39 plant species belonging to 24 families and 9 animal species were reported to be traditionally used in the formulation of herbal remedies and animal products, respectively. Sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, place of residence and income) had a significant (p<0.01) impact on the use of these NRs. The most relevant family contributing much to the medicinal flora was Zingiberaceae (No of citation=301). The average F(IC) for all ailments for medicinal plants and animal products were 0.963 and 0.972, respectively. Acalypha indica L. had the highest FL (0.83) for skin and subcutaneous tissue problems. Panoply of animal products (Anguilla japonica, Periplaneta americana and Helix aspersa) were culturally used, whereby products from Bos taurus, (42.0%) were the most utilized zootherapy. Other remedies used in concurrence with herbal and animal products involved cultural rituals and prayers that were never reported in previous studies. Therapeutic properties of some herbal remedies reported correlated to some extent with those of previous studies while others have open potential perspectives for further research as their chemistry and pharmacology have not been published.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the plethora of novel information obtained from the present survey, it is obvious that the indigenous population still relies to a great extent on NRs which need to be preserved and used sustainably. Nonetheless, further research is needed to probe the possible active constituents that could be the basis of an evidence based investigation to discover new drugs.