Comparative medical ethnobotany of the senegalese community living in turin (northwestern Italy) and in adeane (southern senegal)

Medical Ethnobotany of the Bissau-Guinean Community of Migrants Living in Northern Italy and Comparison with the Ethnopharmacology of Guinea-Bissau

This study compares the knowledge of medicinal plants of Bissau-Guinean migrants now established in Italy with the ethnopharmacology still present in their country of origin. We also investigated how traditional ethnobotanical knowledge is changing following the phenomenon of migration from Africa to Europe. The ethnobotanical data were collected during 2017-2018, by interviewing 49 informants belonging to 8 ethnic groups, living in 8 provinces of northern Italy. The final inventory of botanical taxa included 81 species belonging to 34 families, with Fabaceae and Malvaceae the most represented, followed by Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae, Combretaceae, and Solanaceae. Plant remedies were used to treat 21 ailment categories, such as fever, internal infections, intestinal and respiratory problems, and pains. The traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of Bissau-Guinean migrants in Italy was associated with gender, with women showing the highest knowledge. In addition, a negative relationship was observed between the maintenance of this knowledge and the number of years migrants have spent in Italy. Overall, a loss of knowledge was observed in the less numerous ethnic groups. However, traditional preparations based on plants from the country of origin are in general well preserved to maintain a good state of health. Our work could help in transferring to the next generation the cultural heritage of Bissau-Guinean people permanently moved to European Countries.

Traditional plant use during lactation and postpartum recovery: Infant development and maternal health roles

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Evidence of phytochemical roles in infant development and maternal recovery offers insights into beneficial functions of traditional plant use during lactation and the postpartum period. Ethnopharmacological research has relevance to global priorities on maternal and child health, to understanding origins and determinants of human self-medication, and for reconciling traditional postpartum practices and mainstream healthcare.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Present emerging evidence, within evolutionary and socio-cultural contexts, on the role of maternal consumption on transfer of phytochemicals into breast milk with impacts on maternal and child health, and on infant development. Establish current state of knowledge and an ethnopharmacological research agenda that is attentive to cross-cultural and regional differences in postpartum plant use.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An extensive literature review using Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science focused on traditional and contemporary use and socio-cultural context, as well as physiological, pharmacological, toxicological, and behavioral activities of plants used medicinally by women during postpartum recovery and lactation.

RESULTS

The most widely reported postpartum plants show antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunological, and neurophysiological activities, with low toxicity. Phytochemicals transfer from maternal consumption into breast milk in physiological concentrations, while animal studies demonstrate immunomodulation and other actions of medicinal plants during lactation. Reporting on the use and diverse traditional knowledge of women about plants during the postpartum period is obscured by the marginal place of obstetric issues and by gender biases in ethnobotanical research. In many contemporary contexts use is prejudiced by precautionary risk warnings in health literature and practice that confound lactation with pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Although systematic investigation of postpartum plant use is lacking, known pharmacological activities support potential benefits on infant development and maternal health with immediate and long-term consequences in relation to allergic, inflammatory, autoimmune, and other diseases. An ethnopharmacological agenda focused on the perinatal period requires directed methodologies and a regional approach in relation to culturally-specific knowledge and practices, traditional plant use, and local health needs. Testing the hypothesis that phytochemicals transferred from medicinal plants into breast milk impact the human immune system and other aspects of infant development requires extended analysis of phytochemicals in human milk and infant lumen and plasma, as well as effects on gastrointestinal and milk microbiome.

Advancing urban ethnopharmacology: a modern concept of sustainability, conservation and cross-cultural adaptations of medicinal plant lore in the urban environment

The discipline 'urban ethnopharmacology' emerged as a collection of traditional knowledge, ancient civilizations, history and folklore being circulated since generations, usage of botanical products, palaeobotany and agronomy. Non-traditional botanical knowledge increases the availability of healthcare and other essential products to the underprivileged masses. Intercultural medicine essentially involves 'practices in healthcare that bridge indigenous medicine and western medicine, where both are considered as complementary'. A unique aspect of urban ethnopharmacology is its pluricultural character. Plant medicine blossomed due to intercultural interactions and has its roots in major anthropological events of the past. Unani medicine was developed by Khalif Harun Al Rashid and Khalif Al Mansur by translating Greek and Sanskrit works. Similarly, Indo-Aryan migration led to the development of Vedic culture, which product is Ayurveda. Greek medicine reached its summit when it travelled to Egypt. In the past few decades, ethnobotanical field studies proliferated, especially in the developed countries to cope with the increasing demands of population expansion. At the same time, sacred groves continued to be an important method of conservation across several cultures even in the urban aspect. Lack of scientific research, validating the efficiency, messy applications, biopiracy and slower results are the main constrains to limit its acceptability. Access to resources and benefit sharing may be considered as a potential solution. Indigenous communities can copyright their traditional formulations and then can collaborate with companies, who have to provide the original inventors with a fair share of the profits since a significant portion of the health economy is generated by herbal medicine. Search string included the terms 'Urban' + 'Ethnopharmacology', which was searched in Google Scholar to retrieve the relevant literature. The present review aims to critically analyse the global concept of urban ethnopharmacology with the inherent plurality of the cross-cultural adaptations of medicinal plant use by urban people across the world.

Medicinal Plants for Rich People vs. Medicinal Plants for Poor People: A Case Study from the Peruvian Andes

Traditional knowledge (TK) of medicinal plants in cities has been poorly studied across different inhabitants' socioeconomic sectors. We studied the small city of Chachapoyas (~34,000 inhabitants) in the northern Peruvian Andes. We divided the city into three areas according to the socio-economic characteristics of its inhabitants: city center (high), intermediate area (medium), and city periphery (low). We gathered information with 450 participants through semi-structured interviews. Participants of the city periphery showed a higher TK of medicinal plants than participants of the intermediate area, and the latter showed a higher TK than participants of the city center. The acquisition of medicinal plants was mainly through their purchase in markets across the three areas, although it was particularly relevant in the city center (94%). Participants of all socioeconomic levels widely used the same medicinal plants for similar purposes in Chachapoyas, which is likely based on a common Andean culture that unites their TK. However, participants with the lowest socioeconomic level knew and used more plants for different medicinal uses, indicating the necessity of these plants for their livelihoods. City markets with specialized stores that commercialize medicinal plants are key to preserve the good health of poor and rich people living in Andean cities and societies.

The Importance of Keeping Alive Sustainable Foraging Practices: Wild Vegetables and Herbs Gathered by Afghan Refugees Living in Mansehra District, Pakistan

The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty-eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other groups. The findings indicate that practiced LEK, i.e., knowledge that is continuously kept alive via constant contact with the natural environment, is essential for the resilience of the biocultural heritage, which is, however, also influenced by the rearrangement of social life adopted by refugees after relocation.

A review of ethnomedicinal uses of shea butter for dermatoses in Sub-Saharan Africa

Indigenous therapies, or traditional medicines (TMs), constitute a highly accessible and continuously growing health system in many parts of the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Shea butter, a fat produced from the kernels of the shea tree, has historically been used as an indigenous therapy for dermatologic ailments in SSA. Characterizing traditional therapeutic applications for shea butter is important to inform the continued development of TM in SSA. We conducted a literature review aimed at identifying all available publications on the use of shea butter to treat dermatoses within SSA and evaluating patterns of use. We found 24 dermatologic uses across 30 references. The most common study design was descriptive cross-sectional analysis (46.7%), often relying on the use of in-depth interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Eight SSA countries were represented and there were disparities in availability of information across SSA with the eastern and southern regions less likely to be represented. The most frequently investigated conditions were scabies, wound healing, and umbilical cord care. Shea butter was most commonly used in combination with other ingredients to produce a medical treatment with the most frequent adjuvant being Elaeis guineensis, African oil palm. Broad use of TM to treat varied skin diseases throughout SSA warrants increased investigations into this field in order to further develop the capacity of TM as a source of healthcare.

Keeping or changing? Two different cultural adaptation strategies in the domestic use of home country food plant and herbal ingredients among Albanian and Moroccan migrants in Northwestern Italy

BACKGROUND

Ethnobotanical field studies concerning migrant groups are crucial for understanding temporal changes of folk plant knowledge as well as for analyzing adaptation processes. Italy still lacks in-depth studies on migrant food habits that also evaluate the ingredients which newcomers use in their domestic culinary and herbal practices.

METHODS

Semi-structured and open in-depth interviews were conducted with 104 first- and second-generation migrants belonging to the Albanian and Moroccan communities living in Turin and Bra, NW Italy. The sample included both ethnic groups and genders equally.

RESULTS

While the number of plant ingredients was similar in the two communities (44 plant items among Albanians vs 47 plant items among Moroccans), data diverged remarkably on three trajectories: (a) frequency of quotation (a large majority of the ingredients were frequently or moderately mentioned by Moroccan migrants whereas Albanians rarely mentioned them as still in use in Italy); (b) ways through which the home country plant ingredients were acquired (while most of the ingredients were purchased by Moroccans in local markets and shops, ingredients used by Albanians were for the most part informally "imported" during family visits from Albania); (c) quantitative and qualitative differences in the plant reports mentioned by the two communities, with plant reports recorded in the domestic arena of Moroccans nearly doubling the reports recorded among Albanians and most of the plant ingredients mentioned by Moroccans representing "medicinal foods".

CONCLUSION

A large portion of the differences shown by the two communities are linked to different methods of procurement of home country gastronomic botanical ingredients, the different transnational informal exchanges that exist between Italy and migrants' home countries, the presence of markets and ethnic shops in Italy selling these items, and the different degree of difficulty in accessing public health services. The observed divergences were also clearly related to very diverse adaptation strategies, i.e., processes of negotiating and elaborating Albanian and Moroccan cultural identities.

Keeping or changing? Two different cultural adaptation strategies in the domestic use of home country food plant and herbal ingredients among Albanian and Moroccan migrants in Northwestern Italy

BACKGROUND

Ethnobotanical field studies concerning migrant groups are crucial for understanding temporal changes of folk plant knowledge as well as for analyzing adaptation processes. Italy still lacks in-depth studies on migrant food habits that also evaluate the ingredients which newcomers use in their domestic culinary and herbal practices.

METHODS

Semi-structured and open in-depth interviews were conducted with 104 first- and second-generation migrants belonging to the Albanian and Moroccan communities living in Turin and Bra, NW Italy. The sample included both ethnic groups and genders equally.

RESULTS

While the number of plant ingredients was similar in the two communities (44 plant items among Albanians vs 47 plant items among Moroccans), data diverged remarkably on three trajectories: (a) frequency of quotation (a large majority of the ingredients were frequently or moderately mentioned by Moroccan migrants whereas Albanians rarely mentioned them as still in use in Italy); (b) ways through which the home country plant ingredients were acquired (while most of the ingredients were purchased by Moroccans in local markets and shops, ingredients used by Albanians were for the most part informally "imported" during family visits from Albania); (c) quantitative and qualitative differences in the plant reports mentioned by the two communities, with plant reports recorded in the domestic arena of Moroccans nearly doubling the reports recorded among Albanians and most of the plant ingredients mentioned by Moroccans representing "medicinal foods".

CONCLUSION

A large portion of the differences shown by the two communities are linked to different methods of procurement of home country gastronomic botanical ingredients, the different transnational informal exchanges that exist between Italy and migrants' home countries, the presence of markets and ethnic shops in Italy selling these items, and the different degree of difficulty in accessing public health services. The observed divergences were also clearly related to very diverse adaptation strategies, i.e., processes of negotiating and elaborating Albanian and Moroccan cultural identities.

In vitro Antimalarial Evaluations and Cytotoxicity Investigations of Carica papaya Leaves and Carpaine

The objective of this study is to evaluate the antimalarial property of Carica papaya L. leaf extracts and the cytotoxicity of active samples. C. papaya leaves were extracted and screened against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 and Dd2 strains. Bioassay-guided fractionation was carried out. The dichloromethane extract of C. papaya leaves showed significant antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum 3D7 and Dd2. Successful bioassay-guided fractionation afforded a fraction three to seven times more active than the dichloromethane extract. Carpaine was isolated from the most active alkaloidal extract and identified in the active fraction and dichloromethane leaf extract. The cytotoxicity of active samples was evaluated against NL20 cells. A haemolysis assay was performed on carpaine. Carpaine exhibited good activity against both strains of P. falciparum with IC50 of 2.01 ± 0.18 μg/mL (4.21 μM) and 2.19 ± 0.60 μg/mL (4.57 μM) against 3D7 and Dd2 strains respectively. It exhibited high selectivity for the parasite and was non-toxic to healthy uninfected human red blood cells. This is the first study investigating the haemolysis potential of carpaine. The results provide a scientific basis for the traditional use of C. papaya leaves for malaria treatment. More work is required to evaluate the efficacy and safety of carpaine for further development into potential new antimalarial drugs.

Factors affecting the use of medicinal plants by migrants from rural areas of Brazilian Northeast after moving to a metropolitan region in Southeast of Brazil

BACKGROUND

Ethnopharmacological studies about migrants reveal a dynamic process of knowledge and use of medicinal plants. In this study, we sought to elucidate quantitative and qualitatively the main factors influencing the use of medicinal plants by migrants from rural areas to an urban region in Brazil with traces of remnant natural vegetation.

METHODS

Seven Northeastern individuals who migrated to the Southeastern Region of Brazil (Bororé Peninsula, in the city of São Paulo) were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of medicinal plants throughout their lives, and indicated an inhabitant in their hometown that would be able to accompany the field collections in each area. Socioeconomic, educational, family structure, and use of Western medicine data were provided during interviews with the individuals from their hometowns. Plant samples cited by the interviewees were collected both at the current place of residence and in their hometowns.

RESULTS

The participants cited 131 plants and 315 recipes, being the main indications related to the gastrointestinal system, respiratory problems, and pain and inflammatory processes. We observed that most plant uses were maintained after migration. Higher percentages of maintenances and incorporations in plant uses occurred to exotic species, while replacements happen mainly to native plants. The introduction of new species into the migrants' therapeutics occurred mainly by observations of organoleptic similarities between the substituted plant and the incorporated species, conversations with neighbors, and contact with the television and print media. In addition, the public health system allowed the interviewees access to prophylactic drugs, leading to the discontinuation of certain recipes used in endemic diseases.

CONCLUSION

Migrants were exposed to information about new plants and their uses, new diseases, and socioeconomic and cultural differences that impacted their use of medicinal plants. Although migration to a more developed city facilitated access to public health and education, on the other hand, it made access to fresh medicinal plants difficult, causing some medicinal plants to be replaced or ceased to be used.

"One Big Family": Pastoral Care and Treatment Seeking in an Egyptian Coptic Church in England

Little is known about Coptic migrants' chronic disease health beliefs and treatment-seeking behaviours. Interviews to explore these issues and their relationship with church membership were conducted with 15 Coptic migrants in Southern England. Obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were most frequently identified as health risks for Coptic migrants. CVD was ascribed to stress and considered amenable to spiritual healing. Lay referral to medical practitioners who were church members was common but may devalue perceptions of family medicine. The Coptic Church functions as a community that addresses members' wider vulnerability. Central to this is the "parish nurse" role of the priest.

The Trade in African Medicinal Plants in Matonge-Ixelles, Brussels (Belgium)

Maintaining cultural identity and preference to treat cultural bound ailments with herbal medicine are motivations for migrants to continue using medicinal plants from their home country after moving to Europe and the USA. As it is generally easier to import exotic food than herbal medicine, migrants often shift to using species that double as food and medicine. This paper focuses on the trade in African medicinal plants in a Congolese neighborhood in Brussels (Belgium). What African medicinal plants are sold in Matonge, where do they come from, and to which extent are they food medicines? Does vendor ethnicity influence the diversity of the herbal medicine sold? We hypothesized that most medicinal plants, traders, and clients in Matonge were of Congolese origin, most plants used medicinally were mainly food crops and that culture-bound illnesses played a prominent role in medicinal plant use. We carried out a market survey in 2014 that involved an inventory of medicinal plants in 19 shops and interviews with 10 clients of African descent, voucher collection and data gathering on vernacular names and uses. We encountered 83 medicinal plant species, of which 71% was primarily used for food. The shredded leaves of Gnetum africanum Welw., Manihot esculenta Crantz, and Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam were among the most frequently sold vegetables with medicinal uses. Cola nuts, shea butter, Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f., and Mondia whitei (Hook.f.). Skeels were the main non-food medicines sold. Women's health, aphrodisiacs, and rituals were the most important medicinal applications, but culture-bound ailments did not entirely dominate the plant uses. While most clients in Matonge were Congolese, most vendors and plant species were not. The Pakistanis dominated the food trade, and typical Congolese plants were sometimes replaced by West African species, creating confusion in vernacular names. African-managed shops had significantly more species of medicinal plants in stock than shops managed by Pakistanis. Almost all non-food herbal medicine was sold by Africans. Apart from informal shops, non-food herbal medicine was also sold from private homes and by ambulant vendors, probably to reduce costs and escape taxes and control by the authorities. We expect that in the future, increasing rent, strict regulations, and decreasing investments by the Congolese community will force the medicinal plant trade in Matonge to go even more underground.

Folk pharmaceutical formulations in western Mediterranean: identification and safety of clays used in pelotherapy

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Clays are naturally occurring ingredients of many natural health products, being included in most of ancient Mediterranean/European medical texts and currently used to prepare therapeutic hot-muds (peloids) in several thermal stations of the Mediterranean region. Clays are included in the formulation of peloids as vehicles of the mineral-medicinal water, to obtain inorganic gels with rheological and thermal properties suitable to be topically applied. Knowledge about formulations and preparation procedures of these traditional medicines has been orally transmitted since ancient times. Increasing recognition of the therapeutic utility of these traditional and natural health care substances make necessary a full ethnopharmaceutic research to ascertain those compositional characters that allow to establish quality attributes and corresponding requirements for these materials and products, including identity, purity, richness and safety.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Five clay samples (A, B, C, D and E) currently used in various spa centers of southern European/Mediterranean countries were studied. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data were used to asses sample identity and richness. Elemental impurities and microbiological contaminants were also determined and compared to normative limits. Particle size distribution was related to their safety as powder materials.

RESULTS

Samples A, C, D and E were identified as "high purity clay", while sample B was identified as a mix of clay minerals and carbonates. The presence of carbonates in this sample could compromise its suitability for pelotherapy. The studied clays meet the main normative limits for metals impurities, with the exception of arsenic in sample A and nickel in sample B. The samples comply with the microbiological limits proposed by European legislation for medicinal products. According to the particle size of the studied samples, prevention and control of dust exposure must be considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite their demonstrated longevity, the use of clays in traditional medicine formulations as peloids greatly requires comprehension of their identity and safety attributes. Continuity of these mineral substances as recognized health care ingredients oblige to conduct interdisciplinary research to know the features that sustain their traditional use in the preparation of medicines (ethnopharmaceutics).

A comparison of traditional food and health strategies among Taiwanese and Chinese immigrants in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

BACKGROUND

Ethnobotanical studies on the use of plants amongst migrant populations are of great relevance to public health. Traditional health strategies, which incorporate plants as medicines, foods, or both - can play an important role in individual well-being. However, at the same time, migrant populations' traditional knowledge of such practices may be under a state of greater threat of decline due to factors such as limited access to the plant materials and physical isolation from the homeland, which serves as the primary living reservoir for this knowledge.

METHODS

In this study, we conducted a medical ethnobotanical survey focusing on a comparison of local medicinal food and health strategies with members of two Asian immigrant populations in metro-Atlanta: Chinese and Taiwanese. Snowball sampling techniques were employed to recruit 83 study participants, 57 of which were included in the final analysis. Semi-structured interview techniques were used to question participants about their beliefs and usage of the yin yang system, usage of Chinese herbs and medicinal foods, preference and usage of Eastern and Western medicines, and gardening for medicinal foods.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Comparison of the two groups demonstrated a remarkable difference in health strategies concerning medicinal plant use, including statistically significant differences in beliefs concerning yin and yang, uses of Eastern versus Western medicine, and gardening for medicinal foods. Domestic health strategies in the form of medicinal foods play an important role in local health practices, especially among the Taiwanese participants. The collective desire for the use of both Eastern and Western medicine by both groups highlights the important role that cultural competency training will play in preparing allopathic health practitioners to serve increasingly diverse patient populations in the US.