Chusie Trisonthi

Medicinal plant knowledge and its erosion among the Mien (Yao) in northern Thailand.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE We studied local knowledge and actual uses of medicinal plants among the Mien in northern Thailand, documenting traditional medical practices and its transfer between generations. AIM OF THE STUDY With the assumption that discrepancies between knowledge and actual use represent knowledge erosion, we studied whether actual use of medicinal plants corresponded to peoples knowledge of such uses. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used local knowledge from four specialist informants as the domain for semi-structured interviews with 34 randomly selected non-specialist informants. We calculated informant consensus, use value, and fidelity level for each species and use category and performed statistical analyses with Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearmans rank correlation coefficient, and paired-sample t-tests. RESULTS We found significant discrepancies between knowledge and actual use of medicinal plants. The number of known and actually used plants increased with increasing informant age and decreased with increasing years of formal education. CONCLUSIONS Medicinal plant knowledge and use in these Mien communities is undergoing inter-generational erosion because of acculturation and interrupted knowledge transmission. Preservation of Mien medicinal plant intellectual heritage requires continued documentation concerning use, conservation, and sustainable management of this resource, which should be publicized to younger Mien.

A comparative study on medicinal plants used in Akha's traditional medicine in China and Thailand, cultural coherence or ecological divergence?

AIM OF THE STUDY The survey aims to study the effect of geographic separation of ethnic groups on local knowledge of medicinal plants used by Akha people in Thailand and China, who were separated 100-120 years ago, to see how different the two geographically distinct but culturally similar groups were in this respect. MATERIALS AND METHODS Interviewing 10 villagers in each of five Akha villages, three in Thailand and two in China, about which plants they used and how they used them. RESULTS A total of 95 medicinal plants registered in the five villages only 16 were shared between China and Thailand. Otherwise the use patterns were quite similar with respect to which plant families and plant growth forms were used and also in terms of in which habitats the Akha found their medicinal plants. CONCLUSIONS The moving to a different site has forced the Akha to find a new set of species, but that when using these new species they have maintained other traditions relating to medicinal plants.

Medicinal plants used in Hmong women's healthcare in northern Thailand.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE We studied traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used for womens healthcare in three Hmong villages in northern Thailand and determined how prevalent such knowledge is. We documented traditional medical practices and determined which of the species used are culturally important among the Hmong. MATERIALS AND METHODS We interviewed six key informants and 147 non-specialist informants about their traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used in Hmong womens healthcare. We selected nine species that were known in all three villages as the domain for questionnaire interviews with 181 additional and randomly selected non-specialist informants. We calculated the Cultural Importance index (CI) for each species and use category. We tested normality of the data, age correlations, and gender correlations with Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, Spearmans rank correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS We documented traditional knowledge of 79 medicinal plants used in womens healthcare. Of these, three species were culturally important to the Hmong. Our questionnaire interviews revealed significant difference in traditional medicinal plant knowledge between genders and age groups. CONCLUSIONS The Hmong people in northern Thailand possess large amounts of traditional knowledge related to womens healthcare and plants used for this purpose. However, this knowledge, even for the culturally important species, is not possessed by all Hmong and there were signs of knowledge erosion. Preservation of the Hmong intellectual heritage related to medicinal plants used in womens healthcare requires intensive traditional knowledge dissemination to the young Hmong generation.

Ethnomedicinal plants used for digestive system disorders by the Karen of northern Thailand

BackgroundDigestive system disorders have a substantial effect on worldwide morbidity and mortality rates, including in Thailand, where the majority of the rural areas have a lack of proper sanitation and awareness about disease prevention. This has led to the prevalence of different types of digestive diseases. Karen people in Thailand still use medicinal plants as first aid remedies in treating these diseases. Therefore, this study aimed at documenting the plants used to cure and prevent different types of digestive system disorders by Karen people of Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand.MethodsEthnomedicinal data were collected from six key informants and 172 non-specialist informants regarding their traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. Quantitative approaches were used to determine Use Value (UV), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Fidelity Level (FL) values.ResultsThe study revealed that 36 medicinal plant species belonging to 31 genera and 24 families were used to treat digestive system disorders. The most prevalent plant families were Zingiberaceae (6 species), Euphorbiaceae (4 species) and Fabaceae (4 species). Leaves were the most commonly used plant part accounting for 32.6% of the plants, followed by the bark (18.6%). About 60% of the administrations were given orally by potion (60%) and consumption as food was also indicated (14%). The highest ICF values were recorded for carminative disorders, stomachaches, geographic tongue, constipation, appetite stimulants and food poisoning (1.00 each) indicating the best agreement among the informants knowledge of medicinal plants that were used to treat aliments in these categories. The highest fidelity level values were recorded for Punica granatum (100.00), Psidium guajava (95.45), and Gymnopetalum integrifolium (90.91) showing conformity of knowledge on species with the best healing potential.ConclusionMedicinal plants still play an important role among Karen culture. The present information on these medicinal plants, which have high UV and FL values, may serve as the baseline data to initiate further research for the discovery of new compounds and the biological activities of these potential plant remedies. Further research on these plants may provide some important clues for the development of new drugs for the treatment of digestive system diseases.

Traditional knowledge on medicinal plant of the Karen in northern Thailand: A comparative study

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE We studied traditional medicinal plant knowledge among the Karen in northern Thailand. AIM OF THE STUDY To compare traditional medicinal knowledge in 14 Karen villages in northern Thailand and determine culturally important medicinal plant species in each Karen village. MATERIALS AND METHODS We interviewed 14 key informants and 438 non-specialist informants about their traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. We tested normality of the data and correlations with distance to the nearest city using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests and Spearmans rank correlation coefficient. Cluster analysis and cultural importance index (CI) were calculated for the similarity of medicinal plant used and culturally importance medicinal plant species among Karen villages respectively. RESULTS In total 379 medicinal plant species were used. Number of medicinal plants used positively correlate with distance to the nearest city. Relatively low similarities of medicinal plant species and different CI values for species among the different areas were found. CONCLUSIONS Traditional medicinal plants still play an important role in medicinal practice of the Karen. Local environments, availability of medicinal plant and distance between Karen villages and the nearest city affect the amount of traditional medicinal knowledge in each Karen village. The medicinal plants in this study with high CI values might give some useful leads for further biomedical research.

Plant Diversity in Hmong and Mien Homegardens in Northern Thailand

Plant Diversity in Hmong and Mien Homegardens in Northern Thailand. We surveyed 180 homegardens in three Hmong and three Mien villages in northern Thailand to study their floristic diversity and composition and to understand the impact of forced migration and ecological conditions for the development of the rich homegarden flora. We also looked at the role of culturally important species as carriers of cultural identity. We found 406 species: 341 (99 families) and 270 species (90 families) in Hmong and Mien homegardens, respectively. Five lowland villages had the richest homegarden flora, in part due to the presence of many widespread species. Twenty-two species were widespread in tropical countries and found in most Hmong and Mien homegardens, and 14 additional common species were shared between Hmong and Mien homegardens. Seventeen species were exclusive to Hmong homegardens and eight to Mien homegardens; these we have designated as culturally important species. The presence of culturally important species determines the homegardens’ characteristics and reflects the cultural identity related to plant uses of a group. Similarities in floristic composition of the two groups can be attributed to widespread and common species. Floristic variation and diversity in homegardens were strongly related to homegarden geographical location, personal preference, and cultural background of the owners.

Management and use of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. in Thai wetlands

Management and use of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.—the lotus plant—was studied in 58 wetlands distributed throughout Thailand. Although traditionally harvested in extractive systems depending on natural wetlands, N. nucifera is now increasingly being managed. Two hundred eighty informants mentioned 20 different uses, mainly for food, medicine, and religious rites, in both subsistence and cash economies. The uses of N. nucifera appeared to be rather generalized throughout the country even if informants in the northern and central regions knew of more uses and ways of commercializing its products, possibly related to the abundance of wetlands and natural stand in those regions, and maybe also cultural differences.

Ethnomedicinal plant diversity in Thailand

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Plants have provided medicine to humans for thousands of years, and in most parts of the world people still use traditional plant-derived medicine. Knowledge related to traditional use provides an important alternative to unavailable or expensive western medicine in many rural communities. At the same time, ethnomedicinal discoveries are valuable for the development of modern medicine. Unfortunately, globalization and urbanization causes the disappearance of much traditional medicinal plant knowledge. AIM OF THE STUDY To review available ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in Thailand and to estimate its diversity. METHODS Information about ethnomedicinal uses of plants in Thailand was extracted from 64 scientific reports, books, and theses produced between 1990 and 2014. Plant identifications in the primary sources were updated to currently accepted names following The Plant List website and the species were assigned to family following the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Use Values (UV) were calculated to estimate the importance of medicinal plant species (UVs) and families (UVf). Medicinal use categories, plant parts used, preparations of the medicine, and their applications were noted for each use report. RESULTS We found 16,789 use reports for 2187 plant species in 206 families. These data came from 19 ethnic groups living in 121 villages throughout Thailand. The health conditions most commonly treated with medicinal plants were in the categories digestive system disorders, infections/infestations, nutritional disorders, muscular-skeletal system disorders, and genitourinary system disorders. Plant families with very high use values were Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Acanthaceae, Lamiaceae, and Zingiberaceae and species with very high use values were Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob., Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC., and Cheilocostus speciosus (J.Koenig) C.D.Specht. Stems and leaves were the most used plant parts, but also other parts of the plants were used in medicinal recipes. The most common way of using the medicinal plants was as a decoction in water. CONCLUSION We found 2187 plant species that were used in traditional medicine in Thailand. Of these a few hundred had high use values, suggesting that they may produce bioactive compounds with strong physiological effects.

Genetic diversity patterns of rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces after migration by Tai Lue and Akha between China and Thailand

Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) is genetically diverse, and the numerous landraces represent a valuable genetic resource for present and future rice breeding. Part of the genetic rice diversity is held by the ethnic minority groups of Tai Lue and Akha who migrated from southern China to northern Thailand over the past two centuries. We analysed variation in simple sequence repeats (SSR) and an indel in the ORF100 region in their rice germplasms in Thailand and in China to understand if the communities today in the Nan and Chang Rai provinces in Thailand still cultivate traditional rice landraces of the Xishungbanna region in southern China, and how such traditional germplasms have evolved in isolation after the human migrations. We found one multilocus genotype shared by all upland rice populations in China and Thailand and that several allelic combinations of the Thai populations can be traced to the alleles pools of upland and paddy rice of the Xishungbanna rice populations. However the frequent occurrence of hybrids between upland and paddy rice in the Thai and Chinese germplasms of both the ethnic communities reveal genetic erosion of the traditional landraces due to hybridization and introgression.