Mi-Jang Song
Jeonju University
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Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2011
Hyun Kim; Mi-Jang Song
AIM OF THE STUDY This study aims to analyze and record orally transmitted knowledge of medicinal plants from the indigenous people living in the southern mountainous region of Korea. This article is the first study of its kind. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data was collected through the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method involving interviews, informal meetings, open and group discussions, and overt observations with semi-structured questionnaires. RESULTS The investigation reveals that the indigenous people have used 217 species of medicinal plants distributed in 177 genera belonging to 77 families with 691 different uses. The representative families were Asteraceae (13.5%) followed by Fabaceae (8.2%), Araliaceae (6.1%), Rosaceae (5.8%), Cucurbitaceae (4.1%), Poaceae (3.0%), Liliaceae (2.7%), and Apiaceae (2.6%). On the whole, 21 kinds of plant-parts were used and prepared in 26 various ways by the people for medicinal purposes. The informant consensus factor (ICF) values in the ailment categories were veterinary ailments (0.88), pains (0.84), cuts and wounds (0.77), and respiratory system disorders (0.76). In terms of fidelity levels, 41 plant species showed 100% of fidelities. CONCLUSION In recent years, the Korean society has been a heavy loss of traditional practices due to a rapid decrease of the senior population. This pressing circumstance raises the level of urgency for the preservation of indigenous knowledge from extinction. A priority should be given first for collecting and recording indigenous knowledge from the natives inhabiting the national parks and environmental preservation areas.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2011
Mi-Jang Song; Hyun Kim
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE This study aims to record and conserve oral traditional knowledge of medicinal plants from the indigenous people living in the western plain region of North Jeolla Province, Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS Our research team interviewed 46 key informants (20 men and 26 women) who have lived over 50 years in the area. The average age of the informants was 74 (with a minimum age of 56 to maximum 84). Data was collected through the participatory rural appraisal method involving interviews, informal meetings, open and group discussions, and overt observation using semi-structured questionnaires. RESULTS Ethnobotanical inventory possessed by the residents included 183 species of plants distributed in 156 genera belonging to 68 families and were used in 626 use-reports. Among them, the medicinal plants were comprised as 42 families, 75 genera, and 83 species in usage in 195 ways. A total of 71 ailments were treated with 222 kinds of remedies using medicinal plants. Parts of plant that were used as treatments total up to 17 and the methods of preparation for medicinal materials add up to 28. Informant consensus factor (ICF) showed that the muscular-skeletal disorders had the highest agreement measure (1.0) followed by cuts and wounds (0.87) and respiratory system disorders (0.77). Overall, 29 plant species showed fidelity level of 100%. CONCLUSIONS This study is noteworthy in that it records rapidly disappearing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in a time period of pressing environmental changes with regard to the newly built sea wall, eventually leading more or less to the immigration of the seaside inhabitants and the familiarization of the modern medical systems to the farmland inhabitants.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2013
Hyun Kim; Mi-Jang Song
AIM OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study is to analyze and record traditional knowledge of animals utilized by the indigenous people living on Jeju Island in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data was collected through the participatory rural appraisal method involving interviews, informal meetings, open and group discussions, and overt observations with semi-structured questionnaires. RESULTS This study recorded a total of 64 families, 73 genera, and 77 species of animals that produced 1160 methods for usages. Fishes occupied 36.4% of the total animals listed, followed by mammals at 19.5%, molluscs at 16.9%, and arthropods at 10.4% of the whole, respectively. In regards to usage, 52 species utilized as food products, totaled 67.5%, followed by 40 species for medicinal use, five species related to cultivation, with three species connected to veterinary medicine, and one species for cosmetics. CONCLUSION This study validates the fact that animal species play a major role, not only for edible recipes, but also in healing practices among its inhabitants. The conservation of particular animal species related to this study needs to be considered by authorities within this field of research to preserve the local medicinal knowledge. The empirical knowledge recorded in this study will provide outstanding possibilities for the discovery of new sources of medicine for the drug industry.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine | 2013
Mi-Jang Song; Hyun Kim; Brian Heldenbrand; Jongwook Jeon; Sang-Hun Lee
BackgroundThis study aims to analyze and record orally transmitted knowledge of medicinal plants from the indigenous people living in Hallasan National Park of Korea.MethodsData was collected through the participatory rural appraisal method involving interviews, informal meetings, open and group discussions, and overt observations with semi-structured questionnaires.ResultsIn this study, a total of 68 families, 141 genera, and 171 species of plants that showed 777 ways of usage were recorded. Looking into the distribution of the families, 14 species of Asteraceae occupied 11.1% of the total followed by 13 species of Rosaceae, 10 species of Rutaceae, and nine species of Apiaceae which occupied 5.0%, 7.1% and 3.0% of the whole, respectively. 32 kinds of plant-parts were used for 47 various medicinal purposes. Values for the informant consensus factor regarding the ailment categories were for birth related disorders (0.92), followed by respiratory system disorders (0.90), skin disease and disorders (0.89), genitourinary system disorders (0.87), physical pain (0.87), and other conditions. According to fidelity levels, 36 plant species resulted in fidelity levels of 100%.ConclusionConsequently, results of this study will legally utilize to provide preparatory measures against the Nagoya Protocol (2010) about benefit-sharing for traditional knowledge of genetic resources.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine | 2012
Hyun Kim; Mi-Jang Song
OBJECTIVES This study aims to record and conserve orally transmitted traditional plant-based therapies for respiratory diseases in North Jeolla Province, Korea. METHODS Data were collected with semistructured questionnaires through the participatory rural appraisal method. RESULTS This study reveals that overall, 14 respiratory diseases have been treated with a total of 43 species of medicinal plants belonging to 40 genera in 26 families. This study also reports 149 different modes of plant-based therapeutic application of medicinal material. The informant consensus factor for the common cold is 0.84, the highest among 14 different respiratory ailments, followed by whooping cough, asthma, nosebleed, bronchitis, cough, and so on. Medicinal plants used to treat seven respiratory ailments had a 100% fidelity level. CONCLUSIONS This study can help to preserve the traditional knowledge and local health traditions of North Jeolla Province amid rapid industrialization and urbanization. The findings of this study warrant follow-up clinical research to determine the most effective traditional remedies toward development of herbal medicinal products for integration into the Korean health care system.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2014
Hyun Kim; Mi-Jang Song
ETHOPHARMAACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE The purpose of this study is to analyze and record traditional knowledge of medicinal plants utilized in communities of Jirisan National Park. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data was collected through participant observations and in-depth interviews with semi-structured questionnaires. Quantitative comparative analyses were accomplished through informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level (FL), and social network analysis (SNA). RESULTS The 1660 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from the communities were classified into 89 families, 215 genera, and 274 species. The representative families were Asteraceae (10.02%) followed by Fabaceae (8.7%), Araliaceae (7.2%), and Rosaceae (6.7%). On the whole, 34 kinds of plant-parts were used and prepared in 73 various ways by the people for medicinal purposes. The informant consensus factor (ICF) values in the ailment categories were physical pain (0.95), respiratory system disorders (0.91), veterinary ailments (0.90), nervous system disorders (0.89), and diabetes (0.88). In terms of fidelity levels, 48 plant species showed 100% of fidelities. The social network analysis (SNA) between ailments and the plant families within all communities of this study, most of plant families were located closer to the center of the network for the three ailments groups. Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Pinaceae and Rosaceae as depicted by the rectangular-shaped region, were positioned more closely within the center of the network figure and possess more versatility as a treatment for various ailments. CONCLUSION The utilization of the social network analysis is used as a new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinal knowledge within a local community. Through this study, we are confident that the useful value of the social network analysis has been proven and the three dimensional relationships of these components will extend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinal knowledge within local communities around the world.
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine | 2013
Hyun Kim; Mi-Jang Song
This study aims to analyze and record ethnomedicinal practices for treating liver disorders of residents living in local communities in the southern regions of Korea. Data was collected using participant observations and in-depth interviews, as the informants also become investigators themselves through attending informal meetings, open and group discussions, and overt observations with semistructured questionnaires. In this study, ethnomedicinal practices for liver ailments were recorded by 1,543 informants (362 men, 1,181 women) at 160 sites. The kinds of liver disorders treated by ethnomedicinal practices were liver cancer, liver cirrhosis, jaundice, hepatitis, fatigue recovery, hangovers, and liver-related ailments. The category with the highest degree of consensus from the informants was jaundice (0.95), and the lowest degree of consensus was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (0.61). According to fidelity levels, 28 species resulted in fidelity levels of 100%. The internetwork analysis was first applied for the interpretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a community, although it has been strictly used until now for social science in the analysis of social trends and phenomena through the interrelationship of specific components.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2014
Hyun Kim; Mi-Jang Song
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE This study aims to record and analyze the traditional knowledge of wild edible mushrooms utilized by residents living in Jirisan National Park (Korea). MATERIALS AND METHODS Data was collected through participant observations and in-depth interviews with semi-structured questionnaires. Quantitative comparative analyses were accomplished through informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level (FL), and inter-network analysis (INA). RESULTS The amounts of traditional knowledge recorded from the communities were 158 practices classified within 22 families, 33 genera, and 38 species. The representative families were Tricholomataceae (23.20%) followed by Pleurotaceae (13.10%), Polyporaceae (8.21%), and Hymenochaetaceae (6.33%). The results revealed 24 modes of preparation for the mushrooms, with the most common methods being for preparing them as, seasoned cooked mushrooms (40.75%), soups (13.84%), teas (12.18%), simmered (9.19%), and roasted (6.20%). The informant consensus factor (ICF) values in the ailment categories were birth-related disorders (1.00), genitourinary system disorders (1.00), other conditions (0.91), circulatory system disorders (0.76), and diabetes (0.33). In terms of fidelity levels, five mushroom species showed 100% of fidelities. Regarding the inter-network analysis (INA) of mushrooms and ailments, the positions of medicinal mushrooms is distributed into three main groups. Also, regarding the network of mushrooms and foods, the location of edible mushrooms is distributed into two main food groups. CONCLUSION The utilization of the inter-network analysis has been used typically within the social sciences for the analysis of social trends and phenomena through the interrelationship of specific social components, from this study it is being applied for the interpretation of traditional knowledge utilizing mushrooms in the local communities. Through this study, we are confident that the useful application of the inter-network analysis has been successfully proven.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2011
Mi-Jang Song; Hyun Kim
AIM OF THE STUDY This study aims at a comprehensive analysis of ethnoveterinary treatment in the cattle-raising section of Sanrimgyeongje which covers 12 different volumes of literature including 4 Korean and 8 Chinese literatures from the 7th to the 18th century, with a special attention to the treatments for cattle diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS The above mentioned literature was analyzed through several steps: translation of the Chinese text into Korean, identification of diseases, verification of medicinal materials and confirmation of scientific names. RESULTS As recorded in the thirteen references, this study shows that there are 143 medicinal materials which have been used as therapies for cattle diseases. Of these, 55 plant species belonging to 52 genera in 29 families had 100 modes of usages, while one species of fungus was used in one way. Likewise, 11 species of animals belonging to 11 genera in 10 families were utilized in 18 different methods. Lastly, 9 kinds of inorganic matters were used in 11 ways with another 4 kinds being useful in 14 different ways. Consequently, each of rinderpests, murrains, and hooves has been treated, respectively with 14, 10 and 3 types of medicinal decoctions made from 35, 18 and 15 kinds of medicinal materials. CONCLUSION This diversified usage of various medicinal materials is incomparable to the modern ethnoveterinary investigation which tends to focus strictly in plants. If additional studies were to be conducted on these treatments and all the medicinal materials used within them, various new treatments and medicines can be developed to supplement the pharmacopoeia of contemporary veterinary medicine.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine | 2014
Mi-Jang Song; Hyun Kim; B.W. Lee; Heldenbrand Brian; Chan-Ho Park; Chang-Woo Hyun
BackgroundThe purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used by residents in Gayasan National Park in order to obtain basic data regarding the sustainable conservation of its natural plant ecosystem.MethodsData was collected using participatory observations and in-depth interviews, as the informants also become investigators themselves through attending informal meetings, open and group discussions, and overt observations with semi-structured questionnaires. Quantitative analyses were accomplished through the informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level, and inter-network analysis (INA).ResultsIn total, 200 species of vascular plants belonging to 168 genera and 87 families were utilized traditionally in 1,682 ethnomedicianal practices. The representative families were Rosaceae (6.5%) followed by Asteraceae (5.5%), Poaceae (4.5%), and Fabaceae (4.0%). On the whole, 27 kinds of plant-parts were used and prepared in 51 various ways by the residents for medicinal purposes. The ICF values in the ailment categories were muscular-skeletal disorders (0.98), pains (0.97), respiratory system disorders (0.97), liver complaints (0.97), and cuts and wounds (0.96). In terms of fidelity levels, 57 plant species showed fidelities levels of 100%. Regarding the inter-network analysis (INA) between ailments and medicinal plants within all communities of this study, the position of ailments is distributed into four main groups.ConclusionThe results of the inter-network analysis will provide a suitable plan for sustainable preservation of the national park through a continued study of the data. Particular species of medicinal plants need to be protected for a balanced plant ecosystem within the park. Consequently, through further studies using these results, proper steps need to be established for preparing a wise alternative to create a sustainable natural plant ecosystem for Gayasan National Park and other national parks.