Plants for health: An ethnobotanical 25-year repeat survey of traditional medicine sold in a major marketplace in North-west Yunnan, China

Publication date: 5 October 2018
Source:Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 224
Author(s): Lingling Zhang, Huifu Zhuang, Yu Zhang, Li Wang, Yiqi Zhang, Yanfei Geng, Yi Gou, Shengji Pei, Yuhua Wang
Ethnopharmacological relevanceAlthough quantitative surveys of traditional medicine markets are widely used to gain insights into the economic value, popularity or conservation status of traditional medicinal species, there have been very few repeat surveys. This study is an exception. The research was carried out in Sanyuejie Market in North-west Yunnan Province in China for three reasons. Firstly, Sanyuejie Market is large and historically significant, having operated since the Tang Dynasty (794 CE). Secondly, Sanyuejie Market is located along the "Tea-Horse Road" and "Southern Silk Road", and as such the trade from this market radiates widely throughout China and into neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Nepal and India. Thirdly, a comprehensive and systematic survey of the market was completed in 1987/88 and so this provided a unique opportunity to conduct a repeat quantitative survey. The findings, highlighting changes in species sold and the reasons why the changes have occurred, are highly relevant to ethnopharmacology at a time of substantial socio-economic and cultural change throughout China.Aim of the studyTo understand the changes in the medicinal plants trade at Sanyuejie Market between 1987/88 and 2012/13.Materials and methodsA quantitative ethnobotanical re-surveying involving literature review, key informant interviews and visual observations of vendor booths at the market and village investigations, was carried out in Sanyuejie.ResultsIn 1987/88, 401 types of herbal preparations derived from 505 species in 111 families and 315 genera were sold in the market. In 2012/13, 623 herbal preparations derived from 709 species in 173 families and 451 genera were being sold. There were 105 types of herbal preparations originating from 115 species that were recorded in 1987/88 but are no longer sold at the market 25 years later. In addition, 326 types of herbal medicine preparations originating from 336 species have been added to the market since the original survey. Labor divisions have also appeared in the market.ConclusionThis study validates that the diversity of herbal medicines sold at Sanyuejie Market has increased and changed greatly. The growing demands for traditional herbal medicines combined with government initiatives to develop the local economy are drivers of the observed changes.

Graphical abstract

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