Bradai Lyès, Neffar Souad, Amrani Khaled, Bissati Samia, Chenchouni Haroun
Univ Ouargla, Fac. des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Lab. Bio-ressources Sahariennes: Préservation et Valorisation, Ouargla 30000, Algeria.
Department of Natural and Life Sciences, FSESNV, University of Tebessa, 12002 Tebessa, Algeria.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2015 Mar 13;162:31-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.12.031. Epub 2014 Dec 29.
Desert truffles are edible hypogeous fungi, highly appreciated by the inhabitants of hot-desert settlements. Native Saharan people use truffles for food, promoting tourism, increasing fertility, and treatment of eye diseases and fatigue.
This study consists of a cross-sectional survey focusing on the knowledge, use and ethnomycological practices of desert truffles among the native people of the Algerian Northern Sahara.
The study was conducted through direct interviews with 60 truffle-hunters in the regions of Ouargla and Ghardaia.
Three species were harvested and consumed by the surveyed subjects: Terfezia claveryi was the most appreciated and most expensive species, followed by Terfezia areanaria moderately preferred, then Tirmania nivea the least appreciated and least expensive. Among the 60 interviewees, 90% rely on the abundance of symbiotic plants (Helianthemum lippii) to harvest truffles, 65% begin harvesting from mid-February to March, after rains of the autumn (38%) and winter (36%), particularly in the Wadi beds (37%) and Daya landscapes (32%). Interviewees harvested truffles mainly for home consumption; however 26.7% sell any harvest surplus, and of those only 15% generate significant revenue from this source, and 73% considered the sale of desert truffles to have low financial value. Desert truffles are used in traditional medicine, especially against eye infections (22%), weakness (19%) and to promote male fertility (19%). In the case of desert truffles for consumption, the surveyed population preferred to prepare the truffles with couscous and meat, or in porridge. Respondents used price as the main criterion for deciding whether to purchase desert truffles.
The surveyed trufflers use the knowledge passed from one generation to the next to help ensure a good harvest of truffles during each foray into the desert. Our findings highlight the various uses of truffles in the Sahara Desert, and how these relate to the lifestyle of local people.
沙漠松露是可食用的地下真菌，深受炎热沙漠地区居民的喜爱。撒哈拉地区的原住民将松露用于食用、促进旅游业、提高生育能力以及治疗眼部疾病和疲劳。
本研究是一项横断面调查，重点关注阿尔及利亚北部撒哈拉地区原住民对沙漠松露的知识、用途和民族真菌学实践。
该研究通过对瓦尔格拉和加尔德亚地区的60名松露猎人进行直接访谈来开展。
被调查对象采集并食用了三种松露：克拉维氏地菇是最受喜爱且价格最高的品种，其次是中等偏好的阿里亚纳地菇，然后是最不受喜爱且价格最低的雪白块菌。在60名受访者中，90%依靠共生植物（唇形半日花）的丰富程度来采集松露，65%在秋季（38%）和冬季（36%）降雨后，特别是在河谷床（37%）和达亚地貌（32%），从2月中旬到3月开始采集。受访者采集松露主要供家庭食用；然而，26.7%的人会出售剩余的采集品，其中只有15%能从这一来源获得可观收入，73%的人认为出售沙漠松露的经济价值较低。沙漠松露被用于传统医学，尤其是用于治疗眼部感染（22%）、虚弱（19%）以及促进男性生育能力（19%）。对于食用的沙漠松露，被调查人群更喜欢用蒸粗麦粉和肉或煮粥来烹制。受访者将价格作为决定是否购买沙漠松露的主要标准。
被调查的松露采集者利用代代相传的知识，以确保每次深入沙漠采集松露都能有好收成。我们的研究结果突出了松露在撒哈拉沙漠的各种用途，以及它们与当地居民生活方式的关系。
