Williams Vivienne Linda, Whiting Martin John
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Biology, Division of Brain, Behaviour and Evolution, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2016 Feb 17;179:265-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.12.024. Epub 2015 Dec 28.
The use of animals and plants as traditional remedies for both medical afflictions and social or cultural issues (symbolism) has a long history in South Africa and a reasonably large proportion of the population will consult a traditional healer during their life-time. Compared to plants, the use of animal parts in traditional medicine and folklore is poorly documented.
We interviewed 32 traders from South Africa's largest traditional medicine market, the Faraday Street market in Johannesburg, of which only 20 consented to supplying some species use information. Traders are particularly protective of the medicinal properties of their wares. Given the sensitive nature of this information (12 traders declined to be interviewed), we were only able to gather data on their perceived uses and no data on dosages, efficacy, or individual turn-over of products. We assessed the trade of animal parts from the perspective of consumer needs by analysing use-categories (e.g. headaches, strokes, skin problems, bad luck, etc.) and the degree of informant consensus in the selection of fauna to treat certain conditions.
We documented 301 uses for animal parts from 52 species and 18 'morphospecies' that we allocated to 122 broad-use categories. Overall, reptiles and mammals were the most frequently used taxa in traditional medicine and some species had multiple uses (i.e., appeared in multiple use-categories) including crocodiles, lizards generally, chameleons, striped polecats, elephants and jackals. Animals were mostly used for 'strength' (physical or overcoming fear), but also as love charms, warding off bad luck or bad spirits or improving one's luck. Only 36% of our categories were medicinal (e.g., headaches, skin problems, swollen feet, etc.). We also found a high rate of non-disclosure of uses per species (a mean 86% of traders did not reveal information on the use of a species), and a variable degree of consensus between the traders on what particular species are actually used for.
We suggest that traditional medicine markets provide a unique opportunity to gauge the health and symbolic or personal issues representative of a large sector of society. What's more, we recommend that researchers be more mindful in the way that use information is reported. We also highlight the potentially serious threat of traditional medicine to species that may be particularly vulnerable by virtue of their restricted distribution or predictable behaviour.
在南非，将动植物用作治疗疾病以及解决社会或文化问题（象征意义）的传统疗法由来已久，相当大比例的人口在其一生中会咨询传统治疗师。与植物相比，传统医学和民俗中使用动物部位的记录较少。
我们采访了来自南非最大的传统药物市场——约翰内斯堡法拉第街市场的32名商人，其中只有20人同意提供一些物种的使用信息。商人对其商品的药用特性特别保密。鉴于这些信息的敏感性（12名商人拒绝接受采访），我们只能收集到关于他们所认为的用途的数据，而没有关于剂量、疗效或产品个体周转率的数据。我们通过分析使用类别（如头痛、中风、皮肤问题、厄运等）以及信息提供者在选择治疗特定病症的动物种类时的共识程度，从消费者需求的角度评估动物部位的交易。
我们记录了来自52个物种和18个“形态物种”的动物部位的301种用途，我们将其归入122个广泛的使用类别。总体而言，爬行动物和哺乳动物是传统医学中最常使用的分类群，一些物种有多种用途（即出现在多个使用类别中），包括鳄鱼、一般的蜥蜴、变色龙、条纹艾鼬、大象和豺狼。动物主要用于“增强力量”（身体上的或克服恐惧），但也用作爱情符咒、驱邪或改善运气。我们的类别中只有36%是药用的（如头痛、皮肤问题、脚肿等）。我们还发现每个物种的用途披露率很高（平均86%的商人未透露物种的使用信息），并且商人之间对于特定物种实际用途的共识程度各不相同。
我们认为传统药物市场提供了一个独特的机会来衡量代表社会很大一部分人的健康以及象征或个人问题。此外，我们建议研究人员在报告使用信息的方式上更加谨慎。我们还强调了传统医学对那些可能因其分布受限或行为可预测而特别脆弱的物种的潜在严重威胁。
