College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China.
Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100081, China.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2019 Apr 27;15(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s13002-019-0299-y.
Beverages prepared by fermenting plants have a long history of use for medicinal, social, and ritualistic purposes around the world. Socio-linguistic groups throughout China have traditionally used plants as fermentation starters (or koji) for brewing traditional rice wine. The objective of this study was to evaluate traditional knowledge, diversity, and values regarding plants used as starters for brewing glutinous rice wine in the Dong communities in the Guizhou Province of China, an area of rich biological and cultural diversity.
Semi-structured interviews were administered for collecting ethnobotanical data on plants used as starters for brewing glutinous rice wine in Dong communities. Field work was carried out in three communities in Guizhou Province from September 2017 to July 2018. A total of 217 informants were interviewed from the villages.
A total of 60 plant species were identified to be used as starters for brewing glutinous rice wine, belonging to 58 genera in 36 families. Asteraceae and Rosaceae are the most represented botanical families for use as a fermentation starter for rice wine with 6 species respectively, followed by Lamiaceae (4 species); Asparagaceae, Menispermaceae, and Polygonaceae (3 species respectively); and Lardizabalaceae, Leguminosae, Moraceae, Poaceae, and Rubiaceae (2 species, respectively). The other botanical families were represented by one species each. The species used for fermentation starters consist of herbs (60.0%), shrubs (23.3%), climbers (10.0%), and trees (6.7%). The parts used include the root (21.7%), leaf (20.0%), and the whole plant (16.7%). Findings indicate a significant relationship between knowledge of plants used as fermentation starters with age (P value < 0.001) and educational status (P value = 0.004) but not with gender (P value = 0.179) and occupation (P value = 0.059). The species that are most used by informants include Pueraria lobata var. montana (Lour.) van der Maesen (UV = 1.74; Leguminosae), Actinidia eriantha Benth. (UV = 1.51; Actinidiaceae), Oryza sativa L. var. glutinosa Matsum (UV = 1.5; Poaceae).
This study highlights that while most of the Dong informants continue to use a diverse range of plants as a fermentation starter for brewing glutinous rice wine, knowledge of these plants is being lost by the younger generations. Documentation of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and outreach is thus needed to conserve biocultural diversity in the rural Dong communities in southern China.
世界各地的人们长期以来一直将通过发酵植物制成的饮料用于药用、社交和仪式目的。中国各地的社会语言群体传统上一直使用植物作为发酵剂（或曲）来酿造传统米酒。本研究的目的是评估中国贵州省侗族社区中用于酿造糯米酒的植物的传统知识、多样性和价值，该地区具有丰富的生物和文化多样性。
通过半结构式访谈收集侗族社区中用于酿造糯米酒的植物的民族植物学数据。2017 年 9 月至 2018 年 7 月，在贵州省的三个社区进行了实地考察。从村庄中总共采访了 217 名知情者。
共确定 60 种植物被鉴定为酿造糯米酒的发酵剂，属于 36 科 58 属。菊科和蔷薇科是用于米酒发酵的最具代表性的植物科，分别有 6 种，其次是唇形科（4 种）；天南星科、防己科和薯蓣科（各 3 种）；防己科、豆科、桑科、禾本科和茜草科（各 2 种）。其他植物科由 1 种组成。用于发酵的植物包括草本植物（60.0%）、灌木（23.3%）、藤本植物（10.0%）和乔木（6.7%）。使用的部分包括根（21.7%）、叶（20.0%）和整株植物（16.7%）。研究结果表明，用于发酵的植物知识与年龄（P 值<0.001）和教育程度（P 值=0.004）之间存在显著关系，但与性别（P 值=0.179）和职业（P 值=0.059）无关。被信息提供者最常用的物种包括野葛（Pueraria lobata var. montana (Lour.) van der Maesen）（UV=1.74；豆科）、三叶猕猴桃（Actinidia eriantha Benth.）（UV=1.51；猕猴桃科）和糯米（Oryza sativa L. var. glutinosa Matsum）（UV=1.5；禾本科）。
本研究表明，尽管大多数侗族信息提供者继续使用多种植物作为酿造糯米酒的发酵剂，但这些植物的知识正在被年轻一代所遗忘。因此，需要对传统民族植物学知识进行记录和推广，以保护中国南方侗族农村社区的生物文化多样性。
