UMR208, PALOC, IRD, MNHN, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.
Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahosot Road, PO. Box 7444, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2019 Jun 13;15(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s13002-019-0307-2.
In Lao PDR, the Hmong ethnic group has extensive knowledge about the use of medicinal plants. However, despite the importance of the Hmong pharmacopeia as a primary health care resource, no study has been undertaken to thoroughly document medicinal plant knowledge and its transmission. Objectives of this study are (i) to describe and characterize Hmong pharmacopeia, and (ii) to understand how medicinal plant knowledge is transmitted and spread among Hmong in Lao PDR, in order to assess whether this knowledge base is under threat.
In order to describe Hmong pharmacopeia, a total of 14 interlocutors were interviewed in three provinces (Bokeo, Xieng Khouang, and Vientiane), using "walk in the wood" methodology. To gain insight about knowledge transmission, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 people. Twenty of them were herbalists. Data analysis was performed using univariate analysis for the description of the pharmacopeia. Medicinal plant knowledge consistency was assessed through use and plant name overlapping. Answers to the semi-structured interview on knowledge transmission were analyzed qualitatively.
Three hundred thirty-three different medicinal species were collected. The majority of uses attributed to plants were gastrointestinal conditions (22% of total use reports), gynecological conditions and sexually transmitted disease (12%), skin affections (8%), kidney and bladder problems (5%), physical traumas (5%), and aphrodisiac (or male tonics; 5%). Use convergences are more marked in the gynecological sphere, but there is a strong heterogeneity in practices and knowledge. Medicinal plant knowledge transmission is oral, gained from direct experience since childhood, matrilineal, and kept strictly within the family lineage. Apparent limited consensus on uses might stem from the method of knowledge transmission and to the economic value given to medicinal plants.
Use pattern of species from the Hmong pharmacopeia does not appear to be strikingly different from the national Lao pharmacopeia. Differences may lie in the methods and reasons for knowledge transmission. It can be proposed that the economic value given to plants helps in keeping the knowledge alive, and encourages its transmission.
Hmong traditional medicine is constantly evolving in a dynamic process and aims to respond to health problems faced by the local population. Herbalists appear as health fully fledged actors and should be recognized and valued as such.
在老挝，苗族族群拥有丰富的药用植物使用知识。然而，尽管苗族药学作为初级卫生保健资源具有重要意义，但迄今为止，尚无研究对药用植物知识及其传承进行全面记录。本研究的目的是：(i) 描述和分析苗族药学；(ii) 了解苗族药用植物知识在老挝苗族中的传播和传承方式，以评估这一知识基础是否受到威胁。
为了描述苗族药学，我们在三省（博胶省、川圹省和万象省）共采访了 14 名受访者，采用“林中漫步”的方法进行。为了深入了解知识传承，我们对半结构访谈进行了 28 次。其中 20 人是草药医生。采用单变量分析方法对药学进行描述。药用植物知识一致性通过使用和植物名称重叠进行评估。对半结构访谈中关于知识传播的回答进行了定性分析。
共收集到 333 种不同的药用物种。植物的主要用途是治疗胃肠道疾病（占总用途报告的 22%）、妇科疾病和性传播疾病（12%）、皮肤病（8%）、肾脏和膀胱问题（5%）、身体创伤（5%）和壮阳药（5%）。妇科领域的用途趋同较为明显，但实践和知识存在很大的异质性。药用植物知识的传承是通过口头传授、从儿时的直接经验中获得的、母系传承的，并且严格限于家族传承。用途上的明显共识不足可能源于知识传承的方法和对药用植物的经济价值的重视。
苗族药学的物种使用模式似乎与老挝国家药学没有明显不同。差异可能在于知识传承的方法和原因。可以提出的是，对植物的经济价值的重视有助于保持知识的活力，并鼓励其传播。
苗族传统医学在不断发展的动态过程中不断演变，旨在应对当地人口面临的健康问题。草药医生作为全面的医疗保健提供者，应得到认可和重视。
