Menzies School of Health Research, PO Box 41096, Casuarina, NT, 0811, Australia.
Strong Women's Group, Wurrumiyanga (Tiwi Islands), Tiwi Land Council, PO Box 38545, Winnellie, NT, 0821, Australia.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2019 Aug 16;15(1):40. doi: 10.1186/s13002-019-0315-2.
Traditional medicinal plants are still used today in many Aboriginal communities across Australia. Our research focused on the contemporary use of such plants in the two communities within the Tiwi Islands, Wurrumiyanga and Pirlangimpi.
This qualitative research project performed a video ethnography, community interviews, and a trial intervention to better understand the extent to which these plants are still used throughout the community and how they may be used more in the future.
We found that several plants are still used predominantly as medicinal washes to treat skin disorders and/or as a tea to treat congestion associated with cold and flu. Those plants that are commonly used are found near to the community in large amounts and are recognized as being both safe and effective.
Within the community, it is the elder women who remain most knowledgeable about these plants and continue to make them for their families. However, there are many families who no longer know how to make these traditional medicines though they express a desire to use them. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a central location or method to produce traditional medicine for the community-a bush pharmacy.
传统药用植物在澳大利亚许多原住民社区仍在使用。我们的研究集中在 Tiwi 群岛的两个社区（Wurrumiyanga 和 Pirlangimpi）中这些植物的当代用途。
本定性研究项目进行了视频民族志、社区访谈和试验性干预，以更好地了解这些植物在整个社区中的使用程度，以及它们在未来可能如何更多地使用。
我们发现，一些植物仍然主要用作药用洗液来治疗皮肤疾病，或用作茶来治疗感冒和流感引起的充血。那些常用的植物在社区附近大量存在，被认为是安全有效的。
在社区中，仍然是年长的妇女最了解这些植物，并继续为她们的家人制作这些植物。然而，许多家庭虽然表示希望使用这些传统药物，但已经不知道如何制作它们。因此，为社区建立一个集中的生产传统药物的地点或方法——一个药草园，将是有益的。
