Market survey on the traditional medicine of the Lijiang area in Yunnan Province, China

Floristic diversity and UF

In the market, we encountered 277 species of medicinal plants whose base sources have been identified (Table 1). Among the 277 medicinal individuals, the original samples include fungi, lichens, bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms, of which angiosperms were the most diverse, accounting for 91% (Fig. 3A). The plants belonged to 97 taxonomic families according to the Flora of China and the Flora Yunnanica. The dominant plant family was Asteraceae, with 31 species representing 11.12% of the total species, followed by 14 species of Rosaceae and Lamiaceae (5.05%) and 10 species of Orchidaceae and Polygonaceae (3.61%) (Fig. 3B). Other studies on traditional markets of the Naxi people of the Lijiang area also recorded Asteraceae as the family with the highest number of medicinal plant species, and there were many varieties [26, 27]. This result indicated that the Naxi medicinal plants in Lijiang involved a wide range of families, which was consistent with the rich plant resources and biodiversity in Lijiang, indicating that the Naxi people in Lijiang had a degree of systematic and comprehensive understanding and use of these medicinal plants. Combined with the fourth national survey of traditional Chinese medicine resources, among the 277 species of medicinal plants, 133 species (48.01%) were found to be distributed in the city, 54 species (19.49%) were distributed along the Jinsha River, and 14 species (5.05%) were distributed on Yulong Snow Mountain, including Rhodiola fastigiata, Pyrola forrestiana, Aconitum brachypodum, etc.

Table 1 The 277 species of medicinal plants in this study and their relevant informationFig. 3figure 3

A Taxonomic composition and percentage of 277 plant medicines. B Dominant medicinal plant families recorded in 3 traditional markets

Identifying medicinal material with high UF values indicated its abundant use and widespread knowledge among the local communities [28]. In the present study, the UF ranged between 0.3 and 1 (Table 1, Table 2). Among the samples, there were 25 species (8.99%) with a UF value of 1, such as Achyranthes bidentata, Aconitum carmichaelii, Rodgersia sambucifolia, etc., 123 species (44.24%) with a UF value above 0.8, and 267 species (96.04%) with a UF value above 0.5, which showed that most of the medicinal materials sold in the market had a high degree of identification and utilization and were also commonly used medicinal materials.

Table 2 Use frequency (UF) values of 277 plants in this studyMedicinal parts

In this market survey, the types of medicinal parts included the root and rhizome, stem, bark, leaf, fruit, seed, whole plant, flower and others, all reflecting the diversity of medicinal parts of plants used by the Naxi people in Lijiang. The root and rhizome are the main organs for organic storage. There were 112 species of medicinal plants from the root, accounting for 40.43% of the total number of species investigated, followed by the whole plant, with 68 species, accounting for 24.55%; by contrast, there were relatively few leaves and seeds (Fig. 4). These data were similar to those of previous studies [29]. However, the root and whole plants from wild plants are not conducive to the sustainable development of medicinal plants, so it is necessary to promote artificial planting.

Fig. 4figure 4

Numbers of medicinal plants belonging to different medicinal parts

Medicinal applications and ICF

According to the ICPC-2, the herbs sold at the herbal market were used to treat 83 human ailments, which were divided into 16 categories (Table 3). This type of medicine can have multiple therapeutic uses. For example, Oxalis corniculata can be used to treat musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases, gynaecological system diseases and skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases. This variety shows the diversity of herbs for use by the Naxi people in the Lijiang area. Among the 16 medical categories, most medicinal materials were used to treat diseases of the digestive system (59.93%), followed by diseases of the general and unspecified system (57.04%), respiratory (46.21%), female genital (42.24%), skin (39.35%) and musculoskeletal systems (34.30%). Among the medicinal plants provided by different respondents, there are very few (only one or none) identical plants that can be used to treat the same group of diseases. This observation showed that there are many differences among the Naxi people in the methods for treating a specific disease, i.e., that they have low consensus about disease treatment methods. There are two possible reasons for this: (1) because the Naxi people live in biodiversity-rich areas, the abundant medicinal plant resources provided them with a wide choice of medicinal plants to use [30], and (2) different Naxi folk healers may have different degrees of understanding of the same disease.

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (ICF) values of the medicinal plants

The informant consensus factor (ICF) is a measure of information diversity. The higher the ICF value is, the greater the difference among plant species used in the treatment of a given disease, and the lower the ICF value is, the smaller the difference among plant species used in the treatment of a disease [25]. The highest ICF values were recorded in this study for meningitis N71, malignant neoplasms stomach D74, dementia P70 (ICF = 2.0) and infectious disease A78 (ICF = 1.50), followed by tracheitis R77, sinusitis R75, question of pregnancy W01, prostatitis Y73 and syphilis Y70 (ICF = 1.33). Further analysis indicated that most of the plant species were used for pain general/multiple sites A01 (Nur = 99, Nt = 27), followed by rheumatoid arthritis L88 (Nur = 96, Nt = 10), skin disease other S99 (Nur = 78, Nt = 11) and menstruation irregular/frequent X07 (Nur = 74, Nt = 8). These values indicated that these four groups of diseases are common in areas were the Naxi people live, and Naxi folk healers have a high consensus on the treatment of these diseases.

Herbal medicine recorded in the Dongba Sutra

The Dongba Sutra recorded topics such as philosophy, history, religion and medicine and is used as a type of encyclopaedia for the Naxi community. Among the topics, many medical classics reflect the contents related to life and health in ancient times, which are the simple understanding of life, health and medicine of ancient people and were of great significance to the study of the origin of medicine. The Dongba people who practiced the primitive religion of the Naxi people mastered Dongba words and accumulated the initial knowledge and long-term practice of medicine [15]. In addition, they formed unique diagnosis and treatment theories and developed valuable experience in disease prevention and treatment. In this market research, 19 of 277 medicinal materials were recorded in the Dongba Sutra (Table 4, Fig. 5). All the medicines recorded in the Dongba Sutra are formulas, and the Naxi Dongba is compatible with medicines used to treat diseases. For example, to treat serious colds, the Naxi Dongba uses Bupleurum candollei and Pyrola forrestiana (Fig. 5A). Pueraria lobata and Melia azedarach can be used to treat malnutrition in children (Fig. 5B), Rheum palmatum, Rheum likiangense and Wolfiporia cocos can be used to treat urinary infection (Fig. 5C), and Reineckia carnea, Sambucus williamsii and Drynaria delavayi can be combined to treat dyspepsia (Fig. 5D).

Table 4 Medicinal plants sold in the market and recorded in the Dongba SutraFig. 5figure 5

Some medicinal plants sold in the market and recorded in the Dongba Sutra

Herbal medicine recorded in Yulong Ben Cao

The Yulong Ben Cao was compiled based on the environment, climate, eating habits and other diseases where the Naxi community is situated. It is a key source on Naxi medicine [31]. In this market research, 12 of the medicinal plants were recorded in the Yulong Ben Cao (Fig. 6), namely Cynanchum otophyllum, Rodgersia sambucifolia, Swertia punicea, Geum aleppicum, Salvia trijuga, Polygala arillata, Senecio scandens, Polygonum paleaceum, Rumex nepalensis, Arctium lappa, Ajuga forrestii and Valeriana jatamansi. Among these species, Rumex nepalensis is also recorded in the Dongba Sutra. In the Dongba Sutra, Rumex nepalensis is mashed, mixed with honey and smashed green onions to treat men with hernia (Fig. 7). In the Yulong Ben Cao, the indications for Rumex nepalensis are different, and it is primarily used for treating skin eczema, sweat spots, acute tonsillitis, constipation and other ailments [32]. In the theory of TCM [33], the indications for Rumex nepalensis are roughly the same as those recorded in Yulong Ben Cao. The Yulong Ben Cao was written in Chinese by an author from the Naxi people and is the product of the combined culture of Naxi medical culture and Han medical culture [34]. Lijiang is in north-western Yunnan Province at the junction of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet. It is a multi-ethnic place. In addition to Han and Naxi, there are 21 ethnic minorities, such as Tibetan, Bai and Yi. Some medicinal materials are also used by these ethnic minorities, such as Rumex nepalensis. Tibetans use it to treat sores and ulcers, as recorded in the Jingzhu Materia Medica [35]. The Bai people use it to treat constipation, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, eczema, etc. [36]. The Naxi people also have this usage [32]. These phenomena reveal the interrelationship between the Naxi medical culture and the medical culture of the surrounding ethnic groups.

Fig. 6figure 6

Some medicinal plants sold in the market and recorded in Yulong Ben Cao

Fig. 7figure 7

Rumex nepalensis as recorded in the Dongba sutra

Resources status

Among the original plants from the 277 species of medicinal materials, 266 (92.39%) were from the local area, and 21 (6.92%) were from other places. Among them, 258 species (89.27%) were completely wild, 15 species (5.19%) were cultivated, and 16 species (5.54%) were wild or cultivated (Fig. 8). This observation was consistent with the trend in the survey results from the Honghe area of Yunnan Province, where wild medicinal plants accounted for 80.1% [9]. The possible reason was that most of the sellers surveyed during the two surveys were local rhizotomists.

Fig. 8figure 8

A Wild cultivation of medicinal plants on the markets. B Sources of medicinal plants on the markets

According to the ISCREP [21], 2 of the 277 medicinal materials were listed as first class nationally protected plants in China (Table 5), and they were Tiepishihu and Renshen. This finding was also consistent with a survey of the medicinal materials market in Dali Prefecture, Yunnan [13]. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng are "critically endangered" species. Dendrobium officinale was not recorded. Fortunately, both Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng can be obtained through cultivation. There were 17 species listed as second-class nationally protected plants in China (Table 5), of which 15 species sold in the markets of Lijiang were completely taken from wild plants. It is worth noting that Psammosilene tunicoides, Bletilla striata, Gymnadenia conopsea and Rhodiola crenulata were classified as "endangered" species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but all those currently sold on the Lijiang market were collected from the wild; Dysosma versipellis and Gymnadenia orchidis belong to the "vulnerable" species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and all those sold in the Lijiang markets were also collected from the wild. Although Paris pubescens and Cistanche deserticola were classified as "endangered" species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, they could be cultivated and obtained at present. Reasonable utilization and effective protection for these wild species are extremely vital; otherwise, they might be endangered in the near future.

Table 5 First class nationally protected plants and second class nationally protected plants

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