Ethnobotanical study on medicinal plants used by local Hoklos people on Hainan Island, China.

AIMS OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study is to collect information on the use of medicinal plants by the local Hoklos people on Hainan Island, and compare medicinal traditions in the study area with Li medicines (LM) and traditional Chinese medicines (TCM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethnobotanical data were collected by 3 means: semi-structured interviews, personal conversation and guided field trips. There were 27 informants from 9 towns and 14 villages who were visited. Quantitative indices (Informant Consensus Factor - FIC, Use Value - UV, and Fidelity Level - FL) were calculated.

RESULTS: In the present study, 264 species from 92 families and 233 genera were recorded, with Compositae (20 species), Leguminosae (19 species), Rubiaceae (12 species) and Gramineae (11 species) as predominate families. Leaves were the most frequently used parts in the preparation of local medicines. The most common preparation method was decoction (452 mentions). The plant with the highest values was Eclipta prostrata (0.46). The 6 plant species with the maximum FL (100%) were Atalantia buxifolia (Poir.) Oliv., Garcinia oblongifolia Champ. ex Benth., Hypericum japonicum Thunb. ex Murray, Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv., Microcos paniculata L., and Psidium guajava L. In addition, 120 investigated human ailments were grouped into 10 categories, within which symptoms and signs (184 mentions), diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (139 mentions) and diseases of the digestive system (94 mentions) were the most mentioned in our investigation. The informant consensus about using medicinal plants ranged from 0.27 to 0.48, which showed a high level of agreement among the informants on symptoms and signs (0.48) and certain infectious and parasitic diseases (0.43). In comparison with TCM and LM, the results reflected a closer connection between local medicine and TCM.

CONCLUSION: The information reported by Hoklos people is of great value to ethnic medicinal culture. However, this precious medicinal knowledge is at risk of being lost due to rapid degradation of the environment. It is essential that more people engage in in-depth studies on local medicinal plants and relevant organizations address this serious problem before the damage is irreversible.