High-Value Plant Species Used for the Treatment of "Fever" by the Karen Hill Tribe People.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Phumthum M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7277386 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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High-Value Plant Species Used for the Treatment of "Fever" by the Karen Hill Tribe People.
Phumthum Methee M Sadgrove Nicholas J NJ
Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) 20200429 5
The symptom "fever" is generally not itself a terminal condition. However, it does occur with common mild to severe ailments afflicting the world population. Several allopathic medicines are available to attenuate fever by targeting the pathogen or the symptom itself. However, many people in marginal civilizations are obligated to use locally grown medicinal plants due to limited access to common pharmaceuticals. The Karen ethnic group is the biggest ethnic minority group in the hill-tribes of T ...[more]
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| S-EPMC7877639 | biostudies-literature
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| S-EPMC8913599 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Introduction: Many people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Uganda widely use herbal medicines. However, their toxicity and safety have not been investigated. The use of these plants can potentially cause harmful effects to the health of patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the cytotoxicity of some commonly used medicinal plant species used by PLHIV. Methods: The cytotoxicity of the plant extracts was determined with the AlamarBlue cell viability assay using the human glioblastoma cell line U87.CD4.CXCR4. The cells were treated with varying concentrations of extracts of Warburgia ugandensis, Erythrina abyssinica, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, Albizia coriaria, Psorospermum febrifugium, Gymnosporia senegalensis, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, Securidaca longipendunculata, Vachellia hockii, Gardenia ternifolia, and Bridelia micrantha reconstituted with ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Using regression analysis, the half maximal cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of the plant extracts were calculated from exponential curve fits, since they provided the highest coefficient of determination, R2. Results: The ethanol extracts of W. ugandensis (CC50 = 7.6 μg/ml) and A. coriaria (CC50 = 1.5 μg/ml) as well as the DMSO-reconstituted extracts of W. ugandensis (CC50 = 6.4 μg/ml) and A. coriria (CC50 = < 4 μg/ml) were highly cytotoxic. The cytotoxicity of W. ugandensis and A. coriaria compared well with the indigenous traditional knowledge of the toxic effects experienced when the plants were not used correctly. However, the cytotoxicity of most of the plant extracts (15/22) was low to moderate (CC50 = 21-200 μg/ml). Conclusion: Most of the plant species tested in this study had low to moderate cytotoxicity against U87.CD4.CXCR4 cells, except W. ugandensis and A. coriria which were highly cytotoxic.
| S-EPMC9108544 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundLow-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is one of the most important types of cholesterol and has an impact on health. Certain lifestyle and dietary habits in different populations may leads to increased levels of LDL-C, particularly among those with poor education and economic statuses, such as hill tribe people in Thailand. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and determine the factors associated with high LDL-C levels among hill tribe people in northern Thailand.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed to gather information from six main hill tribe populations: Akha, Lahu, Hmong, Yao, Karen, and Lisu. Individuals who were aged over 30 years and living in 30 selected hill tribe villages were invited to participate in the study. A validated questionnaire and 5-mL blood specimens were used to obtain data. Correlation analyses, chi-square tests, t-tests, and logistic regression were used to detect correlations and associations.ResultsA total of 2552 participants were recruited into the study; 65.9% were females, and 64.1% were aged younger than 60 years old. Approximately 69.6% of participants had abnormal LDL-C levels; 33.6% had above-optimal levels, 24.3% had borderline high levels, 8.0% had high levels, and 3.7% had very high levels. A total of 17.4% of participants had low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high LDL-C levels, while 14.9% had high triglyceride and LDL-C levels. After controlling for sex, age, religion, education, annual family income, and marital status in the multivariate model, three variables were found to be associated with high LDL-C levels: occupation, the amount of lard used in daily cooking, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Those who were working as agriculturalists had a 1.34-fold greater chance of having abnormal LDL-C than traders and others (95% CI = 1.09-1.34). Those who used moderate and high quantities of lard in their daily cooking had a 1.45-fold (95% CI = 1.15-1.82) and 1.31-fold (95% CI = 1.04-1.68) greater likelihood of having abnormal LDL-C levels than those who used low quantities, respectively. Those who had abnormal HbA1c levels were less likely to develop abnormal LDL-C levels than those who had normal HbA1c levels (AOR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.51-92).ConclusionsEffective public health programs that do not conflict with the cultures of hill tribes are urgently needed, particularly programs encouraging the use of small quantities of lard for daily cooking practices.
| S-EPMC7953743 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHill tribe children, an ethnic minority group in Thailand, experience wide-ranging social and health inequalities. Previous reports indicate that hill tribe children, especially age under 5 years, face social health disadvantages but little is known about the underlying causes. Exploring healthcare utilization among hill tribe children is therefore essential and it may well provide some insight.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted using purposive sampling techniques to recruit participants based on our criteria. In-depth interviews and focus-group discussions were employed to explore the experiences of parents (n = 20), community leaders (n = 20), and healthcare providers (n = 20) when caring for children aged under 5 years. Interview transcripts were coded, and thematic analysis was then performed.ResultsThe participants shared their experiences with accessing healthcare services in underserved areas. Barriers to access was the central theme identified. Sub-themes included: (1) distance matters, (2) education and socioeconomic deprivation, (3) lack of cultural sensitivity, (4) communication problems, (5) tradition, beliefs, and differences in cultural practice, (6) lack of child health professionals, and (7) bureaucratic hurdles.ConclusionsHealthcare services and environments must be transformed to provide healthcare services, education, and information appropriate to the cultures and beliefs prevalent in the hill tribe population.
| S-EPMC9438234 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing many severe problems globally, and it is not known for how long it will last. The only hope we have for dealing with the problem is to produce sufficient vaccines and administer them efficiently. However, the current demand for vaccines greatly exceeds the supply, and many people will suffer from the disease for still some time. Moreover, the period for immunity obtained by the vaccines remains unknown, and we cannot predict how long the world will suffer the COVID-19 infections. Therefore, there will be a continued demand for treatments of its symptoms. An alternative solution for providing such treatment is the use of traditional medicinal plants. Aims: To document medicinal plants used by Hmong and Karen in Thailand to treat mild symptoms of COVID-19. Methods: Traditional knowledge about ethnomedicinal plants used by Hmong and Karen in Thailand for treating mild symptoms listed by WHO as associated with COVID 19, was collected in field interviews and extracted from the literature. Results: We identified 491 plant species used medicinally by both ethnic groups to treat fever, cough, diarrhea, muscle pain and ache, rash, headache, sore throat, and conjunctivitis. Of the 491 species 60 were mentioned at least five times in the literature or in our field data. Of these 60 species, we propose the most commonly used ones for treatments of mild COVID-19 symptoms. Ten of these most commonly mentioned species were used for treatments of fever, nine for treatment of cough, four for treatment of diarrhea, two for treatment of rash, and a single species was used to treat muscle pain and headache. Conclusion: This study suggests alternative treatments for mild symptoms of COVID-19 with medicinal plants that are traditionally used by the ethnic minority groups of the Hmong and Karen in Thailand. Although COVID-19 is a new disease, its mild symptoms are shared with many other diseases. Traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used by the Thai Karen and Hmong could help in the treatments of these symptoms associated with COVID-19. Many of the proposed plants were used abundantly by both ethnic groups, and other studies on biological activities support their efficacy in such treatments.
| S-EPMC8329454 | biostudies-literature