BACKGROUND The Schools' Folklore Scheme (1937-1939) was implemented at a pivotal time in Irelands' political history. It resulted in a body of ethnological information that is unique in terms of when, why and how it was collected. This material consists of over 700,000 pages of information, including ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical traditions, reflecting an oral identity that spans generation...

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and use by traditional healers in southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Data were collected from 45 randomly selected traditional healers using semi-structured interviews and observations. Sixty-seven ethnomedicinal plant species used by traditional healers to manage 51 different huma...

A model for a database system that provides a standardized environment for submission, storage, and retrieval of ethnomedicinal data was developed. The model is based on object oriented database technology, and is suitable for not only storing data, digital images, sound and video, but also for modeling domain knowledge associated with plant-based medicinal preparations utilized in systems of t...

The Economic Botany Data Collection Standard (EBDCS) has been successfully followed by ethnobotanists investigating plant uses in many parts of the world. However, we have encountered some cases in our study of traditional medicine where the standard seems incomplete and inaccurate when it is applied to plant uses of rural or indigenous societies in developing countries. We propose two categori...

Using data sourced from the SANBI MedList database, the most comprehensive inventory of ethnomedicinal plants for the Flora of southern Africa region, taxa were grouped by order. A least squares regression analysis was used to test the null hypothesis that the use of these plants by traditional healers is strictly random. The above approach, following a North American study by Moerman (1979), s...

The uses of ethnomedicinal plants for human healthcare still remain the most widely used medication system in developing and least developed nation. This article reviews the research on use of ethnomedicinal plants as anticancer. The investigations focused primarily on dietary ethnomedicinal species reported with anticancer bioactive compounds distributed from 24 plant families. Population rise...

BACKGROUND Traditional medicines remained as the most affordable and easily accessible source of treatment in the primary health care system among diverse communities in Ethiopia. The Oromo community living in the prehistoric Harla and Dengego valleys has long history of ethnomedicinal know-how and practice against human and livestock ailments. However, this rich ethnomedicinal knowledge had be...

Cola acuminata also known as the bissy nut extract was originally endemic to Africa but is now present in a number of tropical countries including Jamaica. Despite its rich history of ethnomedicinal use and promising bioactivity, there still exists limited research on this plant. Exploring and compiling the ethnomedicinal usage, identified bioactivities and isolates of C. acuminata will prove u...

BACKGROUND Traditional knowledge on ethnomedicinal plant is slowly eroding. The exploration, identification and documentation on utilization of ethnobotanic resources are essential for restoration and preservation of ethnomedicinal knowledge about the plants and conservation of these species for greater interest of human society. METHODS The study was conducted at fringe areas of Chilapatta R...