Andrea Pieroni, PhD

Lisa Leimar Price, PhD

Editors
Eating and Healing
Traditional Food As Medicine

%
Pre-publication together face health problems related to
REVIEWS, the simplification of diets and erosion of
biocultural diversity. The consequences
COMMENTARIES, can be understood increasingly from
EVALUATIONS. . . insights into functional health benefits
offered by food and dietary supple­
/ / Tpating and Healing explores the con-ments beyond basic nutrition, includ­
Hj temporary significance of the ing hypoglycemic, antioxidant, immu-
primordial recognition by humans that nostimulant, and antibiotic activities.
food and medicine represent a contin­ Understanding of traditional practices
uum rather than the artificial categoriesprovides health-relevant information for
typically imposed in Western science. populations adapting to rapid change in
By bringing together the experiences of developing countries as well as for peo­
researchers working with traditional pop­ple in industrial countries. Here the mul­
ulations around the world, it demon­ tidisciplinary approaches and focus of
strates both the universality and the con­
the authors on both biological and cul­
tinued relevance of this relationship. Intural components of foods as medicines
drawing on current research and meth­ offer a valuable basis for promoting pos­
odologies at the interface between the itive behaviors through food culture.
biological and social sciences, the au­ That traditional systems once lost are
thors offer exciting new insights into anhard to re-create underlines the impera­
underexplored theme in the ethnobo- tive for the kind of documentation, com­
tanical literature and provide a timely pilation, and dissemination of eroding
focus of theoretical and practical im­ knowledge of biocultural diversity rep­
portance linking human health with the resented by this volume."
conservation and use of biodiversity.
Several chapters specifically ad­ Timothy Johns, PhD
dress issues tied to global change. Ru­ Professor of Human Nutrition,
ral subsistence and urban populations McGill University

iflUe
More pre-publication
REVIEWS, COMMENTARIES, EVALUATIONS . . .

//H P h is important volume showcases phasize the importance of wild foods in

A the convergence of medicinal traditional pharmacopoeias and diets
and culinary practices. The theme of and link the erosion of that knowledge
overlapping contexts of plant use that to problems of diminished biodiversity
emerged two or so decades ago contin­ in the modern era. A minor but impor­
ues to intrigue anthropologists, bota­ tant theme illustrates the gendered na­
nists, and ecologists. These and other ture of botanical knowledge as reflected
scholars have come to appreciate that in asymmetrical use patterns of certain
whereas Western scholarly and clinical plants. Issues of globalization are ap­
traditions have treated food and medi­ parent as well in discussions of sour­
cine as discrete domains, their margins cing for the contemporary, primarily
are porous indeed, especially as re­ Western, nutraceutical and herbal prod­
vealed in the ways that indigenous ucts industry. Publication of Eating and
peoples understand human-plant rela­ Healing coincides with a growing inter­
tions. The contributions represent vari­ est in the healthful qualities of foods
ous disciplinary perspectives and illus­ among both the Western scientific and
trate the rich diversity of cultural the lay communities. Scholars as well
constructions and social negotiations as popular consumers of food knowl­
of foods and medicines in traditional edge will be nourished by insights
populations from all continents. Sev­ gained from this book."
eral contributors cast their work in the
frame of ethnopharmacology by link­ Nina L. Etkin, PhD
ing medical ethnography to the biol­ Professor, Department of Anthropology,
ogy of therapeutic action. Others em­ University of Hawaii

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Traditional Food As Medicine
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 Eating and Healing
Traditional Food As Medicine

Andrea Pieroni, PhD

Lisa Leimar Price, PhD
Editors

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eating and healing : traditional food as medicine / Andrea Pieroni, Lisa Leimar Price, editors,
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-56022-982-7 (he. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-56022-982-9 (he. : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56022-983-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-56022-983-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Medicinal plants. 2. Diet therapy. 3. Ethnobotany. 4. Traditional medicine. 5. Wild plants,
Edible—Therapeutic use.
[DNLM: 1. Diet Therapy. 2. Medicine, Traditional. 3. Plants, Edible. 4. Plants, Medicinal.
WB 400 E l4 2005] l. Pieroni, Andrea. II. Price, Lisa Leimar.
RS164.E26 2005
615'.321—dc22
2005009084
 CONTENTS

About the Editors xi

Contributors xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Copyright Acknowledgments xviii
Introduction 1
Andrea Pieroni
Lisa Leimar Price
Asia 3
Europe 4
North America 5
The Caribbean 5
South America 6
Africa 7
Chapter 1. Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine:
Reflections on Thirty Years of Fieldwork 11
Louis E. Grivetti
Introduction 11
Genesis 11
Three Decades of Ethnobotanical Research 19
Reflections and Potential Research Areas 29
Coda 34
Chapter 2. Tibetan Foods and Medicines: Antioxidants
As Mediators of High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 39
Patrick L. Owen
Introduction 39
Adaptations to Altitude 41
Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants 42
Tibetan High-Altitude Food Systems 45
Tibetan Medicine 49
Summary 53
Chapter 3. Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments
with Special Reference to Northeast Thailand, Food
As Functional and Medicinal, and the Social Roles
of Women 65
Lisa Leimar Price

Introduction 65
Wild Plant Foods in the Farming Environment 66
Women’s Roles, Women’s Work, and Women’s Knowledge 71
Consumption and Nutrition 74
Overlaps: Medicinal and Functional Food 77
Medicinal and Functional Food: Wild Plants of Northeast
Thailand 79
Gathered Food Plants of Northeast Thailand with Medicinal
Value 81
Investigations of Wild Plant Foods As Functional/Medicinal
Foods in Thailand 88
Multiple-Use Value, Rarity, and Privatization 89
Conclusions 91

Chapter 4. Functional Foods or Food Medicines?

On the Consumption of Wild Plants Among Albanians
and Southern Italians in Lucania 101
Andrea Pieroni
Cassandra L. Quave

Introduction 101
Ethnographic Background 103
Field Methods 106
Wild Food and Medicinal Plants in Lucania 107
Pharmacology of Wild Functional Foods Consumed
in Southern Italy 121
Conclusion 123
Chapter 5. Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food
in a Cattle-Farming Community in Northern Spain
(Campoo, Cantabria) 131
Manuel Pardo de Santayana
Elia San Miguel
Ramon Morales
Introduction 131
Changes in Food and Health Habits and Conditions 135
Medicinal Food: Digestive Beverages 141
Conclusions 149

Chapter 6. “The Forest and the Seaweed” : Gitga’at

Seaweed, Traditional Ecological Knowledge,
and Community Survival 153
Nancy J. Turner
Helen Clifton
Introduction 153
Seaweed Use Worldwide 156
Gitga’at Seaweed Use 157
The Forest and the Seaweed 166
Back Home in Hartley Bay 167
Conclusion 175

Chapter 7. Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States:

Bridging Perspectives with Chinese Medical Theory 179
Craig A. Hassel
Christopher A. Hafner
Renne Soberg
Jeff Adelmann
Context from a Biomedical Perspective 179
Context from a Chinese Medical Theory Perspective 182
Dilemma of “Integrating” Two Divergent Epistemologies 188
Founding a Medicinal Herb Network 189
Chapter 8. Balancing the System: Humoral Medicine
and Food in the Commonwealth of Dominica 197
Marsha B. Quinlan
Robert J. Quinlan
Introduction 197
Setting 199
Methods 200
Results and Discussion 202
Conclusion 211

Chapter 9. Medicinal Foods in Cuba: Promoting Health

in the Household 213
Gabriele Volpato
Daimy Godinez
Introduction 213
Results and Discussion 214
Conclusions 230

Chapter 10. Healthy Fish: Medicinal and Recommended

Species in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest Coast
(Brazil) 237
Alpina Begossi
Natalia Hanazaki
Rossano M. Ramos
Introduction 237
Methods 239
Results and Discussion 239
Conclusions 247

Chapter 11. Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany

of Native Inhabitants of the Amazon and Atlantic Forest
Areas of Brazil 251
Natalia Hanazaki
Nivaldo Peroni
Alpina Begossi
Introduction , 251
Study Site and Methods 253
Results and Discussion 256
 Conclusions 263
Appendix 263

Chapter 12. Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes

(Apillapampa, Cochabamba Department) 273
Ina Vandebroek
Sabino Sanca
Introduction 273
Study Area 274
Ethnographic Data 275
Methodology 276
Results and Discussion 277
Conclusion 294

Chapter 13. Gathering of Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal

Use in a Mapuche Community of Northwest Patagonia 297
Ana H. Ladio
Introduction 297
Study Area 301
Methods 302
Results 305
Discussion 315

Chapter 14. Dietary and Medicinal Use of Traditional

Herbs Among the Luo of Western Kenya 323
Charles Ogoye-Ndegwa
Jens Aagaard-Hansen
Introduction 323
Materials and Methods 326
Results 328
Discussion 338
Conclusion 340

Chapter 15. Ethnomycology in Africa, with Particular

Reference to the Rain Forest Zone of South Cameroon 345
Thomas W. Kuyper
Introduction 345
Mycophilia versus Mycophobia 346
 Overview of Mushroom Use in Africa 347
Mushroom Knowledge and Utilization by Bantu
and Bagyeli in South Cameroon 349
Mushrooms: Meat of the Poor 353

Chapter 16. Aspects of Food Medicine

and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 357
Mohamed Eddouks
Introduction 357
Food Medicine 358
Phytotherapy 368
Conclusions 376

Index 383
 ABOUT THE EDITORS

Andrea Pieroni, PhD, is an ethnobotanist/pharmacognosist and Lec­

turer in Pharmacognosy at the School of Pharmacy of the University
of Bradford, United Kingdom. He is also part-time associate profes­
sor in the Department of Social Sciences at the Wageningen Univer­
sity in the Netherlands. Currently he is the scientific coordinator of a
European Union-funded research project dealing with a circum-
Mediterranean ethnobotanical study on wild and neglected plants for
food and medicine. He is a member of the Board of the International
Society for Ethnopharmacology and of the International Society of
Ethnobiology, and has authored numerous scientific articles and
books in this field. Dr. Pieroni’s present research focuses on tradition­
ally gathered wild food and medicinal plants in the Mediterranean.
Lisa Leimar Price, PhD, is an anthropologist and associate profes­
sor in the Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, the
Netherlands. She has been a Rockefeller Fellow for Social Scientists
in Agriculture, a Ford Foundation Fellow, and a Fulbright Fellow.
Prior to joining Wageningen University, she was a senior scientist
at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. She
has undertaken strategic farm level research throughout Asia and has
served as a consultant on gender in research for the World Bank,
the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the International
Rice Research Institute. She is the author of numerous publications
on wild plant foods and ethnoscience. Dr. Price specializes in gender
studies, agrobiodiversity, natural resource management, and ethno­
science.

XI
 CONTRIBUTORS

Jens Aagaard-Hansen has a double background as anthropologist

and medical doctor. In addition to his 13 years of clinical work and
specialization as a general practitioner, he has been involved with ap­
plied medical anthropology, cross-disciplinary research manage­
ment, and research capacity strengthening in Africa and Asia for the
past 11 years. He has wide experience in research, consultant work,
and teaching.
Jeff Adelmann (The Herb Man) is a medicinal herb grower/producer
operating out of Farmington, Minnesota. He has significant botanical
expertise and experience in plants used by diverse cultures. He coor­
dinates plant propagation and species documentation for the Medici­
nal Herb Network and is a member of the Organic Herb Producers
Cooperative.
Alpina Begossi is a researcher in human ecology, fisheries ecology,
and ethnobiology, and lectures in human ecology at the Graduate
Group in Ecology, UNICAMP, Campinas, S. P. Brazil. She has been
doing research for about 20 years on the Atlantic Forest coast and in
the Brazilian Amazon.
Helen Clifton is an elder of the Gitga’at Nation of Hartley Bay, Brit­
ish Columbia. Her late husband, Chief Johnny Clifton (Wah-
moodmx), was born at the seaweed camp at Princess Royal Island,
and Helen has been harvesting seaweed there since she was a young
woman, learning about the old ways of seaweed harvesting from her
mother-in-law, Lucille Clifton, and other elders of previous genera­
tions. A fluent speaker of Sm’algyax (Tsimshian language), she has
participated in and witnessed the changes in plant resource harvest­
ing and processing for over five decades.
Mohamed Eddouks is a phytopharmacologist/physiologist and pro­
fessor at Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences and Tech­
niques, Errachidia. He is also the research director of UFR Physiology
of the Nutrition and Endocrine Pharmacology. His research focuses on
xiii
X IV EATING AND HEALING

phytopharmacology and pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus and me­

dicinal plants in Morocco.
Daimy Godinez has a degree in biological sciences from the Univer­
sity of Santiago de Cuba and a master’s degree in plant taxonomy
from the University of La Habana. She holds a research position in
the Biodiversity Division of the CIMAC (Centro de Investigaciones
de Medio Ambiente de Camagtiey), a research center of the Cuban
Academy of Sciences. She specializes in management and conserva­
tion of Cuban biodiversity and related ethnobotanical themes.
Louis E. Grivetti is a geographer trained in nutrition science. He is
professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis. He and
his students have conducted research on edible wild plants in Africa
(Sahel states and eastern Botswana), Asia (northern Thailand), and
the Americas (Southeast Asian immigrant urban gardens).
Christopher A. Hafner has over 20 years experience as a fully li­
censed and accredited practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
He now practices at Crocus Hill Oriental Medicine in St. Paul, Minne­
sota. He is adjunct faculty with the University of Minnesota, an expert
herbalist wild-crafter, and leads the network initiative investigating
medicinal herb quality.
Natalia Hanazaki is an ecologist and professor in the Department of
Ecology and Zoology at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina,
Brazil. She is also an associate researcher at the Centre of Environ­
mental Studies (NEPAM) of the Universidade de Campinas, Brazil.
Her research is focused on human ecology and ethnobiology, espe­
cially the use of natural resources, and ethnobotany.
Craig A. Hassel is an associate professor and extension specialist in
food and nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at
the University of Minnesota, St. Paul. He received his PhD in nutri­
tional science at the University of Arizona. His current research inter­
ests include cross-cultural understandings of food as medicine and
health/nutrition.
Thomas W. Kuyper is a fungal ecologist at Wageningen University.
His main interest is the role of fungi in ecosystem functioning in tem­
perate and tropical forests and agro-ecosystems.
Ana H. Ladio is an ethnobotanist and ecologist. She is a researcher in
the Ecology Department of the Universidad Nacional del Comahue,
 Contributors xv

Argentina. Her research focuses on wild edible and medicinal plant

use in northwest Patagonia from an ecological perspective.
Ramon Morales is a botanist/ethnobotanist and researcher at Real
Jardfn Botanico de Madrid, CSIC (Spain). His research focuses on
the Labiatae family and ethnobotany in Spain, especially food and
medicinal plants.
Charles Ogoye-Ndegwa has a background in medical and nutri­
tional anthropology. He previously focused on breast-feeding and
childhood and pregnancy food taboos. With over ten years of pro­
gressive involvement in research, he now focuses on the social mod­
eling of trade-offs between gender, disease, and development. He
works at the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).
Patrick L. Owen is a PhD candidate at the School of Dietetics and
Human Nutrition and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition
and Environment at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. His re­
search interests are ethnonutrition and ethnobotany in relation to met­
abolic diseases.
Manuel Pardo de Santayana is a botanist/ethnobotanist and re­
searcher at Real Jardfn Botanico de Madrid, CSIC (Spain). He re­
searches Spanish ethnopharmacology and ethnotaxonomy and is also
working on the Labiatae family in the Flora Iberica Project.
Nivaldo Peroni is an agronomist with a master’s degree in genetics
and doctoral degree in plant biology. He is associate researcher at the
Centre of Environmental Studies (NEPAM) of the Universidade de
Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. His research focuses on ethnobotany
and plant domestication, especially the use, conservation, and ampli­
fication of genetic resources.
Cassandra L. Quave is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Bi­
ology, Center for Ethnobiology and Natural Products at Florida Inter­
national University. Her research focuses on the bioactivity of medic­
inal plants used in traditional healing practices in the Mediterranean.
Marsha B. Quinlan is a medical anthropologist in the Department of
Anthropology at Washington State University. Her research focuses
on ethnomedicine, health behavior in families, and ethnobotany.
Robert J. Quinlan is a biocultural anthropologist and assistant pro­
fessor in the Department of Anthropology at Ball State University in
XVI EATING AND HEAUNG

Muncie, Indiana. His research is in the areas of human evolutionary

ecology and health.
Rossano M. Ramos graduated with a degree in biological sciences
from the Universidade de Campinas, Brazil, and is a graduate student
in the Environmental Sciences Program at Universidade de Sao
Paulo, Brazil. His research is focused on game and foraging strategies
in the Amazon, at the Reserva Extrativista do Alto Jurua.
Elia San Miguel is an ethnobotanist and researcher at Real Jardfn
Botanico de Madrid, CS1C (Spain). She is researching the ethno-
botany of the Asturias region of Spain.
Sabino Sanca is the president of the semiformal traditional healers’ as­
sociation AMETRAC (Association de Medicos Tradicionales) from
the Andean community Apillapampa, Cochabamba Department, Boli­
via. He was initiated into traditional medicine more than 25 years ago
and has traveled to other Latin American countries for workshops on
medicinal plants.
Renne Soberg has been growing medicinal herbs organically for
over ten years in Lakeville, Minnesota. He founded the Organic Herb
Producers Cooperative and leads the Medicinal Herb Network initia­
tives on field trials and feasibility studies of medicinal herb produc­
tion, as well as postharvest processing and essential oil production.
Nancy J. Turner is located at the School of Environmental Studies,
University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia. She is a professor
of ethnoecology.
Ina Vandebroek is a biologist with PhD in medical sciences. She has
carried out two years of postdoctoral fieldwork in the Bolivian Andes
and the Amazon to study the use of medicinal plants for community
health care and knowledge variability among traditional healers. She
is currently a researcher at the New York Botanical Garden.
Gabriele Volpato is an ethnobotanist and biologist who has been
working in Cuba for the past four years, first as a student of the De­
partment of Biology at the University of Padua and currently in the
Department of Social Sciences at Wageningen University, the Neth­
erlands. His research focuses on ethnobiological and ecological is­
sues in the use of Cuban traditional food and medicinal plants.
 Acknowledgments

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our colleague

Professor Anke Niehof for her encouragement and generous support
during the preparation of this manuscript. We also thank Michael G.
Price and Joy Burroughs for their patience in assisting in the difficult
task of the scientific copy editing.

X V II
 COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Chapter 6 was first published in Charles R. Menzies (Ed.), Tradi­

tional Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management by
Nancy J. Turner and Helen Clifton. Copyright 2006. Reprinted with
permission from University of Nebraska Press.
Chapter 7 was first published as “Using Chinese Medicine to Under­
stand Medicinal Herb Quality: An Alternative to Biomedical Ap­
proaches?” in Agriculture and Human Values, 2002,19, pp. 337-347,
by C. A. Hassel, C. Hafner, R. Soberg, J. Adelmann, and R. Hay­
wood. Copyright 2002. Reprinted with expressed permission from
Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Chapter 14 was first published as “Traditional Gathering of Wild
Vegetables Among the Luo” in Ecology o f Food and Nutrition, 2003,
42(1), pp. 69-89, by Charles Ogoye-Ndegwa and Jens Aagaard-
Hansen. Copyright 2003. Reproduced by permission of Taylor &
Francis, Inc., http://www.routledge-ny.com.

X V lll
 Introduction
Andrea Pieroni
Lisa Leimar Price

We both have childhood memories of the way women in our lives

would arrange the cuisine so that it served as both food and medicine.
Pieroni recalls chestnut-meal polenta boiled in the new red wine: that
was one of the most common cough remedies used by grandmothers
in Pieroni’s home region in the mountains of northern Tuscany during
the cold winter months. Price recalls her childhood in the United
States and the chicken soup served to ease the discomfort of and
speed recovery from a common cold, as well as the inevitable prune
juice to relieve childhood constipation.
Since the days of our childhoods, these foods have become recog­
nized as “functional foods.” However, the link to culture and tradition
is barely visible in scientific undertakings. In fact, what we both
learned in our respective formal educations in pharmacy and anthro­
pology was that food and medicine were two different arenas. Only
recently are we learning the importance of the food-medicine link­
ages.
Plants may be used both as medicine and food, and it is difficult to
draw a line between these two areas: food may be medicine, and vice
versa. Plant resources in traditional societies, especially wild greens,
are often used multicontextually as food and medicine. The gathering
or cultivation, preparation, and consumption of these species are
rooted in the emic perceptions of the natural environments coupled
with available resources, local cuisine and medical practices, taste
appreciation, and cultural heritage (Johns, 1990, 1999; Etkin, 1994,
1996; Price, 1997; Heinrich, 1998; Pieroni, 2000; Pieroni et al.,
2002).
Much is still to be discovered about the fascinating links between
food and medicine among different cultures, even more than 20 years
after the superb work of Nina Etkin and Paul Ross (1982) on the me­
dicinal plant uses among the Hausa in Nigeria, where out of 235
/
2 EATING AND HEAUNG

noncultivated medicinal plants, 63 taxa were also used as food. A

number of studies on the potential health benefit aspects of traditional
foods show that such plants have specific pharmacological effects.
For example, Timothy Johns and co-workers (Johns and Kokwaro,
1991; Uiso and Johns, 1995;Johns, Mhoro, and Sanaya, 1996; Johns,
Mhoro, and Uiso, 1996; Johns et al., 1999; Owen and Johns, 2002)
have demonstrated how the overlap of food and medicine are related
to the ingestion of phytochemicals that can explain very diverse cul­
tural food behaviours and health outcomes. For example, in the case
of the Maasai paradox, the Maasai obtain 66 percent of calories from
fat, yet they do not suffer from illnesses typical of high-fat diets found
in Western cultures. This has been attributed to the high level of
saphins (which bind cholesterol) in the 25 or so different plants they
combine into a soup along with their high-fat foods. Although we
have had few but very important contributions in the area of plant
foods as medicines, much less is known about traditional consump­
tion of animal food-medicines such as fish (Begossi, 1998).
This book explores this gray area between food and medicine and
the diverse ways in which these two cosmos overlap and penetrate
each other in traditional and indigenous cultures.
We have placed Louis Grivetti’s contribution as the first chapter in
this book. Grivetti (along with Britta Ogle) made an important and
lasting early contribution to understanding traditional food and medi­
cine through his investigations into wild-food plant gathering and
consumption (for example, Ogle and Grivetti, 1985a, b, c, d). The
contemporary contributions of Grivetti and his collaborators and stu­
dents continue this tradition of providing exciting and challenging in­
sights (Grivetti and Ogle, 2000; Johnson and Grivetti, 2002a, b; Ogle
et al., 2003). Thus, it is a great pleasure for us that Louis Grivetti
agreed to place his contribution in the introductory position of the
book, starting the volume off with his reflections on 30 years of re­
search in the field of edible wild plants as food and medicine.
The main research themes in Grivetti’s group have been the cul­
tural and nutritional aspects of the use of edible wild plants; studies of
cultural diversity in geographical regions of environmental similarity
(culture variable/environment constant); or studies of cultures that
occupy different ecological niches (environmental variable/culture
constant). Three efforts have characterized Grivetti’s work: (1) pro­
curement and dietary uses of wild plants during periods of drought or
 Introduction 3

social unrest; (2) maintenance of the ability to recognize edible wild

species; and (3) nutrient analysis of key species. The chapter by
Grivetti summarizes this amazing work and concludes with selected
topics for further investigation.
The contributions in the book look at many of the aspects descried
by Grivetti, analyzing diverse case studies from around the globe
through the lens of cultural, environmental, and/or biopharmacologi-
cal aspects of the traditional consumption of biological resources.
The chapters that come after Grivetti’s are arranged according to
geographic regions of the world: two contributions for Asia, two for
Europe, two for North America, two for the Caribbean, four for South
America, and three for Africa. While this division represents differ­
ent geographic areas, the reader will find that certain topics and
themes within each chapter are common in multiple regions.

ASIA

Patrick Owen’s contribution on Tibetan foods and medicines ex­

amines antioxidants in the Tibetan diet as potential mediators of high-
altitude nutritional physiology. He reviews biotic and abiotic influ­
ences on high-altitude nutritional physiology. Tibetan highlanders
have a low incidence of heart disease despite a diet rich in saturated
fat. His work shows that an interplay of factors and protective ele­
ments are involved in the low incidence of cardiovascular disease and
proposes that the highlander Tibetans have incorporated foods that
contain prophylactic elements.
Lisa Price’s chapter has a double function. She provides a back­
ground to wild/semidomesticated plant foods gathered in agricultural
environments that provides a framework for a deeper understanding
of these plants at the interface of foods and food-medicines. This
framework is married to her own field research in Northeast Thailand
and the role of wild plant foods in rural life. She goes on to discuss her
findings on the overlap of gathered food plants with medicines and as
functional foods and explores the multiple-use value of these plants
in farmer’s deciding to establish gathering restrictions for selected
species they perceive as rare. Throughout the chapter, the roles of
women in general, and in Northeast Thailand in particular, are dis­
cussed.
4 EATING AND HEALING

EUROPE

Andrea Pieroni and Cassandra Quave provide a comparative study

on the consumption of wild plants among ethnic Albanians and Ital­
ians living in southern Italy. They distinguish between wild plants
used in separate contexts as food or medicine, as functional foods, or
as food-medicines. The research populations do not perceive func­
tional foods to have specific medical properties, but just consider
them to be “healthy,” while medicinal foods (food-medicines) have
clear folk medical prescriptions.
Pieroni and Quave’s research on the medicinal or nutraceutical
value of many of these plants has demonstrated high antioxidant ac­
tivity and potential as therapeutic agents for the management and pre­
vention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke, and coronary
heart disease. Their high levels of antioxidants may be especially im­
portant in the prevention and management of age-related diseases
(ARDs). The authors suggest that recording and conserving tradi­
tional knowledge regarding the use of plants is of utmost importance,
not only for the biocultural conservation of the communities/environ-
ments studied but also for future medical advancements in the pre­
vention and management of chronic diseases. Given the current so­
cioeconomic and cultural shifts in rural southern Italy, conservation
and restoration of the plants and plant knowledge must be undertaken
soon.
Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Elia San Miguel, and Ramon Morales
analyze the digestive beverages used as medicinal food in a cattle-
breeding community in northern Spain (Campoo, Cantabria). They
note a tremendous erosion of traditional knowledge about wild plants
and their uses. For example, they note that only 20 percent of the wild
food species previously consumed are still eaten today. A few excep­
tions were represented by infusions. These infusions are frequently
ingested for both the tasty flavor and medicinal digestive properties.
One example is the homemade digestive spirits, such as pachardn,
prepared with blackthorn fruits (Prunus spinosa). Their chapter illus­
trates the considerable interest in southern Europe to examine
changes in lifeways and habits among traditional rural societies and
the potential use of traditional knowledge for the development and
marketing of new “old” nutraceuticals. In order to economically di­
versify and revitalize rural areas such as Campoo we should look
 Introduction 5

back and rediscover valuable traditional practices and knowledge,

maintain active ones, and adopt strategies for exchanging informa­
tion and experiences with other, similar cultures and regions.

NORTH AMERICA

For the region of North America, Nancy Turner and Helen Clifton
collaborated to study the harvesting and consumption of seaweed
among the Gitga’at, a Sm’algyax- (Tsimshian-) speaking people of
Hartley Bay in British Columbia, Canada. Their work illustrates how
the harvesting and consumption of seaweed reflects a complex, tradi­
tional ecological knowledge system that links the land and the sea,
people and other life-forms, and culture to nature. Their study is
about eating rather than the healing aspects of seaweed consumption,
but it still provides an important contribution to this book because of
the links made between nutritional, cultural, and environmental
knowledge on an underresearched, traditional wild food resource.
Helen Clifton, as a member of the Gita’at Nation of Hartley Bay,
brings particular cultural richness to this chapter.
In the modern metropolitan U.S. context, Craig Hassel, Christo­
pher Hafner, Renne Soberg, and Jeff Adelmann analyze how tradi­
tional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners use descriptive sensory
analysis procedures to assess the quality of medical herbs, and how
that challenge inspired a joint network of herb growers and Chinese
practitioners to improve the quality of TCM drugs. They provide in­
formation about foods used as medicine in the CM tradition and the
dilemmas faced by CM practitioners in the United States when the
Chinese medicinal epistomology is not accounted for in the Western
biomedical paradigm.

THE CARIBBEAN

In the Caribbean, Marsha and Robert Quinlan report on the “bush

medicine” (home health care) practiced in Dominica (Lesser Antil­
les) and show how the system is based on a version of New World
hot/cold humoral theory. All body tissues and fluids, especially blood
and mucus, are assumed to react to heat and cold. Cold illnesses are
6 EATING AND HEALING

associated with respiratory problems or are stress induced and re­

quire hot remedies, ingested as seasonings and herbal “teas,” to thin
secretions and to help sufferers relax. Hot illnesses have to do with in­
creased body heat, redness, and swelling and are usually thought to
stem from dirt or feces in the body. These illnesses are treated with
cold foods and “teas.” that often have laxative properties. Moreover, a
food or herb’s humoral quality is determined by how it affects
illnesses and the body.
Gabriele Volpato and Daimy Godinez studied the medicinal foods
of Cuban households and demonstrate how economic factors, ethnic­
ity, and historic antecedents play a role in the dynamic strategies that
people adopt to heal minor troubles by using food preparations.

SOUTH AMERICA

For South America, Alpina Begossi, Natalia Hanazaki, and

Rossano Ramos offer a unique contribution on animal-derived food
medicines. They examine the various fish species that are recom­
mended in the diets of invalids, as well as the medicinal fish used
among the Caigaras of the Brazilian Atlantic forest coast and the
Caboclos of the Brazilian Amazon. By using interviews based on
questionnaires and direct observations during long fieldwork periods
on the islands of Buzios, Gipoia, and Vitoria, and in the coastal com­
munities of Jureia and Ubatuba on the Atlantic Forest coast, they dis­
cover that fish recommended for invalids tend to have a diet based on
vegetal matter, detritus, or invertebrates. They propose that the use of
nonpiscivorous prey (i.e., fish that do not feed on other fish) in the
diet of invalids may be associated with the reduced risk of accumulat­
ing toxins from fish from lower trophic levels compared with fish
from high trophic levels.
Natalia Hanazaki, Nivaldo Peroni, and Alpina Begossi address the
comparative uses of edible and healing plants of native inhabitants of
the Amazon and Atlantic Forest areas of Brazil. They collected data
through interviews with 433 native residents whose livelihood is
based mainly on fisheries and small-scale agriculture. They found
that about 20 percent of the plants mentioned in the Amazon area
were used for both food and medicine,, while the proportion in the At­
lantic Forest area consisted of approximately half of the documented
species.
 Introduction 7

In their contribution, Ina Vandebroek and Sabino Sanca analyze

the use of food medicines in the Bolivian Andes. They discovered
that 50 percent of the 43 species they document as overlapping as
food and medicine are wild species. Eleven of these are “weeds”
growing around agricultural fields. Aerial parts and fruits are used
most frequently for food as well as for medicine.
Ana Ladio investigated the gathering activity of wild plant foods
with medicinal use in a Mapuche Community of Northwest Pata­
gonia in Argentina. She shows how the selection of edible and medic­
inal plants in the Cayulef community is influenced by botanical, eco­
logical, and sociocultural aspects that lead to distinct patterns of
species use. Cayulef people know and use a variety of wild edible
plants, some of which are also utilized as medicine—representing a
substantial overlap of edible and medicinal species (63 percent).
These medicinal foods enlarge the opportunities to cure illness and
improve the well-being of families at the same time. Moreover, wild
food species with medicinal and nonmedicinal uses belong to diverse
botanical families that are distinct from the botanical families of the
exclusively edible species. Ladio proposes that chemotaxonomical
differences between the plants utilized as food-medicine can explain
the existence of a systematic and evolutionary pattern in wild plant
use.

AFRICA

Charles Ogoye-Ndegwa and Jens Aagaard-Hansen’s chapter ex­

plores the dietary and medicinal use of traditional herbs among the
Luo of Western Kenya. They studied the cultural aspects (percep­
tions, attitudes, and practices) of traditional herbs with regard to di­
etary and medicinal use over a period of four years. They identified
72 different edible plants, most of which grow wild. Out of these 72,
65 were perceived to have medicinal value as well as being used for
food. The authors emphasize how these herbs are an underutilized re­
source and how they could represent a precious potential for dealing
with both food insecurity and the need for preventive health care in
vulnerable communities.
In the context of southern Cameroon, Thomas Kuyper analyzes how
different populations (Bantu, Bagyeli) differ in patterns of mushroom
8 EATING AND HEALING

consumption for dietary and medicinal purposes. He shows how these

differences depend on the mushroom species that occur in the various
ecosystems, their phenology, and the habitats in which local popula­
tions collect and cultivate their food sources. Extensive mushroom
knowledge does not automatically imply a high social valuation of
mushrooms and hence a high consumption. Kuyper points out the im­
portance of understanding social and cultural factors that affect mush­
room consumption when proposing interventions such as mushroom
cultivation as a source for improving food security.
Mohamed Eddouks reports on the overlap between food and medi­
cine and ethnopharmacology in Morocco. Eddouks demonstrates
how food medicines represent an integral part of the health care sys­
tem in Morocco and how many pathologies have been traditionally
treated using foods. He provides cultural insights as well as a list of
foods used as medicine in Morocco and examines phytotherapy in
different regions of the country. He also notes that women frequently
use more medicinal plants than men. He concludes that phytotherapy
should not be used by only the poor but be a real tool of medicine for
all people.

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Etkin, N.L. (1996). Medicinal cuisines: Diet and ethnopharmacology. International
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medicine. Kew, UK: The Royal Botanical Gardens.
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Press.
 Introduction 9

Johns, T. ( 1999). Plant constituents and the nutrition and health of indigenous peo­
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nia. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 35: 71-80.
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in the kingdom of Swaziland, southern Africa. A cultural, ecological, nutritional
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in the kingdom of Swaziland, southern Africa. A cultural, ecological, nutritional
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in the kingdom of Swaziland, southern Africa. A cultural, ecological, nutritional
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Ogle, B.M., H.T. Tuyet, H.N. Duyet, and N.N.X. Dung (2003). Food, feed or medi­
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10 EATING AND HEALING

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cology of liakra: Traditional weedy vegetables of the Arbereshe of the Vulture
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 Chapter 1

Edible Wild Plants As Food

and As Medicine: Reflections
on Thirty Years of Fieldwork
Louis E. Grivetti

INTRODUCTION

Ethnobotanical themes have characterized the efforts of my re­

search group for nearly three decades. The first portion of this chapter
reviews the genesis that led to my professional interest in ethno-
botany, includes an overview of my initial research conducted nearly
three decades ago in the eastern Kalahari Desert of southern Africa,
and presents unpublished fieldwork data related to the theme of the
present volume. The second portion of this chapter summarizes the
research of our team since 1976. The concluding section of this chap­
ter identifies promising research themes.

GENESIS

I am not a trained botanist: I took no formal botanical course work

during my undergraduate or graduate training. In fact, I expressed lit­
tle interest in the plant kingdom until the middle years of my life.
That ethnobotany has been one of the major themes in my geograph­
ical and nutritional research during the past three decades, therefore,
needs a brief explanation. As an undergraduate and graduate student
at the University of California, Berkeley (1956-1962), I majored in
paleontology with complementary interests in anthropology, geol­
ogy, and zoology. Ethnobotany was an acquired interest, initially pe-

11
12 EATING AND HEAUNG

ripheral, but it then became central to my doctoral training in geogra­

phy at the University of California, Davis (1970-1976).
My dissertation supervisor was Professor Frederick Simoons. He
guided me in cultural food practices and encouraged me to explore
the nutritional consequences of food-related behavior. Simoons was a
geographer, and through his training I was exposed to the general the­
ories of plant and animal domestication, especially the works of Ed­
gar Anderson and Carl Sauer. 1 was intrigued by Anderson’s noncon­
formist view that the rationale for plant domestication was not food,
but aesthetics, beauty, and color. I also admired Anderson’s creative
idea of “the garbage dump,” whereby ancient hunter-gatherers ulti­
mately came to recognize the potential value of having supplies of
plant foods adjacent to human encampments (Anderson, 1952). As a
graduate student I listened intently when Carl Sauer lectured and re­
lated his thesis that maize had been exchanged across the Pacific
and/or Atlantic Oceans well before 1492 (Sauer, 1969). I also was in­
trigued with Sauer’s view that “sophisticated fisher-folks” living at
midelevations in mountainous terrain adjacent to lakes may have
been the first humans to domesticate plants and that future excava­
tions at highland regions within the tropics would confirm his thesis
(Sauer, 1952),
I selected a dissertation problem in the Republic of Botswana:
Why had the Tswana peoples of the eastern Kalahari thrived during
eight years of drought between 1965-1973, when a drought of similar
intensity and timing in the West African Sahel had caused the un­
timely deaths of more than 2 million people? The enigma was obvi­
ous: two similar agro-economic systems in similar environmental
niches—but the Kalahari cultures thrived while the Sahel cultures ex­
perienced social disruption and death.
In order to secure funding for my fieldwork, I was employed as the
Administrative Officer for the Meharry/Botswana Maternal and
Child Health Project and seconded to the Botswana Ministry of
Health. My wife and I arrived in Gaborone, the national capital, in
April 1973. My dissertation topic was submitted to and reviewed by
the Botswana Office of the President, and I was approved to work
among the baTlokwa ba Moshaweng, a Tswana society whose tribal
capital, Tlokweng, lay a short distance east of Gaborone. My project-
related responsibilities kept me at the Ministry during the day, where
I backstopped a team of professionals and public health educators
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and /Is Medicine 13

who provided nursing in-service training. During evenings and on

weekends and holidays I worked at Tlokweng and the bushlands ad­
jacent to the baTlokwa settlement and collected data for my disserta­
tion.
I had prepared extensively for fieldwork prior to arrival in Bot­
swana and had summarized the cultural monographs and geograph­
ical works on the pre- and postcolonial era in southern Africa; I had
read and outlined scores of historical works and articles that de­
scribed the movements, settlement, and cultural organization of
Tswana peoples in the eastern Kalahari. Especially enlightening were
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century accounts by explorers, missionar­
ies, and traders that described the food base of Tswana societies, one
characterized by hunting, gathering, agriculture, horticulture, animal
husbandry, as well as barter and cash exchanges. These documents
mentioned the role of edible wild plants as components of the Tswana
diet, but I was unprepared to find that such “lesser foods”—often
deprecated by nineteenth-century authors and twentieth-century agri­
cultural developers— were critical to Tswana survival in their eastern
Kalahari thirst-land.
I was welcomed by baTlokwa elders and introduced to tribal mem­
bers, and I hired field assistants and held focus-group interviews with
elderly women and men. Villagers at Tlokweng had not suffered dur­
ing the recent eight-year drought (1965-1973) that preceded my ar­
rival. I looked for evidence of malnutrition but saw none: no evidence
of kwashiorkor, marasmus, avitaminosis, or mineral defiencies. Pri­
mary medical problems included alcoholism, upper respiratory dis­
eases, and tuberculosis. Why had the baTlokwa survived eight years
of drought when so many hundreds of thousands of their cultural
counterparts had died in the environmentally similar Sahel of western
Africa? What had sustained the baTlokwa, nutritionally, during the
difficult drought years when their livestock died and their field and
garden crops had withered?
One key to baTlokwa nutritional success was their sustained abil­
ity to identify and use edible wild plants during years of good rainfall
or drought. Tribal elders provided me with the names of more than
200 edible wild plants and identified an additional 100-plus species
used in nonfood contexts (i.e., household and stockade construction,
decoration, dye, fiber, magic, medicine, thatch, toys and leisure pur­
suits, and even as props to teach moral lessons). I learned that many
14 EA TING AND HEALING

species were critical components of diet after domesticated cultivars

had vanished. It was obvious early in my fieldwork that elderly
baTlokwa held the key to plant identifications and uses in this arid
thirst-land, whereas younger children, especially teenagers, did not
recognize the broad spectrum of edible plants available within tribal
territory. This dichotomy presented another enigma: if the informa­
tion on how to recognize and use edible wild plants was not being
passed to future generations of baTlokwa youth, there would come a
time when a drought of severe magnitude would hammer the people
and many would starve in the midst of food plenty.
The timing was fortuitous. I arrived in the eastern Kalahari when
knowledge of the environment and edible wild species was still main­
tained by village elders and could be passed to younger generations.
The baTlokwa children and young adults I interviewed expressed lit­
tle interest in plant lore and were eager to adopt “Western” cultural
icons of behavior, dress, and fast-food. Further, their school training
ignored traditional cultural practices that had sustained health and
nutrition during drought years. Most evenings and weekends elderly
men and women greeted me with conversations that began something
like this: “Welcome to Tlokweng, I have so much to tell you about the
plants. My grandchildren do not care. They do not know the most
basic ones. Please write this down.”
I immersed myself in collecting cultural, historical, and botanical
data and probed for information and insights from baTlokwa elders.
Two elderly men recommended by the tribal council were assigned to
teach me the “local botany.” By this time I had trained myself how to
key and identify species and had access to the most important pub­
lished Kalahari floras. The first working day out in the bush my
teachers identified seven local species of Acacia (A. eurubescens, A.
fleckii, A. grandicornuta, A. karroo, A. mellifera, A. robusta, and A.
tortilis). I dutifully recorded their comments in my field notebook; re­
corded the local seTswana names; and referenced the distinctive
barks, spine and leaf configurations, canopy development (or lack
thereof) and pod/seed shapes. The second day when we resumed our
work my teachers quizzed me. To my amazement they told me I had
failed! I presumed that my teachers were just pulling my leg, but they
were serious and informed me: “You are a very slow learner. Even the
youngest of our children would not make such mistakes. You should
know better.”
 Edible Wild Plants /4s Food and As Medicine 15

But I had keyed the species correctly: I had matched the seTswana
terms provided by my teachers with the correct Latin names. In the
days and weeks that passed, my teachers regularly shook their heads
in amused frustration as they attempted to teach me the eastern
Kalahari flora. On such walks they taught me other things as well:
how to make fire (with both drill and flint/steel methods); how to
identify wild animal spoor; how not to get lost; how to identify me­
dicinal plants; and terms for plant assemblages that otherwise would
have escaped me.
During this “initiation” period I prepared a master list of seTswana
names of wild plants, wrote down their culinary, medicinal, or other
uses, and prepared my first botanical checklist. There came a time
when I administered the expanded checklist to a stratified sample of
200 baTlokwa households to seek information on which species, if
any, had been consumed during the recent drought. After three or four
interviews I determined that something was wrong. But what? Ulti­
mately, the realization came that I had made a classical error: tradi­
tional baTlokwa plant taxonomy bore no relationship to classical
Linnaean genus/species designations. Each woody species could be
called by one of four distinct names, depending on whether or not the
representative specimen was “tall” versus “short” or “in fruiting sea­
son” versus “out of fruiting season.” In some instances these differ­
ences were relatively minor, as with mosu (Acacia tortilis: mature
form) and mosuane (Acacia tortilis: immature form). In other in­
stances, however, differences were profound, as with mothatha
{Pappea capensis: not in fruiting season) and mopennengwe (Pappea
capensis: mature tree with fruit). This revelation required me to
winnow my floral checklist and was my first introduction to folk
taxonomies.
For more than 100 years the baTlokwa of the eastern Kalahari
Desert of Botswana had not experienced famine or social disruption
during drought. Nutritional success in this land was due to a balance
between environmental offerings and cultural decisions. The eastern
Kalahari offered a great diversity of edible wild plants and the
baTlokwa regularly utilized these available resources. The primary
message that emerged after two years of fieldwork was drought did
not cause famine, and one explanation for-the Sahel disaster was cul­
tural inability to recognize and use available wild food resources—
foods that once were sustaining during drought. I argued in my dis­
16 EATING AND HEALING

sertation and in subsequent publications that “semi-arid environ­

ments continue to offer potential opportunities to societies able to
recognize and utilize them” and urged further work on the so-called
“lesser plants of agriculture,” or what members of my research team
ultimately would call the “edible weeds of agriculture” (Grivetti,
1976 and 1979).

Magic, Medicine, and Morality

The baTlokwa attached magical considerations to several local

Kalahari plants. Perhaps the most interesting was ntige (collected;
identity uncertain). This low shrub with tiny, paired leaves and sturdy
crown root was associated ecologically with stands of mogonono
(Terminalia sericea) and was present only in the eastern portion of
the study area near the border with South Africa. Slices of ntige root
produced an unusual sensation when chewed for the first time; the
tongue became numb. Thereafter, the sensation was not repeated
(confirmed by personal test). Ntige had a pleasing, sweet, cinnamon­
like flavor but produced no other physiological effect. The baTlokwa
elders stated that chewing several pieces of ntige at once was waste­
ful, since there was no accumulative effect as with alcoholic bever­
ages. In past times, baTlokwa warriors chewed ntige before battle in
the belief that they would become invincible and a rapid decisive vic­
tory would be assured. Elders also reported that if a snip of ntige root
was worn on the body, that person would be protected against false
representation and, if accused wrongly of assault, robbery, or other
offense, a small piece of ntige root placed in one’s pocket or shoe
would assure acquittal (Grivetti, 1976).
Another Kalahari species combined magical and medical proper­
ties. If a menstruating woman purposefully or accidentally visited a
woman recently delivered, the new mother was considered unclean
and polluted (go gata). A repurification ceremony then was con­
ducted: the leaves of thola e tona (Solanum incanum) were ground
and mixed with sorghum porridge and milk. After eating this mixture,
the new mother was considered ritually clean (Grivetti, 1976).
Roots of mosokalatsebeng (Sansevieria aethiopica) were cooked,
ground, and prepared as a paste. A quantity of paste was given to
young children to stimulate appetite (go pallwa ke dijo). Mogwong-
wolo roots (identity uncertain; not collected) were ground and added
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 17

to boiling water. The fluid was blended with porridge and eaten by
patients to relieve diarrhea, stomach cramps, or other common intes­
tinal problems (mala a iteirisa). Mmaketiketi roots (identity uncer­
tain; not collected) were gathered and sections cut from the fleshy
portions. After cleaning, these roots were chewed, a well-masticated
piece spit into the hand, and the mass sniffed to relieve headache
(tlhogo e a opa). Kgomo ya burn roots (Bulbine tortilifolia) were
ground and boiled, whereupon the resulting fluid was drunk by el­
derly men to relieve kidney pain (tlhogo jwa diphilo). Barks stripped
from the east side of moomane trees (Maeura schinzii) were ground,
boiled, and infusions drunk by women who suffered prolonged labor
(go dhoka go balaga). The barks were said to relieve pain and relax
muscles, to facilitate rapid and easy delivery. Mosunyana leaves
(.Acacia tortilis: immature form) were boiled and the liquid drunk to
settle the stomach and severe vomiting. Kgopane leaves (Aloe zeb-
rine) were dried, ground on a stone mortar, and the powder mixed
with water and drunk to alleviate sehuba, or cough (Grivetti, 1976).
Considerations of magic required that timber cut for household
and stockade construction or for thatching needs had to be stored off
of the ground on special drying racks. Such trees and grasses identi­
fied included Acacia robusta, A. eurbescens, A. mellifera, Combre-
tum imberbe, Comniphora spp., Dichrostachys cinera, Spirostachys
africana, and Terminalia sericea, as well as Cymbopogon pluri-
noidis, Eragraosis pallens, Heteropogon contortus, and Panicum
maximum. The baTlokwa held that if timber and thatch grasses re­
mained on the ground, unseasonable hail and crop destruction would
result. Further, should stored thatch be insufficient for construction
needs, additional grass could be cut, but only with a hoe, never a
metal sickle, otherwise hailstorms would result. This focus on regula­
tion of hailstorms also influenced decisions not to cut certain bushes
or trees during the agricultural season lest hailstorms result. Such
plants included Burkea africana, Peltophorum africanum, Sclerocar-
ya caffra, Terminalia sericea, Vangueria spp., and Ziziphus mucro-
nata. Other plants, specifically Vangueria spp. and Ximenia spp.,
were not burned during the planting season lest the decision also
cause hailstorms (Grivetti, 1981b).
Stout branches cut from Kalahari bushes or trees served as thresh­
ing sticks (meodwana). The most suitable branches were from Aca­
cia caffra, Croton gratissimus, and Ziziphus mucronata. Branches
18 EATING AND HEAUNG

from Croton gratissimus were especially sought because of a magical

association between the tree name, moologa, and the verb go loga (to
increase). Respondents stated that if grain was threshed using sticks
from moologa, the quantity of grain that resulted would be greater
than if threshing sticks from other species were used. To protect the
family’s harvested grain from theft, the baTlokwa collected six roots
of Uriginea sanguinea and used them to make a protective design on
the threshing floor before the first surface coat of mud was applied
to the threshing floor. Four roots were planted at each corner of the
rectangular threshing area, and the fifth planted in the center. After
the mud coat had dried, the sixth root was smeared over the com­
pleted floor, completing the design of an “X” that connected the four
comers through the centrally planted root (Grivetti, 1981b).
Resin from moretlwa (Grewiaflava) was used by the baTlokwa to
teach a moral lesson. Appearance of this resin was said to be a rare
event and once located it was to be handled with great care because
if dropped it became difficult to find because of its high clarity index.
A young child was given a piece of moretlwa resin as a gift and
instructed to hold the present tightly and not to drop or set it down (in­
structions, of course, that never could be followed). The resin always
was lost and the child taught the lesson that something valuable
should be protected, otherwise, it would disappear and never return
(Grivetti, 1976).

Famine Foods

A number of species were consumed by the baTlokwa during

drought, plants that ordinarily would not be eaten. Such foods, com­
monly called “famine foods” in the ethnobotanical literature, are items
having potential dietary use, but not regularly eaten during normal
rainfall years. Famine foods used by the baTlokwa included fruits and
seeds of magabala (Cucumis metuliferous); fruits and seeds of moka-
pana (Cucumis myriocarpus); leaves of moologa (Croton gratissimus);
and roots of motlopi (Boscia albitrunca). Leaves of moologa com­
monly served as agricultural charms to protect crops, but during
drought they were cooked and served-as an onion substitute. Roots of
motlopi were ground and prepared as a porridge substitute when sor­
ghum crops failed. Under conditions of normal rainfall, magabala and
 Edible Wild Plants /4s Food and /4s Medicine 19

mokapana generally were cattle or goat fodder and eaten by humans

only as drought intensified (Grivetti, 1976).

THREE DECADES OF ETHNOBOTAN1CAL RESEARCH

Upon completion of my dissertation in 1976, I joined the

Departments of Geography and Nutrition at the University of Califor­
nia, Davis. My Kalahari work ultimately came to the attention of
USAID, and I was invited to lecture at in-service training programs.
My presentations focused on two topics: the importance of edible
wild plants in maintaining sound nutrition during drought and peri­
ods of social unrest, and the paradox of agricultural development,
whereby heavy reliance upon herbicides, paradoxically, reduced food
security in many regions of the globe because the “edible weeds of
agriculture” were being eliminated.
After these presentations my research team was awarded a USAID
contract to prepare three position papers summarizing current knowl­
edge about edible plants and their roles in traditional societies in Af­
rica, Central and South America, and South and East Asia and the Pa­
cific Basin. The purpose of these reports was to provide information
to decision makers at embassy/consulate levels regarding the poten­
tial role of edible wild plants in local food traditions. We identified
the relative dietary-nutritional importance of selected species and ex­
amined the research potential for such species within the context of
agricultural development. The basic questions posed and answered
included the following:

1. Are edible wild species central or peripheral to maintaining di­

etary quality?
2. Is their use seasonal, or are species utilized throughout the agri-
cultural/calendar year?
3. Do wild species complement or duplicate energy and nutrients
obtained from domesticated field crops? and
4. What role do wild species play in maintaining nutritional qual­
ity of diet during drought and periods of social unrest?

Our team used the term edible weeds o f agriculture and cautioned
that agricultural development should not be at the expense of these
20 EA TING AND HEALING

species, many of which critical if the quality of local diets was to be

maintained (Grivetti, 1980a, b, 1981a).
We expanded our work and next focused on Africa. Evidence sug­
gested that dietary use of edible wild plants remained an integral
component of the diets of many sub-Saharan societies. All traditional
societies surveyed used edible wild species throughout the calendar
year, and many species were especially important during the periods
just before harvest, the “hungry months.” Our findings emphasized
the need for caution when planners and economists embarked upon
agricultural development, since expansion of agricultural fields into
bush lands merely to produce more acres/hectares of domesticated
cultivars—at the expense of edible wild plant habitats— was a short­
sighted policy. We did not know whether or not edible wild species
duplicated or complemented nutrients provided by domesticated spe­
cies, since so few had been analyzed for nutrient content. However,
we documented the important role of edible wild plants used to main­
tain the dietary status of individuals, families, and social groups dur­
ing periods of drought and social unrest, and the importance of “fam­
ine foods” that individuals/families consumed during periods of
drought or civil disturbances. Although thousands of accounts had
been published in Africa and elsewhere, publications that identified
edible wild plants in a global context, we reported that no region of
the world had been investigated systematically. In essence, thousands
of wild species continued to be used by traditional peoples in Africa,
the Americas, Asia and the Pacific region, and even rural Europe, and
we noted that most had not been analyzed for their nutritional content
(Grivetti et al., 1987).
Work by my student Lawrence Pauling in the Cayagan Valley
of northern Luzon in the Philippines confirmed that local farmers
utilized a broad range of wild plants growing in their rice paddies—
species that served as fodder for livestock and for human consump­
tion. In order to achieve higher rice yields, extension specialists
recommended use of herbicides to eliminate these so-called “weeds of
agriculture.” Pauling reported that many of these so-called weeds
served critical, dual purposes: food for humans and fodder for live­
stock. He identified 31 useful species growing in rice paddies: local
farmers ate 14 while 5 were important medicinal plants. Further, 19
of these species served as fodder resources for water buffalo, horses,
and pigs. Pauling recommended that herbicides not be employed un­
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 21

til a better understanding of the cultural ecology and food production

system of the Cayagan Valley had been achieved (Pauling and
Grivetti, 1984).
Linda Gilliland and I met with representatives of the Kashaya
Pomo Nation of north-central California. The Kashaya Pomo were
concerned that elderly members of the tribe had been denied the right
to eat traditional foods while hospitalized, since registered dietitians
and physicians were uncertain of the energy and nutritional content
of such foods. When the elders refused to eat standard hospital
food—thought too bland by the patients—the term hospital anorexia
was coined. The Kashaya Pomo requested that we conduct proximate
and mineral analyses of a suite of traditional plant and animal foods.
We compared nutrient values of traditional foods against representa­
tive commercial items: fresh and cooked acorn preparations from
Quercus agrifolia, Q. douglassii, Q. dumosa, and O. wislizenii were
compared to enriched white bread; seeds and nuts from Avenafatua,
Juglans hindsii, Salvia columbariae, and S. leucophylla were evalu­
ated against sunflower kernels; berries and fruits from Hereromeles
arbutifolia, Rubus procerus, and Sambucus mexicana were compared
to raw apple; leafy vegetables from Brassica campestris, Chloro-
galum pomeridianum, and Claytonia perfoliata were evaluated against
uncooked spinach; stalks and stems of Typha angustifolia against
fresh, uncooked asparagus stalks; and bulbs and corms of Brodiaea
laxa, B. pulchella, C. hlorogalum pomeridianyum against white pota­
toes (Gilliland, 1985).
The acorn data from our study were enlightening. During the sec­
ond decade of the twentieth century, C. Hart Merriam reported the
first nutrient values for California acorns, and his paper (Merriam,
1918) had been regularly cited to support the contention that acorns
were excellent sources of protein. Our analysis of fresh acorns pro­
vided by the Kashaya Pomo revealed protein content to be low and
variable, between 6.7 and 2.4 percent protein per 100 g edible por­
tion. Acorns that Merriam had analyzed had been stored for ten years
and were extremely dry; fresh acorns we analyzed were approxi­
mately 46 percent water (hence the lower protein values). Ground,
dried acorn powder consumed by the Kashaya Pomo contained a
mean of 5.6 percent protein by weight; leaehed acorns had even lower
values at 2.1 percent; and traditional acorn bread was similar at 2.2
percent protein. Traditional seed foods used by the Kashaya Pomo,
22 EATING AND HEALING

however, were good sources of protein and energy, and they exhibited
higher mineral values than commercial sunflower seeds. Traditional
fruits were low in sodium, with elevated values of calcium, iron, mag­
nesium, and potassium when compared to raw apple. Leaves of Clay-
tonia perfoliata and various bulbs also exhibited high values for cal­
cium and iron. Overall, we recommended that these traditional foods
could be used in hospital dietetic exchange lists (Gilliland, 1985).

Two Research Paridigms

As a cultural geographer trained in nutrition science, I have trained

my students to take a cultural-ecological approach when investigat­
ing cultural patterns of food and diet. Environments offer opportuni­
ties to social groups and our research objective has been to dissect
and separate environmental from cultural determinants of diet. In
conducting such work, two research paradigms have been used
through the years. The first is to investigate how different cultures in­
teract within the same environmental setting. One characteristic ap­
proach, therefore, has been to study two to four cultures that occupy a
flat-plain landscape where soils and vegetation, climate and weather,
and geological structure and relief are variables that present specific
problems for the different cultures to solve (environment constant:
culture variable). The alternative approach has been to study a single
culture within a highly diversified landscape of mountains, valleys,
and lowlands to investigate how this culture adapts or modifies their
food procurement practices up and down slope (culture constant :
environment variable).
Research of the first type was represented by my early experiences
in the Republic of Botswana, where I investigated baTlokwa and
other Tswana societies and how they hunted-gathered, produced, and
distributed food in the flatlands of the eastern Kalahari Desert. The
flatland, cultural variable approach taken in Botswana revealed how
the majority baTlokwa and minority communities secured adequate,
nutritious food resources even during the peak of drought. These dif­
ferent Tswana societies maintained sound food-related practices and
were able to utilize a vast array of edible wild plants and animals dur­
ing drought, when food sources from domesticated cultivars and live­
stock declined or were lost. In this geographical setting the environ­
ment presented similar “offerings” to members of these Tswana
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 23

societies, and the Kalahari thirst-land might even be called an edible

wild plant “supermarket” with a wide diversity of species available
during both rainy and dry seasons (Grivetti, 1976, 1978, 1979).
Britta Ogle used the second approach, where culture was the con­
stant and environment the variable, in the kingdom of Swaziland. It
was logical that Ogle return to Swaziland for her field investigation,
since she had lived there several years previously, spoke rudimentary
setSwasi, and already had established a friendship network of home
economists and extension specialists to draw upon for fieldwork as­
sistance. She identified the different arrays of edible wild plants in
each primary niche (high-veld; middle-veld; low-veld; lubombo).
Ogle’s data were enlightening: nearly 40 percent of respondents indi­
cated that wild plants contributed more to their annual diet than do­
mesticated cultivars. Many species were utilized locally and were un­
familiar to Swazi living in different niches. She also documented that
more than 40 percent of respondents cultivated edible wild plants in
household gardens. One unusual finding was that local school chil­
dren exhibited more extensive knowledge of edible wild species than
many elders (the opposite of my Kalahari data), explained, in part,
because of the geographical location of schools at boundary lines be­
tween two distinctive ecological niches. Given such school settings,
children collected different arrays of plants as they walked to and
from school—going up and down slope—and experienced a greater
exposure to edible wild species than their parents or grandparents,
who lived exclusively within a specific niche. Ogle recommended
that schools continue to be constructed at these critical ecological
boundaries to maintain this important knowledge (Ogle and Grivetti,
1985a, b, c, d).

Research Opportunities and Minimal Budgets

Two factors have characterized our ethnobotanical research themes:

previous experience overseas (opportunism) and low cost. Students
in my research group have been regularly invited to return to Africa
for investigations on edible wild plants because of previous affilia­
tions with the American Peace Corps or with nongovernmental or pri­
vate volunteer organizations (NGOs and PVOs). We have funded our
ethnobotanical studies primarily on mini grants in the range of $4,000
24 EATING AND HEALING

to $8,000 per student for a research period between three and six
months.
Carol Humphry wanted to study edible wild plants, and she re­
turned to Niger where previously she had served as a Peace Corps
volunteer. Humphry compared plant use in two Hausa villages lo­
cated in different ecological niches and collected data on foraging
strategies. She identified 84 common edible wild plants, and nearly
50 percent of these were regularly consumed by the majority of
Hausa interviewed. Half of the villagers could identify more than 60
wild species, while 10 percent of respondents reported other edible
plants had disappeared as a result of recent droughts (Humphry et al.,
1993).
The so-called “edible weeds of agriculture” played prominent
roles in Hausa agricultural and dietary traditions. Humphry reported
that nearly all villagers (93 percent) protected such plants and did not
remove them by hoeing. She reported that drought always had been a
companion of the Hausa, and that villagers had grown more and more
dependent upon the cultivation of non-drought-adapted domesticated
cultivars—activities that placed the villagers at risk. Humphry also
noted that only 10 percent of those interviewed recognized or con­
sumed “famine foods,” identified as leaves of Balanites aegyptia,
Boscia salicifolia, Cassia occidentalis, Commiphora africana, Ficus
thonningii, Gynandropsis gynandra, Hibiscus canabinus, Jacque-
montia tamnifolia, Maerua angolensis and M. crassifolia, Melochia
corchonifolia, Tribulus terrestris, and Sclerocarya birrea; seeds of
Cenchrus biflorus; and fruits of Lagenaria siceraria and Parkia
biglobosa (Humphry et al., 1993).
Garrett Smith, a former Peace Corps volunteer with previous expe­
rience in West Africa, conducted his edible wild plant fieldwork in
Burkina Faso, exploring dietary use of selected species during
drought and nutritional roles of species in regard to potential vitamin-
A blindness. He reported that 36 percent of the vegetables consumed
in villages were edible wild plants, and such species accounted for
approximately 20 percent of all regional dietary products. The most
commonly consumed wild species included: Adansonia digitata,
Sclerocarya birrea, and Tamarandus indica. Smith noted that wild
plants were gathered primarily by women and girls (81 percent) who
collected for family use, whereas men and boys gathered mainly for
personal consumption. Gathering required considerable energy ex­
 Edible Wild Plants /Is Food and As Medicine 25

penditure since primary collection sites were eight to ten kilometers

distant. He reported that knowledge and use of traditional famine
foods had declined in recent years because government and interna­
tional relief agencies had supplied food to drought-affected areas.
This decline in knowledge— partially caused by governmental and
international “good deeds”— was viewed by Smith as ominous, since
food relief ultimately could result in cultural inability to identify life-
sustaining foods growing near villages. He reported that many spe­
cies were outstanding dietary sources of the trace minerals copper,
iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc and reasonable sources for
beta-carotene (Smith etal., 1995, 1996).
Cassius Lockett conducted his fieldwork on edible wild plants in
eastern Nigeria and worked among rural Fulani at two settlements.
Lockett examined dietary patterns of children under five, pregnant
and lactating women, and the elderly; identified food procurement
strategies for edible wild plants; and determined whether or not these
strategies changed during periods of drought compared to times of
normal rainfall. Focus-group discussions among Fulani elderly re­
vealed the names of 36 species gathered during the dry season;
among these were fruits, leaves, and seeds of Adansortia digitata and
Balanites aegyptiaca; fruits and seeds of Dererium microcarpum and
Tamarindus indica; and fruits of Ziziphus mauritiana. Important spe­
cies available and eaten during the wet season included Aden
microcephala, Lannea schiniperi, and Ximenia americana (Lockett
and Grivetti, 2000; Lockett et al., 2000).
Lockett reported that many local species were not eaten univer­
sally by Fulani but were associated by age, gender, or physiological
status. Wild foods considered beneficial to neonates and infants in­
cluded bark of Adansonia digitata (in the belief that consumption en­
abled infants to gain weight); fruits of Ficus sycomorus and roots of
Cissus cornifolia (eaten to alleviate stomach ache); fruits of Bridelia
ferruginea (to treat diarrhea); and leaves of Veronia colorate (to pro­
tect the stomach of infants and reduce the incidence of vomiting and
diarrhea). A minority of respondents stated that fruits of Bridelia
ferruginea were used to treat children with malaria, while fruits of
Dererium microcarpum were consumed especially by children dur­
ing drought to alleviate hunger (Lockett and Grivetti, 2000).
Wild plants commonly associated with pregnancy and lactation in­
cluded Annona senegalensis, Balanites aegyptiaca, Bridelia ferru-
26 EATING AND HEAUNG

ginea, Dererium microcarpum, Gardenia aqualla, Grewia mollis,

Lannea schiniperi, Parkia biglobosa, Prosopos africana, Tamarin-
dus indica, and Ximenia americana. Fulani women ate fruits of Ficus
thonningii during the last weeks of pregnancy to reduce labor time
and to ease pain. No edible wild plants were identified as harmful to
pregnant women, although bitter foods in general, as well as mango,
potato, and commercial granulated sugar, were avoided in the belief
that consumption caused spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, or fetal ab­
normalities. During postpartum, several preparations of edible wild
plants were consumed in the belief that breast-milk production would
be increased; among these were porridge mixed with fruits of Tam-
arindus indica or Ximenia americana. Further, leaves of Veronia
colorate were pounded and the extracted fluid drunk to increase
breast-milk production. A minority of Hausa respondents stated that
Pseudoedrela kotshyi commonly was eaten by elderly men in order to
maintain vigor and strength (Lockett and Grivetti, 2000).
Lockett also noted many edible wild plants used by the Hausa
served both as food and as medicine, and many health practitioners
regularly used wild plants in their pharmacopia. Bark of Adansonia
digitata was ground and given to Hausa children to make them gain
weight, leaves of Veronia colorate were eaten to expel intestinal para­
sites, and seeds of Parkia biglobosa were eaten to alleviate headache
(Lockett et al., 2000).
At the request of the editors of Nutrition Research Reviews, Britta
Ogle and I prepared a review on the value of traditional foods in meet­
ing macro- and micronutrient needs. We reviewed the basic themes
and problems associated with wild plant research: historical studies;
salvage ethnobotany and famine foods; the hidden harvest or “edible
weeds of agriculture”; problems of incomplete nutrient databases;
difficulties when scholars and professionals in different fields fail to
communicate; and problems of inconsistent project design, diversi­
fied methods, and variables in laboratory analysis of micronutrients
(Grivetti and Ogle, 2000).
We called for further studies on how, when, and why edible wild
plants were used to feed infants and young children or adult women
during pregnancy and lactation. We argued that edible wild plants
were part of global agricultural systems, and that “agricultural devel­
opment should not be at the expense of nutritional quality of human
diet where edible wild species play critical roles.” We also echoed the
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 27

perceptive comments of Joyce Doughty, issued more than 25 years

earlier, that “nutritional quality of diet may decline with agricultural
development unless edible wild species that provide essential micro­
nutrients to the diet are considered part of the total food system”
(Doughty, 1979a, b). We lamented the fact that many agricultural spe­
cialists and planners stressed production of domesticated field crops
and commonly ignored or dismissed the so-called lesser species. We
presented information that many individuals—and some societies—
starve in the midst of food plenty because they have lost the ability to
identify and utilize the edible wild plant base available in the sur­
rounding bushlands, and that it would be “tragic if in the rush to be­
come modern, humans lost the ability to identify and use species
available to them” (Grivetti and Ogle, 2000).
Noelle Johnson previously served in the Peace Corps in West Af­
rica. During her work in Burkina Faso, Johnson prepared a training
manual on how to identify edible wild plants: an educational module
that stressed the importance of such species in maintaining the qual­
ity of traditional diets (personal communication). She elected to im­
plement her edible wild plant study in a different geographical region
of the world and chose to work among Karen women in northern
Thailand. Johnson’s objectives were to identify the most important
edible wild species; determine seasonality, food preparation tech­
niques, and dietary uses by age and gender; and to identify why cer­
tain wild species were removed from bushlands and incorporated into
Karen home gardens. She identified nearly 50 important edible wild
species regularly used as part of Karen traditional diet and reported
that 31 had declined significantly during the past ten years and an ad­
ditional seven local species already had disappeared. The majority of
women interviewed (69 percent) reported they cultivated edible wild
species in household gardens; 17 of these plants were observed and
collected. When Johnson asked why certain wild species were culti­
vated and not others, the women replied that they already had experi­
mented with some varieties: some simply had not flourished as ex­
pected, some needed more shade or water than was available, and
others would have taken too long to reach maturity. Her most impor­
tant conclusion, however, was a redefinition of the term extinction:

Certain edible wild plants could be ecologically stable and pres­

ent throughout a given geographical area—but in actuality be
nutritionally extinct—because such plants no longer are recog­
28 EATING AND HEALING

nized by family members and no longer contribute to household

food intake. (Johnson and Grivetti, 2002a)

Johnson also reported the beta-carotene content of the most impor­

tant local edible wild species. She concluded that although the Karen
diet was rich in edible wild greens and provided modest to good
sources of energy and minerals, the presence and bioavailability of
beta-carotene was marginal. Traditional food preservation and prepa­
ration techniques, specifically storage under conditions of high tem­
perature and humidity and boiling for long time periods, reduced the
dietary content of this provitamin. Further, most edible greens with
reasonable quantities of beta-carotene were not consumed at the
same meal with a fat source (Johnson and Grivetti, 2002b).
Mary Dalsin returned to former Soviet Asia and worked in Kaz­
akstan as part of a binational team of American and-Kazak scholars to
evaluate dietary patterns in livestock-owning households before and
after economic reforms. Dalsin considered hunting and gathering in
Kazak society as one part of her work and sought data on the impor­
tance of these activities in maintaining quality of diet during “hard
times.” She reported that 25 percent of households regularly gathered
edible wild plants, with most efforts focused on securing berries,
bulbs (especially wild garlic and onion), fruits, medicinal herbs, and
mushrooms. Dalsin identified an underlying fear related by some Ka­
zaks that edible wild plants might not be safe, with presumed danger
related to possible residual radiation from atmospheric testing con­
ducted during the peak of the Cold War during the 1950s. Other Ka­
zaks, however, dismissed such dangers and blamed the decline in di­
etary use of edible wild plants upon lack of petrol supplies for their
personal inability to travel to former plant-collection areas (Dalsin et
al„ 2002).
Jan Corlett, another of my students with extensive international
service in both Africa and Asia, elected to work among Hmong im­
migrants to Sacramento, California. Corlett’s objectives were to iden­
tify the most common Hmong culinary herbs grown in urban gardens
and examine whether or not such species posed potential health risks
to consumers from possible heavy-metal contamination (arsenic,
cadmium, chromium, or lead). She identified 25 exotic species: items
imported surreptitiously to the United States, purchased within Cali­
fornia through brokers, or exchanged through friendship networks.
The most commonly grown included Acorns gramineus, Dendran-
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 29

thema indicum, Eupatorium lindleyana, Polygonum odoratum, and

Sedum cf. spectabile. Several of these exotic species commonly
served as both food and medicine: Acorns gramineus—cooked with
chicken and prescribed by traditional healers to women during post­
partum periods; Basella alba—cooked with chicken and prescribed
to alleviate arthritis and back pain; and Dendranthema indicum—
cooked with chicken and prescribed as a general tonic to relieve
cough, but also applied externally to reduce bruising. Polygonum cf.
cymosum was identified as a famine food in Laos, but in urban Sacra­
mento, California, leaves of this plant were applied externally on the
stomach to lessen stomachache. Although the Hmong women culti­
vated their gardens on an abandoned site in urban Sacramento, a loca­
tion with an unknown history, none of the samples analyzed had de­
tectable levels of heavy metals (Corlett et al., 2001; Corlett et al.,
2003).

REFLECTIONS AND POTENTIAL RESEARCH AREAS

Historical Texts and Use

o f Edible Wild Plants in Human Diet

During the past three decades my historical work has included ef­
forts to search broadly for references to edible wild plant use in both
ancient and contemporary societies. Even a cursory inspection of an­
cient texts reveals the important, prominent role of such species
throughout history, whether in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; In­
dia and China; or even in Aztec and Mayan cultures. One such text
will suffice, and presented here are two selected passages from The
Deipnosophists (philosophers at dinner) by Athenaeus of Naucratis,
that date to c. 200 CE:

And Socrates was many a time found walking up and down in

front of his house in the late afternoon, and to those who asked,
“What are you doing at this hour?” he would reply, “Gathering a
relish for my dinner.. . . ” (Athenaeus, V: 157:E-F)
Shoots of marjoram, set deep in a pot, may be forced [trans­
planted and forced to grow] by manure, so too young sprouts of
the frankincense tree and all other plants that our gardens pro­
vide to make wreaths for toiling men. Yes, there are slender
30 EA TING AND HEALING

ferns and oak resembling white poplar, and the crocus closing in
spring-time, henna, too, and mint with pungent smell and all the
beauties which a meadow rears without cultivation in hollow
watered places. (Athenaeus, XV:684:A-C)

Despite the richness and wide availability of these ancient works,

too numerous to mention, no scholar has searched such texts system­
atically to identify and catalog uses of edible wild species by ancient
cultures.

Use o f Edible Wild Plants During Military Conflict

The importance of edible wild plants during periods of social un­

rest and war is also well documented but has not been searched sys­
tematically. The example cited here dates to the American Revolu­
tionary War era, and the author—well-known for his military and
political careers—is not a name that most ethnobotanists would cite:

As there is a plenty of common and French sorrel; lamb’s quar­

ters, and water cresses, growing about camp; and as these vege­
tables are very conducive to health, and tend to prevent the
scurvy and all putrid disorders . . . the General recommends to
the soldiers the constant use of them, as they make an agreeable
salad, and have the most salutary effect. The regimental officer
of the day [is] to send to gather them every morning, and have
them distributed among the men. (Washington, 1777)

One rewarding avenue of ethnobotanical research would be to con­

tinue the pursuit of edible wild plant use during civil unrest and to in­
terview soldiers and survivors of recent military campaigns who
maintained reasonable caloric intakes and overall nutritional status
by use of edible wild plants. Such geographical areas, globally, might
include: Algeria, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Leba­
non, Northern Ireland, Palestine/West Bank, Rwanda, Serbia, Viet­
nam, and Zimbabwe.
Antonia Leda-Matalas, my colleague at Harokopio University,
Athens, Greece, has encouraged her students to interview elderly
Greeks at senior centers in Athens, asking them to recall the different
types of edible wild plants consumed during the Athens famine of
World War II. These reports currently are being summarized for pub­
 Edible Wild Plants /Is Food and /Is Medicine 31

lication (Leda-Matalas, personal communication). BrittaOgle, work­

ing recently in Vietnam, produced a wonderful monograph titled Wild
Vegetables and Micronutrient Nutrition: Studies on the Significance
o f Wild Vegetables in Women's Diets in Vietnam (Ogle, 2001). Ogle’s
work also clarified how edible wild plants sustained civilians during
the American-Vietnamese War, and she drew attention to the impor­
tant efforts by Nguyen Tien Ban and Bui Minh Due, who earlier in
their careers had prepared a military manual on edible wild plants for
use during that tragic period (Nguyen and Bui, 1994).

Safety and Toxic Analogues

It has been known for many decades that the plant kingdom is not a
smorgasbord of safe foods on which to dine. By some estimates, 90
percent of plants in any ecological niche may be toxic to humans
(Leopold and Ardrey, 1972). One subtheme in the search for safe ed­
ible species is to investigate “toxic analogues,” defined as species that
are poisonous in one environmental setting but safe in another, or two
plants closely affiliated on the basis of external morphology, one be­
ing safe and the other toxic. An extension of this theme applies di­
rectly to the health of persons who emigrate from one geographical
area to another. Those who gather wild plants must first solve what is
safe to eat, and this is done quickly— so long as individuals remain
and inhabit the same environmental niche. When societies/individu-
als move geographically from one niche to another, as from Cambo­
dia, Laos, or Vietnam to northern California during recent decades,
poisonings have been caused by incautious selection and eating of
plants presumed to have been safe (but in fact misidentifications or
toxic analogues). Recent immigrants from Southeast Asia who for­
age incautiously among stands of wild plants growing in Golden Gate
Park, San Francisco, for example, sometimes have found themselves
as patients in hospital emergency rooms when plants thought to be
safe have turned out to be poisonous.

Archaeology and Plant Dispersals

Anthropologists, geographers, and ethnobotanists argue over the

implications of how and when certain plants were dispersed globally.
All evidence, for example, suggests that maize and chili peppers were
32 EA TING AND HEAUNG

domesticated in central Mexico. The prevailing scholarly opinion

holds that both foods did not disperse globally until after arrival of the
Spanish in 1519 CE. It is interesting, therefore, that images of what
appear to be maize are carved on the walls of Hindu temples in south­
ern India—sites that predate the thirteenth century CE (Johannessen
and Parker, 1989). Such art-related evidence suggests pre-Columbian
trade across the Pacific Ocean, but pollen evidence is lacking.
Ethnobotanists, especially those with interests in the subfield of
palynology, could do much to clarify and document the presence of
maize and chili peppers, and whether or not these crops were trans­
ferred from Mesoamerica to Asia prior to 1492. The techniques are
simple: core representative samples of mud bricks that can be dated to
specific pre-Columbian periods and search for maize/chili pollen.
Such efforts would not be expensive, probably less than $20,000 for a
well-designed survey period in which trained palynologists work
hand in hand with agronomists and social scientists.
Another fruitful avenue of ethnobotanical enquiry would be to ex­
amine further the cultural and medicinal uses of cacao (Dillinger et
al., 2000). The phylogenetic origins of cacao remain unclear: was
Theobroma cacao domesticated initially in the western Amazon and
independently in Mexico/northem Guatemala, or did the genus spread
from north to south (alternatively south to north)? Given the rela­
tively short germination time for cacao beans, were the early dispers­
als of Theobroma via seeds or seedlings? Following such questions,
how and when did the early explorers/traders along the east and west
coasts of Central America and the western and northern coasts of
South America initiate global trade and exchange in cacao beans/
trees?

Nutrition and Nutrient Databases

Much work is needed, globally, on improving and expanding the

nutrient databases of the major and minor edible wild species within
the Sahel and other arid or semiarid zones and within the high, cold
deserts of southern Asia north of the Himalayas. Hundreds of plant
collectors, ethnobotanists, anthropologists, geographers, and others
have worked independently in areas as diverse as eastern India, the
southeastern tropics of the Malay peninsula area, and the South
American and African rainforests have published in very different
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 33

journals but only rarely communicate. Nutrient analysis of edible

wild species should be accelerated, information shared, and young
scholars in different nations of the world encouraged and trained in
botanical techniques— before loss of this important, critical biomass.
A database should be developed of so-called famine foods and the in­
formation preserved for all generations to come— lest persons starve
in the midst of food plenty, being unable to recognize potential foods
in the surrounding environment. Would it not be a tragedy of extraor­
dinary dimension to lose such information?

Unusual Plant Themes

A considerable number of interesting relationships have developed

between humans, nonhuman animals, and plants. One curiosity that I
described early in my Kalahari work was how baTlokwa pregnant
women snacked on the nutmeats of morula (Sclerocarya kaffra)—but
only after the kernels had been eaten by goats and had undergone
“heating” in the goats’ stomach/intestinal organs. Such kernels ob­
tained in goat kraals were cleaned, the nutmeats dug out, and con­
sumed with gusto. Morula kernels that had not transited the goats’ di­
gestive system were regularly consumed by other baTlokwa, but the
“heated” kernels were the prerogative of pregnant women (Grivetti,
1976). Other such animal-plant relationships, whereby germination
does not occur unless the seed transits the intestinal system of an ani­
mal, represents an interesting evolutionary process and is worthy of
more careful inspection and study.
Study of animals as agents of seed dispersals also lies at the inter­
face between botany and zoology. Cattle that feed on specific species
of Acacia and other trees have been responsible for the expansion of
plant boundaries within different regions of Africa. Many seeds, of
course, remain viable throughout intestinal transit, and as cattle are
herded from one geographical area to another plant distributions have
expanded (Grivetti, 1976).

Plants in Magic and Mythology

It is common in 2005 to consider science as almighty and to scoff

at older traditions when plants were adored or worshiped for specific
characteristics. The stories of many plant species have been told, and
34 EATING AND HEALING

their roles in ancient folklore traditions have been discussed (Baker,

1978; Bergen, 1899; Gordon, 1977; Lehner and Lehner, 1960, 1962;
Maple, 1980; Northcote, 1971; Thiselton-Dyer, 1889). My under­
graduate students rarely know of these wonderful tales, and such
knowledge is being lost on a global scale. In 1977 I visited Avebury,
England, and purchased numerous corn dolls, those wonderful geo­
metric icons of woven wheat described by James George Frazer in his
Golden Bough (1900). Once, these “spirits of the corn” were woven
with precise designs that were characteristic of different geographical
districts. But no more: on a recent trip to Avebury in 2001, com dolls
were no longer sold, and two of the three young, summer salesper­
sons had never heard of them. Too bad. What might be done to
preserve this knowledge?

CODA

Let me return to Botswana for a final comment. The two elderly

men who taught me the Kalahari plants, Mr. Mphoeng Lekoko and
Mr. Gaborone Sekgokgo, exhibited great patience with me. On many
occasions when we walked past baTlokwa households I pointed out
what I perceived to be patches of dry weeds, areas that in my mind
represented potential fire hazards and potential habitats for danger­
ous Kalahari snakes. Both of my teachers would say: “Wait, Louis, be
patient. Wait for the rains.”
And when the rains arrived that second year of my field study, 1 re­
member to this day my amazement. What I identified as merely
patches of dried weeds, in fact, were cultural gardens composed of
Kalahari Desert species that had been transplanted by baTlokwa men,
women, and children. The areas in front of the household walls were
filled with blooms, and we stopped, viewed, and reflected upon the
vibrant colors—the blues, magentas, oranges, reds, violets, whites,
and yellows—all blossoms of wild desert species— interspersed with
stunning green leaves of different shapes and patterns. At such times I
recalled how Edgar Anderson had written that domestication of
plants was not for food, but came about because of human attraction
to aesthetics and beauty. Thinking back from the perspective of
nearly 30 years of fieldwork, I still think that Anderson was correct.
 Edible Wild Plants As Food and As Medicine 35

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38 EATING AND HEALING

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 Chapter 2

Tibetan Foods and Medicines:

Antioxidants As Mediators of High-
Altitude Nutritional Physiology
Patrick L. Owen

INTRODUCTION

Procurement of adequate nutritional needs from extreme environ­

ments is of great significance for understanding fundamental adaptive
capacities of human populations. Food habits of Arctic hunter-gatherers,
for example, have revealed paradoxical patterns that challenge contem­
porary views of nutrition and health. Despite their almost exclusive de­
pendence on meat, the Inuit have a lower incidence of atherosclerosis
and coronary heart disease compared to nonnatives (Young et al.,
1993). This difference in disease outcome is thought to be due to the
high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in marine mammals and fish (Kuhnlein
et al., 1991) that confer cardioprotective benefits such as fibrinolytic,
vasodilating, and antiarrhythmic activity (Abeywardena and Head,
2001) .
High altitude is another example of an extreme environment, char­
acterized by cold temperatures, hypobaric hypoxia, increased expo­
sure to solar radiation, aridity, and low biomass. Due to such stress­
ors, travel to high altitude enhances oxidative stress, arising from
maladaptive biological responses to low oxygen pressure and in­
creased exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (Askew, 2002). Reac-

The author is supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC) of Canada, le Fond Quebecois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technolo­
gies, and the Society for Economic Botany Richard E. Schultes Award. The comments
of Dr. E. W. Askew were highly helpful and appreciated.

39
40 EATING AND HEALING

tive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals are key mediators in the
pathogenesis of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular
disease (CVD). Similar to the Inuit, Tibetan highlanders have had to
rely on a high-meat diet virtually devoid of fruits and vegetables due
to poor plant-growing conditions. Unlike the Inuit, however, Tibetans
rarely eat fish due to religious taboos, so are thus not exposed to the
heart-protective benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Instead, Tibetans
rely on large mammals such as yaks, beef, and mutton, which are rich
in saturated fats and cholesterol. Saturated fats have been linked to in­
creased risk of CVD due to their ability to elevate serum levels of
low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Elevated LDL, com­
pounded with oxidative stress, paves the path toward atherosclerotic
plaque formation and, ultimately, ischemic heart disease. Despite a
saturated-fat-rich diet, low consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits
and vegetables, and residence in a high-oxidative stress environment,
Tibetan highlanders have a low incidence of ischemic heart disease
(Fujimoto et al., 1989).
A hypothesis my colleague and I put forth (Owen and Johns, 2002)
questioned the importance of antioxidants in Tibetan foods and medi­
cines in conferring protection against diet and altitude-related CVD
risk factors. Although fruit and vegetable consumption may be low,
other commonly consumed plant foods that are imported from lower
altitudes may provide antioxidants and other cardioprotective ele­
ments. Further benefits may be obtained from quantitatively less-
significant items such as spices, condiments, and medicinal plants
that may contribute functional phytochemicals able to mediate me­
tabolism and physiology (Johns, 1996).
In the present review, our hypothesis is expanded and positioned
within a behavioral evolutionary framework to explore subsistence
strategies to sustain life and reproduction at high altitude. Consider­
ing the biological distinctiveness of the Tibetan highland population,
the environmental conditions of high altitudes, and the cultural di­
etary behavior of Tibetan nomads, the interaction of food compo­
nents and health outcomes is rendered considerably more complex.
Human physiological and genetic responses to high altitude are first
discussed to highlight the population’s unique characteristics. Sources
of oxidative stress at high altitude are-then explored. Finally, Tibetan
highland foods and medicines are discussed in relation to their effects
on cardiovascular health.
 Antioxidants /t.s Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 41

ADAPTATIONS TO ALTITUDE

The cost of living is so severe at high altitudes that maintenance of

normal metabolic function at 4,500 m requires more than twice the
nutrient requirements of sea level (Marriot and Carlson-Newberry,
1996) , while work capacity is greatly reduced (Moore et al., 1992).
Cold temperatures can be circumvented easily enough by sociocul­
tural measures such as insulating clothing and shelter. Hypoxia, how­
ever, is unavoidable and cannot be modified by behavior. Human
long-term tolerance to low ambient oxygen pressure therefore re­
quired adaptation at the physiological and genetic level (Rupert and
Hochachka, 2001). Consequently, high-altitude natives are biologi­
cally different from sea-level populations. Archaeological evidence
places human occupation of the Tibetan plateau at 25,000 to 50,000
years ago (Zhimin, 1982)—longer than other high-altitude popula­
tions (Aldenderfer, 1999). If we assume that the length of time of res­
idency is related to degree of acclimatization, then Tibetans would
represent the most adapted population to hypoxic conditions. Some
of the more clear-cut adaptations are seen in respiratory kinetics and
hematology.
1. Tibetans have a higher resting ventilation rate than Andeans
and retain a sensitive hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) similar to
sea-level standards (Beall et al., 1997). In order to maintain aerobic
metabolic processes, a fundamental primary response to lower ambi­
ent oxygen concentrations is increased ventilation. The HVR is initi­
ated by 0 2 sensors in the carotid bodies and serves to increase 0 2 up­
take in the lung (Samaja et al., 1997). An acclimatized lowlander will
eventually develop a blunted HVR, which may serve to counteract
acid-base problems arising from hyperventilation (Samaja et al.,
1997) . This adaptation unfortunately enhances the risk of developing
chronic mountain sickness (CMS, a.k.a. altitude sickness or Monge’s
disease), a condition that is rare among Tibetans (Monge et al., 1992).
2. The hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit o f Tibetans is el­
evated compared to sea-level standards, but less so than Andean na­
tives (Beall et al., 1990). This adaptation also serves to reduce the fre­
quency of CMS. To maintain the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood,
red blood cell (RBC) mass increases as a result of stimulated erythro­
poietin (EPO) expression (Goldberg et al., 1988). A hematocrit of 45
to 60 percent is typical for sea-level migrants to altitude; although
42 EATING AND HEALING

above 55 percent, blood viscosity increases in a curvilinear fashion,

which raises the risk of thrombotic stroke (Altahan et al., 1998;
Fujimaki et al., 1986). Additional CVD risk may result from in­
creased levels of serum triglycerides and cholesterol that occur due to
a reduced serum pool. Epidemiological studies support this, indicat­
ing a strong correlation between elevated hematocrit and serum cho­
lesterol levels, indicating increased CVD risk at high altitude (Temte,
1996).
Among Tibetan highlanders, hematocrit levels do not usually
reach levels that are detrimental to health (Beall et al., 1990), due in
part to genetic influences that allow greater arterial hemoglobin 0 2
saturation (Beall et al., 1994). Despite this, a high incidence of hyper­
tension has been documented (Sun, 1986), a condition that is usually
absent or rare in other high-altitude populations (Hanna, 1999). The
explanation may lie in the diet: Tibetans consume large amounts of
sodium, up to one kilogram a month, much of it added to their tea, and
their potassium intake is low.
3. Effects o f altitude on birthweight in Tibetans are less pronounced,
providing support of a protective mechanism against altitude-associated
fetal growth retardation (Zamudio et al., 1993). Altitude residency is
associated with reduced birthweight compared to sea-level standards
(Jensen and Moore, 1997) attributed to maternofetal oxygen insuffi­
ciency. As such, birthweight can be used as an indirect interpretation
of the efficiency of adaptive responses to hypoxia through its effects
on infant mortality (Wiley, 1994). Likewise, the differential repro­
ductive success of women is affected by superior responses to hypoxia,
which could have operated through generations of selective forces
acting at high altitude (Hochachka et al., 1999). However, the condi­
tion is complicated by poor maternal nutrition and infectious diseases
that commonly afflict impoverished highland populations (Giussani
et al., 2001).

OXIDA TIVE STRESS AND ANTIOXIDANTS

The oxidation of serum LDL is considered a key initiating step in

atherosclerotic plaque formation, and supplementation with antioxi­
dants has proven to increase LDL resistance to oxidation (Jialal and
Grundy, 1992). Epidemiological evidence supports this, demonstrat­
ing a negative correlation between plasma antioxidant concentrations
 Antioxidants As Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 43

and CVD risk (Gey et al., 1993; Riemersma et al., 1991). Endoge­
nous antioxidant enzymes are the first line of defense against ROS
produced from mitochondrial respiration and are inducible in re­
sponse to oxidative stress. Certain minerals are required as cofactors:
selenium for glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), manganese for mito­
chondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD), zinc and copper for cytoplas­
mic SOD, and heme iron for catalase. These nutrients must be ob­
tained from the diet. Since humans have low levels of endogenous
antioxidants compared to other mammals, additional forms of oxida­
tive defense must be acquired from the diet. Best known are vitamins
C and E and beta-carotene, although a growing number of non­
nutrients such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids,
and other phenols are recognized as important contributors.
The multistressor environment of high altitudes has been shown to
increase whole-body oxidative stress, as evidenced by increased
erythrocyte peroxidation and breath pentane levels in humans at high
altitude that is attenuated by vitamin E supplementation (Simon-
Schnass, 1996). Hypobaric hypoxia increases levels of oxidized
glutathione in rats (Chang et al., 1989) and malondialdehyde (MDA)
levels are increased in plasma and tissues (Nakanishi et al., 1995;
Sarada et al., 2002). In humans, exercise in hypoxic environments
produced increased DNA strand breaks and oxidative DNA damage
compared to exercise under normal conditions. The authors deduced
that hypoxia depleted the antioxidant system of its capacity to with­
stand oxidative stress produced by exercise (Mpller et al., 2001).
Askew (2002) explored possible sources of free radicals and ROS
associated with high altitude. The majority of sources arise as a con­
sequence of exercise in hypoxic conditions. For instance, exercise at
high altitude may exacerbate ROS production from accelerated me­
tabolism and increased serum catecholamine and hypoxanthine pro­
duction. Reductive stress may also arise due to decreased availability
of oxygen as terminal electron acceptors during mitochondrial respi­
ration, which leads to the accumulation of reducing equi valents. Non­
exercise-related sources of oxidative stress include photooxidation of
the dermis and subcutaneous tissues due to greater UV exposure and
a lack of dietary antioxidants.
Although oxidative stress is an unquestionable aspect of high-alti­
tude travel, little is known on how high-altitude natives circumvent
this to maintain free from ROS-mediated pathologies. A study in An­
44 EATING AND HEALING

dean highlanders indicated that erythrocyte GSH-Px levels were sig­

nificantly reduced, while catalase and SOD levels were unchanged
compared to sea-level controls (Agostoni et al., 1983). The authors
deduced that low GSH-Px levels were due to selenium deficiency and
concluded that high-altitude Andean residents were poorly protected
from oxidative stress. In an in vivo animal study, Sarada and col­
leagues (2002) found that selenium supplementation reversed hy­
poxia-induced indices of oxidative stress. Selenium deficiency is also
a significant problem in Tibet due to poor soil concentrations.
Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), an endemic osteochondropathy that is
mediated by ROS-induced damage to developing bone and cartilage
(Peng et al., 1992), is caused in part by selenium deficiency (Suetens
et al., 2001) and consequently diminished GSH-Px levels. Consum­
ing foods that are rich in antioxidants has been suggested as a strategy
to alleviate KBD prevalence.
Plants that grow at high altitudes are an excellent source of antioxi­
dants. The increased light intensity at altitude has obliged plants to in­
crease antioxidant defenses to offset the higher ROS production
caused by hyperstimulation of the photosynthetic apparatus (Ren et
al., 1999; Wildi and Lutz, 1996). As a result, plants produce more an­
tioxidants as they spread and grow to higher elevations. Moreover,
the abundance of nonstructural carbohydrates (sugars, starch, fruc-
tans), lipids, energy, flavonoids and related phenolics, anthocyanids,
and carotenes is also greater in alpine plants (reviewed in Kroner,
1999). Herbivores are able to subsist on this vegetation, which in turn
sustain carnivores. As omnivores, humans living at high altitudes de­
pend primarily on animals and supplement their diet with endemic
plants. However, the dwarf growth forms of most alpine plants,
among other disadvantages, discourage their use as a major food
source. Nonetheless, they may have been partially exploited during
migrations to altitude to help offset increased oxidative stress. Use of
alpine plant species as human food in the context of high altitude col­
onization has very limited mention in the literature. They are ex­
ploited for pharmacological applications, however, as reflected in the
extensive herbals of Tibetan medicine.
 Antioxidants As Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 45

TIBETAN HIGH-ALTITUDE FOOD SYSTEMS

Colonization of the Tibetan plateau likely occurred in several dis­

crete stages that coincided with major paleoclimate fluctuations over
the past 50,000 years (Brantingham et al., 2003). During the Upper
Paleolithic era, hunter-gatherers journeyed to high altitude, although
long-term habitation would have been hindered by low environmen­
tal carrying capacity. On the plateau, few plants other than artemesia,
wild nettles, dwarf willows, and a variety of grasses are able to grow.
Reliance on meat was therefore essential for survival. Domestication
of the wild yak (Bos grunniens L.) and the practice of nomadic
pastoralism during the middle Holocene era in Tibet were economic
adaptations that enabled successful permanent residence.
In order to access greater dietary diversity, nomads needed to trade
with lower-altitude regions, where growing conditions were more fa­
vorable. For centuries, Tibetan nomads have subsisted by harvesting
products from their yaks, sheep, and goats, directly consuming some,
such as yogurt, butter, and meat, and trading others for barley, wheat,
and tea. Tsamba, roasted barley, is the staple of Tibet, and chhatang,
salted butter tea, is the national beverage. The two are frequently
mixed together in bowls, made into a paste with fingers, and con­
sumed. Other major food items include colza, peas, beans, potatoes,
and radishes. Flavorings usually include onions, garlic, and salt.
Smaller-sized animals such as poultry and fish are rarely eaten due to
Buddhist beliefs, which discourage the slaughter of several smaller
animals, rather than a single large one, to obtain similar quantities of
meat (Majupuria and Lobsang, 2000).
Diet varies seasonally, and much more calories are consumed in
winter than in summer (Beall and Goldstein, 1993). In one nomadic
group, tsamba provided 51 to 73 percent of calories during summer
months and 30 to 40 percent in winter. Animal products were con­
sumed throughout the year, with dairy products contributing 12 to 19
percent and 36 to 53 percent of total summer and winter calories, re­
spectively. Accumulated body fat during the winters was assumed to
buffer the summer periods of low intake (Beall et al., 1996). Body
composition analysis of Tibetans, though, show that percent body fat,
fat mass, and body weight were consistent-with those reported for ru­
ral non-European men and women, which suggests that obesity was
uncommon (Vaz et al., 1999).
46 EATING AND HEALING

B a r le y (Hordeum vulgare L .)

Whole-grain foods in general are considered beneficial for cardio­

vascular health. A series of large cohort studies (reviewed in
Trustwell, 2002) demonstrated a significant inverse association of ce­
real fiber or whole grains with coronary heart disease. Only a minor
fraction of this protective effect was attributable to the cholesterol­
lowering effect of soluble fiber. Additional factors may have been due
to folate and/or vitamin-E contents, glucose/insulin responses, and/or
hemostatic factors. Barley has confirmed hypocholesterolemic prop­
erties (McIntosh et al., 1995), demonstrated in a well-controlled 11-
week crossover study in 21 mildly hypercholesterolemic men, where
a diet high in barley fiber resulted in lower total and LDL cholesterol
levels compared with wheat (McIntosh et al., 1991). Activity was at­
tributed on one hand to the p-glucan component of soluble dietary fi­
ber, which increases the meal bolus viscosity and delays absorption
(Wursch and Pi-Sunyer, 1997), and on the other hand to tocotrienol
and a-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) (Burger et al., 1984). Tocotrienol is
proposed to influence cholesterol metabolism by inhibiting the rate-
limiting enzyme, HMG-CoA reductase, in cholesterol synthesis. As a
tocopherol, tocotrienol is also an antioxidant, along with other com­
ponents of barley such as flavanols ([+]-catechin, [-]-epicatechin, and
[+]-gallocatechin), other tocopherols (a, 5, and y) and carotenoids
(lutein and zeaxanthine) (Goupy et al., 1999). The roasting of barley
as practiced in Tibet, however, significantly diminishes the antioxi­
dant activity, a result of lower catechin, tocopherol, and lutein content
(Duh et al., 2001). Nonetheless, regular consumption of roasted bar­
ley likely confers a cardiovascular benefit to Tibetans.

B r ic k te a (Camellia sinensis [ L .] K u n tz .)

Tea and polyphenols contained therein have well-established anti­

oxidant activity and consumption is attributed to numerous health
benefits (Weisburger, 1999). Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a
powerful antioxidant and the main component (>30 percent dry
weight) of tea leaves. Epidemiological studies have shown that regu­
lar tea drinkers had lower risk of heart disease than nonusers when
comparing populations with similar risk factors (Ishikawa et al.,
1997; Hertog et al., 1995). This is supported by in vitro studies that
 Antioxidants As Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 47

demonstrate reduced LDL susceptibility to oxidation (deWhalley

et al., 1990). Cross-cultural studies also show that tea consumption is
associated with reduced serum cholesterol concentrations (Kono
et al., 1992). However, Tibetans consume a tea variety made from old
and coarse leaves and branches that are tightly pressed and shaped
into bricks in order to facilitate transportation and storage. Such pro­
cessing techniques may adversely affect the phenolic content. More­
over, brick tea usually includes leaves from other plants, most often
those found growing alongside the tea when collected.
Tea selectively absorbs fluorine from soils and progressively accu­
mulates it in the leaves, so that older leaves have higher concentra­
tions (Jin et al., 2001). Fluoride levels in brick tea are extraordinarily
high, up to 200 to 300 times higher than green or black tea, which
causes high incidence of dental and skeletal fluorosis among Tibetans
(Cao et al., 1996). Fluoride toxicity increases lipid peroxidation in
murine livers (Shivashankara et al., 2002), kidney (Sharma and Chinoy,
1998), and human erythrocytes (Saralakumari and Rao, 1991), indi­
cating ROS-mediated pathogenesis. Animal studies demonstrate that
fluoride-toxicity-induced oxidative stress depletes intrinsic ascorbic
acid and glutathione (Shivashankara et al., 2002). Moreover, studies
involving antioxidants and fluoride compounds show that fluorides
can adversely affect the action of antioxidants (Sztarbala et al., 1998).
Therefore, the health benefits of ECGC may be severely compro­
mised in tea leaves with high fluoride concentrations. In this regard, it
is difficult to evaluate whether the antioxidant benefits of brick tea
outweigh the hazards of fluorosis, since little is known of whether
long-term cardiovascular health is affected.

M e a l a n d D a ir y P r o d u c ts

Implicit in dietary recommendations of most government health

agencies is an overall pattern higher in plant foods and lower in ani­
mal foods (Health Canada, 1997; United States Department of Agri­
culture, 2000). This is supported by research that has consistently
shown plant-based diets to be associated with lower risks of coronary
heart disease (Krauss et al., 1996), cancer (American Cancer Society
Advisory Committee, 1996), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (American
Diabetes Association, 2000). Meats, on the other hand, are primary
contributors of total fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol in the diet,
48 EATING AND HEALING

and are associated with increased risk of chronic disease (Hu et al.,
2000).
A diet high in protein and fat may seem to fulfill an ideal energy re­
quirement to endure the cold, harsh, Tibetan climate. However, ex­
periments show that both protein and energy intake is reduced during
mountaineering expeditions (Zamboni et al., 1996), and a preference
for carbohydrates usually develops. This may be due to metabolic re­
organization of fuel substrates such that glucose is preferred over
fatty acids as fuel for the heart and muscles, which improves the yield
of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) per mole of 0 2 consumed (Holden et
al., 1995; Brooks at el., 1991). High-carbohydrate diets significantly
improve oxygen tension and oxyhemoglobin saturation in arterial
blood (Lawless et al., 1999) and increase lung-pulmonary diffusion ca­
pacity (Dramise et al., 1975). It would seem that carbohydrates, there­
fore, are the more efficient energy source for work at high altitude.
Although barley and wheat are significant carbohydrate sources,
Tibetan highlanders rely on calorie-rich animal foods to meet their
energy requirements. Yak has a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and
meat contains up to 20.84 and 23.6 percent fat and protein, respec­
tively. Yak milk is 4.4 to 7.0 percent fat, up to twice the fat of Friesian
cattle milk (3.5 percent), and has comparable protein content (Prasad,
1997). The cholesterol-raising effect of saturated fatty acids is be­
lieved to occur when the liver becomes enriched with myristic (14:0)
and palmitic (16:0) acids, which shifts the regulatory pool of choles­
terol esters to free cholesterol. This suppresses liver LDL receptor ac­
tivity and drives circulatory levels up (Bergeron and Havel, 1997).
Despite a high-saturated-fat diet, Tibetan highlanders have a low
serum cholesterol and serum apolipoprotein (apo) B and apoB/
apoA-I ratio compared to Japanese controls (Fujimoto et al., 1989).
Apolipoproteins are important in stabilizing and conferring specific­
ity to the lipoprotein, allowing them to be recognized by specific re­
ceptors on cell surfaces. ApoB-100 is associated with LDL, and
apoA-I with high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Since high HDL levels
are associated with health benefits, and high LDL levels with health
risks, it is desirable to have a low LDL/HDL (apoB/apoA-I) ratio in
the interest of preventing CVD (Goodnight et al., 1982).
Despite low cholesterol levels, Tibetans have a serum lipid profile
that shows a thrombogenic pattern: a high proportion of 16:0 and
stearic acid (18:0) and a low proportion of linoleic acid (18:2, n-6)
 Antioxidants As Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 49

(Fujimoto et a]., 1989). Linoleic acid is a precursor for arachidonic

acid (20:4, n-6) and eicosanoids such as prostaglandins and throm­
boxanes. Part of the mechanism by which diet, hypertension, and
other stressors contribute to CVD development is through an imbal­
ance between thromboxane A2 (TXA2), which promotes platelet ag­
gregation and vasoconstriction, and prostaglandin I2 (PGI2), which
has the opposite effects (Hirsh et al., 1981). Tibetans however, showed
a discrepancy between serum total lipids and serum phospholipids:
levels of 16:0 were low and levels of 18:2, n-6 were high. The fatty
acid composition of serum phospholipids is considered important be­
cause of its influence on cell membrane structure and, ultimately, the
function of membrane enzymes. Despite the thrombogenic fatty acid
pattern in serum total lipids, the high proportion of unsaturated fatty
acids in serum phospholipids may indicate a sort of defense mecha­
nism in fatty acid metabolism against the development of atheroscle­
rosis (Fujimoto et al., 1989). Not surprisingly, levels of eicosapen-
taenoic acid (20:5, n-3) (EPA), the omega-3 fatty acid responsible for
the low incidence of CVD among the fish-consuming Inuit, was low
in both serum total lipids and phospholipids (Fujimoto et al., 1989).
This may be considered a disadvantage in preventing CVD develop­
ment.
Lactose from milk consumption has been suspected as a possible
risk factor for ischemic heart disease (Segall, 1994), as indicated by
some epidemiological studies (Popham et al., 1983; Segall, 1980).
The biological plausibility arises from calcium’s ability to increase
fecal excretion of lipids and hence elicit a hypolipidemic effect, but
this is counteracted by lactose, which facilitates calcium absorption.
This issue should not be of concern for Tibetans, however, since yak
milk is made lactose-free via fermentation. As with other Asian pop­
ulations, Tibetans are likely to be lactose intolerant. Lactose-free
dairy products, such as butter and cheese, show no correlation with
CVD (Segall, 1994).

TIBETAN MEDICINE

The impact of Tibetan medicine on CVD risks in Tibetan highland­

ers at first may seem ambiguous. The frequency that medicinal plants
are ingested, if at all, among nomadic pastoralists is not certain. Wild
50 EATING AND HEALING

garlic (.Allium cyaneum Regel., Liliaceae), a Himalayan wildflower,

is reportedly collected as a spice by the Hongyuan nomads of eastern
Tibet (Blasum, 1997). Organosulfur compounds in the genus is well-
known to reduce CVD risk by inhibiting platelet aggregation and re­
ducing blood lipids (Bordia et al., 1998). Silverweed (Potentilla
anserina L., Rosaceae) is also collected as food (Blasum, 1997). As a
high-protein plant, it is encouraged as a supplement to prevent child­
hood malnutrition (Craig, 2003). Tibetans also use roseroot (Rhodi-
ola rosea L., Crassulaceae) (E. W. Askew, personal communication,
January 30, 2003), a well-studied Himalayan plant with numerous
pharmacological properties, including powerful antioxidant activity
attributed to its phenolic content. The plant is used traditionally as a
powerful adaptogen to combat physical stress, toxins, cold, and high-
altitude sickness (reviewed in Brown et al., 2002).
Whether ingested for their pharmacological effect or nutritive
value, Tibetans have long recognized the medicinal properties of food
and perceive them as important agents in therapy (Clark, 1995). The
fundamental classic of Tibetan medicine, the rGyud-bZhi, or the Four
Tantras, written in 1727, includes three chapters that address dietary
principles for health maintenance and healing. In brief, health is
maintained through the holistic harmony of the three humors: wind
(rlung), bile (mKhris-pa) and phlegm (bad-kan), all of which are di­
rectly affected by diet. Understanding one’s humoral disposition, the
proper diet is prescribed as preventive medicine. So serious is the im­
pact of diet that diseases in general are considered to have their roots
in disorders of the digestive process.
According to Tibetan medical concepts, CVD is caused by mental
depression, irregular meals, interrupted sleep, and violent anger.
Seven types of CVD are recognized, each caused by an imbalance of
a combination of different humors (wind heart pain, wind fever, blood
heart pain, blood fever, etc.), each associated with specific symptoms
and forms of treatment (Dorjee and Richards, 1985). In our search to
explore Tibetan foods and medicines for antioxidants, we opted to
study plants that were included most often (>30 percent) in com­
pound medicines prescribed for all disorders of the cardiovascular
system according to literature (Rinpoche, 1973; Tsarong, 1986;
Dash, 1994). Fourteen plants (see Figure 2.1) were ultimately se­
lected, collected, extracted, fractionated, and tested for their ability to
scavenge free radicals and protect human LDL from in vitro oxida-
 Antioxidants As Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 51

FIGURE 2.1. Plants most frequently occurring in Tibetan compound medicines

prescribed for cardiovascular disorders. 1. Malabar nut, Justicia adhatoda Nees.
(Acanthaceae); 2. Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius L. (Asteraceae); 3. Costus,
Saussaurea lappa (Decne.) Sch. Bip. (Asteraceae); 4. Bamboo pith, Bambusa
arundinaceae McClure. (Poaceae); 5. Myronbalan, Terminalia chebula Retz.
(Combretaceae); 6. Nutmeg, Myristica fragrans Houtt. (Myristicaceae); 7. Elec­
ampane, Inula racemosa Hook. f. (Asteraceae); 8. Long pepper, Piperlongum L.
(Piperaceae); 9. White sandalwood, Santalum album L. (Santalaceae); 10.
Agarwood, Aquilaria agallocha Roxb. (Thymeliaceae); 11. Clove, Syzygium
aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry. (Myrtaceae); 12. Cardamom, Elletaria cardomo-
mum (L.) Maton. (Zingiberaceae); 13. Greater cardamom, Hedychium spicatum
Ham. ex. Sm. (Zingiberaceae); 14. Spiked ginger lily, Amomum sabulatum
Roxb. (Zingiberaceae).

tion. Interestingly, most were spices. Spices are common medicinal

ingredients that are regarded as active elements in themselves or as
facilitators and mediators of other bioactive compounds (Handa,
1998). Also included were the “Six Good Things” (bzang-drug),
which are considered essential for health maintenance and to “simply
give happiness to people,” according to Tibetan theory (Clifford,
1990). They are nutmeg, clove, greater cardamom, cardamom, saf­
fron, and bamboo pith. It is therefore not surprising that such items
are included in numerous compound medicines.
52 EATING AND HEAUNG

Most plants tested positive for free radical scavenging activity, par­
ticularly agarwood, greater cardamom, malabar nut, nutmeg, sandal­
wood, clove, and myrobalan. Myrobalan in particular had the stron­
gest activity, comparable to vitamin C, catechin, epicatechin, and
quercetin (Owen and Johns, 2002); a finding that is corroborated with
previous studies (Vani etal., 1997; Mauliketal., 1996). The high con­
centration of tannins (up to 32 percent) in the fruit is assumed to be
responsible, which may limit its use as an internal medicine since tan­
nins bind readily to proteins (Okuda et al., 1991). Nonetheless, small
amounts are absorbed and may elicit a therapeutic effect. Other anti­
oxidants in myrobalan include vitamin C, vanillic acid, ferulic acid,
caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid (Kim et al., 1993). Myrobalan has a
special significance in Tibetan medicine: the Medicine Buddha is tra­
ditionally depicted holding the plant in his right hand in the gesture of
giving (Clifford, 1990). Considered the “all-conquering king of med­
icines,” legend maintains the tree grew from drops of nectar released
from the gods (Rinpoche, 1977). Its potent antioxidant action may
explain its use for the past 3,000 years in Ayurveda and its occurrence
in hundreds of compound medicines prescribed for a variety of
disorders.
Clove, another commonly occurring ingredient in Tibetan medi­
cine, displayed extraordinary LDL-protective effects in our assay, al­
most fourfold greater than a water-soluble analog of vitamin E (Owen
and Johns, 2002). The lipophilic phenylpropanoids eugenol and iso-
eugenol in the essential oil were likely able to infiltrate the lipopro­
tein membrane and thus were better positioned to inhibit peroxida­
tion. Eugenol and isoeugenol also occur in nutmeg. According to
Tibetan medical theory, clove is specifically used for the “life-vein,
which is connected to the heart and where the subtle life force serving
as a mount for consciousness resides” (Clifford, 1990). Consequent­
ly, clove is an almost universal ingredient of compound medicines
prescribed for heart and cardiovascular disorders.
Additional benefits may have been obtained from plant ingredients
that may not have had particularly strong antioxidant activity, but
either have cardioprotective properties of their own or act syner-
gistically or cumulatively with other bioactive elements. Long pepper
serves as a good example: it has previously demonstrated hypocho-
lesterolemic (Bao and Wu, 1992) and coronary vasodilating activity
(Shoji et al., 1986b), and is also able to enhance the bioavailability of
 Antioxidants As Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 53

other bioactive principles of coingested medicines (Atal et al., 1981).

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is able to increase oxygen diffusion in
plasma and reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels (Gainer and
Jones, 1975). Epidemiological evidence also suggests that the low in­
cidence of CVD in parts of Spain may be related to the liberal, almost
daily consumption of saffron (Grisiola, 1974). Table 2.1 summarizes
the pharmacology of these plants according to traditional Tibetan and
biomedical concepts.
Clearly, antioxidants form the therapeutic basis for several indige­
nous drugs, which may explain the efficacy of Tibetan medicines
used for ROS-mediated pathologies such as arthritis (Ryan, 1997),
intermittent claudation (Sallon et al., 1998), and atherosclerosis
(Gieldanowski et al., 1992). Similarly, combinations of different anti­
oxidants confer greater protection from LDL peroxidation than when
used singly (Knudsen et al., 1996). Such is the reasoning behind the
use of compound medicines, which is the fundamental characteristic
of Tibetan medicine. As a holistic therapeutic medical system, symp­
tomatic treatment of individual organs is supplemented with medi­
cines that increase drug efficacy and decrease toxicity while support­
ing other organs and body systems. Similar reasoning can be
extended to the functional complexity of diets, such that isolated
nutraceuticals often do not provide the health benefits derived from
whole foods (Marchioli et al., 2001), particularly in the case for
chronic-diseases prevention.

SU M M ARY

A complex interplay between risk factors and protective elements

results in low CVD prevalence among Tibetan highlanders, suggest­
ing either genetic involvement or behavioral modifications to ingest
functional dietary elements. In my attempt to review biotic and
abiotic influences on CVD risks, the primary consideration remains
the physiological distinctness of the population under study. The Ti­
betan highlander diet is unique in itself and, if considered independ­
ently, would facilitate interpretations concerning health and disease.
However, dietary behavior has evolved in direct response to the envi­
ronment, such that reliance on livestock, and not agricultural prod-
54 EATING AND HEALING
TABLE 2.1. Tibetan traditional and biomedical pharmacology of plants included
in our analysis. Although plants usually possess more than one bioactive prop­
erty, only those related to CVD indices are listed.

Family, English, Tibetan B iom edical

and T ib etan nam e eth n o p h a rm a c o lo g y p harm aco lo g y
Acanthaceae Cures blood fevers Increases endogenous
Malabar nut (Clark, 1995) antioxidant enzyme activ­
Ba s a ka ity and is a chemical
chemopreventative
(Singh et al., 2000)
Asteraceae Cures all types of liver Unsaturated fatty acids
Safflower diseases, closes rupture can reduce cholesterol
Gur gum of blood vessels (Clark, levels. Increases platelet
1995) linoleic acid levels associ­
ated with a change in
thromboxane B2 levels
(Cox et al., 1998)
Asteraceae Wind and blood regulator, Coronary vasodilating ac­
Costus cures angina (Tsarong, tivity (Shoji et al., 1986a)
Ru rta 1994)
Asteraceae Pain in upper body, anal­ Anti-ischemic activity and
Elecampane gesic (Tsarong, 1994) prevention of angina
Ma nu (Tripathi et al., 1984)
Combretaceae Cures all disease of wind, Reduces serum lipids
Myrobalan bile, and phlegm, whole­ and cholesterol in rats
A ru ra some for the body (Clark, (Khanna et al., 1993)
1995)
Iridaceae Cures all types of liver Crocetin increases oxy­
Saffron diseases, closes rupture gen diffusion in plasma.
Gur gum of blood vessels (Clark, Decreases cholesterol
1995) and triglyceride levels
(Gainer and Jones, 1975)
Myristicaceae Removes wind disorders, Eugenol inhibits prosta­
Nutmeg cures heart disorders glandin synthesis and ac­
Dza’ ti (Clark, 1995) tion, and inhibits platelet
aggregation (Janssens et
al., 1990)
Myrtaceae Cures disorders of life Eugenol inhibits prosta­
Clove channel (e.g., aorta), cold glandin biosynthesis and
Li si wind disorders (Clark, platelet aggregation
1995) (Rasheed et al., 1984);
antithrombotic activity
(Srivastava, 1993)
Piperaceae Cures all cold and wind Coronary vasodilating ac­
Long pepper disorders (Clark, t995) tivity (Shoji et al., 1986b);
Pi pi ling Hypocholesterolemic in
mice (Bao and Wu, 1992)
 Antioxidants /4s Mediators o f High-Altitude Nutritional Physiology 55

Family, English, Tibetan B iom edical

and Tibetan nam e e th n o p h arm aco lo g y p harm aco lo g y
Poaceae Cures all lung diseases, Bamboo pith is predomi­
Bamboo pith reduces fevers associ­ nantly silica, which has
Cugan ated with wounds (Clark, an antiatheromatous ef­
1995) fect in rabbits fed an
atherogenic diet (Trinca
etal., 1999)
Santalaceae Cures fever of the heart Oil is a popular fragrance
White sandalwood (Clark, 1995) with little medicinal use.
Tsan dan dkarpo Diuretic and urinary anti­
septic properties (Leung,
1980).
Thymeliaceae Cures fevers of the heart Oil is a popular fragrance.
Agarwood and life channel (Clark, Benzene extract has cen­
A ga ru 1995) tral nervous system de­
pressant activity
(Okugawa et al., 1993)
Zingiberaceae Cures cold disorders of Main constituent, 1,8-
Greater cardamom stomach and spleen cineole, has hypotensive
Ka ko la (Clark, 1995) effect in i.v.-treated
normotensive rats
(Lahlou et al., 2002)
Zingiberaceae Cures cold kidney and Reduces blood pressure
Cardamom wind disorders (Clark, in rats (Haranath et al.,
Sug smel 1995) 1987)
Zingiberaceae Destroys “cold” tumors, Reduces blood pressure
Spiked ginger lily alleviates disorders of in i.v.-treated anesthe­
Gah-kyah phlegm and wind, dis­ tized dog (Shaw, 1980)
solves congealed blood
(Tsarong, 1994)

ucts, for sustenance has constituted a more practical subsistence al­

ternative. A virtually unaddressed issue is whether Tibetan high­
landers, whose adaptation to high altitude is well established, are
equally adapted to their high saturated fat, low fruit and vegetable
diet, particularly when faced with increased oxidative stress at alti­
tude. Or, as proposed here, they have developed ingestive behaviors
that incorporate foods and adjuncts that contain prophylactic
elements. The issue is clearly complex and multifaceted, requiring
further investigation.
56 EATING AND HEALING

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 Chapter 3

Wild Food Plants in Farming

Environments with Special Reference
to Northeast Thailand, Food
As Functional and Medicinal,
and the Social Roles of Women
Lisa Leimar Price

INTRODUCTION

I had my first encounter with nondomesticated wild plant foods in

1986, while conducting research in Northeast Thailand for my mas­
ter’s degree in anthropology. I had originally planned a time-and-
labor allocation study on vegetable gardening. I was amazed that I
saw virtually nothing that I could recognize as a garden and won­
dered about the origin of the strange and various vegetables that I saw
people eating in the small village of my study. As I followed women
around in their daily activities, it then became clear: women gathered
plant foods from every imaginable location, most often in association
with other tasks, such as irrigating rice fields that held seedlings, on
their way to cultivate their more distant cassava fields, or collecting a
bit of this or that in the general village surroundings. For the total ob­
servations of food procurement/production activities, women spent
4.35 percent of their time on actual vegetable gardens but 31.88 per­
cent of their time on the collection of wild foods (collection of plants
and small protein items such as frogs, freshwater crabs, and insects)
(Leimar, 1987). Since this first encounter, my interest in and research
on wild plant foods has continued and grown with field research in a
number of regions in Thailand and the Philippines.

65
66 EATING AND HEAUNG

This chapter represents some of my findings over the years, some

of the important themes, and some of the questions that have emerged
for me. The research of others who have published on wild plant
foods has been critical to enhancing my understanding of patterns of
gathering, marketing, and use. I also look at what researchers have re­
ported from other regions of Asia and the world that 1 believe point to
important questions or indicate that patterns or issues 1 put forth are
of a cross-cultural nature. I do not claim that this chapter reviews all
the literature on wild food plants from agricultural environments, but
it does set forth some of the themes of concern regarding gender,
availability, use, and management of plants from disturbed environ­
ments and the overlap of wild plant foods with medicine and as
functional foods.
With regard to gathering rights and management, I attempt to ex­
plore the role of multiuse value and perceived rarity beyond what I
have previously published. It is at this juncture that the overlap of
food, functional food, and medicine has a special consideration. Of
particular concern are the factors that act as a stimulus to the protec­
tion and conservation as well as the privatization of these resources.
The links to the physical environment, environmental change, and
marketing of these plant foods are critical to our understanding of
availability and use of these plant foods as well. Intimately inter­
twined with these issues are the specific roles played by women and
gender. Women farmers are at the center of wild plant food use and
management in Northeast Thailand and appear to be so in numerous
studies of communities around the globe.

WILD PLANT FOODS

IN THE FARMING ENVIRONMENT

Among researchers, interest in wild plant foods has been increas­

ing over the past two decades as a growing number of studies docu­
ment the collection and consumption of wild plant foods from agri­
cultural environments (see Scoones et al., 1992). As a result, it has
become increasingly clear that semiwild or wild-managed, non-
domesticated plant foods in food-production environments and other
rural settings disturbed by human activity are a primary feature of
farming systems.
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 67

The gathering of these food plants by farmers is in evidence among

the range of subsistence orientations around the globe. Particularly
important locations for these foods are fallow fields and field bound­
aries. For example, Vainio-Mattila (2000) found that wild green leafy
vegetables consumed by the Sambaa people in Tanzania include 73
species of wild plant foods, most of which are ruderal, growing by the
roadsides, and weeds on arable land. Ogle and Grivetti (1985a) iden­
tified more than 200 wild edible species used by the Swazi of Swazi­
land and further note that 56 percent of the 211 informants reported
agricultural fields as their usual collection sites (Ogel and Grivetti,
1985b). Dufour and Wilson (1994) found that 41 percent of the 130
food plants used by the indigenous populations of Amazonia were
trees, of which over half were reported from garden fallows. They
note that successional vegetation is an important source of food
(Dufour and Wilson, 1994, pp. 117-118). Vickers found that one of
the few greens consumed by the Siona-Secoya of the Amazon in Ec­
uador is a weedy herb that grows in secondary growth (Vickers, 1994,
p. 147).
Among agriculturalists in heavily populated and intensively
farmed areas of the Hausa in northern Nigeria, Etkin and Ross (1994)
discovered that about 50 percent of all food plants consumed in their
study community were collected from the local environment. They
documented 39 wild food plant species from the farm, 6 species from
farm borders, and 16 species from public lands. Among rainfed
paddy rice farmers in northeastern Thailand, Price (1993, 1997) doc­
umented 77 wild food plant species, 44 of which occurred in agricul­
tural fields and 12 in gardens behind houses or in general village envi­
ronments such as roadsides. In the same village where Price (1993,
1997) worked, Moreno-Black and colleagues (1996) documented
that women in 88 percent of the households had nondomesticated
food plants in their home gardens. Wilken (1970) documented their
use among farmers in Mexico who sell their domesticated produce
but eat the plants foraged from disturbed environments. Farmers in
Europe also consume this class of wild plant: Galt and Galt (1976)
documented the gathering of wild plant foods from unhoed fields,
roadsides, and field boundary walls in Sicily, and 133 species (be­
longing to 48 families) are documented as being collected in north­
west Tuscany in central Italy (Pieroni, 1999). Fallow fields and field
borders are sites where rural women in Central Anatolia in Turkey
68 EATING AND HEALING

gather wild food plants for domestic consumption and market sale
(Ertug, 2003).

D e f in in g th e W ild

One of the important features of wild plant foods among agricul­

turalists is their existence in environments disturbed by human activ­
ity rather than undisturbed or pristine environments. Farmers may use
species from both disturbed and pristine environments, depending on
the natural environment available to them and access possibilities and
rights. Many of the plant foods in most disturbed environments used
by farmers are, however, opportunistic commensals to domesticates
and agricultural practices, as the numerous case studies previously
noted illustrate.
These plant communities change and differ in species diversity, sub­
ject to influencing factors such as the age and cultivation status of the
field or whether the plant community is found within open fields or
along the periphery of fields bordering roads or canals. These commu­
nities are comprised of species other than the original colonizers, and
the communities change due to the nature of agricultural practices,
which bring selection pressures on the communities. For example,
practices such as winnowing and weeding, as well as mechanization
and the application of chemical herbicides, all influence plant commu­
nities. It is also proposed that these pressures and their effects are
greater with more intensive, rather than shifting, cultivation (Barrett,
1983).
Wild and semidomesticated plant foods in the system may receive
less human management attention than the dietary staple, but many of
the wild species may still receive attention, which can include selec­
tive harvesting, transplanting, or propagation. A wild food plant can
be cultivated without becoming a domesticate, and the transition
from cultivation to domestication never occurs for most species.
Dufour and Wilson (following Clement, 1990 and Harlan, 1975)
attempt to help distinguish plants along this continuum. They use the
terms domesticated, semidomesticated, cultivated, managed, and
wild. Citing Clement (1990), Dufour and Wilson define these terms
as follows:

• A domesticated plant is a genetically modified species com­

pletely dependent on humans for survival.
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 69

• A semidomesticated plant has been significantly modified but is

still not completely dependent on humans for survival.
• A cultivated plant has been introduced into human agroecosys­
tems and is nurtured in a prepared seed bed.
• A managed plant is protected from human actions that might
harm it, is liberated from competition with other species, or is
planted in areas other than prepared seedbeds.
• A wild plant may be used but is neither managed nor cultivated
(Dufour and Wilson, 1994, p. 115).

For the purposes of this chapter I am concerned with anthropo­

genic microenvironments in the general agricultural setting with a fo­
cus on those plants that are in more highly disturbed environments. I
believe that Dufour and Wilson’s definitions are useful for under­
standing the multiple ways we need to think about wild food plants.
These are the definitions of the terms I will use when speaking specif­
ically about management. It should also be understood, however, that
I use the term wild in a general sense to refer to semidomesticated and
wild managed as well as truly wild, unless otherwise stipulated.

A b u n d a n c e : T h e B o ta n ic a l-D ie ta r y P a r a d o x

A number of studies indicate that managed horticultural and agri­

cultural environments can be favorably compared to natural forests in
terms of species composition (Conklin, 1961; Kunstader, 1978; Heck­
man, 1979). It is also proposed that folk inventories of wild plant taxa
among agriculturists may be richer in species diversity than those of
hunter gatherers (Meilleur, 1994). As noted earlier, plant communi­
ties change with changes in human behavior.
In Ogle and Grivetti’s (1985c) study in Swaziland, three different
zones were identified and studied for changes in gathered plant food
species. Their study was the first to name the “botanical-dietary para­
dox” of agriculturalists. Species loss in less intensively cultivated ar­
eas was less; the high veld had a mean loss of 4.5 species and low veld
a mean loss of 2. Their informants reported a mean loss of ten species
in the middle veld area. Respondents attributed this loss of more spe­
cies in the middle veld to expanded agricultural development. How­
ever, middle veld respondents had increased availability and use of
agricultural weeds as plant foods:
70 EA TING AND HEAUNG

The Middleveld, despite its population and extensive botanical

disruption presents a botanical-dietary paradox. Here, more va­
rieties of edible wild leaves are consumed than elsewhere in
Swaziland. . . . Such vigorous herbaceous species associated
with agriculture thrive in the same fields as domesticated crops
or in fields left fallow; their presence at these localities, how­
ever, makes gathering easier. . . . The Middleveld population,
rather than halting the practice of gathering when specific indig­
enous wild species became scarce, or when time constraints pre­
vented longer collection journeys, have changed their plant
focus and have turned to more easily accessible, but non-culti-
vated weeds of agriculture. (Ogle and Grivetti, 1985c, p. 59)

The concept of the botanical-dietary paradox is critical to our un­

derstanding that while selected species in the diet of those dependant
on forest resources may decline, the impact on any given farming
population may not be the same. As the Ogle and Grivetti study indi­
cates, new gathered plant foods are brought into the diet. Given the
extensive literature that has emerged on farmer’s consumption of ag­
ricultural weeds and other commensals to agriculture cited in this
chapter as well as this volume, it clearly is a pattern that occurs across
cultures. To date, we have no knowledge of what the actual processes
are of incorporating these commensals into the diet. Who in a com­
munity experiments with new plants, how does it occur, and what are
the social, cultural, and agricultural parameters that foster this
switch? We also do not know how and under what conditions farmers
simultaneously develop a botanical-medicinal paradox and how this
process may differ from incorporating new species as food.
What happens to these wild food plants of agriculture once se­
lected species start to decline in the agricultural environments? For
this question, my research in Northeast Thailand provides evidence
that rare, valued species come under a system of protection that in­
cludes limiting gathering rights and privatization (Price, 1997). This
is discussed further and in more detail in the section Multiple-Use
Value, Rarity, and Privatization (pp. 89-91).
The continued consumption of wild food plants that are not partic­
ularly desirable in taste and that are used primarily as famine foods
may also have important implications for availability. It has been pro­
posed that regular use of some species is important to assure suffi­
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 71

cient human protection so that species density does not fall below
sustainability (Etkin, 1994).

D is c o v e r y o f N e w E d ib le S p e c ie s

We have some indication that the discovery of the edibility of new

species is a product of women’s and children’s experimentation. Such
experimentation, while serving the long-term good of the population,
is not without its risks. Scudder (1971) documents this experimenta­
tion process among African savanna cultivators during a relocation
program. There was a high incidence of female and child death in the
relocated community that was not reflected in the surrounding indig­
enous population. After much medical and anthropological research,
the deaths were attributed to poisoning due to test consumption of
unfamiliar wild plant foods.

W O M E N ’S R O L E S , W O M E N ’S W O R K ,
A N D W O M E N ’S K N O W L E D G E

Investigating gender roles in general, and women’s roles in partic­

ular, is a crucial aspect of understanding both farming and gathering
behavior. In general, gathering, because it is the work of women and
children, has received less attention than the activities of men (Etkin,
1994; Price, 2000). This is further complicated by the fact that much
of women’s gathering is for domestic consumption on a daily basis
and can be easily overlooked by outside observers (Dufour and Wil­
son, 1994). Fortunately, this situation is increasingly being remedied
(for example, see Daniggelis, 2003; Ertug, 2003; Howard, 2003;
Malaza, 2003; Pieroni, 2003; Price, 2003; Turner, 2003).

G e n d e r D iv is io n o f L a b o r a n d K n o w le d g e

It is well-known that households and communities organize pro­

duction and resource management around the gender division of la­
bor and responsibilities. Among contemporary horticulturalists and
agriculturalists, gathering for domestic -consumption is women’s
work. Wild food plant collection from disturbed environments under
consideration in this paper is further linked to contemporary farm
72 EATING AND HEAUNG

women’s work in their weeding and seed management of domesti­

cated plant foods (Ertug, 2003; Price, 2003). Women’s work and
knowledge are the link between food production/procurement and
food preparation for family consumption (Daniggelis, 2003; Ertug,
2003; Price, 2003).
Within the context of Northeast Thailand, women are the plant
gatherers (Price, 1997, 2000, 2003; Somnasang et al., 1998) while
men engage in deep-water fishing and hunting (Somnasang et al.,
1998). Northeastern Thai farm women and girls are more likely to
correctly identify wild food plants than boys and men (Somnasang,
1996). Girls acquire gender-based knowledge about plants—how
to identify them; when, where, and how to collect them; and how to
cook and preserve them. Boys, by the same token, obtain knowledge
of fishing and hunting by working with their fathers (Somnasang et
al., 1998). The role of daughters learning from their mothers has also
been documented for Turkey, where Ertug (2003) observed that
mothers teach daughters how to identify wild food plants and their lo­
cations on active gathering trips.
Actual management of this class of food plants is also gender
based in Northeast Thailand, with women predominating not only in
collection but also in protection and transplanting in fields and gar­
dens in Thailand (Moreno-Black and Somnasang, 2000; Price, 1997,
2003).

M a r k e tin g

Northeastern Thai farm women are also engaged in the small-scale

marketing of these plants, providing a source of food not only for ur­
ban populations (provincial capitals) but also for other women farm­
ers, who buy them from the market for the purpose of either consum­
ing them or planting them on their own land (Moreno-Black and
Price, 1993; Price, 1997, 2000, 2003; Somnasang et al., 1998).
A market study I conducted with Moreno-Black of wild food sell­
ers in Kalasin Province in Northeast Thailand showed that 78 percent
of the sellers were farm women who did the gathering themselves and
55 percent of what they sold came from agricultural fields, while only
18 percent came from forested areas. Women were the sole marketers
of these foods, which included primarily wild food plants and occa­
sionally small wild protein foods such as snails, crabs, frogs, and in­
 Wild Food Plants in Fanning Environments 73

sects (Moreno-Black and Price, 1993). This pattern was echoed in an­
other market study that covered 11 early morning markets where
farmers predominate as sellers in the three Northeastern provinces of
Kalasin, Roi Et, and Khon Kaen. At these 11 markets, 5,909 vendors
were recorded, of which 94 percent were women selling 110 non-
domesticated plant species and 130 domesticated plant food species
(Moreno-Black et ah, 1996). Women farmers’ marketing of wild
plant foods has also been documented in Turkey, where there are
“women’s areas” in daily markets (Ertug, 2003). In both Thailand
and Turkey the market earnings belong to the women who can spend
it as they deem appropriate (Ertug, 2003; Moreno-Black and Price,
1993).
The markets of local towns of Northeast Thailand act not only as a
place where women can sell these plant foods and earn money but, as
noted previously, they are also places were women farmers as con­
sumers can purchase selected species for consumption or transplant­
ing onto their own land. Women not only transplant wild species they
obtain from the market, they in fact more commonly move selected
species from public lands to their own land, from one field to the next,
and from field to garden area around their homes in the village. In ad­
dition to buying plants from markets to plant, they obtain plants from
neighbors, friends, and kin to transplant onto their own lands (Moreno-
Black et al„ 1996; Price, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003). This implies a
number of linked areas that deserve further systematic investigation.
First is the role of the market in making selected species available to a
larger geographic area. Second is the role of social networks of
women in species maintenance. Third is gender-based gathering and
knowledge transmission. Finally, the role marketing plays in putting
pressure on the plant resources and how communities, particularly
women in communities, cope with these pressures regarding gather­
ing entitlements.
Agricultural policy and market demand can also impact the culti­
vation status of wild plant food species. A study conducted by Pem­
berton and Lee (1996) examines the market sale of wild food plants
gathered from field and forest in South Korea. This study represents a
level of consumer demand and intensive marketing of wild plant
foods not documented for Thailand to date, According to their knowl­
edge and observations regarding gender roles (although their article
did not discuss gender roles), they communicated to me that Korean
74 EATING AND HEAUNG

women have traditionally predominated in both gathering and mar­

keting of wild plant foods and still predominate in the market. Selling
wild plant foods continues as a female-only occupation in both large
urban and small rural markets (Pemberton and Lee, personal commu­
nication).1 We do not know, however, what shifts in gender labor,
knowledge, and authority outside of market selling may have taken
place as the wild plant foods moved increasingly under cultivation for
market sale, as described following.
The article by Pemberton and Lee (1996) documents 112 species
in 82 genera and 40 families in the markets. Green leafy vegetables
made up 73.2 percent of the total. The next most abundant were fruits
at 25 species (22.3 percent). They document the trend from 1989 to
1992 as one of increasing cultivation of wild-type food plants. Of the
14 species cultivated in both 1989 and 1992, 12 had increased areas
of cultivation during these three years and cultivation of 7 of these
species increased many fold. As of 1992, approximately 25,000
households in South Korea grew these plants, and 8,000 households
had them in actual cultivation. The trend from 1989 to 1992 was an
increase in the number of species under cultivation and the area of
cultivation (Pemberton and Lee, 1996, p. 64).

CONSUMPTION AND NUTRITION

Wild plant foods from disturbed environments also hold diverse

positions in the diet (daily, seasonal, or famine consumption). Wom­
en not only gather them for daily meals, but in some regions they also
engage in their preservation through drying and storage for later con­
sumption and in transplanting and nurturing activities to ensure con­
tinued availability of these foods to counteract seasonal and famine
food stress (Moreno-Black and Somnasang, 2000; Ogle and Grivetti,
1985b).
Our knowledge on the actual contribution of these plant foods to
the nutritional status of farmers is growing. The important contribu­
tion of wild plants to the diet in meeting macro- and micronutrient
needs of groups at risk (infants, children, the elderly, and pregnant
and lactating women) are revealed by numerous studies, although the
literature is scattered (Grivetti and Ogle, 2000). Dietary diversity is a
close correlate to dietary sufficiency, and dietary diversity obtained
from these wild plant foods has been deemed critical to dietary suffi-
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 75

ciency, particularly for women and children (Huss-Ashmore and

Curry, 1991; Nesamvuni et al., 2001; Nordeide et al., 1996; Ogle and
Grivetti, 1985c; Ogle, Hung, and Tuyet, 2001; Somnasang et al.,
1987). Ogle and Grivetti discuss dietary diversity in their Swaziland
study and conclude that the 59 different species gathered made a con­
siderable contribution to maintaining the nutritional adequacy of the
local diet (Ogle and Grivetti, 1985c, p. 59).
A number of studies on wild greens (including those in agricultural
fields) have discovered they contain vitamins A and C, riboflavin, cal­
cium, and thiamine (Begum and Pereira, 1977; Bye, 1981; Caldwell
and Enoch, 1972; Mwajumwa et al., 1991; Nesamvuni et al., 2001;
Nordeide et al., 1996). Wild food plants contributed significantly to the
overall micronutrient intake of rural women in two agro-ecological set­
tings in Vietnam (Ogle, Dao, et al., 2001).
The role of the mother is important in adequate nutrition and child
survival. A number of the authors cited previously also emphasize the
role and knowledge of women by using women as informants on the
consumption of wild plant foods (Campbell, 1987; Huss-Ashmore
and Curry, 1991; Nesamvuni et al., 2001; Nordeide et al., 1996;
Somnasang et al., 1987). Women’s diets are also used as a “proxy for
household diet because women have primary control over the prepa­
ration and distribution of food within the household. Further, wom­
en’s central roles in food production make it important to identify in­
adequacies for this portion of the population” (Huss-Ashmore and
Curry 1991, pp. 170-171).
Numerous studies also stress the importance of these foods as a
regular part of the diet. Primary harvesting occurs when the cultivated
staple is in shortest annual supply. In addition to peak gathering sea­
sons, more regular consumption is documented as well. Nesamvuni
and colleagues (2001) found in their interviews of 412 women from
multiple districts in Venda, South Africa, that among the ten plants
they studied in-depth, the frequency of consumption was once per
week, per plant. Women also engaged in the storage of surplus in a
dried form (either cooked or raw) for at least six months.
A study done in Northeast Thailand in the rainy season documents
that wild foods (plants and small protein items such as frogs) made up
50 percent of the farmer’s diet (Somnasang et al., 1987). Even at the
national level in Thailand, wild vegetables were found to play a sig­
nificant role in the diet, especially in rural areas (Ngarmsak, 1987). In
76 EATING AND HEALING

the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, 90 percent of the women in the Ogle,

Dao, and colleagues study (2001) ate wild food plants (naturally oc­
curring vegetables), which made up between 72 and 75 percent of the
total vegetables consumed in the wet season (Ogle, Dao, et al., 2001).
It is further suggested that cash income when used to purchase foods
does not necessarily replace this diversity. Farmers of Central Thailand
(high-input, high-productivity, rice-growing area) lost most of their
wild plant foods with land modifications for direct, dry-seeded rice that
removed paddy dikes and increased changes in production methods
that resulted in greater herbicide use—the traditional foods were not
replaced due to their unavailability on the market or their high price; in­
stead, the dietary diversity consumed was reduced (Price, 2000). In a
study of unconventional foods in the Thai diet for the whole nation,
Ngarmsak (1987, p. 40) concludes that the nutritional status of mothers
in the population decreased with the move from traditional foods (ac­
companied by the use of “more ready to eat” purchased foods) and it is
nutritionally better for villagers to obtain their food from their sur­
roundings or from what they have grown.

W ild P la n t F o o d C o n s u m p tio n a n d S o c ia l S tig m a

These plant foods vary in taste, abundance, and resilience to biotic

stresses, which in turn is related to which species are consumed as a
regular part of the diet and which are consumed only in times of ex­
treme food shortage. The degree to which wild plant foods are incor­
porated into the diet of agriculturalists depends also in part on
whether any social status restrictions on the consumption of these
foods (or selected species) exists; that is, if they are considered peas­
ant food or foods of poverty and are infrequently consumed by the
more prosperous. The greater the social stigma, the more likely these
foods will be used as a buffer in times of stress and shortage rather
than daily consumption. Wilken (1970), in his work among farmers
in Tlaxcala, Mexico, highlights the role of social stigma in the con­
sumption of wild plant foods the farmers regularly harvested from
fallow fields and along irrigation canals:

Social status restricts the use of-a group of foods that could sup­
plement an otherwise limited diet. This is unfortunate. As in
other economically depressed farming regions, Tlaxzcalan farm­
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 77

ers cannot afford to consume the dietary diversity and abun­

dance they produce [for the market]. (Wilken, 1970, p. 294)

Evidence that wild plant foods are somewhat stigmatized has also
been found in Swaziland. Ogle and Grivetti (1985b) document that,
despite the high use and appreciation of these foods, 29 percent of the
adult respondents would hesitate to serve wild foods to guests in their
homes because gathered plant foods can be symbolic of poverty and
could cause the host embarrassment. However, Ogle and Grivetti’s
informants expressed pleasure in the consumption of these foods as
everyday foods (Ogle and Grivetti, 1985b, p. 39).
In a field study conducted in Swaziland, Malaza (2003) compares
the Swazi diet to the findings of Ogle and Grivetti (1985a, b, c). She
documents a decline in the consumption of many wild species that
were gathered and eaten prior to the growth of intensive agricultural
and cash-crop production. Several reasons are given for this decline,
including an increase in social stigma of wild plant foods in rural ar­
eas, which reflects growing distaste of wild plant foods in urban
areas.
One gauge of the level of acceptance of wild plant foods (truly
wild, managed, or semidomesticated) is their presence in the market­
place and the varying degree to which social classes above farmers
consume them (Leimar, 1987; Malaisse and Parent, 1985; Pemberton
and Lee, 1996; Price, 1993; Wilken, 1970).

O V E R L A P S : M E D IC IN A L A N D F U N C T IO N A L F O O D

M e d ic in a l F o o d

In their study of medicinal plants in Nigeria, Etkin and Ross

(1994) found that 10 percent were cultivated and the rest were semi­
wild. They listed 235 noncultigen medicinal plants, 82 of which grew
in farm areas (39 of which were also consumed as food); 36 grew in
farm border areas (six of which were also used as food); and 56 grew
on public lands (of which 16 were also used as food). Ultimately, 26
percent of what Etkin terms “local semi-wild plants” used as medi­
cine were also consumed to meet dietary needs (Etkin, 2002, p. 81).
She further makes the important point that we should not conceptual­
ize the category medicinal food to mean that people do not distin­
78 EATING AND HE AUNG

guish between food and medicine or that people select food based on
its therapeutic effect. The same species can in one circumstance sim­
ply be food, yet in the context of treating an illness be a medicine.
The concept that food can also be used as medicine was docu­
mented for 16 wild-gathered food plants among the Karen in North­
ern Thailand. Of the 11 species discussed in detail, four were from
rice-paddy and fallow areas, three from riverbank areas, and one from
a transition area. Only three of the 11 were from forested areas (John­
son and Grivetti, 2002).
Among farmers in Vietnam, Ogle and colleagues (2003) uncov­
ered 94 wild-gathered plant species used as food; 46 percent of these
were also used for medicine. They state,

From a nutrition viewpoint it is important to pay attention to this

group of traditional foods for several reasons. Their direct nutri­
tional contribution is often significant but neglected. Very little
is known about the health benefits of regular consumption of
small quantities of medicinal foods, (p. 103)

F u n c tio n a l F o o d s

Health benefits from the consumption of food and dietary diversity

are not only associated with the nutrient content of the food. Other
specific functional properties are recognized. Some of the health-
related functions of food plants include antioxidant, immunostimu-
lation, anti-inflammatory, and antibiosis properties. The benefits of
nonnutrient functional properties may exceed those attributed to
nutrients. As Johns (2001) states,

Vegetable diets that make modest contributions to improving vi­

tamin A status result in significant increases in serum levels of
lutein (de Pee et al., 1998), an antioxidant for which protective
benefits in relation to ocular disease (Brown et ah, 1999;
Sommerburg et ah, 1998), as well as cardiovascular disease and
cancer, are increasingly recognized, (p. 6)

Thus, wild food plants can be functional foods; that is, consumed
as food but acting beyond their basic nutritional function as food by
providing protection or reducing the risk of chronic disease. Pieroni
and Quave (see Chapter 4, this volume) note that a great number of
 Wild Food Plants in Fanning Environments 79

the gathered weedy species from disturbed environments in the agri­

cultural setting consumed by south Italians fit into “folk functional
foods,” in that people think they are healthy to eat but with a general
rather than a unique specification of the benefiting action.
Pieroni and colleagues (2002) have evidence that gathered plant
foods exist on a continuum of food— food medicine— medicine as
linked to indigenous perceptions and classifications of taste. Mild
and mildly bitter-tasting greens were considered food, those gathered
plants with increased bitterness were in the overlapping category of
both food and medicine, and plants perceived as very bitter were
consumed as medicines.

M E D IC IN A L A N D F U N C T IO N A L F O O D :
W IL D P L A N T S O F N O R T H E A S T T H A IL A N D

In Northeast Thailand, trees in paddy fields as well as herbaceous

species provide both food and medicine. Young leaves and flowers
are consumed as vegetables and can also serve as medicine. Grand-
staff and colleagues (1986) documented 54 species of trees in paddy
fields (on dikes and hillocks), of which 32 species were naturally oc­
curring and 4 species could be either naturally occurring or planted.
They note that “many tree species both naturally occurring and
planted, provide food and medicine. Young leaves and flowers of
C a s s ia sia m e a frequently are used in making a type of curry and, in
more concentrated form, a laxative” (Grandstaff et al., 1986, p. 285).
Eighteen of the 32 naturally occurring tree species they documented
serve as food and medicine. It is unclear from their publication, how­
ever, the extent to which the various species serve both functions
(food or medicine versus food and medicine).
In my village field research in Northeast Thailand (Price, 1997) I
identified 77 gathered plant foods. Fifty-five, of which 36 have the
scientific name identified, were clearly from the agricultural environ­
ment. A recent attempt to examine which of these 36 food plants have
medicinal value using secondary botanical and other sources reveals
that 15 of these food species also have important medicinal uses, and
13 of these 15 were sold as vegetables by farming households for
cash income at markets. These 15 species are described in the next
sections and shown in Table 3.1.
80 EATING AND HEALING

TABLE 3.1. Wild food plants with medicinal value gathered from disturbed envi­
ronments in Northeast Thailand, market sale, and rights to gather plants from
privately owned property.

Local n am e G ath e rin g G ath e rin g

(N o rth e a s t M arket restrictio n re strictio n
S c ie n tific n am e T h a ila n d ) sale fo r eatin g fo r sale

Alpina malaccensis Kaa paa Y RP F

Amaranthus spinosus Phak horn (phak Y N N
khom)
Azadirachta indica Phak kadao Y RP F
Barringtonea acutangula Phak kradon Y N F
[naam]
Capparis tennera Bak lep maeo N N N
Cassia siamea Phak kheelek Y N F
Coccinia wightiana Phak tarn luang Y N N
(phak tarn nin)
Eclipta prostrata Phak liang (phak N N N
kariang)
Ipomoena aquatica Phak bung Y N N
Limnophila aromatica Phak kayaeng Y N N
Lindernia crustacean Phak leum pua Y N N
Monochoria hastate Phak tob (phak Y R F
top)
Nymphaea pubescens Sai bua Y N F
Oroxylum indicum Phak lin faa Y RP F
Tiliacora triandra Yaa naang (bai Y N N
yaa naag)

Source: Author’s data.

Notes: Alternate local name is in parentheses. Variety qualifier is in brackets.
Market sale: Y = plants sold on the market; N = plants not sold on market.
Gathering restriction for eating: N = no restrictions on amount collected from
property of others; R = restricted in the amount you can gather; P = restricted
and you must first have permission to gather from the landowner.
Gathering restriction for selling: N = no gathering restrictions from private
property; F = forbidden to gather from the land of others for marketing purposes.
 Wild Food Plants in Farm ing Environments 81

Although the knowledge of the informants about the overlap of

medicinal or functional foods was not specifically investigated dur­
ing my numerous research trips to the Northeast, they were asked if
they thought wild foods were better, worse, or the same for health.
The majority thought they were better for health (Moreno-Black and
Price, 1993). Similarly, throughout Northeast Thailand gathered
plant foods are thought to have “health promoting or medicinal quali­
ties” (Moreno-Black et al., 1996, p. 112).
Despite this assessment, however, these food plants may fall into
what Pieroni and Quave (see Chapter 4, this volume) termed “folk
functional foods.” The people of Northeast Thailand, like those of
Southern Italy, seem to think these foods are healthy to eat but with a
general rather than a unique specification of the benefiting action.
This also seems to be substantiated by the species-specific ethno-
botanical elicitations conducted (Price, 1997), in which no medicinal
properties were mentioned. More detailed (ethno) botanical research
is needed in the area of botanical identification, since local names can
vary within the region. More detailed anthropological, nutritional,
and (ethno) medicinal investigations are also called for of domestic
healing (rather than specialist healing) given the increasing recogni­
tion of the important overlap of food—functional food—medicine. In
this regard, women’s roles, work, knowledge, and entitlements are
the links between the environment and the table and a healthy family.
Functional foods, by the very fact that they are consumed as food
rather than medicine, are intimately interwoven with the local cuisine
and the kitchen. Thus, women must figure prominently as infor­
mants.

GATH ERED FOOD PLANTS OF N O RTH EAST

T H A I L A N D W IT H M E D I C I N A L V A L U E

In the language of Northeast Thailand, Thai-Lao, the word phak

indicates a vegetable and the word yaa indicates medicine. Interest­
ingly, one of the most common vegetables consumed is yaa naang,
where in food preparation the leaves are crushed in water and provide
a viscous green base for soups locally known in the village as curry.
The term bak identifies a fruit and kaa identifies a rhizome (such as
ginger), ba't indicates leaf (a more unusual prefix).
82 EATING AND HEAUNG

Alpina malaccensis (B u rn t, f . ) R o s c o e : K a a p a a

English vernacular name: None

Plant: Robust herb, 2 to 3 cm tall, that is strongly aromatic when
bruised.
Ecology: Prefers shady conditions and is often found in second­
ary growth, rarely in primary forest. At the research site, in­
formants said it was found in forested areas beyond village
and fields and transplanted to village and home areas.
Part eaten as food: Young shoot (leaves and stem) and root (rhi­
zome)
Medicinal: The dichloromethane and methanol extracts of A.
malaccensis showed essential oil (yield of up to 0.2 percent)
consisting of 75 percent methyl cinnamate. Rhizome yielded
0.3 percent essential oil. Exact use of A. malaccensis is not
known; however, the rhizome of medicinally used Alpina
have been documented throughout Southeast Asia, including
Thailand, as being taken for a large array of ailments.
Marketing: Yes
Source: Van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Amaranthus spinosus L .: P h a k h o m

English vernacular name: Spiny amaranth, prickly amaranth,

spiny pigweed
Plant: Annual erect herb up to 100 cm tall, much branched
Ecology: Optimal growth in areas with moderate moisture, very
common at roadsides, waste places, cropped land, gardens,
and other disturbed areas throughout Southeast Asia.
Part eaten as food: Whole young plants and new shoots (young
leaves and stems) if plant is old
Medicinal: Roots are known as an effective diuretic and a rem­
edy using the root is used to treat gonorrhea in Thailand.
Rutin (flavonoid) has been found in the aboveground matter.
Dried leaves found to contain up to 4.5 percent potassium.
Marketing: Yes
Source: De Padua et ah, 1999
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 83

Azadirachta indica: P h a k k a d a o

English vernacular name: None

Plant: Tall tree
Ecology: Grows on rice paddy hillocks, in the village and house
areas.
Part eaten as food: Shoot (young leaves and stems) flowers
Medicinal: Yes (no detail)
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Siemonsma and Piluek, 1993

Capparis tennera: B a k le p m a e o

Capparis L.: 40 species in mainland Southeast Asia.

English vernacular name: None
Plant: (C. tennera) erect to climbing shrub, branches overhang­
ing. Wild, never transplanted.
Ecology: (C. tennera) found in hedges and forest borders that
meet fields.
Part eaten as food: (C. tennera) ripe (sour) and unripe fruit
(sweet). Fruit ripe in October/November. Fruits are a source
of vitamin C.
Medicinal: Most species seem to have some antibacterial activ­
ity.
Marketing: No
Source: Van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Barringtonea acutangula: P h a k k r a d o n n a a m

English vernacular name: None

Plant: Wild tree, 10 to 30 m high
Ecology: Found near water (rivers and depressions that remain
as small lakes/swamps after annual rains. Village informants,
however, note that there are two types of kradon (Careya
sphaerica Roxb.) and it is the “naam” variety (Barringtonea
acutangula) that grows at swamp and field boundaries. Thus
exact identification of the species is not yet certain and needs
further botanical identification.
84 EATING AND HEALING

Part eaten as food: Shoots (young leaves and stems) and flowers
are eaten raw.
Medicinal: Has a very high antioxidative potency, containing
more than 100 mg butylated hydroxyanisole equivalent (BHA
eq.) in 100 g fresh vegetable (Trakoontivakom and Saksitpi-
tak, 2000).
Marketing: yes
Sources: Brenner, 2003; Trakoontivakom and Saksitpitak, 2000

Cassia siamea B r itt.: P h a k k h e e le k

English Vernacular name: Cassod tree

Plant: Wild tree, 4 to 8 m high; wild but also transplanted
Ecology: Found along river banks or ditches
Part eaten as food: Young leaves and flower buds; bitterness re­
duced through boiling
Medicinal: Leaves and flowers are diuretic and mild laxative
(bark also).
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Jacquat, 1990

Coccinia wightiana: P h a k ta m lu a n g

English vernacular name: Ivy gourd

Plant: Herbaceous climber
Ecology: Occurs wild in grassland, on roadsides, and in light
forests and brushwood. It grows along fences and with trees,
according to informants. Gathered wild in the study village,
other villages are said to transplant it.
Part eaten as food: Young shoots, young leaves, and stem
Medicinal: Numerous medicinal applications, including poul­
tice, antipyretics
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Siemonsma and Filuek, 1993

Eclipta prostrata: P h a k H ang; p h a k k a r ia n g

English vernacular name: False daisy, ink plant; Central Thai

vernacular: Kameng
Plant: Annual or short-lived perennial herb
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 85

Ecology: Anthropogenic species found in the rice paddy and

around water courses, swampy areas, and roadsides. Com­
mon weed in rice.
Part eaten as food: Young shoots (leaves and stems)
Medicinal: Widely used in traditional medicine throughout South­
east Asia and China. Crushed leaves used against skin dis­
eases (eczema as well as leprosy, ringworm, and mycosis of
fingers and feet). Leaves or flower heads used internally for
colic, constipation, and also against diarrhea. Aerial parts
generally known for their antibiotic and hemostatic proper­
ties (treating blood in the urine, nose and wound bleeding,
and ulcers).
Marketing: No
Source: Van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Ipomoena aquatica F o r s s k a l: P h a k b u n g (T h a i)

English vernacular name: Water convolvulus; water spinach

Plant: Perennial, fast-growing herb 2 to 3 cm long, trailing or
floating; stem hollow or spongy. Two types of phak bung
(also called kangkong on other areas of Southeast Asia) are
distinguished. A plant with green/purple stems, dark green
leaves, and light purple to white flowers is the phak bung Thai
gathered wild. The cultivated type has green/white stems and
white flowers and is referred to as phak bung chin.
Ecology: On paddy dikes at rice field edges, ditches, irrigation
canals, and other moist, marshy, or inundated locations
Part eaten as food: Stems and leaves, young tops or plants
Medicinal: Eating phak bung Thai can be used against sleep­
lessness, headache, and stress, as it has a nerve-calming ef­
fect. The leaves can be used in a remedy for cough.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Siemonsma and Piluek, 1993; Van Valkenburg and
Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Limnophila aromatica: P h a k k a y a e n g

English vernacular name: None

Plant: Fleshy annual to perennial herb, 30 to 100 cm tall,
aquatic/semiaquatic herb
86 EATING AND HEALING

Ecology: Found along riversides, marshy areas, and is a com­

mon “weed” in flooded rice fields
Part eaten as food: Young shoots (leaves and stalk)
Medicinal: Plant used as a cooling agent in fevers and given to
nursing mothers as a galactagogue. Thought to calm the
stomach after eating durian.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Siemonsma and Piluek, 1993; Van Valkenburg and
Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Lindernia Crustacea: P h a k le u m p u a

English vernacular name: None

Plant: Small annual to short-lived perennial herb, 5 to 20 cm
tall.
Ecology: Grows in rice fields (nonflooded) and on paddy dikes,
riverbeds, ditches, and disturbed soils. Never transplanted.
Part eaten as food: Whole plant, including the roots
Medicinal: A remedy made of the leaves is given after child­
birth. Shown also to have good results in treating bilious dis­
orders, dysentery, amenorrhea, and hepatitis. One of the most
common plants in Chinese pharmacies in Indonesia and Ma­
laysia.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Monochoria hastata: P h a k to b

English vernacular: Pondweed

Plant: Rhizomatous perennial with strong stem, can attain a
height of up to 2 m during the rain, adjusting height to water
depth.
Ecology: Weed in flooded rice fields, grows in swamps, along
ditches, and canal banks.
Part eaten as food: Young stalk and young flower
Medicinal: Juice of leaves used for curing coughs and pulver­
ized rhizome is applied to relieve itching.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Siemonsma and Piluek, 1993
 Wild Food Plants in Farm ing Environments 87

Nymphaea pubescens W illd .: S a i b u a

English vernacular name: Water lily, lotus lily

Plant: Nymphaea species is a perennial aquatic herb; rhizome
cone-like, tuberous. Flowers solitary, 8 to 18 cm in diameter,
held 5 to 20 cm above the water. Flowers are slightly fragrant.
Ecology: N. Pubescens found in deeper ponds and swamps
Part eaten as food: N. Pubescens, stem
Medicinal: Screening of N. pubescens Willd. leaf extract
showed antifungal activity that causes 85 percent inhibition
of spore germination in Fusarium solani. In Southeast Asia,
Nymphaea species are considered astringent, in Thailand the
flowers are taken as a cardiotonic.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara, 2001

Oroxylum indicum: P h a k lin f a a

English vernacular name: Midnight horror

Plant: Semideciduous tree up to 27 m tall and trunk up to 40 cm
in diameter. Bark is gray.
Ecology: Nongregarious, short-lived, encountered in secondary
growth and thickets, widespread and common in disturbed
areas throughout Southeast Asia. At the research site it is
found on paddy field dikes, in upland fields, and around the
village.
Part eaten as food: Leaves, shoots, flowers; the young long flat
pods (fruit) are eaten cooked as vegetables.
Medicinal: In Thailand the root and root bark are used for diar­
rhea and dysentery; stem bark is applied to ulcers and ab­
scesses. Seed is used as a laxative and antidiarrheal. The
flavonoids and lapachol isolated show pharmacological ac­
tivities in virus inhibition and anti-inflammatory activity.
Among the flavonoids found, the leaves, stem and root bark,
and seed contain baicalein.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara, 2001
88 EATING AND HEAUNG

Tiliacora triandra: Y aa n a a n g ; b a i y a a n a a g

English vernacular name: None

Plant: Woody vine; climbing with support (liane)
Ecology: Common in scrub vegetation in lowland areas and
other clearings. Commonly transplanted to house garden ar­
eas.
Part eaten as food: Leaves crushed in water. Leaves then dis­
carded and the leaf extract used as a green and viscous base
for soup locally called “curry.”
Medicinal: Aerial parts widely used as an antipyretic in Thai­
land. Little is known about the pharmacological properties.
Marketing: Yes
Sources: Siemonsma and Piluek, 1993; Lemmens and Bunya-
praphatsara, 2003

IN V E S T IG A T IO N S O F W IL D P L A N T F O O D S
A S F U N C T I O N A L /M E D I C I N A L F O O D S I N T H A I L A N D

The Institute of Food Research and Product Development at

Kasetsart University in Bangkok has been working since 1998 on the
notion that local Thai vegetables can be used to prevent diseases.
Their researchers have been conducting studies on the antioxidant ac­
tivity and antimutagenicity of indigenous gathered vegetables (of the
northern and northeastern regions) and have studied approximately
200 species they collected from local markets. Their results indicate
that many plant species possess great potential as functional foods
(Trakoontivakorn, 2003). A number of traditional vegetables tested
are to be found in my Thailand research. Barringtonea acutangula
(phak kradon naam), Cassia siamea (phak keelek), and Azadirachta
indica (phak kadao) are among the group of vegetables they classify
as “very high potency,” containing more than 100 mg BHA eq. in
100 g fresh vegetable. Amaranthus spinosus (phak hom) was classi­
fied in the “high potency” range, containing antioxidant substances
25 to 100 mg in 100 g fresh vegetable (Trakoontivakorn and Saksit-
pitak, 2000).
In a study done on 134 edible Thai plants for anti-tumor-promot­
ing activity, 17 species exhibited strong inhibitory activity, 21 species
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 89

were moderately active, and 33 species were slightly active. One

gathered wild vegetable from the village study, Oroxylum indicum
(phak lin faa), has been noted as having exceptionally high potential
in cancer prevention (Suratwadee et al., 2002). Nakahara and col­
leagues (2001) have also studied Oroxylum indicum and note that the
tests on the edible part of the plant exhibited antimutagenic proper­
ties.

M U L T I P L E - U S E V A L U E , R A R IT Y ,
A N D P R IV A T IZ A T IO N

An overlap in food and medicine may be an important indicator of

multiple-use value for selected species and thus act to stimulate in­
digenous prohibitions on overexploitation of rarer species for market
sale. Such considerations are important not only in protecting the
biodiversity of wild plants as food but also medicines and functional
foods. Such multiple-use value was briefly noted by Cunningham
(1995, p. 3): “The widespread practice in Africa of conserving edible
wild fruit-bearing trees for their fruits or shade also ensures availabil­
ity of some traditional medicines as several are multiple-use species.”

N o r th e a s t T h a ila n d

Currently, there is little empirical evidence of how wild plant foods

come under a system of protection, management, and privatization.
Based on research in Northeast Thailand, it has been proposed that
factors such as the reduction of common-property forests, population
pressures (Grandstaff et al., 1986), and proximity to towns and cities
(Ngarmsak, 1987) may each have a bearing on the availability and
management of wild plant foods.
My research in Northeast Thailand (Price, 1997) illustrates that in­
tensive management (including propagation) of wild plant food spe­
cies is species specific and applies to species that have multiple-use
value and are perceived as rare. This is also supported by the research
results of Stoffle and colleagues (1990), whose work among the
Paiute and Shoshone Native American groups in Nevada document
the importance of perceived rarity with the development of special
management techniques to encourage protection and propagation of
90 EATING AND HEAUNG

wild plants. Cunningham (1995, p. 3) provides an appropriate sum­

mary of decisive factors for plant management to take place. He
states:

For any society to institute intentional resource management

controls, certain conditions have to be fulfilled: the resource
must be of value to the society; the resource must be perceived
to be in short supply and vulnerable to over-exploitation by peo­
ple; the socio-political nature of the society must include the
necessary structures for resource management.

In the study I conducted in Northeast Thailand among rice farmers

(Price, 1993, 1997), restrictions on gathering were due to a combina­
tion of three factors: (1) perceived rarity, (2) desirability of the taste
of the plant food, and (3) the market value of the species.
Twenty-five of 77 species fit these criteria. This placed them in a
category where gathering from private property (such as agricultural
fields) was forbidden for nonowners. The usufruct rights for gather­
ing for consumption of these “forbidden species” varied but remained
species specific. In no case was there a restriction on gathering for
consumption that did not have a corresponding prohibition on gather­
ing for market sale. In some cases one could gather with permission,
while in other cases one could gather enough just to eat on the
spot without permission, or one could gather enough for a family
meal without permission. Of the 15 food plants from my study that
also had medicinal value, seven were forbidden for collection for
market sale and, of these seven, four had restrictions on gathering
for consumption (see Table 3.1). In no case, however, was the health
or functional food/medicinaJ value mentioned or implied as a value of
consideration in restricting gathering rights on privately owned land.
The values were rarity, taste, and marketability. The functional and
medicinal values of these plant foods deserve further investigation
into their relationship to management and protection.
In an attempt to test the role of the market in relationship to human
management of wild plant food species in disturbed environments, I
discovered that plants might be managed even if the plant species was
not sold on the market, but that management was a critical aspect of
“forbidden species” (Price, 1997). Also critical to placing a species in
the category of “forbidden” was the centrality of women in the local
sociocultural context of the village: it was they who came to consen­
 Wild Food Plants in Farming Environments 91

sus on a given species’ status. Women were the owners of the re­
source (matrilineal inheritance of land); spent their whole lives in the
village (matrilocal residence); and were thus intimately familiar with
the ecology and were the gatherers, marketers, and preparers of these
wild plants for domestic consumption in their kitchens (Price, 2003).
Although the village women farmers in this study may not recog­
nize or consider the specific benefiting actions of the plant foods (as
functional or medicinal), nonetheless the conservation for food inad­
vertently conserves the plants for their general folk function of
“healthy to eat.”

C O N C L U S IO N S

Defining what wild plant foods are in the farming environment and
the important role they play in farmer’s diets around the world and
particularly in Northeast Thailand has been one of the tasks of this
chapter. This study points to some important linkages that come from
a combination of the literature and my own research interests in the
fields; it also points to some knowledge gaps. What we still under­
stand very little about is the process of bringing these “weeds of agri­
culture” and other plant foods from disturbed environments into the
diet. What we can propose is that a movement away from dependence
on plants from forests as food and medicine appears to be accompa­
nied by an increase in consumption of plant foods and medicines
gathered from the farming environment, and that this occurs as a
cross-cultural phenomenon. Thus, as agriculture grows and old forest
growth declines and is farther and farther from the dwellings (and
gatherers) there is a growing reliance on plant foods from the envi­
ronments disturbed by human activity, including fields, border areas,
along foot paths, and so on. Undoubtedly, species composition
changes with land-use changes and agronomic practices. New spe­
cies are brought into the diet through a process of experimentation,
but not without difficulty. The only study we have on the discovery of
plants and incorporating new species into the diet is by Scudder
(1971), who discovered that women (and children) experiment in
consuming wild plant foods unknown to them, with the accompany­
ing higher incidence of poisoning from this consumption.
92 EATING AND HEALING

Dietary diversity, with regard to the number of different species in

the diet, seems to increase with this shift from wild forest species to
the species of agriculture. This has been labeled the botanical-dietary
paradox (Ogle and Grivetti 1985c).
This chapter has provided significant evidence from a number of
important studies that gathered plant foods from agricultural environ­
ments also act as medicine. Indeed, within the context of my own re­
search in Northeast Thailand, out of 36 species gathered from agri­
cultural environments, 15 were shown to have important medicinal
properties through the examination of secondary source material.
Thirteen of these 15 species were sold by women at local markets as
food. The relationship between food as functional and food as medic­
inal in the minds of the farmers themselves is less clear. The gathered
food plants are thought to have health-promoting qualities but may be
along the lines of “folk functional foods” (see Chapter 4 by Pieroni
and Quave, this volume), in that they are thought of as healthy to eat
but are without specifically identified benefiting actions. This, of
course, would be quite different for plants clearly within the folk
medical system. In the case of the vegetable phak linfaa (Oroxylum
indicum), for example, the roots and bark are used as medicine in
Thailand but the leaves are used as a vegetable. Although farmers
may distinguish between the use of different plant parts for different
purposes and only indicate that the vegetable parts are “healthy to
eat,” extensive biopharmacological research conducted by Nakahara
and colleagues (2001) has shown that the edible parts (not just the
roots) of Oroxylum indicum exhibited antimutagenic properties. It is
not only farmers, however, who may lack an understanding of the
specific benefits of eating foods with medicinal properties (or func­
tional foods). As noted earlier, scientific knowledge is still lacking on
the benefits to human health from eating small quantities of these
plant foods that also have medicinal properties.
The extent to which farmers use and are able to continue to use the
wild food plants of agriculture depends on a number of factors. Social
stigma attached to eating wild plant foods among farmers is an im­
portant factor deserving further investigation. Not only may this af­
fect the consumption within households but it also may certainly have
an impact on the valuation of plant species and desires to participate
in conservation strategies, be these indigenous or introduced from
outside the community. The stigma on wild plant foods seems to be
 Wild Food Plants in Fanning Environments 93

their association with poverty. In contexts where these plant foods are
not stigmatized, a greater possibility exists of not only culinary pride
and indigenous conservation management but also opportunities to
market these foods on a local or even national or international level.
Why and how selected wild plant food species come under a sys­
tem of protection and privatization among farmers is an area that des­
perately needs further in-depth investigation. Evidence from my re­
search in Thailand and the research of others suggests that more
conscious and intensive management of wild food plants in agricul­
tural environments begins with resource pressure and perceived rar­
ity, coupled with multiple-use value, on a species basis. Because
many of these plants actually occur on agricultural land, their privat­
ization begins to occur. Collection for market sale appeared in my re­
search as serving as one “use” in the multiuse criteria. A rare species
that was also very desirable in taste and fetched a good market price
became forbidden to gather for market sale from the land of others.
This also has an impact on general gathering rights of community
members for domestic consumption where prohibitions existed, but
to a lesser degree (such as gathering only what could be eaten on the
spot, taking only enough for a meal, and so on). Although the women
farmers in the research area in Northeast Thailand may not recognize
or consider the specific benefiting actions of plant foods (as func­
tional or medicinal) in their considerations to protect a given species
from overexploitation-, conservation of foods for their general folk
function of being “healthy to eat” inadvertently conserves the plants
that have specific beneficial properties.
Overall, the role of women in the gathering, use, and management
of wild plant foods from disturbed rural environments appears to be
critical in sustaining these foods. Their work in gathering and manag­
ing the various species is intrinsically linked to their gender role as
food preparers. It is also linked to their daily routine, as women col­
lect these foods generally on a daily basis for meal preparation.
Women as gatherers, managers, and marketers of these resources
are also the ones with the knowledge of the status of a particular spe­
cies. I have documented them as the key to the process of developing
gathering restrictions and privatization, while at the same time being
sensitive to usufruct rights for domestic consumption of the larger
community. This was, however, documented in a context where
women are the owners of agricultural land and reside matrilocally.
94 EATING AND HEALING

They have both the gender-based knowledge of resources and each

other on a lifelong basis, as well as authority. It is indeed probable
that women are also the ones that brought the new species of agricul­
ture into the local diet and cuisine through experimentation.
We do not yet know how such species-level systems of increasing
protection and privatization function in contexts where women are
lacking the authority over agricultural land, long-term social net­
works, and female kinship networks, nor do we grasp the different
valuations men versus women place on selected species and where
conflict and cooperation may emerge.

NOTE

1. Dr. Robert Pemberton is currently at the Invasive Plant Research Laboratory,

USDA Agricultural Research Service in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Nam Sook Lee
is in the Department of Biology, Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea.

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 Chapter 4

Functional Foods or Food Medicines?

On the Consumption
of Wild Plants Among Albanians
and Southern Italians in Lucania
Andrea Pieroni
Cassandra L. Quave

IN T R O D U C T IO N

In the past decade, the food-medicine continuum has come to the

forefront of ethnobiological and ethnopharmacological research
(Johns, 1990; Etkin, 1994, 1996; Prendergast et al., 1998). Plants
may be used both as medicine and food, and it can often be difficult to
draw a line between the two groups: food may be used as medicine
and vice versa.
Many studies in the past twenty years have stressed the ethno­
biological and food aspects of gathering activities worldwide and the
consumption of noncultivated botanicals in Africa (Etkin and Ross,
1982; Ogle and Grivetti, 1985a, b, c, d; Johns and Kokwaro, 1991;
Humphry et al., 1993; Bukenya-Ziraba, 1996; Johns, Mhoro, and San-
aya, 1996; Johns, Mhoro, and Usio, 1996; Hillocks, 1998; Schackleton
et al., 1998; Lockett and Grivetti, 2000; Vainio-Mattila, 2000; Asfaw
and Tadesse, 2001; Marshall, 2001; Mertz et al., 2001; Ogoye-Ndegwa
and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003), in America (Bye, 1981; Lepofski et al.,
1985; Kuhnlein, 1992; Turner, 1995, 1997; Ladio and Lozada, 2000,

Special thanks are due to all of the people of the Vulture and Dolomiti Lucane area
for their marvelous hospitality during the past four years. We want to dedicate this chap­
ter to all of them and to the young: present and future Lucanian generations.

101
102 EATING AND HEALING

2001, 2003; Ladio, 2001; Vierya-Odilon and Vibrans, 2001; Turner,

2003), and Asia (Moreno-Black et al., 1996; Pemberton and Lee,
1996; Price, 1997; Khasbagan and Stuart, 1999; Tukan et ah, 1998;
Khasbagan and Pei, 2000; Johnson and Grivetti, 2002a; Ogle et ah,
2003).
Correlations between diet and community health status have been
of particular interest in the Mediterranean (Matalas et ah, 1999;
Kafatos et ah, 2000; Holdsworth et ah, 2000). This interest has cer­
tainly been reinforced by the discovery of links between the dietary
tradition of these populations and lower rates of coronary heart dis­
eases, cancer, diabetes, and increased population longevity (Tricho-
poulou et ah, 2000).
Relatively few studies, however, have taken an ethnobotanical ap­
proach in trying to analyze the anthropological and ethnopharmaco-
logical aspects of the consumption of noncultivated food plants in the
Mediterranean (Forbes, 1976; Paoletti et ah, 1995; Bisio and Minuto,
1999; Pieroni, 1999, 2000, 2003; Ertug, 2000; Pieroni, Nebel, et ah,
2002; Bonet and Valles, 2002; Guarrera, 2003), even though the con­
sumption of olive oil and vegetables has been epidemiologically cor­
related with many of the previously described health benefits, as, for
example, in the discussion about the “Albanian paradox” (Gjonga and
Bobak, 1997).
However, most ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies
in Europe have primarily addressed popular pharmaceutical remedies
and have often ignored noncultivated food plants. From an ethno­
pharmacological perspective, the dietary contribution of wild vegeta­
bles and their potential health benefits is now regarded as an impor­
tant area of research for human dietary health (Guil et ah, 1997;
Chapman et ah, 1997; Sena et ah, 1998; Johns et ah, 1999; Sundriyal
and Sundriyal, 2001; Grivetti and Ogle, 2000; Lockett et ah, 2000;
Ogle, Hung, and Tuyet, 2001; Ogle, Johansson, et ah, 2001; Ogle,
Dao, et ah, 2001; Corlett et ah, 2002; Johnson and Grivetti, 2002b;
Owen and Johns, 2002).
While weeds have been found to represent a central component of
indigenous pharmacopoeias (Stepp and Moerman, 2001), very little
attention has been paid to the medicinal character associated with the
consumption of wild greens under an emic perspective, concentrating
on the diverse degrees of perception of foods/medicines among cul­
tures.
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 103

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the cross-cultural use of

noncultivated plants (especially weedy greens) in the traditional diet
of ethnic Albanian (Arbereshe) and autochthonous southern Italians
in southern Italy, as well as their indigenous perception and the cul­
tural practices associated with their use, including the gathering, pro­
cessing, cooking, and consuming of plants as part of the daily diet. In
addition, we address some of the potential health benefits associated
with the consumption of a few of these plants in an attempt to assess
their potential value in preventing age-related diseases (ARDs).
As a premise, a clarification is needed here concerning the terms
“traditional” and “traditionally,” which are frequently abused in the
terminology of many ethnobotanists. We will use these terms here for
defining something that has been an integrated part o f a culture fo r
more than one generation (similar to that written recently by Ogoye-
Ndegwa and Aaagaard-Hansen, 2003).

E T H N O G R A P H IC B A C K G R O U N D

In the present study, we compared two territories located in the

Basilicata region (also historically named Lucania, which is how the
local population refers to their territory) of southern Italy (see Figure
4.1) . The Italian National Statistical Institute (ISTAT, 2000) reports
that Basilicata represents the Italian region having the lowest percent­
age of urban population (17 percent, calculated for the period 1997-
1999) and the highest male life expectancy (75.7 years, calculated for
the period 1991-1995).
We decided to compare two areas in Lucania that have similar
socio-economic and demographic characteristics but different ethnic
origins: the Vulture area in northern Lucania, inhabited by Arbereshe
(ethnic Albanians), and the Dolomiti Lucane area, in the central part
of Lucania, inhabited by autochthonous South Italians (see Figure
4.1) .

T h e A r b e r e s h e in L u c a n ia

The Arbereshe are descendants of Albanians who migrated to

southern Italy in several migration flows to various Central and south­
ern inland regions of Italy in the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries
104 EATING AND HEAUNG

Dolomm Lucane area

FIGURE 4.1. The location of the studied areas.

(Dessart, 1982). It is estimated that less than 80,000 people in Italy

today are bilingual in Arbereshe and Italian. The Arberesh Albanian
language belongs to the Albanian language group, which in turn rep­
resents the only surviving language ensemble from the Paleo-Balkan
group (Illyrian, Messapic, and Thracian) of the Indo-European fam­
ily (Grimes, 2000). Arberesh Albanian presents features of archaic
Albanian, Greek, and Southern Italian, and has been classified as an
endangered language in the UNESCO Redbook o f Endangered Lan­
guages (Salminen, 1999). The Italian Arbereshe obtained official rec­
ognition as a historical ethnic minority by the Italian Parliament in
1999.
Our study took place in the Arberesh communities of the Vulture
area, which were founded after fifteenth-century migration flows to
that area. These communities are unique in the fact that they have re­
mained isolated from other Arberesh communities concentrated in
Calabria and Sicily, as well as a few other ethnic isles in southern
Lucania, Apulia, Campania, Molise, and Abruzzo. Steps to maintain
ethnic tradition in the village are also evident, as local events cele­
brating their ethnic food and culture are held annually, attracting
many tourists in the vacation month of August.
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 105

This territory of the Arbereshe was originally sustained by

pastoralism and agriculture. Nowadays the cultivation of olive trees
(Olea europaea), a local variety of grape vine that gives its name to
the local wine ( Vitis vinifera var. Aglianico), durum wheat (Triticum
durum), and, for about ten years, labor in a nearby car factory repre­
sent the main economic sources of the local inhabitants.
Nowadays, the majority of the middle-aged (35 to 55 years) popu­
lation can recall some words and basic customs of their Arberesh his­
tory but do not incorporate these facets of traditional life into their
present daily life. This group, for the most part, has abandoned the
traditional agropastoralist way of life as a principal source of income
and is sustained instead primarily by labor in factories.

A u to c h th o n o u s I ta lia n s o f th e D o lo m iti L u c a n e

The autochthonous South Italians of the Dolomiti Lucane live in

small communities bordering the Basento River Valley and are iso­
lated by the mountainous geography of the region. The economy is
still primarily based on small-scale agriculture, including the man­
agement of sheep and the Podolica breed of cattle for making cheese.
The region is best known for its old ties to “magic,” brought into the
spotlight by the works of the Italian anthropologist De Martino
(1959), and even by an old television documentary broadcast of the
famous witch/healer Mago Ferramosca (Giuseppe Calvello from
Pietrapertosa, who died in 1968). The area is also well-known for the
annual ritual feast of “il Maggio,” traditionally organized in two vil­
lages (Accettura and Pietrapertosa), in which the old ritual “mar­
riage” of two trees is celebrated. The history of the area has been
characterized by Norman (starting from the eleventh century A D ),
Swabian (starting from the thirteenth century A D ), and Spanish Bour­
bon (ca. the fifteenth century AD) domination.
Small-scale agricultural and animal-breeding activities have played
a key role in this area for centuries. Durum wheat cultivation and
Podolica cow1 breeding particularly represent distinctive characters
of the local economy and have been very important in building cul­
tural identity. Today, most of the young people of Castelmezzano
travel for work every day to the main Lucanian center of Potenza
(mainly as service employees), while small agricultural and pastoral
activities are mainly carried out by the older generations.
106 EATING AND HEAUNG

F IE L D M E T H O D S

Over a series of field studies from 2000 to 2003, we have collected

data on the traditional use and consumption of wild food and medici­
nal plants in Lucania. These studies were conducted in three Arbe-
resh communities (Pieroni, Nebel, et ah, 2002) and two autoch­
thonous Italian communities of the Dolomiti Lucane area (Pieroni et
al., 2004, 2005). Each of the selected communities were of a rela­
tively small population size (ranging from ca. 700 to 3,000 inhabit­
ants), and the majority of community members had until very re­
cently a strong tie to the environment through agropastoral activities
(durum wheat, olive trees, wine grapes; sheep and goat breeding) and
small-scale home gardening.
Traditional knowledge regarding plants was assessed using stan­
dard ethnobiological and cognitive anthropological analyses for a
better understanding of the folk-taxonomical hierarchies and sys­
tems, and for studying the most frequently quoted plants by free-list­
ing, triad tests and pile sorts, and constructing a consensus index
(Berlin et al., 1966; Rommey, 1989; Berlin, 1992; D’Andrade, 1995;
Atran, 1999). This information was gathered through consented in­
terviews with 247 randomly selected members of the studied commu­
nities.
In the first phase of the study, participants were asked to freely re­
call all medicinal food plants used both on a regular basis and used in
the past. During the interviews, several fresh and dried plant speci­
mens stocked in a transportable field herbarium were presented to the
participants. Participants were asked to identify the local name, prep­
aration, and use of the plant samples. Participation-observation tech­
niques were also utilized to better understand the cultural implica­
tions of plant gathering, preparation and cooking of foods, and
distribution of shared foods in the community. Round-table focus
groups (Price, 1997) with local gatherers and women took place in
the second phase of the study in order to discuss and elaborate details
concerning the information collected.
Voucher specimens of all the nondomesticated and most uncom­
mon cultivated ethnobotanicals were collected and identified follow­
ing the standard botanical work for Italian flora (Pignatti, 1982).
Voucher specimens and more than 150 hours of video and sound re­
cordings of interviews are stored at the first author’s address.
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 107

W IL D F O O D A N D M E D I C I N A L P L A N T S I N L U C A N IA

W ild F o o d P la n ts a n d th e L u c a n ia n
C u isin e : A n A n th r o p o lo g ic a l P e r s p e c tiv e

Today, communities of the Dolomiti Lucane mountain range can

be reached from the Arberesh communities of Mount Vulture by
roughly an hour-and-a-half drive on the highway. This distance and
lack of convenient transportation between the two regions in the past
has allowed for a distinct separation of contact between these two cul­
tures and presented us with the opportunity to observe and compare
the similarities (and differences) in the traditional use of plants in
these two unique cultural groups.
Unfortunately, in both cultural subsets, it is apparent that tradi­
tional knowledge concerning the collection and preparation of wild
vegetables for consumption is quickly disappearing as new trends in
culture overcome both ethnic Albanian and traditional Italian prac­
tices. The community- and family-based roles of men and women in
these areas are changing with the economy. Whereas in the past the
economic role of young men was based in local agriculture, they are
now expected to find and maintain a job in the larger cities outside of
the village. Most go to work in automobile factories, where rotating
work shifts assign men to work throughout the day some weeks and
throughout the night on others. Little time is left for home gardening
and gathering of wild vegetables—this has especially affected the
consumption of such vegetables as tassel hyacinth (Leopoldia como-
sa), Spanish salsify (Scolymus hispanicus) and wild oregano (Ori­
ganum heracleoticum), which are located far from the central village
and, along with mushrooms, are traditionally collected only by men.
These shifts in the socioeconomic status of the region have not
only affected the men but also women and, thus, the family structure.
Previously, the primary role of women in the family was as the care­
giver in the home: raising the children, caring for older or disabled
family members, home gardening, collecting local wild vegetables,
and preparing food. Today, however, women also often join the
workforce through factory labor and rely on older women in their
family (mothers, aunts, grandmothers) to care for their children while
at work and on Eastern European women that are hired to come to live
with and care for the older disabled family members. These young
108 EATING AND HEALING

women also have little time or, in many cases, desire to carry on the
traditional ways of gathering, growing, or preparing wild and culti­
vated vegetables, instead buying nearly all foodstuffs for the family
from supermarkets and local vegetable vendors and relying on gifts
of traditionally prepared dishes from older relatives and friends in the
community.
For both sexes of the younger generation, trends toward leaving
the “old” ways of living behind in the search for other lifestyles (reli­
ant on electronic goods and premade meals) have played a detrimen­
tal role in the transmission and perpetuation of traditional knowledge
regarding the inclusion of wild edible botanicals in the diet. The abil­
ity to identify a plant decreases dramatically among both men and
women under age 50, though the women seem to be much more af­
fected. Younger men, it seems, are more exposed to other people in
the community (especially older men that gather in the local piazza),
and as a result of this they have a slightly higher level of knowledge
regarding plant identification than their female counterparts.
Thus, today, only the oldest women and men (who are physically
able) continue in the collection of wild weedy greens and the care of
home gardens. They often collect more than is needed for themselves
and give many of the vegetables to younger family members and
friends in either the raw form or, more commonly, as a prepared dish.

F o o d a n d /o r M e d ic in e ? D iv e r s e D e g r e e s o f I n te r r e la tio n s

Among both ethnic Albanians and southern Italians we recorded

diverse ways of perceiving the degree of correlation between food
and medicinal value of botanicals. We tried to schematize these find­
ings in Figure 4.2:

1. Diverse plants are used in a multifunctional way, both for food

and medicines, but without any kind of relationship between
these two fields of uses (see Table 4.1).
2. A great number of plants (generally weedy species) are con­
sumed and thought to be “healthy,” but without any unique spec­
ification for their assumed health-benefiting action. They are
generally defined “depurative”; “good for blood turnover” ; are
consumed especially in spring (and, less frequently, in autumn);
and fit completely in a kind of “folk functional foods” (see Table
4.2). Although there is no universally accepted definition, func-
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 109

FIGURE 4.2. Scheme of three models of perception of the relation between

plant foods and medicines in southern Italy.
no EA TING AND HEALING

tionaJ foods can be described as foods that “have besides their

main nutritional or delight purposes still other effects on body
function” (Preuss, 1999) and occupy a third space between food
and medicine.
3. A few species are consumed (ingested in a “food context”), in
order to obtain a specific medicinal action (see Table 4.3); for
them we will use the terms medicinal foods or food medicines.

A few botanical taxa are perceived and categorized in more than

one field, and the whole picture can actually be extremely complex.

D iffe r e n c e s in th e P e r c e p tio n o f W ild P la n t F o o d s a n d M e d ic in e s

B e tw e e n A r b e r e s h e a n d A u to c h th o n o u s I ta lia n C o m m u n itie s

Culture strongly influences the preference and consumption of

food/medicinal species. Between Arbereshe and autochthonous Ital­
ian communities in Lucania, it is possible to point out a stronger role
of weedy folk functional foods among ethnic Albanians. Moreover, a
few food weedy species are not common in the two cuisines, and fur­
ther analysis among Albanian communities in contemporary Albania
and Kosovo could eventually relate these differences to specific
cultural peculiarities.
The major role of functional folk foods among ethnic Albanians
(see Figure 4.3) could be due to a slightly different geographical loca­
tion, meaning a few differences in the ecology/availability of certain
botanical species (although officially the flora of the two areas are
considered identical), but also to more general differences in cultural
aspects. The folk pharmacopoeia of the Arbereshe is much more re­
stricted than that of the southern Italians (Pieroni and Quave, 2005),
which is also indicated by a minor number of food medicines (Table
4.1) and wild medicinal plants having food uses (Table 4.3). This
could be compensated by a more complex system of preventive medi­
cine (functional foods), which is exactly where the weedy greens fit
in. Cultural adaptation phenomena could, for example, have played a
role in these dynamics during the past four centuries.

C u ltu r a l C h a n g e s a n d A d a p ta tio n

Both in the Vulture and Dolomiti Lucane areas, emigration (mainly

of the male subpopulation of the communities) to northern Italy or
TABLE 4.1. Wild botanical species utilized in the studied areas a s fo o d a n d a s m e d icin e s , without any correlation between
these two uses.

B o tanical taxo n U se in th e local

and fa m ily E ng lish n am e U ses in th e local m ed icin e cu is in e A lb an ian s Italians
C lem atis vitalba Traveller’s joy Decoction, in gargles, to heal mouth in­ Boiled and then - +
(Ranuncolaceae) flammations^ fried with eggssh
C ynara Wild artichoke Decoction (together with cinquefoil Eaten +
cardunculus [Potentilla re p ta n s] and figwort cookedrecstr°
(Asteraceae) [S crophularia ca n in a ]), then in compress
as antirheumaticaP
D iplotaxis tenuifiolia Wild rocket Oleolite, in topical application to heal mus­ Eaten raw in - +
(Brassicaceae) cular painsle saladsle
Ficus carica Fig Dried, then in decoction with other herbs Eaten raw or + +
(Moraceae) (generally including aerial parts of mallow driedPf
[M alva sylvestris] and barley [H ordeum
vulgare] seeds), to heal sore throatsPf; topi­
cal application, to heal insect bites and
against wartssa
Laurus nobilis Bay tree Decoction, with other herbs, to heal sore Aromatizing di­ + +
(Lauraceae) throats and as digestivele verse dishesle
M orns alba and M. Mulberry tree Decoction, to heal sore throatsle Eaten rawPf - +
nigra (Moraceae)
O riganum Wild oregano Fumigation on hot coke, to cure cough or Aromatizing a few + +
heracleoticum toothache*1 dishes**
(Lamiaceae)
P apaver rhoeas. Corn poppy Decoction, as mild sedative for childrenfl As wild vegeta­ + -

(Papaveraceae) bles, (cooked)fl

 TABLE 4.1. (c o n tin u e d )

B o tan ical taxo n U se in th e local

an d fa m ily E nglish nam e U ses in th e local m ed icin e cu is in e A lb a n ia n s Italian s
Prunus dulcis Almond tree Cold macerate, to heal intestinal pains Eaten raw, fresh or + +
(Rosaceae) (children)se; in mixture with other herbs, to drieduf’se
heal sore throatseP
Prunus spinosa Sloe Decoction, as a “hepato-protector”fr Eaten raw after the +
(Rosaceae) first frost, as
snackfr
R osa canina Dog rose Ground and topically applied, to heal insect Eaten raw as +
(Rosaceae) bitesle; stuffing for a little bag attached to snackPf
clothing as an amulet against the evil eyePf
R ubus ulm ifolius Blackberry Decoction (together or without rhizomes of Eaten raw; jamPf + +
(Rosaceae) couchgrass), as diureticle; heated and then
topically applied, to cure purulent skin ab­
scesses'6
S onchus a sp e r and Sow thistle Cold macerate applied externally in the Eaten raw or +
S. oleraceus mouth, to cure aftaaP cooked, as wild
(Asteraceae) vegetables^
S orbus dom estica Service tree Decoction, to heal diarrheafr Eaten raw after +
(Rosaceae) natural fermenta­
tion^
Veronica Broomkline Decoction, as diuretic^ Eaten raw in mixed +
beccabunga saladsaP
■
(Scrophulariaceae)
Z iziphus ju ju b a Jujube Decoction, mixed with other herbs, to heal Eaten raw as - +
(Rhamnaceae) sore throats and coughfr snackfr

Part(s) u sed: ap: aerial part; fl: flowers; fr: fruits; ft: flowering tops; le: leaves; pf: pseudo-fruits; re: flower receptacles; ro:
root/tuber; se: seeds; sh: shoots; st: stems; uf: unripe fruits.
 TABLE 4.2. W ild botanical species utilized in the studied areas as fo lk fu n c tio n a l fo o d s.

Part(s)
B otanical tax o n and fa m ily E ng lish n am e used C u lin a ry uses A lb an ian s Italians
A llium am peloprasum (Liliaceae) Wild leek bu Cooked and condiment + +
A m aranthus retroflexus Pigweed le Cooked + +
(Amaranthaceae)
A p iu m nodiflorum (Apiaceae) Fool’s ap Raw and cooked + -
watercress
A sparagus acutifolius (Liliaceae s.l.) Wild asparagus sh Cooked + +
Bellavalia rom ana (Liliaceae s.l.) Bellavalia bu Cooked - +
B eta vulgaris ssp. m aritim a Sea beat ap Cooked + +
(Chenopodiaceae)
B orrago officinalis (Boraginaceae) Borage le Cooked + +
C apsella bursa-pastoris (Brassicaceae) Shepherd’s wh Cooked + -
purse
C arlina acaulis (Asteraceae) Stemless carline re Cooked - +
thistle
C entaurea calcitrapa (Asteraceae) Star thistle wh Cooked + -
C henopodium album Fat hen le Cooked + +
(Chenopodiaceae)
C hondrilla ju n ce a (Asteraceae) Naked weed wh, sh Raw and cooked + -
C ichorium intybus (Asteraceae) Wild chicory wh Raw and cooked + +
C lem atis vitalba (Ranuncolaceae) Traveller’s joy sh Cooked + +
 TABLE 4.2. (continued)

114
Part(s)
Botanical taxon and family English name used Culinary uses Albanians Italians
Crepis vesicaria (Asteraceae) Beaked wh Cooked + +
hawksbeard
Cynara cardunculus ssp. cardunculus Wild artichoke st, re Cooked - +
(Asteraceae)
Diplotaxis tenuifolia (Brassicaceae) Wild rocket le Raw + -
Foeniculum vulgare ssp. piperitum Wild fennel ap, fr Raw, cooked, and condi­ + +
(Apiaceae) ment
Humulus lupulus (Cannabaceae) Wild hops sh Cooked + -
Lactuca serriola spp. (Asteraceae) Wild lettuce ap Raw and cooked + -
Leontodon (Asteraceae) Hawkbit wh Raw and cooked - +
, Leopoldia comosa (syn. Muscari Tassel hyacinth bu Cooked + +
comosum, Liliaceae s.l.)
Lycium europaeum (Solanaceae) Boxthorn sh Cooked + -
Muscari atlanticum and M. botryoides Grape hyacinth bu Cooked + +
(Liliaceae s.l.)
Nasturtium officinale (Brassicaceae) Watercress le Raw and cooked + -
Onopordum illyiricum (Asteraceae) Cotton thistle ro, st Cooked - +
Origanum heracleoticum (Lamiaceae) Wild oregano ft Condiment + +
Papaver rhoeas (Papaveraceae) Poppy corn wh, le Cooked + +
Picris echioides (Asteraceae) Bristly ox-tongue wh Cooked + +
Portulaca oleracea (Portulacaceae) Green purslane ap Raw + +
Reichardia picroides (Asteraceae) French wh Raw and cooked + +
scorzonera
R uscus aculeatus (Liliaceae s.l.) Butcher’s broom sh Cooked - +
S colym us hispanicus (Asteraceae) Spanish salsify Is Cooked + -
Silybum m arianum (Asteraceae) Milk thistle st, ro Cooked - +
S inapis a rvensis (Brassicaceae) Wild mustard ap Cooked + +
S isym brium officinale (Asteraceae) Hedge mustard wh Cooked + -
S onchus a s p e r and S. oleraceus Sow thistle wh Raw and cooked + +
(Asteraceae)
Stellaria m edia (Caryophylaceae) Chickweed ap Raw and cooked + -
Tamus com m unis (Dioscoreaceae) Black bryony sh Cooked + -
Taraxacum officinale (Asteraceae) Dandelion wh Cooked + +
Tordylium apulum (Apiaceae) Roman pimper­ wh Cooked, condiment + -
nel
U rtica dioica (Urticaceae) Nettle le Cooked + -

Valerianella carinata (Valerianaceae) Keeled-fruited wh Raw + -

cornsalad
Veronica beccabunga Brooklime ap Raw - +
(Scrophulariaceae)

P art(s) used: ap: aerial part; fl: flowers; fr: fruits; ft: flowering tops; le: leaves; Is: leaf stalks; pf: pseudo-fruits; re: flower
receptacles; ro: root/tuber; se: seeds; sh: shoots; st: stems; uf: unripe fruits; wh: whorls.
TABLE 4.3. Wild botanical species utilized in the studied areas as foods consumed as proper medicines (m e d icin a l foods
or fo o d m edicines).

B otanical taxa Eng lish P art(s)

an d fa m ily nam e used C u lin a ry p rep aratio n M ed icin al use A lb a n ia n s Italians
A sparagus Wild as­ sh Boiled and consumed Diuretic — +
acutifolius (Liliaceae paragus alone or with scrambled
s.l.) eggs and fresh cheese
B orago officinalis Borage le Soup Postpartum reconstituent + -
(Boraginaceae) and galactagogue
Soups with onions, dried Galactagogue +
sweet pepper, served on
bread
C ichorium intybus Wild chic­ le Soup Laxative - +
(Asteraceae) ory
Leopoldia com osa Tassel bu Cut, macerated in water, Antifever + -
(Liliaceae s.l.) hyacinth then fried
M alva sylvestris Mallow le Soup To enhance uterine con­ +
(Malvaceae) tractions during birth;
galactagogue
R uscus aculeatus Butcher’s sh Boiled and traditionally Hepatodepurative +
(Liliaceae s.l.) broom consumed with bread and
sour cream from Podolica
cow milk
Sonchus oleraceus Sow this­ wh Raw in salad Antigastritis - +
(Asteraceae) tle
S orbus dom estica Service fr Eaten dried or boiled Antidiarrhea — +
(Rosaceae) tree
Veronica beccabunga Brooklime ap Eaten raw in salads Diuretic — +
(Scrophulariaceae)
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 117

El Wild botanical taxa, used

50~i both for food and medicine

□ Wild plant functional foods

40-
I Wild plant food medicines
Vulture area Dolomiti Lucane area
(Albanians) (Italians)
30-

20 -

10-

FIGURE 4.3. Wild plants perceived to be related with the three models of food
medicines among Albanians and Italians.

Central Europe had its major peaks at the end of the 1960s and the be­
ginning of the 1970s. This phenomenon certainly contributed greatly
to the cultural change in both territories. The men who returned back
home after a few years of well-paid labor in factories or in building
trades began to work in similar sectors rather than in agriculture.
They have played a certain role—especially among Albanians—in
the positive internalization of the acculturation process and in the
adoption of the mainstream Italian/European cultural models. These
are the same people who generally began to reject Arberesh cultural
practices; in contrast to this group of men, elderly women try to ac­
tively maintain most of the original expression of their unique culture
through continued involvement in gathering weedy greens and pre­
paring traditional meals.
Another factor that has certainly played a role in this matter is rep­
resented by the emigrated families of the middle generation (those
who left southern Italy during the 1980s to move to northern Italy),
who normally come back to visit their parents or relatives in the sum­
mer. Among these people, perhaps because of the negative images
portrayed by the media concerning the recent immigrant flows from
Albania, the rejection of traditional culture is very strong. A man
118 EATING AND HEAUNG

from this group of migrants tried to convince his interviewer that tra­
ditional Albanian culture is something that has be to hidden, because
“Albanians, after all, are like gypsies” (gypsy has a strongly negative
connotation among ethnic Italians), which strongly denies his roots.
There has surely been an exchange over time of Arberesh and
southern Italian women’s knowledge of the culinary use of wild vege­
tables. A strong acculturation process took place in the Arberesh
centers from the 1960s onward, when streets were improved and ex­
changes with nearby southern Italian communities became very in­
tense. Italian-speaking officers and civil servants arrived in the vil­
lages as local elementary schools and postoffices were established
and when electricity and a sewage system was installed. This process
began to slowly affect local cuisine. Today’s daily Arberesh diet
doesn’t differ substantially from that of neighboring Italian commu­
nities. When comparing traditional Arberesh women’s cuisine in the
Vulture area with that of southern Italian women living in the
Dolomiti Lucane area, only minor differences are evident (see Figure
4.4).

“L ia k r a ” a n d “F o g lie ”: W ild F u n c tio n a l F o o d s

A m o n g A lb a n ia n s a n d I ta lia n s

Traditions related to gathering and cooking wild food greens are

very popular in the Vulture area and, a little bit less, in the Dolomite
Lucane. The Arbereshe clearly distinguish between liakra (edible
weedy vegetables) and bara (nonedible grasses and herbs). Liakra,
used by the Arbereshe as a synonym for “weedy greens,” has an Al­
banian origin (laker means “cabbage” in modem Albanian), even
though the term no longer exists in the modern Tosk Albanian lan­
guage. In the South-Italian dialects foglie (“leaves”) is the term used
to indicate the Albanian liakra.
“Food touches everything. It is a central pawn in political strate­
gies of states and households. Food marks social differences, bound­
aries, bonds, and contradictions” (Counihan and Van Esterik, 1999).
Social changes and modernization also affect food processing, stor­
age, cooking, food habits, and social relations. Food, then, is not only
nourishment; in the Volture area, wild food botanicals represent cen­
tral elements of the most important religious procession of the Catho­
lic Holy Friday, the processione della zingara in Barile (procession
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 119

FIGURE 4.4. Zia Giovannina (from Ginestra) has collected figs (Ficus carica) on
a thin piece of giant reed (Arundo donax). Oftentimes, an almond (fruit of Prunus
dulcis) is also inserted into the fig before drying. These fruits are used to make a
decoction with diverse herbs for the prevention and treatment of sore throat
during the winter months. Photo reprinted with permission

of the gypsy of Barile/Barilli). In this traditional procession, which is

witnessed by all Arbereshe (and southern Italians) in the Vulture area,
a few typical Arberesh characters are present alongside the classical
representations of the Christian tradition. Among them, the most im­
portant is the “gypsy lady” (la zingara), who is dressed in traditional
costume, covered by all the (real!) gold jewels previously collected
from each family in the village. She symbolizes the temptations of
Christ and, in the procession, everyone throws dried and roasted
chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) at her. In Arberesh symbolism, the
chickpea is considered to be “negative” because it is believed that the
sounds of its pods shaking led to the discovery of Jesus Christ during
his flight to Egypt. The crown that adorns Christ’s head in the proces­
120 EA TING AND HEALING

sion is made with dried stems of boxthom (Lycium europaeum),

whose young shoots are consumed cooked and fried with other wild
vegetables in the spring by the Albanians (a similar use has never
been reported in the ethnobotanical studies in Europe) (Pieroni,
Nebel, et al., 2002).
In the past, however, both liakra among Albanians and foglie
among southern Italians were often eaten as snacks during fieldwork.
More often, they were brought home, washed at the village fountain,
and then boiled in the traditional terra-cotta pot. In the poorest fami­
lies they were eaten raw with bread, without oil and salt. Nowadays,
only very few wild greens are eaten raw. Commonly, both among Al­
banians and southern Italians, they are lightly boiled and then fried in
olive oil together with garlic and, sometimes, a few hot chili peppers.
The cooked greens are then added to boiled pasta as a kind of green
vegetable sauce. In some cases, these weedy greens are boiled to­
gether with the pasta, and the entire preparation is fried in olive oil
with garlic. Pasta with greens is often considered to be a main dish. In
some other cases, the wild species are cooked and consumed with
bean soup. This is the case with the traditional Albanian preparations
luljekuq e fazulje (corn poppy leaves [Papaver rhoeas], and beans),
or bathe e gikour (mashed fava beans [Vicia fabaj and wild chicory
[Cichorium intybus]), or they are eaten in a kind of soup prepared
with mixtures of more than ten wild herbs (a similar recipe is also
found among southern Italians). Liakra are only rarely used among
Albanians to prepare special meals for feast days. On Christmas Eve,
anchovies or dried fish are traditionally served with boiled and fried
shoots of broccoli raab that are semicultivated in the area (qim de
rrape, Brassica rapa ssp. rapa [DC.] Metzg. [Group Ruvo Bailey],
syn.: Brassica rapa L. Broccoletto Group), or of wild mustard
(senap, Sinapis spp.). During Easter, a kind of pie (verdhel) is pre­
pared with eggs, lamb, ricotta, sheep cheese, and (previously boiled)
leaf stalks of Scolymus hispanicus while, in the village of Maschito/
Masqiti, the young aerial parts of wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare
spp. piperitum) are used instead.
Among southern Italians, the foglie are traditionally eaten with a
bean-based soup and pig lard, while wild fennel aerial parts are pre­
ferred on mashed green broad beans (Vicia faba). Among this group,
we could not record any traditions of consuming special feast dishes
with wild greens.
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 121

If southern Italian cuisine has had a strong influence on the Arberesh

diet, very few traces of the inverse trend (Italians living in the Vulture
area adopting Arberesh dishes) can be found: the use of the already
mentioned verdhet (verdhet from the Albanian verdhe, in English “yel­
low,” perhaps due to the large amount of eggs used in this festival dish)
is, for example, also popular in the nearby Italian villages (Rionero,
Ripacandida, Venosa). A mutual exchange of experiences and culinary
knowledge between Arberesh and Italian women has been hindered
due to the dominance of mainstream Italian culture.
A special processing method is used for tassel hyacinth bulbs
(.Leopoldia comosa, syn.: Muscari comosum). The consumption of
these bitter bulbs is a common factor in the Lucanian diet and, among
the communities in our study, it is most predominantly used in the
Arberesh villages. The wild bulbs are usually gathered by men and
are cleaned and prepared by women. In the cleaning process, women
remove the outermost layer of “skin” with a knife and carve a small
“x” onto the top of the bulb before placing it into a bowl of cool water
to soak overnight, in order to decrease their bitterness. The next day,
the bulbs are placed into a small terra-cotta pot with some water and
are left to slowly roast throughout the day on the embers of a fire.
When the bulbs are softened, they may be fried with some olive oil
and sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) or are stored in a jar of olive
oil for future consumption as an appetizer. Bulbs of Leopoldia are
also consumed in other areas of southern Italy (Casoria et al., 1999).

P H A R M A C O L O G Y O F W IL D F U N C T IO N A L
F O O D S C O N SU M E D IN S O U T H E R N IT A L Y

The consumption of wild plant functional foods plays a central

role in the diet of Albanians and Italians in southern Italy, but very
few phytopharmacological studies have dealt exhaustively with po­
tential health benefits of such dietary supplements (Uiso and Johns,
1995; Chapman et al., 1997; Johns et al., 1999; Trichopoulou et al.,
2000). Surveys on aromatic species of the traditional Mediterranean
cuisine have recently demonstrated their significant health benefits
(Lionisetah, 1998; Cervatoet al., 2000; Martinez-Tomeetal., 2001).
Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative stress
have been shown to be linked to aging-related diseases (ARDs,
122 EATING AND HEALING

Finkel and Holbrook, 2000) and a large number of other illnesses, the
number of studies on antioxidant properties of plant foods and their
phenolic constituents has become very impressive. For example, anti­
oxidant activity was recently studied in relation to CNS disorders
(Perry et al., 2001; Bastianetto and Quirion, 2002).
Our research group recently studied weedy food plants traditionally
consumed among the Albanians of the Vulture area (Pieroni, Janiak,
et al., 2002). The aim of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant activ­
ity of the most commonly consumed noncultivated vegetables of the
traditional Arberesh diet. In order to correlate the antioxidant activity
of the plant extracts with their potential effects on ARDs, CNS-disor-
ders, hyperuricaemia, and gout, selected extracts were evaluated for
antioxidant activity using DPPH (l,l-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil radi­
cal) as well as the in vitro inhibition of bovine brain lipid peroxidation
and of xanthine oxidase (XO).
Many noncultivated food species gathered in Lucania have shown
remarkable antioxidant activity (Pieroni, Janiak, et al., 2002). Al­
though the antioxidant properties of Origanum spp. (aerial parts)
have been studied relatively well over the past years (Dapkevicius et
al., 1998; Milos et al., 2000; Cervato et al., 2000), nothing was known
of the relevant antioxidant properties of Leopoldia, Centaurea, and
Tordylium spp. before our bioevaluation tests. The antioxidant activ­
ity of bulbs of Leopoldia comosa (syn.: Muscari comosum) and of
young whorls of Centaurea calcitrapa, both in the prescreening
DPPH and in the lipid peroxidation inhibition assays, are very inter­
esting, and both species should be investigated phytochemically and
biochemically focusing on these properties. The local processing and
cooking procedures should also be taken into consideration.
The young whorls of Centaurea calcitrapa are boiled and fried in
mixtures with other weedy noncultivated “greens.” Aerial parts of
Centaurea calcitrapa and Tordylium apulum are still poorly investi­
gated phytochemically.
Moreover, the strong XO-inhibiting activity shown by extracts of
aerial parts of Cichorium intybus, Chondrilla juncea, and Stellaria
media in our recent studies could merit further investigation, focusing
on natural products with potential effects on hyperuricaemia and
gout. Very little has been reported about bioactive compounds from
Chondrilla juncea and Stellaria media.
 Functional Foods or Food Medicines? 123

Mediterranean noncultivated weedy vegetables, which we have

called in this chapter wild “folk functional foods,” represent then a
neglected group of plants that offer an exciting challenge to modem
phytotherapeutical researchers bridging the gap between pharma­
ceuticals and nutraceuticals.

C O N C L U S IO N

We have presented here a variety of wild plants that have been

commonly used in the recent past as a central portion of the daily diet
in two cultures of southern Italy. They are still used sometimes in
southern Italy as food or medicine, as functional food, or as medicinal
foods (food medicines).
Research on the medicinal or nutraceutical value of many of these
plants has demonstrated high antioxidant activity and potential as
therapeutic agents for the management and prevention of chronic dis­
ease such as diabetes, stroke, and coronary heart disease. The pres­
ence of high levels of antioxidants in the human diet may be espe­
cially important in the prevention and management of ARDs.
Thus, recording and conserving traditional knowledge regarding
the use of plants is of utmost importance, not only for the biocultural
conservation of the communities/environments studied but also for
future medical advancements in the prevention and management of
chronic, diet-related diseases. An anthropological analysis of the so­
cioeconomic shifts and their effects on cultural integrity, however,
specifically concerning the transmission of these knowledge systems,
has demonstrated that they likely will not survive forthcoming gener­
ations if efforts to restore their prominence in communities are not
undertaken soon.

NOTE

1. This cow race is a descendant of the Bos primigenius podolicus, the very large,
long-horned cattle thought to have been domesticated in the Middle East during the
fourth century BC. It is bred in Lucania in a semidomesticated way, letting the ani­
mal roam free in the forest for most of the year and milking it only during April and
May.
124 EATING AND HEALING

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 Chapter 5

Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food

in a Cattle-Farming Community
in Northern Spain (Campoo, Cantabria)
Manuel Pardo de Santayana
Elia San Miguel
Ramon Morales

IN T R O D U C T IO N

When we are hungry we feel that eating is essentially a biological

activity. We ingest food for energy and nutrients. Nevertheless, food
is a social phenomenon with many biological, agronomic, economic,
and social implications. Food habits cannot be reduced to their nutri­
tional, dietetic, or therapeutic values. Coffee, for example, is not just
a stimulant beverage that provides caffeine: it is also a tasty beverage
used as a relaxant on social occasions. For most cultures, including
those in the Mediterranean area, eating is a social activity that ex­
presses social relations such as status, friendship, or kinship (Con­
treras, 1993).
In every culture, which foods are selected depends not only on
their technical or economic availability (Barrau, 1983) but also on in­
dividual and social tastes, traditions, beliefs, and taboos that make a
specific product acceptable or rejectable. The choice of each product
and the way it is cooked, presented, and ingested all have social sig­
nificance that depends on social class, gender, age, or other social as­
pects.
Most of the ethnobotanical research carried out in the Iberian Pen­
insula has been on the medicinal and food plants used by the rural
population; the therapeutic potential of food plants and its social im­
plications have scarcely been studied. At the time of this writing a Eu­
131
132 EATING AND HEALING

ropean project on local nutraceuticals was being carried out in the

south of Spain (D. Rivera, 2005).
It is almost impossible to draw a clear line separating food from
medicine. Etkin (1996) proposed studying “ingestibles” rather than
“food” or “medicine.” Digestive infusions and spirits are difficult to
assign to a sharply defined category of food. These “social foods” are
not specifically ingested for their nutritional value, although the calo­
ric contribution of alcohol cannot be ignored. Instead, they are drunk
either for their pleasurable taste during convivial conversation, after a
meal, in a break from work, or, for health reasons, at breakfast or
before going to bed. They are usually offered to visitors, both to ease
social relations and because of their medicinal digestive function.
Pieroni (2000) and Bonet and Valles (2002) have also noted the role
of homemade spirits as a medicinal food.
We studied the occurrence and social context of the use of diges­
tive beverages in the course of our ethnobotanic research in a small
area of northern Spain. Campoo is a mountainous region of 1,012.12
m2 on the southern slopes of Cordillera Cantabrica, with an average
altitude of 800 m but a huge range in altitude: from 670 m at Ebro
River near Polientes to 2,200 m at Pico del Cuchillon (see Figure 5.1).
The area is on the junction of the Mediterranean and Atlantic ecologi­
cal regions and the potential vegetation is oak and beech forests. The

FIGURE 5.1. Geographic location of Campoo (Cantabria, Spain).

 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 133

population of the area is around 23,000. In recent decades the average

age of the population has gone up rapidly because many young
people have migrated to urban areas.
The landscape surrounding the villages is dominated by fields of
cereals and harvest prairies. Most fields have been abandoned in the
past forty years, allowing the grassland and woodland to encroach
and become the main elements of the landscape (see Figure 5.2).
Farther away from the villages the traditional landscape is grassland
for communal grazing and forests that provide wood for multiple pur­
poses and fuel for cooking and heating the houses. Only in the south­
ern regions of Campoo are the fields still cultivated.
In recent decades the economy of Campoo has been mainly based
on agriculture, particularly raising livestock. Traditionally, each fam­
ily kept a few cows and sheep that were managed collectively. The
livestock were reared for meat rather than for milk. The economy was
fundamentally self-sufficient, with some cash earned from selling an­
imals, handicrafts (wooden shoes, farming implements, tools), and
other minor products (milk, butter, eggs). Other income came from
working in metal, cement, and glass industries, but salaries were very
low and so the workers needed to farm cattle, too. These industries
have suffered intense economic decline.

FIGURE 5.2. Cattle grazing at Los Carabeos Campoo (Cantabria, Spain).

134 EATING AND HEALING

In this area, traditional transhumance has survived. It is similar to

the transhumance of other cattle-farming systems in the Pyrenees or
the estivage in the Alps (Gomez Pellon, 1999). In the summer, sheep
farmers from Castille or Extremadura also exploited the high-altitude
pastures of Campoo, paying rent to the local authority for the privi­
lege.
The extensive cattle-farming system was based on the communal
exploitation of high-altitude pastures above the tree line (1,200 m)
and below 1,600 m, where the cattle were allowed to roam during the
favorable season (i.e., between spring and autumn). The local breed
of cattle, tudanca, was well adapted to the hostile climate. Their pro­
duction of litter and milk was low, but they were seldom ill. All the
cattle of the community were looked after by cowherds, who were
paid in wheat by the other members of the community: each person
paid in proportion to the number of cattle contributed to the herd.
Some members of the community (usually young men) helped the
cowherds according to a rotational system that also depended on the
number of cows owned by each family.
In addition to cattle, there were big flocks of sheep or goats in
Campoo, comprising all the animals of the neighborhood. These
were grazed in the nearby pastures each day, under the supervision of
a villager (again, villagers took turns) or of shepherds and their young
helpers (male or female). When the average age of the population be­
gan to increase it became difficult to find young people willing to
herd these animals. These flocks have now disappeared, since people
prefer to have cows or horses, which do not roam so much when
grazing.
Nowadays people have abandoned aspects of the traditional sys­
tem and have gradually incorporated the modem market economy.
Due to the special incentives for local breeds of livestock, there are a
few tudancas among the alpine and other breeds of cattle. All the live­
stock grazing in communal pasture now belong to only a small num­
ber of people. The owners visit their animals frequently but there are
no longer any shepherds who stay out with the animals all day, look­
ing after them.
The low returns from agriculture (resulting from the difficulties of
mechanizing), together with the lack of alternative remunerative em­
ployment in industry, resulted in massive rural depopulation during
the second part of the twentieth century. Young people moved to cit­
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 135

ies such as Bilbao, Madrid, Santander, or Barcelona, or to other Euro­

pean and American countries: Germany, France, Argentina, or Mex­
ico. The result has been a social and economic crisis, even leading to
entire villages being abandoned and left uninhabited. This phenome­
non has also occurred in other mountainous regions of Spain.
Public Rural Development Agencies have played an important role
in the recent economic development of the region. Since the 1990s
they have attracted European funding through the Leader Program,
which was mainly directed toward developing rural tourism. This
funding has benefited the local economy and nature conservation,
following the ideology of sustainable development.
The information presented in this chapter was gathered during a
general ethnobotanic survey based on 117 semistructured interviews
with 107 informants, carried out during 1997 and 2000. Local people
with traditional knowledge were asked about the medicinal and ed­
ible plants they knew; how they were gathered, prepared, or con­
served; what kind of illnesses were treated with home remedies; and
other aspects of traditional life in which plants played an important
role.

C H AN G E S IN F O O D A N D H E A L TH
H A B IT S A N D C O N D IT IO N S

The recent changes in economic activities have affected the food

and medicine habits of the population. Traditionally, the health of the
family was essentially cared for using home remedies obtained from
the local environment; mainly by mothers and grandmothers. The
remedies were intended to heal the most common illnesses: digestive
disorders; colds; pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses; and inju­
ries such as bums, wounds or bruises, boils, or other disorders. The
consolidation of the free Public Health System pushed aside the tradi­
tional use of the home remedies, and chemical pharmacy prevailed.
Traditionally, daily food was based on staple crops cultivated lo­
cally: cereals, legumes, potatoes, and other vegetables. The dietary
staples were bread, potatoes, and legume soup with pork products. A
remarkable variety of legumes (see Table 5.1) was grown in home
gardens and fields. Most were cultivated both for people and animals.
Other local animal products (milk, butter, eggs, honey) completed the
136 EATING AND HEALING

TABLE 5.1. Legumes cultivated and consumed in Campoo.

Scien tific Latin nam e S panish nam e English nam e

C ice r arietinum L. Garbanzo Chickpea
Lathyrus sativus L. Almorta, muela Chickling vetch
Lens culinaris Medik. Lenteja Lentil
P haseolus vulgaris L. Alubias Bean
P isum sativum L. Alubias Garden pea
Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd. Yero Bitter vetch
V ida articulata Hornem Algarrobas One-leaved vetch
V ida faba L. Habas Broad bean

diet. Fish, oil, and other foodstuffs had to be bought, and this was not
always possible.
Each family had its own home garden, but little time was spent on
it because taking care of the livestock and main crops (wheat, barley,
hay) was very demanding. Most gardens did not have a water supply,
and in the summer it was necessary to carry water in containers from
the nearest source (rivers, streams, or springs). The most common
vegetables were cabbage, lettuce, onion, and garlic. Cabbage was the
only green vegetable available in winter; neither Swiss chard nor
spinach were cultivated, and other products were only available to
wealthy families who lived on large properties.
The climate (storms, hail, and freezing temperatures late in the
season) is not appropriate for most cultivated fruit trees, and in many
cold years the fruit cannot be harvested. Rustic trees such as the med­
lar (Mespilus germanca) or the service tree (Sorbus domestica), and
other wild fruits such as sloes (from the blackthorn Prunus spinosa),
gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa), wild apples (Malus sylvestris), or
wild pears (Pyrus cordata) are better adapted to the local climate and
were gathered instead of commercially available fruits.
Wild food has been gathered in the area since ancient times.
Historical evidence suggests that the Cantabros (Iberian tribes who
lived in the area before the Roman conquest) used to eat bread made
with acorn flour (Garcia Bellido, 1945). They probably gathered
other wild berries and products, as did other neighboring tribes such
as the Basque tribes called Vascones (lriarte and Zapata, 1996).
 Digestive Beverages 4 s a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 137

Until recently, wild food was collected regularly. The total contri­
bution of wild plants to the calories of the diet was not large, but there
was a great variety of species, especially of berries and other fruits.
However, most wild edible plants are no longer gathered. Many peo­
ple associate modernity with the rejection of all the traditional ideas
and habits. They link wild food with manual work and times of scar­
city and hunger, which most people would prefer to forget.
Most informants told us that during wars, times were not as hard in
Campoo as they were in other rural regions of Spain. A recent study
on wild edible plants in Madrid province, a vast and varied territory
(about 800 km2), has revealed that the species gathered have high nu­
tritional value. The consumption of green vegetables such as red cam­
pion (Silene dioica), Spanish salsify (Scolymus hisparticus), and
docks (Rumex pulcher and other species of the genus) is outstanding
in this region. It is also common to gather young shoots of asparagus
(Asparagus acutifolius), hops (Humulus lupulus), black bryony
(Tamus communis), and white bryony (Bryonia dioica), some of
which are considered to be toxic plants. The consumption of holm-
oak acorns (Quercus ilex), a very common species in the center of
Spain, also used to be very important.
Compared to the plant parts consumed in certain Mediterranean
areas, including Madrid (see Table 5.2), a high percentage of wild
fruits is eaten in Campoo. (Note that in our study we did not consider
food plants consumed as spices, used to flavor spirits, or for other in­
fusions or social beverages.) The table shows that in contrast with
Campoo, in other Mediterranean areas the percentage of green vege­
tables is much more important. Reasons for this difference could
be that in Campoo the economy is based on cattle farming while in
the other areas domesticated plants are more readily available from
home gardens, due to the wetter climate. We have already pointed out
that one reason wild fruits were so important in Campoo was because
cultivated fruit was scarce.
Some current eating behaviors can be interpreted as relics of past
times of hunger, especially during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
and immediately thereafter (until the 1950s). The generations who
lived through these difficult times worked hard and their children are
enjoying the present times of abundance. One symptom of the mem­
ory of hard times is the custom of not emptying the dish completely,
to ensure that nobody will still be hungry after the food is finished.
 TABLE 5.2. Wild plants consumed in some Mediterranean areas.

No. o f Leaves Fruits S ub te rra n e a n

S tu d y area sp ecies and sh oo ts and seeds part Flo w ers
Campoo, Spain (Pardo de 48 14(29%) 27 (56%) 5(10%) 5(10%)
Santayana, 2003)
Madrid, Spain (Tardi'o et al., 2002) 87 49 (56%) 30 (34%) 2 (2%) 8 (9%)
Montseny, Spain (Bonet and Valles, 46 28 (61%) 13(28%) 2 (4%) 4 (9%)
2002)
Garfagnana, Italy (Pieroni, 1999) 90 70 (78%) 16(18%) 6 (7%) (1% )
Central Anatolia, Turkey (Ertug, 88 44 (50%) 34 (39%) 7 (8%) (3% )
2000)
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 139

Another is the popular saying “Que nofalte de nd ” (“Nothing should

be lacking”). Yet another is that in some families the wishes and
tastes of each member, including children, are taken into account—to
the point that the housewives cook different dishes for each of them.
In many families, leftovers are thrown away (Gonzalez Turmo,
2002).
When locals were asked about the consumption of wild plants,
they explained that they used them as snack foods in their childhood.
They were consumed on the way to school or to avoid feeling hungry
during breaks. Many people consumed these plants and their prod­
ucts more for amusement than food. To avoid having to prepare
something to eat between lunch and dinnertime it was also common
to send the children to gather wild berries such as blackberries (Rubus
ulmifolius), blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus), or gooseberries (Ribes
uva-crispa); greens such as sorrel (Rumex acetosa); and bulbs such
as pig nut (Conopodium spp.) or lezas (Romulea bulbocodium) as an
afternoon snack. People still tell annoying children “/ Vete a lezas!”
(“Go gather lezas!”). Shepherds and their young helpers also used to
eat wild edibles to supplement their meager diet.
The situation is different now. Children prefer sweets and confec­
tionery, and most are not able to recognize wild edible plants or do
not like to eat them. As informants said, “La gente ya no se agacha.”
By comparison with cultivated plants, the contribution of wild
plant products to the total food intake was not very important. Never­
theless, the nutritional diversity they provided was important. Wild
fruits, for example, provided an important vitamin and sugar intake;
beechnuts and hazelnuts provided vegetable fat. Wild greens such as
sorrel or watercress are also rich in vitamins and mineral salts, and so
are an important source of micronutrients and biochemical sub­
stances. None of the wild plants consumed supplied an important
quantity of carbohydrates; these were provided essentially by cereals
and potatoes. Other very nutritious products, such as vegetable pro­
tein, came from legumes. The vegetable fiber intake was quite low,
especially in the winter, when for most families the only vegetable
eaten was cabbage.
Only a few adult people still consume wild greens such as red cam­
pion (Silene dioica) or lamb’s lettuce (Valerianella carinata). They
do so because they like the taste and enjoy the act of gathering plants.
Young people who are environmentally inclined also enjoy doing so.
1 40 EATING AND HEAUNG

Some people who have migrated to cities yearn for their childhood
and the time they lived in the region, so when they stay in the village
they like to gather and consume wild edibles and herbs. The familiar
flavors remind them of past times.
The only wild edible that is still commonly gathered is watercress
(Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum). Mushrooms are also gathered,
mostly for home consumption, but the high prices paid by restaurants
encourage people to gather and sell them.
Public Rural Development Agencies are trying to promote diversi­
fication of economic resources so that people do not rely solely on
cattle or rural tourism. They offer courses and other activities with the
aim of promoting local quality food products such as cheese, sau­
sages, honey, chocolates, bakery items, or jams made from wild
berries.
One interesting fact is that people perceive gathering plants as old-
fashioned, unprofitable, and too much hard work. For them, this kind
of work is demeaning and a waste of time; they prefer to buy food
rather than gather it. However, people do like to work in their home
gardens, which is just as uneconomic as gathering wild plants.
The selection of taxa considered to be food is also very interesting.
One informant explained that a neighbor from Andalucia in the south
of Spain used to eat the young shoots of black bryony. In Cantabria
this plant is associated with snakes, as one of its popular names indi­
cates: comida de culebras (snake food). No one wishing to be consid­
ered a real Cantabrian or campurriano (someone who comes from
Campoo) would eat such food. Yet this and other species such as
Spanish salsify (Scolymus hispanicus: the petiole and central nerve
of the basal leaves) and white bryony (the young shoots) are widely
consumed in other Spanish regions.
Another interesting example of the selection of edible species is
the case of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare subsp. piperitum), which used
to be cultivated in home gardens and grows wild in the southwest of
the area. This plant is commonly used as a condiment in other regions
and countries, but in Campoo only the gypsies gather it; they con­
sume the young leaves as green vegetables cooked with cabbage.
This habit, so common elsewhere, is considered in Campoo to be the
hallmark of a marginal community. Blanco (1998) indicated a similar
perception from Segovia province, which is adjacent to Madrid. In
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 141

Madrid, however, it was consumed without this connotation (Tardfo

et al., 2002).
Ln Campoo, therefore, most people prefer to buy food or medicines
rather than collect them from the wild. At present, though, it is far
more common in Campoo to gather medicinal herbs rather than wild
foods. A number of locals, both old, traditional people and young
people interested in herbal medicine, prefer herbs to synthetic chemi­
cals. For this reason, almost the only wild foods still commonly gath­
ered are those with medicinal properties.

M E D IC IN A L F O O D : D IG E S T IV E B E V E R A G E S

Medicine and food are concepts that people from Campoo tend to
separate, but they still acknowledge the link between them and like to
select what kinds of products to eat. Two of the reasons for the high
frequency of home garden products in the diet are safety and taste.
Nearly everybody considers that in the old days food was tastier and
healthier. People are nostalgic for the bread baked by their mothers in
home ovens. Then, only local products were consumed, and there
were no health problems. People are now afraid of the abuse of fertil­
izers, pesticides, herbicides, drugs for cattle, and industrial fodder,
and prefer to consume their own home-produced products.
Only a few plants are eaten deliberately for health purposes. Wa­
tercress is considered an excellent purifier of the blood. Rice, apples,
and service tree fruits are consumed for their astringent antidiarrheal
qualities. Children used to eat celery against intestinal parasites. Car­
rots enhance vision and walnuts memory, parsley calcifies the bones;
breast-feeding mothers used to drink beer to enhance milk secretion.
Most cultivated food plants are also used as home remedies, but the
administration or the part used differs considerably from their food
use. For example, onions are heated and used topically to ripen boils;
raw garlic is rubbed on the anus, to help expel intestinal worms; a de­
coction of walnut leaves is used to wash wounds and is considered to
be the best disinfectant; figs cooked with wine are one of the best
pneumonia or cold remedies, and fig latex is used against warts; an
infusion of cinnamon is considered an effective laxative; and a decoc­
tion of maize stigmas is drunk as a diuretic.
142 EATING AND HE AUNG

The medicinal use of some wild species such as elderberry, black­

thorn (Prunus spinosa), or hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) also dif­
fers widely from their food use. Elderberries (Sambucus nigra) are
consumed, though some people think that they are not edible. Some
people eat them raw, others make them into jams or prepare bever­
ages by boiling the berries with water or squeezing the fresh fruits.
Elderberries are also used to make spirits, by leaving the fruits to
macerate. As a medicine, the inner bark is used for rheumatism, gout,
and as a vulnerary to heal difficult wounds or burns; the decoction of
the inflorescence is taken orally against colds and headaches; flowers
in steam baths were prescribed for colds and erysipela.
Another kind of food medicine used in Campoo is spirits. Wine
and liquors have high alcohol contents (16 percent and 35 to 60 per­
cent, respectively), so when plants are macerated in them, the active
compounds dissolve. Wine and liquors were intensely used in popu­
lar medicine as extraction agents and as vehicles for the plant extract.
Formerly they were prepared mostly as digestive remedies, but now
they are consumed for their flavor and as a social beverage (see
Figure 5.3).
The new appreciation of natural products has helped to develop
new uses for the traditional spirits. It is popular to prepare them at
home, and these homemade spirits can be enjoyed in restaurants or
pubs as a quality local product. Liquor and anisette are used for mac­
erating herbs and fruits: depending on personal tastes, the two are
mixed in different proportions, or only one of them is used. Nowa­
days people enjoy experimenting with new flavors and they prepare
the spirits with new recipes, using acorn, raspberry (Rubus idaeus),
wild roses (Rosa canina and other species of the genus), and el­
derberry (Sambucus nigra). Nearly all the edible wild berries are
used, together with other kinds of fruits. Herb liquors are prepared
solely from te de los Picos de Europa, te de lastra (Picos de Europa
tea, limestone tea: Side rids hyssopifolia), and anisette (Scandix aus­
tralis).
In other Spanish regions, different plants are used to prepare spir­
its. We will discuss only the uses of the species gathered in the
Campoo area that are also used in other regions. Sloes (the fruit of the
blackthorn, Prunus spinosa) are gathered in nearly all the areas in
which the species grows, to prepare a special liquor called pacharan,
a name derived from the Basque name for the plant: basarana. In Ma-
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 143

FIGURE 5.3. Wild apple (Malus sylvestris) spirit.

drid it is also called aguardiente de endrinas (blackthorn liquor). In

Campoo and elsewhere in Spain, the fruits are consumed when ripe.
This liquor is not only made at home but also industrially, and people
from the area have gathered blackthorn fruits to sell to these indus­
tries. Usually the beverage is made with anisette and liquor (in pro­
portions depending on personal preferences), blackthorn fruits, cin­
namon bark, a few coffee beans, and sugar. Some people like to add
chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) flowers, wild apples (Malus syl­
vestris), green walnuts, or raw chickpeas. Other people prefer to
make the liquor from European plums (Prunus insititia) rather than
blackthorns.
Cherries are also macerated in alcohol to make another tonic. In
this case it is also common to eat the cherries impregnated in liquor.
144 EATING AND HEALING

An especially interesting liquor called “ratafia” is elaborated in some

parts of Catalonia and Aragon. Bonet (2001) studied the composition
of many ratafia recipes and found that almost 100 species are used to
make this excellent liqueur. It is basically a green walnut liqueur with
many plant species added to aromatize it. In half of the recipes stud­
ied, seven additional species were found to be essential ingredients:
lemon, cinnamon, chamomile, coffee, nutmeg, thyme, lemon balm
(Melissa officinalis), and lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora = Lyppia
triphylla). Most of the other brandies are also common in other Span­
ish areas. Herb spirits are not as common in Campoo as in other areas.
In other Cantabrian regions (Liebana) a homemade and home-indus­
trial liquor is prepared from Sideritis hyssopifolia and sold as one of
the local gastronomic specialties. In Liebana, the excellent tea pre­
pared from this herb is also sold in bars, sometimes with the addition
of a dash of brandy. The uncontrolled gathering of this species could
endanger its future populations; the area it grows in lies in Picos de
Europa National Park, which receives more than one million visitors
each year.
Apart from alcohol, the most frequent and readily accessible vehi­
cle for the medicinal properties of plants is water. The most common
ways of preparation are heating the water up to boiling point and then
adding the plant or boiling the plant in water for several minutes. An­
other common practice is to macerate the plant in water. Although
herbalists usually prescribe an infusion, the most popular preparation
is a decoction. Water does not provide as much caloric intake as alco­
hol does, but the water temperature is very helpful to tone up the
body.
Beverages that are ingested both for their flavor and as digestive
infusions can also be considered medicinal food. Most of them are
made from wild plants that are still commonly gathered. Table 5.3 in­
cludes plants called tes (teas), which is a generic name denoting
plants used to make digestives and tasty infusions. They are given dif­
ferent compound names describing their habitat or their color. Table
5.4 includes the manzanillas (chamomiles, see Figure 5.4), which are
plants belonging to the Asteraceae family, most of them with tiny yel­
low flowers in the center enclosed by white ligulated flowers. Only
Helichrysum stoechas is not ligulate.
None of the infusions prepared in (he area are specific to that area.
All the chamomiles (see Table 5.4) are used in other Spanish regions.
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 145

TABLE 5.3. Tes: Tasty infusions with digestive properties drunk in Cantabria.

Scientific Latin nam e,

local nam e (English
translatio n )_____________M ode of use A p p lication s_______ Source
Lithospermum officinale Decoction of fruit­ Social drink after Gardens,
te bianco (white tea), te bearing plant meals, digestive, wild
de huerta (garden tea) colds, heartburn,
stomachache, con­
stipation
Bidens aurea Decoction of Diarrhea, also for Gardens
te de huerta (garden leaves animals (sometimes
tea), boiled in milk), di­
te moruno (Moorish tea) gestive, sedative
Camelia sinensis Decoction of Social drink after Bought
te (tea) leaves meals
Jasonia glutinosa Decoction of flow­ Social drink after Wild
te de roca (rock tea) ers meals, digestive,
colds, diuretic
(cleans kidneys and
bladder, helps urina­
tion)
Sideritis hyssopifolia Decoction of flow- Social drink after Wild
te de lastra (limestone ers or macerated meals, digestive
tea), in liquor
te de penas (rock tea)
te del puerto
Thymus pulegioides, T. Decoction of flow- Social drink after Wild
praecox, T. froelichianus ers meals, digestive, for
te morado (purple tea)__________________ liver and kidneys

The most frequent is bitter chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). It is

collected and kept in nearly all homes and consumed regularly. In all
cases, the wild plant, gathered and stored, is preferred to the commer­
cial tea bags (Matricaria chamomilla). The use of bitter chamomile is
so widespread that, as one informant said, not to have it at home
would be a sign of laziness and lack of provision. Remedies of this
kind are the only traditional recipes considered more effective than
the commercial drugs or herbal remedies bought from pharmacies or
herbalists.
Another widely used plant is Sideritis hyssopifolia, called “tea”
and usually preferred to the tea sold in supermarkets (Camellia
sinensis). Its use is also common in Asturias and the Pyrenees. In
146 EA TING AND HEAUNG

TABLE 5.4. Plants called “manzanilla” (chamomile) and their medicinal use.

Local n am e (English M edicinal and v eteri­

S cientific Latin nam e translatio n ) nary uses
Achillea millefolium Manzanilla romana (ro­ Colic; constipation; diar­
man chamomile) rhea; menstrual pain;
rheumatism; wounds
(poultice).
Anthemis arvensis Manzanilla (chamomile) Liver; purge for animals.
Chamaemelum mobile Manzanilla (chamomile) Digestive: bad digestion,
heartburn; constipation
(persons or animals);
diarrhea (persons or ani­
mals); liver; bladder infec­
tion; menstrual pain; ear­
ache; digestive disorders
in cows; eye problems
(persons or animals);
cleaning placenta after
delivery (Moreno and
Gutierrez; 1994). Social
drink after meals.
Helichrysum stoechas Manzanilla de la reina Digestive (persons or ani­
(queen’s chamomile), mals); intestinal worms;
manzanilla de lastra colds; lungs, kidney.
(limestone chamomile)
Matricaria discoidea Manzanilla silvestre (wild Digestive (animals)
chamomile)

many other areas the American plant Bidens aurea is taken as a tea.
Jasonia glutinosa is an endemic of the Iberian Peninsula and some lo­
calities in the south of France and north of Morocco. In the Campoo
area, it grows only in the southeast, and here it is consumed. This
plant is one of the most important native Spanish wild teas, mainly in
the east of Spain, where it is offered in bars and restaurants. It has an
excellent aroma and digestive properties. Font Quer (1962) relates
how he and other European botanists once ordered tea in San Carlos
de la Rapita (Catalonia) and the waiter brought them Jasonia glu­
tinosa tea, though they were expecting Camellia sinensis tea. They
found it strange, so Font Quer asked the waiter what kind of tea it
was. He answered that he had served tea, the better tea, te de roca
(rock tea). Thymus pulegioides and other species of Thymus, section
Serpyllum, are also used as digestive teas in Galicia and the Pyrenees.
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 147

FIGURE 5.4. “Manzanilla” (chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile).

Other infusions prepared with species such as mint (Mentha pule-

gium), lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora), or wild marjoram (Origa­
num vulgare) could also be considered in this group of medicinal
food infusions, because they are consumed daily for their flavor and
for their medicinal properties. Mint is also consumed as a digestive
infusion, and wild marjoram is especially indicated for respiratory
disorders.
These medicinal plants are not the only ones still harvested in
Campoo; other plants with vulnerary (Carduncellus mitissimus, Ju-
glans regia), diuretic (Equisetum arvense, E. telamateia), respiratory
(Sambucus nigra, Malva sylvestris, Eucalyptus globulus), anti-infla-
matory (Inula montana, I. helenioides, Rosmarinus officinalis), or cir­
culatory properties (Urtica dioica) are also very common.
A simple analysis of food and medicinal plants of Campoo shows
that nearly half of the food plants in a broad sense (including infu­
sions consumed just for their taste, spirits, and spices) have medicinal
uses (see Table 5.5). This proportion is not very different from the 60
percent reported by Pieroni (2000) from Lucca Province (Italy).
148 EATING AND HEAUNG

TABLE 5.5. Comparison between the number of species used as medicine and
food.

U se N u m b e r o f ta x a % w ild ta x a % c u ltiv a te d ta x a
Medicinal 138 61 59
Food 128 46 54
Medicinal food 62 45 55

The total number of edible plants is similar to the number of medici­

nal plants, but appreciable differences appear in the percentage of wild
and domesticated species. The proportion of wild medicinal plants
(61 percent) is higher than the proportion of wild edibles (46 percent).
The percentage of wild medicinal food species (45 percent) is similar
to the percentage of wild food species. This shows that cultivated food
plants are used both for medicinal and nutritional purposes, whereas
wild plants tend to be solely medicinal. This is reasonable, especially
in a settled rural society, because the great cultural significance of culti­
vated plants has led to many habits, traditions, ideas, and uses regard­
ing them.
Some of the knowledge and practices relating to the use of wild
herbs and edibles are not traditional, but have been recently intro­
duced. Our female informant who knew the most different kinds of
popular remedies was the only informant who referred to the edible
use of lamb’s lettuce (Valerianella carinata). She told us that people
from other regions had taught her the edible use of this species. Other
food species such as dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) are mostly
gathered by people who were not bom in the area or by veraneantes
(holidaymakers), the term designating people native to the region
who have moved to the cities but still own a house in the area and visit
regularly.
Most plants are gathered for home consumption, but some minor
trading of homemade jams and liqueurs occurs. The new appreciation
of natural and quality local products has encouraged the development
of new uses, mostly based on traditional ones. A store in Reinosa, the
capital of the region, specializes in local food products. These prod­
ucts are also distributed to local craft stores in other tourist cities and
villages of Cantabria. The local development office (Agencia de
Desarrollo de Campoo) has organized courses on agrofood, in which
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 149

local producers learn to prepare jams from wild fruits and make other
kinds of food. Now elderberry, blackberry, blueberry, or wild berry
jams are available, prepared from new and traditional recipes. The
medicinal properties of some of them, such as elderberry jam, are
well-known; many people in Central Europe use this jam for respira­
tory disorders, due to its high vitamin C content.

CONCLUSIONS

Big changes have taken place in the rural life of Campoo over the
past four decades, as in other European regions. These changes have
led to the erosion of traditional knowledge about wild plants and their
uses. For example, only 20 percent of the wild food species that used
to be eaten in the area are still being consumed. The gathering of wild
plants is frequently associated with times of hardship, and only a few
people still collect edible and medicinal plants.
The few exceptions to the former are plants used to make infusions
that are popular for their flavor and medicinal digestive properties,
such as chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) or Picos de Europa tea
(Sideritis hyssopifolia). Another exception is homemade digestive
tonics such as pacharan, which is prepared from sloes (Prunus
spinosa).
Besides these revitalized uses, new recipes are being incorporated,
mostly to make other liqueurs and brandies prepared by macerating
wild edible fruits that were not previously used, or to make other
kinds of nutraceuticals, such as elderberry jam.
This chapter demonstrates the value of studying changes in the
habits of traditional rural societies and the potential of utilizing tradi­
tional knowledge for the development and marketing of nutraceu­
ticals.
The average age of the population of Campoo, as in most Spanish
rural areas, is very high. This old population has depended on retire­
ment and unemployment pensions and on European and state agrar­
ian subsidies. In order to diversify and revitalize their economy, the
people are trying to promote rural tourism and local quality products.
To maintain their vitality, rural areas have to rescue traditional valu­
able practices and knowledge and adopt strategies and information—
modern or traditional— from other cultures and regions. This will
150 EATING AND HEALING

help them regain some of their attraction and vitality, while maintain­
ing their distinctiveness. The result will be that migration will no lon­
ger be the only option for young people, and the European Union ob­
jectives of stabilizing the rural population will be successfully
achieved.

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Moreno, L.A. and J.A. Gutierrez (1994). Remedios y creencias de medicina popular
en la merindad de Campoo. Valdeolea 28: 1-16.
Pardo de Santayana, M. (2003). Las plantas en la cultura tradicional de la Antigua
Merindad de Campoo. Doctoral thesis in biology. Universidad Autonoma de
Madrid, Espana.
Pieroni, A. (1999). Gathered wild food plants in the upper valley of the Serchio
River (Garfagnana), Central Italy. Economic Botany 53(3): 327-341.
Pieroni, A. (2000). Medicinal plants and food medicines in the folk traditions of the
upper Lucca Province, Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 70(3): 235-273.
 Digestive Beverages As a Medicinal Food in Northern Spain 151

Rivera, D., C. Obon, C. Lnocencio, M. Heinrich, A. Verde, J. Fajardo, and R.

Llorach (2005). The ethnobotanical study oflocal Mediterranean food plants as
medicinal resources in Southern Spain. Journal of Physiology and Pharmacol­
ogy 56: 97-114.
Tardfo, J., H. Pascual, and R. Morales (2002). Alimentos silvestres de Madrid. Gaia
de plantas y setas de uso alimentario tradicional en la comunidad de Madrid.
Madrid: Real Jardfn Botanico, CSIC, La Librerfa, Instituto Madrileno de Lnvesti-
gacion Agraria y Alimentaria.
 Chapter 6

“The Forest and the Seaweed”:

Gitga’at Seaweed, Traditional Ecological
Knowledge, and Community Survival
Nancy J. Turner
Helen Clifton

IN T R O D U C T IO N

Traditional food systems are an integral part of peoples’ cultures

and lifeways. Foods provide far more than calories and nutrients; they
help define the identity and heritage of a people. Gathering and ob­
taining food is a primary occupation in land-based societies, and the
knowledge required for food procurement is an essential component
of peoples’ Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom (TEKW).
We would like to thank all the members of the Gitga’at Nation, Hartley Bay, espe­
cially Chief Johnny Clifton, Chief Councillor Pat Sterritt, Belle Eaton, Ernie Hill Jr.,
Lynne Hill, Cam Hill, Clyde Ridley, Jimmy and Annetta Robinson, Marven Robinson,
Art Sterritt, Kayla Wilson, and Mildred Wilson. We are also grateful to Dan Cardinall,
Irma Beltgens, Michael Roth, Anne Marshall, Robin June Hood, Sandra Lindstrom,
Barbara Wilson (Kii7iljuus), and Judy Thompson (Edosti) for their contributions to this
paper. Our research was supported by the Coasts Under Stress Research Project (Rose­
mary Ommer, PI; http://www.coastsunderstress.ca/home.html, a major collaborative
research project between Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University
of Victoria and several other universities and partner agencies in Canada and the United
States, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
(SSHRC) and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
(April 2000-2005). This article was originally published in a volume originating from a
workshop (February 2002; Prince Rupert, BC), “Local Knowledge, Natural Resources
and Community Survival,” organized by Charles Menzies, The University of British
Columbia. The volume, edited by Charles Menzies, Integrating Local Level Ecological
Knowledge With Natural Resource Management, is published by the University of Ne­
braska Press, Lincoln. We would like to dedicate this paper to the children of the
Gitga’at Nation.

153
154 EATING AND HEALING

As such, this knowledge is embedded in peoples’ philosophy and

worldview in a vast and complex array of strategies they use to sus­
tain themselves within their territories over many generations, and in
the many ways by which they acquire and communicate knowledge
to other members of the society and to future generations (Turner et
al., 2000) (see Figure 6.1).
For the Gitga’at of Hartley Bay and surrounding territory on the
north coast of British Columbia, red laver seaweed (Porphyra ab-
bottae), called la ’ask, is a traditional food that represents all of these
components of TEKW. The harvesting, processing, and use of this
seaweed, undertaken for many centuries by the Gitga’at and their an­
cestors and still practiced today, is infused within all facets of
Gitga’at culture and lifeways, and is vital to their identity, health, and
well-being as a people. The continued use of this seaweed by the
Gitga’at in the face of economic restructuring and accelerating cul­
tural change since the time of European contact is remarkable. In a
sense, the use of the seaweed represents the resiliency of a people.
The adaptations that have been made by the Gitga’at to enable and fa-

r
^ o n a n d E x e fia n g e o ,^
Ceremonies Everyday Discourse *7jg

/*'■ & Customs

and Oratory
%
Oral Histories,
Traditions, Stories
^Yviloso
Experiential
Ctessificatron, Spirituality & Reciprocal &
Teaching & Learning
Nomenclature Power of Ail Interactive
Things Relationships Ecological
Knowledge of Respect Ancestral Lands Principles & Indicators
the Landscape (e g , succession)
Knowledge of tobrldvie^
Climate Seasons Environmental ^
Inventory, Monitoring Modification

% Adaptability
Harvesting Strategies

* ^ S f r a t egjes for S v i ^ 0^

FIGURE 6.1. Components of traditional -ecological knowledge and wisdom

(TEKW) of Aboriginal peoples of northwestern North America. (Source: Turner
et al., 2000.)
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed 155

cilitate its continued harvest and use reflect peoples’ abilities to adjust
to changing conditions and still retain the essence of their cultures
and traditions. In terms of community survival under new and chang­
ing economic and cultural regimes, the Gitga’at seaweed harvest rep­
resents hope and inspiration for maintaining cultural integrity and
provides a model for sustainable resource use based on principles of
respect, reciprocity, and cooperation.
In this chapter we present some of the details, particularly the cul­
tural aspects, of the harvesting, processing, and use of this valuable
marine alga and describe how they serve to define and strengthen
the Gitga’at community and provide continuity and resilience for the
Gitga’at people. From a scientific perspective there is still much to
be learned about the taxonomy, lifecycles, and ecological aspects of
la ’ask, but the depth of Gitga’at traditional knowledge about these
topics indicates the tremendous value and potential for indigenous
knowledge to inform scientists and others about the lifecycles and in­
terrelationships of the natural world. This chapter is called “The For­
est and the Seaweed” because in the holistic perspective of the
Gitga’at and other first nations, the two are integrally related; a fact
we will demonstrate in our discussions here.
Our collaborative research on Gitga’at traditional ecological knowl­
edge relating to plants and the environment is part of this ongoing ma­
jor research project, Coasts Under Stress. Its goal is to identify the
important ways in which changes in society and the environment in
coastal British Columbia and coastal Newfoundland and Labrador
have affected, or will affect, the health of people, their communities,
and the environment over the long run. The Gitga’at community at
Hartley Bay, like many other communities of coastal British Colum­
bia, has been subjected to severe economic restructuring, which is the
result of the loss of commercial fishing revenues. Their territory has
been encroached upon and their resources depleted from logging,
commercial fishing, shellfish harvesting, and even tourism. Their ef­
forts to maintain their cultural integrity, community values, health,
and well-being in the face of these changes are exemplary. Their con­
tinued harvesting and use of traditional resources such as seaweed
contributes to these efforts, as we will demonstrate.
156 EATING AND HEALING

SEAW EED USE WORLDWIDE

Seaweeds, or more technically macroscopic marine algae, are used

by humans all over the world as sources of food, medicine, and mate­
rials. Seaweed accounts for some 10 percent of the diet in countries
such as Japan. Japanese seaweed consumption reached an average of
3.5 kg per household in 1973 (Indergaard, 1983). Seaweeds are
widely eaten in other regions of the world as well, particularly in
China, Korea, parts of Ireland and Scotland, and in Polynesia and Ha­
waii (Aaronson, 1986; Abbott, 1974; Druehl, 2000; Guiry and Blun-
den, 1991; Guiry and Hession, 1998; Indergaard, 1983; Keniceretal.,
2000; Madlener, 1977; Milliken and Bridgewater, 2001; Ostraff,
2003). Seaweeds also have many industrial uses, especially in food,
cosmetics, and agricultural industries (Guiry, 2004b). Seaweeds are
known to be highly nutritious. They are today considered a “health
food” in mainstream North American society, although their health
and nutritional benefits have long been known and appreciated by the
Gitga’at and other Northwest Coast indigenous peoples.
Interest in seaweed products is growing and a few “cottage indus­
tries” have developed on the Northwest Coast for harvesting seaweeds
for the marketplace, notably at Barkley Sound and in the vicinity of
Sooke, both on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A commercial
kelp-harvesting plant at Masset, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Is­
lands), for the purpose of developing industrial kelp and fertilizer
products, proved to be economically unviable and existed for only a
few years in the 1980s. There are rumored efforts to develop indus­
trial production for red laver on the British Columbia coast as well
(Guiry, 2004a), but this has yet to be confirmed. A small red-laver-
growing industry has been established in Puget Sound, Washington
State (Druehl, 2000), and there are efforts to start cultivating
Porphyra in the vicinity of Prince Rupert, with Louis Druehl as an ad­
visor to the project.
In contrast, seaweed production in Japan is a multibillion-dollar
industry, and many kinds of seaweeds are cultivated, especially for
the domestic food market. The most important types are: nori
(Porphyra species), kombu (Laminaria spp.), and wakame (Undaria
spp.). Today about 350,000 tons of wet nori alone are produced in Ja­
pan, with a retail value in excess of UiS. $ 1 billion. The Japanese nori
industry is a highly mechanized, efficient operation that employs
 “The Forest and the Seaweed" 157

some 60,000 people on a part-time basis. Nearly 70,000 hectares of

Japanese waters are occupied by Porphyra-growing nets (Guiry,
2004a).
Coastal first peoples in British Columbia, especially those of the
northern Coast Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw, and peoples of the central
and northern coast, all include red laver (Porphyra abbottae and other
Porphyra spp.) in their diets (Turner, 1995, 2003). The Nuu-Chah-
Nulth and Ditidaht of the west coast of Vancouver Island evidently
did not eat this seaweed themselves, but within the early twentieth
century many of these people harvested it for sale to local Asian com­
munities in Victoria and elsewhere (Williams, 1979; Turner et al.,
1983). Peoples of the central and northern coast, including the
Heiltsuk, Haida, and Coast Tsimshian, have also harvested a variety
of seaweeds with herring roe deposited on them, especially the fronds
of giant kelp (Macrocystis integrifolia), which are eaten not only by
these people but are today exported to Japan in large quantities. Tra­
ditionally, seaweeds also had many technological and medicinal uses
among British Columbia first peoples. For example, bull kelp
(Nereocystis luetkeana) stipes were cured and used up and down the
coast for fishing lines (Turner, 1998). The gelatinous substance from
the receptacles of sea wrack (Fucus spp.) was, and still is, used as a
medicine for burns and sores, to strengthen the limbs, and as an eye
medicine.
Seaweeds can be indicators of environmental health. They are de­
pendent on the ocean for their reproduction, growth, and dispersal,
may vary in their growth rates, seasonality, and reproductive capacity
depending on the ocean currents and tides, temperature, and other
factors such as pollution (Druehl, 2000). Humans may also impact
the growth and reproduction of seaweeds, including the ia ’ask of the
Gitga’at. In the following section we describe the use of this alga by
the Gitga’at, and the multifaceted knowledge system that has sup­
ported and continues to support its use.

G IT G A ’A T S E A W E E D U S E

The Gitga’at are a Sm’algyax (Tsimshian)-speaking people whose

main village is Hartley Bay, situated at the confluence of Greenville
and Douglas Channels about 140 km (90 miles) south of Prince
158 EATING AND HEALING

Rupert, where a large number of Gitga’at people also reside (see Fig­
ure 6.2). Their territory encompasses a vast number of islands, as well
as a substantial portion of the British Columbia mainland. The larger
Islands within Tsimshian territory include Gil, Gribble, Campania,
and Princess Royal islands.
Like other coastal peoples, the Gitga’at rely on the bounty of the
forests and oceans combined to provide them with the foods, materi­
als, and medicines they need for sustenance. They enjoy a diet of
plenty of salmon, halibut, and other fish, together with marine mam­
mals such as seal; shellfish such as sea urchins and chitons; land
mammals such as deer and bear; gamebirds, including ducks and

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Gitga’at community at Hartley Bay (upper arrow) and the spring seaweed camp
at Kiel, Princess Royal Island (lower arrow).
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed ” 159

geese, and a variety of plant foods, including berries, root vegetables,

green shoots, inner bark of hemlock, and edible seaweed (Port
Simpson Curriculum Committee, 1983). Although elders of the
Gitga’at community still enjoy many of the traditional foods, many
younger people prefer store-bought foods, and some of the traditional
foods, especially the wild greens, roots, and inner bark, are scarcely
known to them. One elder commented, “The more you eat the [old]
foods, the more you like it.” This statement reflects a common catch-
22 facing those trying to maintain cultural traditions. People like
what they are familiar with, and dietary preferences are no different
in this regard (Kuhnlein, 1992). Nevertheless, ia ’ask is one food en­
joyed by virtually everyone.
Every year, for most of the month of May, the elders of the commu­
nity, including Helen and Johnny Clifton, go to the seaweed camp at
Kiel (K ’yel) on Princess Royal Island (Lax’a 'lit’aa Koo), to harvest
the seaweed, fish for halibut, and other traditional activities1(see Fig­
ure 6.3). Whenever they are able, the younger adults and school-age
children generally come to Kiel during the long weekend in May. Pre­
viously, before children were required to be in school at this time, en­
tire families stayed at Kiel while the seaweed harvest and halibut fish­
ing took place. Much has changed in terms of harvesting practices,

FIGURE 6.3. Kiel, the Gitga’at seaweed camp on Princess Royal Island.
160 EATING AND HEALING

transportation, and living conditions at the seaweed camp, but the

seaweed harvest remains a time-honored tradition that brings cohe­
sion to families and communities, provides important opportunities
for knowledge acquisition and communication, and promotes health
and well-being through providing a nutritious food, requiring a
healthy outdoor lifestyle, and promoting cultural values.

fca’ask: T h e S e a w e e d

The main species of red laver harvested by the Gitga’at is Porphyra

abbottae (see Figure 6.4). Other species are known to have been har­
vested and used by coastal peoples, including P. torta and P. lanceo-
lata (samples identified by phycologist Sandra Lindstrom). There
were likely others as well, since approximately 21 different Porphyra

FIGURE 6.4. Porphyra abbottae, la ’ask, growing on the rocks, intertidal zone,
island at Kiel.
 "The Foresl and the Seaweed” 161

species grow along the Pacific Coast of British Columbia and Alaska,
Washington, and Oregon (Lindstrom and Cole, 1991; Turner, 2003),
all of which are edible. As noted, Porphyra species are eaten in other
parts of the world, including Japan, Korea, China, Scotland, and
Ireland.
The life history of Porphyra is complex. Porphyra species, like
other algae, reproduce by spores, but also undergo sexual reproduc­
tion. They have two main, different mature forms, one with a single
complement of chromosomes, the haploid phase, and one with two
sets of chromosomes, the diploid phase. This is known as an “alterna­
tion of generations” in a life cycle. The best-known, edible phase is
haploid.2 The haploid plants are thin, membranous, and dark greenish
purple. Both the haploid and diploid plants produce spores that are re­
leased into the water and, depending upon the type of spores and the
means of their production, by mitosis or meiosis, they will grow into
plants of the same or the alternate generation. This reproductive strat­
egy thus provides various means for the plants to grow, depending on
particular environmental conditions. The male and female reproduc­
tive parts, or gametes, called spermatia and carpogonia respectively,
are produced at the margins of the mature seaweed blades in the case
of the spermatia, or inside the margins in the case of carpogonia.
The spores produced that result from fertilization are released with
the dissolution of the tissues along the margins. These might appear
to be “rotting,” but in fact are just undergoing another stage in a rather
amazing life cycle.
This scientific understanding of the life cycle of ia ’ask was obvi­
ously not known to Gitga’at or other first nations harvesters, as this
requires microscopic examination of the seaweed through its life-
cycle stages. However, the manifestation of this life cycle, in particu­
lar the growth and development of the young haploid phase—the
edible seaweed phase—on the intertidal rocks of the shores of the
islands where the Gitga’at have ventured to harvest them for genera­
tions, was well-known. So, too, was the seaweed’s capacity to regen­
erate itself. The growth rate of the seaweed varies up and down the
coast and from site to site, even within Gitga’at territory. On May 18,
2001, Helen explained that people in other communities generally
picked seaweed earlier than the Gitga’at: “It’s picked earlier than us.
We’re the last ones to pick seaweed. So, Kitkatla, Metlakatla, Kitasoo
way, they will have picked seaweed . . . at Klemtu they picked eigh­
162 EATING AND HEALING

teen sacks of seaweed!” She said that Johnny Clifton, who was born
at Kiel, knew all the different places there where the early seaweed
grew, as well as the places where the last seaweed was picked, just be­
fore they returned home. She said, “So there’s places around here,
like the island in front of us is one of the first places to pick. . . .
There’s certain places down here that’s the early seaweed . . . Johnny
knows, all these years.” Helen calls the places where the seaweed
grows “seaweed fields” or “seaweed beds,” because of the great den­
sity of seaweeds grown there (see Figure 6.4). In past decades, people
camped out in family groups near the different picking grounds. For
example, Johnny’s aunt had a place at Fly Bay out at the point; this
was the first place they would go and pick—the first seaweed that was
mature enough. At other sites, it matured later, even though “It’s all
the same seaweed. It’s just, their growth is slower than the ones at
first” (Helen Clifton, May 18, 2001).
The pickers have to learn to differentiate other types of seaweed
from the edible type:

You have seal seaweed that grows in between good seaweed; we

call it “seal seaweed.” They’re wide, and they look like, they’ve
got a rainbow . . . [Iridescent Seaweed, Iridea] but it’s very col­
orful, and so I ’ve learned to pick through that seaweed, if there’s
good seaweed on that rock.

Helen described how the women traditionally would pick the sea­
weed systematically:

They wouldn’t spot-pick seaweed. The whole group would go

out and clean out one place.. . . And the next time they’d go for
seaweed they would start at the place where they stopped the
day before, or the tide before. And, so then the island was picked
clean, either side—the Campania [Island] side or down here,
Princess Royal side. And so you wouldn’t have to go searching
for seaweed. You knew exactly where the group stopped, and
you would start from that point on until you were all finished.

In discussing how sustainable the seaweed harvest is, Helen con­

firms what many aboriginal harvesters understand about the plants
they use routinely:
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed' 163

It’s better when it’s picked every year. It’s just like any plant that
has been trimmed; it will grow stronger and better.. . . For sea­
weed, it’s just like any garden: it has to be tended. So if you pick
it every year then it grows strong the next year, it keeps coming
back. So if it isn’t picked for a few years, then it just has rotted
away on the rocks there.

One of the concerns Helen has is that people are not picking the
seaweed routinely and systematically anymore, and she fears that the
seaweed beds and the seaweed produced is deteriorating because they
are not being tended. Another major concern of hers is the prospect of
climate change, which was manifested for her in the continuous, un­
characteristic rains they experienced through the month of May for
four consecutive years (2000-2003). This not only makes predicting
the growth of the seaweed problematic, it prevents people from har­
vesting the seaweed, since one of the important taboos people ob­
serve is not to pick seaweed when it’s raining. Helen commented:
“It’s hard to say [about whether they’ll be able to pick seaweed] be­
cause the weather has changed so much, it’s hard to say what’s hap­
pening to the natural growth of whatever.. . . We work with the tides.
Whatever we’re getting here depends on the tides, and the weather.”
Another taboo, Helen explained, is that seaweed is not picked when it
is floating in the water, but only when it is attached to the rocks, ex­
posed by the low tide. This means that people should not be “greedy”
with the seaweed. Limiting the harvest to the time of the lowest tides,
when the seaweed is exposed, is both a safety measure—the risk of
being washed away by the waves is lessened—and a conservation
measure: at least some of the seaweed plants are inevitably left
to grow and reproduce when there is such a narrow window for
harvesting.
In order to pick the seaweed safely and process it effectively, it is
necessary to have the right combination of sunny days and low tides
first thing in the morning. As noted, the seaweed can be picked only
at low tide from the rocks where it grows, and it can be picked only in
dry weather. Picking seaweed in the rain is dangerous because it be­
comes so slippery, especially on the almost vertical rock faces where
some of the best seaweed grows. In any case, seaweed picked in the
rain does not taste as good. The seaweed is piled up and packed into
large bags, then taken to special locations on sunny rocky headlands
to be laid out to dry. It is formed into squares or shapes that conform
164 EA TING AND HEALING

to the shape and pattern of the rocks and allowed to dry from about
eleven o’clock or noon to about three o’clock, when the squares are
turned over to dry on the other side, through the late afternoon sun
and into the early evening when the rocks start to cool off. Drying oc­
curs both from above and from below, since the rocks themselves are
warmed by the sun and they, in turn, help to dry the seaweed on the
bottom, while the sun dries it from above. The dried squares are
stacked up, about 25 together, and placed into cotton seaweed sheets
made by sewing together nine opened-up flour sacks into a large
sheet. The seaweed is then packed on people’s backs or taken by
speedboat to the camp at Kiel to be stored in a dry place, usually in a
special “seaweed house,” until it can be taken back to people’s homes
in Hartley Bay for further processing. Instead of the rocky bluffs,
some women have used square cedar trays for drying their seaweed.
Annetta Robinson, who is originally from Kitkatla, inherited about
100 such trays from her mother; she remembers helping her mother to
make them. She kept some of these for drying her own seaweed and
gave some of them to her cousins. Helen explained that these trays are
used in places where there are no good rocks for drying seaweed, and
are especially useful for older women who cannot easily climb
around over the rocks to dry their seaweed.
Helen’s goal is for her and her family members to pick at least
seven large (100-pound) sacks full of the seaweed during the course
of their stay at Kiel. This is the minimum amount that she and her
family process and use for their personal consumption, trading, and
gifts. When this amount is multiplied through all the Gitga’at families
(perhaps 10 or more) who harvest seaweed, at least in the past, it
translates into about 70 100-pound sacks or more, or perhaps more
than 3,000 kg of fresh seaweed.
The seaweed grows quickly. Helen gauges the rate of growth and
predicts the stage of readiness of the seaweed by watching the growth
of the stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) at Kiel; as the stalks of the
stinging nettle mature and elongate, so, too, do the seaweed fronds.
Helen explained that people could harvest two pickings of seaweed
from the same site in the same year, as it regenerates itself quickly. It
is pulled off with the fingers, and the small ends remaining attached
to the rocks will continue to grow so that, in about a month’s time, one
can return and pick the next growth'. Formerly, the Gitga’at would
pick and dry one harvest of seaweed at take it up Douglas Channel to
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed' 165

Kitamaat village to trade with the Haisla people there for oulachen
grease, a nutritious fat rendered from a small smelt that comes in
large numbers up the rivers to spawn in the spring. They also traded
their seaweed with the upriver people for soapberries, 7is, and other
valued products from the Skeena, and with the Nisga’a of the Nass
Valley for a different type of oulachen grease. They would then return
to Kiel and harvest another crop of seaweed for their own use. The
Gitga’at found this second crop preferable because it was said to be
more tender and had a finer taste, as noted by Helen:

I’ve heard . . . the women from long ago said that they would . . .
do the first picking of seaweed and then it would be a month, not
even a month, that the second growth would be ready to pick
again. And they liked to keep the second growth for themselves
because it was a finer seaweed . . . as compared to the first
growth.

Helen also noted that the second growth fronds were narrower than
the first growth. One Kitkatla man said that the Kitkatla still routinely
harvest two crops of seaweed, one at the morning low tide at the be­
ginning of May, and one at the low tides at the end of May.
Obviously, people had to be finely attuned to the tides and the cur­
rents, as well as to winds and weather conditions. Any ocean-based
activities on the north coast can be treacherous, and this is especially
so when people are harvesting from the rocks right at the tide line.
They are vulnerable to being swept away by rogue waves or caught
by unexpected storms. Helen warned that people have to always be
alert and follow the lead of the most knowledgeable ones when it co­
mes to knowing when to stop for rising tides or incoming storms.
This type of knowledge comes only with experience and careful at­
tention, and it is one of the concerns of elders that younger people no
longer understand these imperatives and may put themselves and oth­
ers in danger. In the winter of 2000 a young man was drowned, and
the reason was in part that he did not understand the power of the cur­
rents and tides or the ferocity and bitter cold of the north wind; he
tried to swim out to retrieve his boat, which had drifted away from the
beach.
Formerly, seaweed harvesting was women’s work. The men would
venture out to fish for halibut or to hunt or trap, and it was the women
who went out in groups in their canoes to get seaweed and bring it
166 EATING AND HEAUNG

home to process. Helen recalled that long ago they used to fix sails to
their canoes as well as use paddles. One of the women would steer and
guard the canoe, making sure to keep it off the rocks, while the others
picked seaweed. She would also watch the tides and weather and warn
the others if it was time to stop. Several canoe-loads of women might
cross the channel from Princess Royal Island (Lax'a’lit’aa Koo) to
Campania Island (Kagaas) together, to camp out and spend the days
picking seaweed. Children usually stayed behind at Kiel or other
camps to be cared for by older siblings or young mothers who stayed
behind. Older children might be taken along to help look after the ca­
noes or boats. The entire seaweed-picking endeavor was—and still
is—one of cooperation and teamwork. Nowadays, men also help out,
especially with running the boats and transporting the seaweed. Sea­
weed harvesting is still very much a family activity.

THE F O R E STA N D THE SEAW EED

Where does the forest come together with seaweed harvesting? In

many ways, the interconnection between forest and seaweed is epito­
mized in the large dugout canoes made of western red cedar (Thuja
plicata) that the women used to travel to and from their seaweed
grounds. It is also in the location of the seaweed camp itself: nestled
at the edge of the towering forest of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis),
western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and red cedar, with the cabins
intermingled with dense salal (Gaultheria shallon) and huckleberry
bushes (Vaccinium parvifolium), which provide additional food and
materials for the Gitga’at people. The trees provide much-needed
firewood and construction materials. Helen explained the importance
of wood for fuel, some of which is obtained as driftwood: “There’s
certain little bays and little places where all the driftwood is at___we
use a lot of wood; if you don’t have the sun, you’re using a lot of wood
to try to dry your halibut, your fish.”
All of the plants around the camp are useful for one purpose or an­
other. Although the salal in the area does not bear fruit at the time the
seaweed harvesters are there, the leaves of the salal are important for
the later seaweed-curing process. Helen always gathers dozens of
large salal leaves or has her granddaughters and the other girls staying
at the camp gather them for her. The salal leaves are also made into
decorative headbands by these same girls. In fact, over 90 species of
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed 167

plants in Gitga’at territory, most of them from the forests and their as­
sociated bogs, marshes, and riverbanks, are named by the Gitga’at
and have direct cultural significance.
Another connection between seaweed harvesting and the forest is
reflected in one of the Gitga’at taboos associated with picking sea­
weed: people were warned never to harvest cedarbark (used for cloth­
ing, basketry, mats, and even roofing) during the time that people
were picking seaweed. Harvesting and working with cedar bark is
said to cause rain, and, as already noted, one should not pick seaweed
when it is raining. Helen explained that pulling the bark from the ce­
dar tree exposes the wood and can “burn” the tree if it is then exposed
to the hot sun. Nature therefore always seems to make a protective
blanket for the newly harvested cedar tree by producing a fog, mist, or
rain, thus giving the tree time to heal itself and allowing it to continue
to live and grow. This is why it inevitably rains when people are har­
vesting cedarbark, and why these two activities are incompatible.
Tradition therefore dictates that women should wait until after the
seaweed has been harvested and dried before they go to peel cedar­
bark.

BACK HOME IN H A R TLE Y B A Y

The squares of seaweed will keep well for several weeks if they are
thoroughly dry. Once the people have returned from Kiel, in the fine,
sunny days of June, they will undertake the next phase of the seaweed
processing. Helen has two bentwood cedar boxes, one of which is
probably well over 100 years old, as indicated by the wooden pegs
that hold the joined corner ends together and the bottom onto the
sides. These are what she uses to shape and cure the seaweed. The
square shape of these boxes produces squares of seaweed of a stan­
dard, time-honored size that has long served as a form of currency in
trading: similar squares of dried soapberries and Saskatoon berries
are produced by the Gitxsan, and these squares become an equivalent
for exchange. The women moisten the sun-dried squares of dried sea­
weed, sprinkling them with salt water, then the squares are formed
and packed down into the cedar boxes in layers.
168 EATING AND HEALING

Helen explains the whole process:

You form a square something the way you form an envelope— in

a triangle. I’m making a square. And so I will put little patches
of seaweed where it’s thin, until I’ve got the thickness. I would
make it about, maybe about an inch and a half thick, this square.
And so I will put it into the box. And . . . I have dish towels and I
put it on top of that square, and then I’ll get somebody that’s got
clean feet and clean socks. And they will step on it and kick—
it’s called kicking— stepping on the seaweed, flattening it out,
and it’s gluing together by the pressure of the foot. And so,
women that really know how to stamp on the seaweed would
specifically do the corners . . . after they’re finished . . . you take
the cloth off and you put the salal leaves, face down . . . the light
side down. And on the seaweed you’d have about nine big leaves
across the square.
Then . . . you’d lay the cedarbark. . . . And you’ve got long
cedarbark [ribbon], let’s say you’ve got about a ten-foot [thin
strip] piece of cedarbark. (I’m exaggerating a little. I don’t think
it’s quite that long.) But you’d lay it diagonally along on top of
the salal leaves, and then you’d put the next cake of seaweed on.
Sometimes you have a woman that’s pretty strong; she can do
two cakes at once. And so you w ould. . . do the same thing, salal
leaves down, the diagonal cross with the bark, until you get the
box completely filled. And you would fill it overflowing. And
so you have a board that fits right on the top of that box. And so
you put the board on. You put the cloth on top of the seaweed,
put the board on and then you put big heavy rocks. And so . . . I
leave that [seaweed] in the box for three days. So, we say, there’s
an expression that it “gets its flavor.” It takes three days to ab­
sorb that . . . salt water [and] . . . to adhere together. So then
you’d smell real good seaweed.
So then it’s time to get the women that come to chop the sea­
weed. So now we use axes. We use the yew wood block. . . .
They’re sawed-off yew [Taxus brevifolia], a hard wood. They
put something around it. Sometimes they use cardboard; you
nail the cardboard around the top of the block [projecting up
about four inches high]. When they’re chopping seaweed on the
block, [then] it doesn’t fall off the block because the cardboard
outer covering keeps the seaweed in. . . . And so they put that
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed 169

chopped seaweed in big, big containers and then . . . as soon as

the sun shines, that seaweed’s going out. And so I’d take a tarp,
put a seaweed sheet on there, and sprinkle that seaweed on the
seaweed sheet again. . . .
And so you need to dry it in June. This is because of the long
daylight hours—hours of sunshine you get in June. Also, you
have to dry it in June, before the grasses really grow long. If the
grasses grow long, then they retain the dew of the evening, you
see, and so the evaporation of that dew is coming . . . and you’re
putting your seaweed close to the ground. So, because right in
the village we don’t have rocks and things there; we’re using
boardwalks, and so the top will be the rock. Because the top
would warm up the same as a rock. You’re putting your white
seaweed sheets . . . white . . . retains the heat of the su n .. . . And
so then you’re sprinkling it in a fine [layer], about half an inch,
around all over with seaweed.
So that takes all day to dry. And . .. you’re moving that sea­
weed. About every two hours .. . you’d have a flat stick, like a
yardstick. And you would move the seaweed so that it’s turning
over. It’s turning over and drying so that it all dries.. . . After the
sun starts to set, the seaweed is cooling off now, and before that
dew starts again, you gather the seaweed. You pull up the four
corners of the sheets and shake the seaweed down to the center,
and pack it inside this way, holding onto the drawn-up cor­
ners__ You have to let it cool right down, in a dry place. [Helen
puts it in her livingroom.] You open up the comers so it doesn’t
steam or sweat and it dries completely. So overnight you’ll let it
cool and . . . then you’re putting it into tight containers.. . . What
we usually do is take a certain amount out of the big contain­
ers—just enough seaweed that you’re going to eat—and put it
into a smaller sealed container; the less you expose the seaweed
to the air, the better. Because every time the air hits that sea­
weed, it changes it. Eventually the seaweed will turn a different
color. And it has a different taste. So if you keep the large con­
tainer closed, and just take out what you’re going to eat for that
meal . . . it will retain its original flavor from when it was put
into there.

Helen explained that some women place green cedar branches in­
stead of salal leaves between the seaweed layers. Women today may
170 EA TING AND HEAUNG

also use a length of twine laid diagonally across the seaweed layers
instead of a strip of cedarbark.
As in the harvesting of the seaweed, the chopping and drying pro­
cesses are undertaken with cooperation and reciprocity. Helen de­
scribed how women all through the village come to help her when it is
time to chop the seaweed:

Somebody will say, “When are you going to chop your sea­
weed?” And I have to send somebody out: “Well, granny’s go­
ing to be chopping seaweed on such and such a day.” 1 send
word throughout the community and so they drift up. Some peo­
ple have an hour or so, [but] they’ll come out. And so, they all
help each other, the women. Some of them have enough daugh­
ters or granddaughters to go and help. It works that way in every
house, [when] they’re chopping seaweed. If you’ve got an hour
to spare, two hours to spare, whatever time you have, you go and
help chop seaweed. Especially if you don’t have seaweed.
You will earn some seaweed; they’ll give you some seaweed. You
earn it.

Thus, the work of seaweed production is one that brings people—

especially women—together to socialize, to learn from one another,
and to share the products of their labors. In this way, it is a construc­
tive and healthful activity that contributes to the well-being of the
whole community.

N u tr itio n a l a n d H e a lth C o n tr ib u tio n s

Louis Druehl (2000: 155) wrote that “Nori (Porphyra) is probably

one of the healthiest foods on our planet. . . . It is rich in carbohy­
drates, proteins and vitamins.” The nutritional constituents of la ’ask
are shown in Table 6.1. Porphyras, like other marine algae, have a
high protein content, said to be 25 to 35 percent of dry weight for Jap­
anese nori (Porphyra spp.). They also contain significant quantities
of vitamins and mineral salts, especially iodine. The vitamin C con­
tent of the Japanese species is about 1.5 times that of oranges. What is
particularly significant is that up to 75 percent of the protein and car­
bohydrates, at least of the Japanese nori, are digestible by humans,
which is very high for seaweeds (Guiry, 2004b).
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed ” 171
TABLE 6.1. Nutritional constituents of red laver seaweed (Porphyra abbottae)
and dulse (Patmaria palmata); Rhodophyceae (per 100 g fresh weight).

% of
rec o m m en d e d
d aily
N u trien ts Red laver D ulse req u irem en ts

Food energy (kcal) 279 - 2,200 cal/9,204 kj

Water (g) 10 87
Protein (g) 24.4 1.8 43
Fat (g) 1.4 - 85
Carbohydrate (g) 58.0 6.1 275
Crude fiber (g) 25.2 - -
Ash (g) 16.1 3.6 -
Thiamine (mg) 0.37 0.63 .88
Riboflavin (mg) 1.79 0.51 1.1
Niacin (mg) 6.7 0.2 15.8
Vitamin C (mg) 11.6 38.0 45
Vitamin A (RE = 263 285 800
retinol equivalents)
Calcium (mg) 230 48 800
Phosphorus (mg) 474 - -
Sodium (mg) 3,300 - -
Potassium (mg) 3,140 - -
Magnesium (mg) 623 60.1 -
Copper (mg) 1.7 0.2 -
Zinc (mg) 1.7 0.8 -
Iron (mg) 10.5 - 13
Manganese (mg) 1.6 0.6 -
Molybdenum (mg) - <0.1 -
Chloride (mg) - 1,306 -

Source: After Morgan et al., 1980; Hooper, 1984; Kuhnlein and Turner, 1991,
p. 405; U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Note:The recommended daily intake is based on requirements of a girl aged 13
to 15 weighing 48 kg (Health and Welfare Canada, 1985).
172 EATING AND HEALING

We suspect—although this remains to be demonstrated empiri­

cally—that the complex process of drying, rehydrating, curing to “get
its flavor,” and redrying the seaweed, also helps to break down the
complex proteins and carbohydrates and enhances the digestibility of
the seaweed. Other peoples along the Northwest Coast also had intri­
cate procedures for curing edible seaweed, including packing them in
boxes interspersed with cedarboughs, sometimes even saturating
them with juice from chewed rock chitons or clams, presumably to
enhance the flavor and/or digestibility of the seaweed (Boas, 1921).
ha'ask is also used directly as a medicine. Johnny Clifton ex­
plained that eating seaweed will alleviate heartburn and indigestion,
just like Turns or Rolaids. It is also used as an antiseptic poultice for a
deep cut or swelling; according to Helen, it will take the swelling
right down, and will keep a cut from becoming infected.
When eaten as a component of a traditional diet, together with sea­
food such as halibut and salmon, crabs, game, berries, and wild
greens and root vegetables, there is no doubt that seaweed helps to
promote good nutrition and health. In addition, the lifestyle associ­
ated with the seaweed harvest—being physically active and working
outdoors, with safety a prime consideration—would also promote
peoples’ health and well-being. Culturally and socially, too, the fam­
ily and community closeness and cooperation, the opportunities for
learning and teaching, and the clpser understanding of history and
traditions of peoples’ heritage that comes with harvesting and using
traditional foods, promotes emotional and mental health. Environ­
mental health is also a consideration. The seaweed is harvested
sustainably, maintaining its capacity for regeneration and renewal.
Furthermore, people who are out on the lands and waters on a contin­
uous basis have the opportunity to closely observe any changes or im­
pacts that might be occurring in the environment, including changes
in populations and health of other life-forms. Ultimately, this close
monitoring can result in adaptive behavior and can enhance a
society’s resilience and capacity to maintain cultural integrity in the
face of change (Berkes and Folke, 1998).

Changes and Adaptations in Seaweed Harvesting and Use

Many changes have occurred over the years relating to the Gitga’at
seaweed harvest; some of these have already been mentioned. Fewer
 “The Forest and the Seaweed 173

people harvest the seaweed today than in the past, at least in part be­
cause the younger people have wage jobs and children have to be in
school. Thus, they cannot take an entire month to be away from the
village. Some Gitga’at people live away from Hartley Bay, in Prince
Rupert or Vancouver, and this makes Kiel even less accessible. Men
now participate in what was once entirely a women’s occupation.
Speedboats and skiffs today have replaced the cedarwood dugouts of
bygone years. Nylon onion sacks are used in preference to hemp gun-
nysacks, which had, in turn, replaced original cedarbark containers.
The gunnysacks tend to accumulate and hold water instead of allow­
ing it to drain away, thus causing the seaweed kept in sacks to sweat,
retain its heat, deteriorate, and rot more quickly. This is why mesh on­
ion bags are preferred today. Fewer of the traditional seaweed beds
are used in harvesting and, undoubtedly, less seaweed is picked than
in the past—when, according to Helen and Johnny, all the seaweed-
producing shorelines of Campania and Princess Royal islands were
cleaned off each season. Methods of processing and cooking the sea­
weed have changed as well. Nowadays, some of the seaweed is dried
in thin sheets or left in squares without chopping it; the younger peo­
ple enjoy just frying these up in lard, like potato chips, and eating
them as a snack. Few people have the chance to make halibut-head
soup and some of the other dishes that were commonly prepared and
traditionally eaten with the seaweed.
People are also concerned about environmental pollution and its
impacts on their traditional foods. Seaweeds, for example, can absorb
heavy metals (Sirota and Uthe, 1979), but the actual risks of such
contamination are little studied or understood.
Changes in the weather have resulted in attempts to adapt by freez­
ing the seaweed so that it could be dried at a later date, when the
weather improved. Helen commented:

For years you could depend on “April showers will bring May
flowers.” You need that for [predicting] the weather. World­
wide, the weather is so different now, you can’t depend on those
old sayings. You’re lucky if you get one day of sun. And if
you’re not at the right tide, even if you pick that seaweed for that
[day], you might be picking late afternoon, and you can’t dry it
on those rocks. Some of our people have tried to experiment
right now, and tried to put some into the deepfreeze to see [how
it does]. And yet, some of our older people will taste it, and
174 EATING AND HEALING

there’s a difference. There’s a difference to that seaweed that has

been frozen. And so they will taste it. Even though we try to save
i t . . . they’ll try many ways because we haven’t had the sun that
we used to depend so much on.

Helen and Johnny and other Gitga’at elders are concerned that the
younger people cannot easily participate in seaweed picking. In part
this is also due to the uncertainties of the weather:

And so our young people that can help us—because they’re

working, they come down here on weekends—and so they get
stuck because they’re weatherbound.3 They can’t make it down
here; they can’t help us. They get the wood, they get the water,
they do many things for us. We need their help, us elders that
live here.

The elders are looked after in other ways, too. Helen noted that
there are special seaweed-picking places that are reserved especially
for the older women, who are not as nimble and cannot leap from
rock to rock or climb down steep rock faces to seek out the best sea­
weed. The flatter, more even places where the seaweed grows, there­
fore, are kept for the elders.
Helen also recognizes that the young people are missing out on
much of the traditional education that they would have received in the
past during stays at Kiel and other places on the land and waters in
Gitga’at territory. Because they are not able to experience the effects
of tides, currents, and weather first-hand, or how to harvest and pro­
cess their traditional foods, they may not be able to carry on these tra­
ditions or pass them on to the next generations.
The seaweed, too, is affected by the weather. Helen explains:

Sometimes ... there’s a difference of seaweed. With the weather

conditions that we’ve had now— we’re having hail, we’re hav­
ing snow— and if the seaweed is just starting to grow on the
rocks . . . they’re just like any plant: if they’ve been hit by frost
and it’s real cold— we did have some really cold north wind in
April, it was beautiful weather once the sun came out, but really
frosty, icy conditions. So we could tell, all the seaweed, if there
was snow, the tide was down, a big snowstorm came in, or hit by
hail... we’d have to break the ends off of the seaweed there. The
 “ The Forest and the Seaweed.' 175

seaweed is a beautiful greenish color, and the ends will all start
to have curly heads .. . seaweed is smooth, when you feel it. You
get to the curly parts [at the ends of the seaweed], they’re rotten,
they’re tough, they’re kinky. That seaweed is not good. You
learn that with experience.

CONCLUSION

Times are certainly changing, and the Gitga’at, like people of other
coastal communities, have had to face the changes and adapt to them.
Cultural traditions such as harvesting and eating k t’ask are at risk of
being lost if a certain threshold of practice and passing on the associ­
ated knowledge is not reached. Helen has thought a great deal about
these changes, and worries about the future of the young people in her
community and about the environmental changes as well:

I just wonder if [the old people] were alive what they’d say
about this weather that we’re having now, what they would have
to say. They would say somebody did something. . . . [That’s]
why the weather is the way it is. And of course, we know who
that is! But those are some of the things that happened here,
that’s changed over time. It’s the Mickey Mouse [CB Radio],
VHS, and TV. Yes, you see kids today, you would find a rare kid
that would know whose speedboat that is coming, whose boat
that is!

In many ways it is the small details of cultural and environmental

knowledge that are the most important, and they are most in danger of
slipping away in the societywide rush toward globalization and cul­
tural homogenization. If the details of how to harvest and how to cure
seaweed pass out of peoples’ knowledge and experience, more than
just one food source would disappear. The Gitga’at, and all humanity,
would be poorer for this loss. It is thanks to people like the Gitga’at
elders, who work hard to keep their cultural traditions alive, that sea­
weed and other traditional foods are likely to be harvested and
enjoyed far into the future.
176 EATING AND HEALING

NOTES
1. Other food people have traditionally gathered from Kiel includes halibut, red
snapper, seagull eggs, small and large chitons (China slippers), abalone, and giant
mussels (“all the seafood you could get”). However, according to Helen Clifton, the
latter were harvested only after the seaweed had been picked and dried; harvesting
the mussels is said to cause rain.
2. The life cycle of Porphyra is described in full by Michael D. Guiry, phycolo-
gist; Web site: http://seaweed.ucg.ie/cultivation.html, from Nelson and colleagues
(1999). The haploid plants grow from spores that were produced from the diploid
phase through meiosis. The diploid phase, called the Conchocelis phase, was dis­
covered only in 1949 by the British phycologist K. M. Drew-Baker. Before this
time, it was not recognized that it was the same plant as the membranous haploid
form. The Conchocelis-phase organisms produce two types of spores from the ends
of their branchlets. Under some conditions, they produce diploid spores, which will
grow into other individuals. However, under other, specific conditions of light quan­
tity, light quality, daylength, and temperature (the permissive conditions differ be­
tween species and sometimes between strains of a species), the filaments form swol­
len branches (called “conchosporangia”), in which the cells, still diploid, develop
into branches which protrude from the substrate and eventually release their con­
tents as individual wall-less cells called “conchospores.” It is these cells that eventu­
ally undergo meiosis— which is a complex process, with secretion of cell walls and
splitting of the chromosome pairs. There are usually four haploid cells surviving.
Hence, the blades, unlike the plants they are derived from, are haploid. The haploid
plants, again under specific conditions of light quality and quantity, daylength and
temperature, will eventually produce gametes. Male gametes (called “spermatia”)
are produced in packets at the blade margins and are released by disintegration of
the margin. The female gametes, or “carpogonia,” are produced back from the mar­
gin. Each carpogonium develops a special receptive surface, to which spermatia at­
tach, allowing fertilization to occur. The fertilized cell, the zygote, now diploid
(with a double complement of chromosomes) divides to form a structure called a
“carposporangium,” which releases diploid spores, or “carpospores,” as the blade
margin disintegrates. The carpospores germinate to form new diploid Conchocelis-
phase filaments which germinate on, and frequently penetrate, a shell substrate. Al­
though the calcium carbonate is not absolutely required for their growth, apparently,
it is only within this substrate that the filaments can survive in nature without being
browsed by herbivorous snails and other marine grazers.
3. Note: On our way down to Kiel with Marven Robinson in May 2001, we had to
go to the outside of Campania Island because the waves and currents were too strong
on the inside of the island. Marven kept in close radio contact with Johnny, who ad­
vised him how the weather was at Kiel.

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nations on the Pacific Coast of Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany 81 (2): 283-
293.
Turner, N.J., M.B. Ignace, and R. Ignace (2000). Traditional ecological knowledge
and wisdom of Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia. Ecological Applications
10(5): 1275-1287.
Turner, N.J., J. Thomas, B.F. Carlson, and R.T. Ogilvie (1983). Ethnobotany of the
Nitinaht Indians of Vancouver Island. British Columbia Provincial Museum Oc­
casional Paper No. 24. Victoria: British Columbia Provincial Museum.
Williams, M.D. (1979). The harvesting of “slukus” (Porphyra perforata) by the
Straits Salish Indians of Vancouver Island. Syesis 12: 63-68.
 Chapter 7

Medicinal Herb Quality

in the United States:
Bridging Perspectives
with Chinese Medical Theory
Craig A. Hassel
Christopher A. Hafner
Renne Soberg
Jeff Adelmann

CONTEXT FROM A BIOMEDICAL PERSPECTIVE

In the United States, medicinal herbs are categorized and regulated

as botanical dietary supplements according to the Dietary Supple­
ment and Health Education Act (DSHEA, 1994). The intent of this
legislation was to make more nutritional and botanical supplement al­
ternatives available to Americans, in order to improve public health
and reduce future health care costs (DSHEA, 1994; Nesheim, 1999).
Recently, use of botanical and dietary supplements by the American
public has risen by an estimated 380 percent (Eisenberg et al., 1998),
to sales exceeding $600 million (Brevoort, 1998). Yet under DSHEA
legislation, the quality of plant medicines is ill defined and little guid­
ance is available to growers, processors, distributors, health care pro­
viders, or consumers specifically interested in understanding, main-

This work was supported through funding from the following sources: USD A Agri­
cultural Experiment Station Project MIN-54-059; University of Minnesota Extension
Service; The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA); the Agriculture
Utilization Research Institute (AURI); and the Organic Farmers Research Foundation
(OFRF).

179
180 EATING AND HEALING

taining, or improving the quality of medicinal herbs as tools to

improve health (Matthews et al., 1999).
Increasing consumer demand and regulatory ambiguities have led
to greater attention toward product quality, understood here as en­
compassing aspects of both safety and expected health benefits (effi­
cacy). Observers within biomedical science have mapped a broad
spectrum of scientific challenges facing the botanical supplement in­
dustry “from seed to shelf’ (Cardellina, 2002; Costello and Coates,
2001). Growing conditions such as local soil and climate, herbivores,
weeds, plant pathogens, time of harvest, and drying/storage condi­
tions are needed research areas that might constitute “good agricul­
tural practices” (GAPs) (Cardellina, 2002). GAP guidelines could
address adulteration, contamination, and counterfeiting issues asso­
ciated with supply of high-quality “raw” or “bulk” herbs, and would
require specific research devoted to each herb grown for medicinal
purposes. Some 2,048 individual medicinal herbs are delineated in
the new reference proposed for use by U.S. regulators (McGuffm et
al., 2000). Finding the means to conduct the research needed for
creating GAP guidelines for each herb of commerce is unlikely, but
presently possible.
A greater obstacle for biomedical scientists is the challenge of de­
termining with assurance that the final product will deliver the maxi­
mum health benefits possible to consumers and clinicians. The pre­
vailing approach to medicinal herb quality involves reducing the
physiologic effects of an herb to putative active/marker molecular
constituents and attempting to create “standardization” with respect
to the concentration of the identified constituents (Calixto, 2000;
Harkey et al., 2001; He, 2000; Newall et al., 1996; Yan, 1999). In
most cases, the bioactive constituents of any given herb are not
known with certainty (Cardellina, 2002). This is in part due to the
chemical complexity of any naturally occurring plant or food. No me­
dicinal herb to date has been completely characterized with respect to
precise chemical composition (Cardellina, 2002). State-of-the-art
chemical analyses yield a “fingerprint,” or profile of molecular com­
position, but without positive identification of the individual constitu­
ents (Harkey et al., 2001). Thus, scientists may capably differentiate
products with respect to chemical profile or pattern, yet in many cases
lack the means to confirm the identity of the compounds involved
(He, 2000; Yan, 1999). Associating pharmacological effects with
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States 181

specific chemical components is further complicated by the likeli­

hood of interactions among several or many bioactive compounds
within the plant material (Chang, 1999). Our best understandings
suggest the therapeutic benefits associated with medicinal herbs in
many cases come from a complex array of different compound
classes within the plant (Lee, 2000; Yan, 1999). Thus, no simple or
direct chemical assay or analysis exists that can be used with cer­
tainty to predict the “quality” of medicinal herbs with respect to user
efficacy or clinical outcome (Cardellina, 2002).
This represents a significant problem because biomedical profes­
sionals rely on standards for product quality based upon chemical
analysis and pharmacological response (Calixto, 2000; Harkey et al.,
2001; Lee, 2000; NCCAM, 2000; Yan et al., 1999). Lacking such ba­
sic scientific understandings, current industry quality control mea­
sures (good manufacturing processes, GMPs) resort to chemical
analysis of identifiable “marker” compounds in an attempt to provide
final products with greater homogeneity and product uniformity
(Cardellina, 2002; Costello and Coates, 2001). Uniformity and con­
sistency with respect to “marker compounds” are relevant to product
identity (does the product contain what the label states?) and to some
extent safety, but are not necessarily related to maximizing clinical
benefits. In this sense, biomedical efforts to standardize botanical
products are concerned with minimizing fraud and possibly adverse
effects, but should not be construed with a process of ensuring the
best health outcome for patients taking these products.
The pharmacological approach to medicinal herbs has proven use­
ful for creating single-component pharmaceuticals derived from
plants, but medicinal herbs themselves are complex systems contain­
ing many hundreds of chemical constituents that may act in sym­
phony to produce cumulative physiologic effects (Lee, 2000; Yan,
1999). Efforts to chemically fingerprint each botanical can yield dif­
ferent chemical profiles depending upon where the plant is grown,
when it is harvested, how it is processed, and how it is stored (Harkey,
2001; Cardellina, 2002). Significant costs are associated with
compositional analysis, and interpreting the pharmacological signifi­
cance of different fingerprints is ambiguous at best (Harkey, 2001;
Chang, 1999). Conclusive understandings of bioactive “cause-and-
effect” pharmacology for dose/response and clinical efficacy com­
parisons requires expensive randomized controlled trial (RCT) de­
182 EA TING AND HEALING

sign. The cost for one well-executed RCT can range from under $1
million to many millions, depending upon the size and duration of the
protocol. RCT costs are a significant part of the escalating costs asso­
ciated with pharmaceutical products (patent protection is used to re­
cover these formidable investments). Medicinal herbs lie beyond pat­
ent protection, so it is unrealistic to expect such costs to be recovered
from the marketplace. Cardellina (2002) suggests that if simple, cost-
effective bioassays could be established and linked to performance in
RCTs, the challenge of defining standards of quality from a biomedi­
cal perspective become more viable. Given the magnitude of the chal­
lenges, one might question whether developing scientifically sound
and reliable bioassays can be accomplished without adding signifi­
cant cost to final products. DSHEA legislation was enacted to provide
consumers with alternatives to reduce health care costs (DSHEA,
1994; Nesheim, 1999), not to raise them further. However, perhaps it
may be possible to create cost-effective bioassays by looking at other,
well-established knowledge systems already in place.

CONTEXT FROM A CHINESE

MEDICAL THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Biomedical-based standards of medicinal herb quality offers Chi­

nese medicine (CM) practitioners little help with quality assurance
on one hand and a series of significant obstacles to providing patients
with the best possible health outcomes on the other (Chevallier, 1996;
Chiu, 1997; Hassel et al., 2002; Yang, 2002). Aside from the chal­
lenges previously posed, practitioners of CM use different language,
systems of logic, and criteria for understanding health and diagnosing
illness (Chevallier, 1996; Leslie and Young, 1992). The fundamental
ideas upon which Chinese medical theory rests do not fit well within
a biomedical model and are often discounted or ignored (Leslie and
Young, 1992). Consequently, ideas of medicinal herb quality as un­
derstood and used within CM (Bensky and Gamble, 1993; Chiu,
1997; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang, 2002) are not well recognized by estab­
lished biomedical scientific and regulatory organizations. Yet CM
practitioners face the prospect of mounting restrictions, increased
costs, and continued disregard by U.S. regulations oriented exclu­
sively toward biomedical understandings (Hassel et al., 2002).
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States 183

O v e r v ie w o f C h in e s e M e d ic a l T h e o ry

In order to offer the reader a fuller appreciation of these dilemmas,

we introduce a few fundamental concepts of CM considered general
knowledge among its students, practitioners, and scholars. This over­
view, written by Christopher Hafner, is largely excerpted from a prior
work (with kind permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers) and
serves to illustrate how the CM system of knowledge can serve as an
independent foundation for determining and guiding appropriate,
safe, and effective use of medicinal herbs (Hassel et al., 2002).
CM has existed for over 2,500 years (Kaptchuk, 2000; Maciocia,
1989) and is one of many societal systems of ancient medical practice
devoted to understanding and diagnosing illness and using plants to
restore and maintain health (Balick and Cox, 1997; Chevallier, 1996).
The theory of yin and yang is integral to CM and defines its most fun­
damental principle (Kaptchuk, 2000; Maciocia, 1989). Yin/yang the­
ory addresses the dual nature of perceivable reality. Based upon a
principle of relativity, the theory explains the interaction between op­
posite forces and qualities that make up the known universe. Yin and
yang are interdependent—each defines the other. Originally, the Chi­
nese characters for yin and yang depicted the interplay of sunlight
and shadow upon a hillside. Yin represents the side of the hill that is
cast in shadow while yang represents the side of the hill that is bathed
in light. By extension, yin represents all that is relatively dark, cool,
moist, receding, passive, quiet, heavy, and descending, while yang
represents all that is relatively bright, warm, dry, advancing, active,
restless, light, and ascending. Yin is potential, yang is kinetic. Yin is
form, and yang is function.
Inherent in the relationship between yin and yang is the potential
for both harmony and disharmony (Kaptchuk, 2000; Maciocia,
1989). When harmony exists between yin and yang, an appropriate
balance between the opposite forces and qualities at play (whether it
is an ecosystem, a community or society of human beings, or the
anatomy and physiology of an individual human being), there is
peace, contentment, health, and sustainability. When disharmony ex­
ists between yin and yang, then there is conflict and discord, illness,
disease, suffering, and disintegration.
CM applies this understanding of the dynamics of yin and yang to
human health and wellness. Specifically, Chinese medical practice
184 EATING AND HEALING

guides the careful cultivation and preservation of harmony between

yin and yang (and thus safeguard health, prevent disease, and pro­
mote well-being), and seeks to treat the illnesses and suffering that
are created from identified disharmonies. Disharmonies between yin
and yang occur in four ways: yin excess, yin deficient, yang excess,
and yang deficient. These patterns of disharmony frequently occur in
combination and can engender subsequent patterns of disharmony
that can increase exponentially, giving rise to all the different disease
states known to humans. In all cases, the general treatment strategy
for resolving disharmony between yin and yang is to remove that
which is in excess and to supplement that which is deficient.
Based on the fundamental theory of yin and yang, there are two
general categories of CM (Kaptchuk, 2000; Maciocia, 1989). The
first category includes everything dedicated to understanding, diag­
nosing, and developing strategies to resolve patterns of disharmony.
The second category includes that body of knowledge dedicated to
identifying, understanding, and classifying qualities and forces in na­
ture in terms of yin and yang, and the effects these qualities and forces
have upon the relationship between yin and yang in human beings.
Combining the knowledge gained in these two categories provides
the practitioner of CM with the rationale and information necessary
to manipulate the forces in nature and thereby promote good health
and prevent or treat illness through harmonization of yin and yang in
the patient (Maciocia, 1989).
CM does not rely upon the chemical composition of food or herbs
as a basis for understanding medicinal efficacy, safety, or quality. In
Chinese dietary and herbal therapies the yin/yang qualities that are
inherent in foods and medicinal herbs are identified and classified
through the sensory attributes that naturally occur in these sub­
stances. These sensory attributes are called “property” and “flavor”
(Bensky and Gamble, 1993; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang, 2002). Property
(.sixing, literally “four natures”) refers to the attribute of a food or me­
dicinal substance that, once ingested or applied externally, is experi­
enced by the individual as one of the “four natures”: cold, cool, warm,
or hot. This effect is on the subjective experience of an individual's
body temperature and is independent of (but not necessarily exclusive
of) the objective assessment of body temperature by outside means,
such as by palpating the skin or by a thermometer reading. Foods or
medicinal substances are referred to as being “cooling” or “warming”
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States 185

or as having a “cold,” “cool,” “warm,” or “hot” property (Bensky and

Gamble, 1993; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang, 2002). Mint, for example,
is said to be cooling, as is watermelon, cucumber, and tofu. Ginger is
said to be warming, as is cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and lamb. The
property of a food or medicinal substance is assessed independently
of the temperature at which that food or substance is consumed or ap­
plied, although various methods of cooking and preparation can oc­
casionally be used to augment or mitigate a property.
Flavor (wei) refers to the sensory attribute that occurs with the sen­
sation of “taste” when a substance is placed in the mouth (Bensky and
Gamble, 1993; Chiu, 1997; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang, 2002). CM identi­
fies five primary flavors: sweet, pungent, salty, sour, and bitter. Ac­
cording to Chinese medical theory, flavor is considered to be a mani­
festation of the Qi that is inherent in a substance. Qi is usually
translated as “energy” or “vital energy,” although there is no one
word in English that adequately captures the full meaning of the word
as it is used in Chinese, and particularly as it is used in CM. Qi is the
manifestation of the interaction of yin and yang and therefore refers
simultaneously to both form and function and to both potential and
kinetic energies. Different flavors embody different qualities of Qi
and manifest the particular interactions of yin and yang.
Each flavor, as a manifestation of Qi, has a unique effect on the Qi
of a human being (Bensky and Gamble, 1993; Hsu et al., 1986). The
sweet flavor is said to engender Qi and nourish fluids in the body, pro­
mote structure and form in the body, strengthen and protect the diges­
tion, relieve pain, and harmonize the effects of the other flavors. The
pungent flavor disperses Qi in the body, promotes movement and
function, and can have a drying effect. The salty flavor softens hard­
ness and purges accumulations of Qi. The sour flavor consolidates,
gathers, and binds Qi in the body and stabilizes secretions and dis­
charges. The bitter flavor clears heat from the body and dries damp­
ness.
The sensory attributes of property and flavor inherent in a particu­
lar food or medicinal substance can be used to create an energetic
profile of that substance (Bensky and Gamble, 1993, Hsu et al.,
1986). This energetic profile can then be used by the CM practitioner
to guide the appropriate use of that food or substance to safely and ef­
fectively manipulate Qi and promote harmony between yin and yang
186 EATING AND HEALING

in a patient (Bensky and Gamble, 1993; Chiu, 1997; Hsu etal., 1986;
Yang, 2002).
For example, a patient suffering from an excess of cold with acute
symptoms of strong chills and body aches but an absence of thirst or
sweating (symptoms of excess heat) might be advised to consume
substances that have a pungent flavor (to disperse the excess) and a
warming property (to counter the effect of cold). A strong broth made
from ginger, scallions, and cayenne pepper, all of which are consid­
ered to be both pungent and warming, would remove the excess of yin
responsible for the disharmony and subsequently help the patient to
feel better. A patient suffering from a deficiency of warmth with
chronic symptoms of chilliness, weakness, and fatigue, may be ad­
vised to consume substances that are classified as sweet (to engender
Qi, and therefore tonifying to the body) and warming (again, to coun­
ter the chilliness). A diet that regularly included chicken, lamb, trout,
and venison (all of which are considered in CM to be sweet and
warming) perhaps cooked with ginger, garlic, and onions (for their
warming property), would be warming and tonifying and would sup­
plement the deficiency of yang that is responsible for the disharmony
in this situation. Gradually, the patient would feel stronger and less
chronically chilly.

Q u a lity D is c r im in a tio n U s in g C M

In this way, CM offers a system that recognizes and discriminates

characteristics of all food and medicinal substances in terms of sen­
sory attributes. Some 5,700 different plant-, mineral-, and animal-
derived substances are used medically and characterized and catego­
rized according to “property” and “flavor” attributes within the
Zhong Yao Da Ci Dian (Encyclopedia of traditional Chinese medici­
nal substances), representing classification during the past 2,500
years (Bensky and Gamble, 1993; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang, 2002). As
with biomedicine, CM recognizes that altering soil, growing, harvest,
processing, and storage conditions can change the qualities of any
given food or herb. Unlike biomedicine, CM recognizes physiologic
manifestations of medicinal herb qualities that are subjectively expe­
rienced by the senses. Discriminating CM practitioners and pharma­
cists can independently assess qualify of medicinal herbs through
careful assessment of sensory qualities by recognizing the “property”
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United Stales 187

and “flavor” attributes found in the plant material (Bensky and Gam­
ble, 1993; Yang, 2002). This process is akin to recognizing the qual­
ity of a fine meal by discrimination of sensory qualities associated
with each food. Indeed, CM does not make distinctions between food
and medicinal herbs in terms of quality assessment. CM thus offers
an alternative system through which to understand, determine, and
guide appropriate use of medicinal herbs for treating patterns of
disharmony and to restore and maintain health.
CM practitioners have expressed frustration over the lack of seri­
ous attention by most biomedical research to medicinal herb quality
as understood by CM or other knowledge systems (Hassel, 2002).
Biomedical approaches may improve product uniformity, but could
represent a lateral or even backward step in terms of end-use efficacy,
as the standardization process does not take into account the charac­
teristics of medicinal herbs as understood by CM (Cheviallier, 1996;
Hassel et al., 2002). Regulations to ensure public safety offer another
case in point. In a clinical study in Europe of a weight-loss product
comprised of Chinese herbs, a number of patients developed severe
nephrotoxicity after Aristolochia fangchi had been inappropriately
substituted for the expected Stephania tetranda (Vanherweghem,
1999). This unfortunate mistake was probably the result of confusion
with Chinese names for the two plants (Guangfang ji and Han fang
ji, respectively) by clinicians lacking sufficient training in CM. The
subsequent adverse effects were linked to aristolochic acid, a constit­
uent of Aristolochia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
responded by issuing warnings and a recall of all supplements con­
taining aristolochic acid. The FDA recall was very broad, including
approximately 600 species of plants, many of which contain little or
no detectable aristolochic acid (Cardellina, 2002). The broad recall
includes many plants that have been safely and effectively used in
CM for millenia, compromising the practice of knowledgeable CM
practitioners and the health benefits of patients across the United
States. The FDA cannot be faulted for acting quickly to protect public
safety, but overattachment to a pharmaceutical approach, combined
with underappreciation for the coherence of CM as a knowledge base
for determining appropriate use, has led to a regulatory response that
further erodes the practice of CM. Regulator focus on chemical iden­
tification and pharmacology as the exclusive means to determine ap­
propriate use of medicinal herbs furthers disregard for the fundamen­
188 EATING AND HEALING

tal principles and logical coherence of CM. If biomedical models

continue to form the exclusive basis for regulation, medicinal herbs
available to practitioners would likely become unavailable or more
expensive while quality, as understood from a CM perspective, could
actually decrease.

DILEMMA OF “IN TEG RATIN G ”

TWO D IVERG ENT EPISTEMOLOGIES

Historically, CM represents a heterogeneous array of ideas and

practices developed over the past 3,000 years (Unschuld, 1985). Over
the past century, CM has been exposed to increasing influence from
outside forces, such as Marxism and Western science (Unschuld,
1992). Given the advancement and hegemony of biomedical science,
many indigenous medical systems, including CM, have suffered dis­
integration and dismantling of their philosophical underpinnings
(Aldrete, 1996; Fruehauf, 1999; Semali and Kincheloe, 1999; Smith,
1999). This disintegration is a result of biomedical inquiry into the
tools of practice employed by the systems under investigation (Frue­
hauf, 1999; Leslie and Young, 1992).
From a biomedical perspective, CM presents itself as a series of
potentially useful and exploitable technologies (tangible artifacts or
practices such as medicinal herbs or acupuncture), each to be evalu­
ated through well-conducted RCT methodology. The purpose of such
inspection is to expand the realm of biomedical practice by including
specific herbs or practices proven efficacious or safe through con­
trolled scientific experiment (or as illustrated in the case described
earlier, to exclude by regulation specific herbs proclaimed as unsafe).
Left behind are the underlying theories and epistemologies (such as
Qi and yin/yang theory) that do not fit with the biomedical model
(Fruehauf, 1999; Leslie and Young, 1992). From the perspective of
CM practitioners, the safety and efficacy of CM lie not only with the
toolbox of specific herbs or practices used but also with underlying
concepts that determine and govern their appropriate use (Unschuld,
1987). However, to biomedical researchers, these ideas are dis­
counted, dismissed, or ignored (Leslie and Young, 1992). Biomedical
inspection of the herbs and procedures of CM propagates expansion
and globalization of the biomedical paradigm at the expense of the
underlying integrity of the CM perspective (Fruehauf, 1999). Signifi­
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States 189

cant concerns have been raised about the viability of the fundamental
essence of CM in the face of ongoing attempts to “integrate” diversity
through biomedical expansion (Farquhar, 1987; Fruehauf, 1999;
Scheid, 1999). The outcome of such “integration” is unclear, but
could result in further disintegration or destruction of CM as an inde­
pendent medical tradition (Scheid, 1999).

F O U N D IN G A M E D IC IN A L H E R B N E T W O R K

Against this background context, the Medicinal Herb Network was

formed several years ago to establish a marketing, communication,
and programmatic relationship between health care practitioners
seeking quality medicinal herb products and farmers looking for op­
portunities to diversify operations and increase profitability (Hassel
et al., 2002). The purpose of the network was to bring together exper­
tise among medicinal herb growers and health care practitioners in
the upper midwestem United States to explore opportunities in the
production, processing, marketing, and use of botanicals. An exten­
sive Web search for similar endeavors begun elsewhere revealed sev­
eral organizations comprised of either medicinal herb growers or
herbalist health care practitioners, but none that deliberately included
both within the same network. A participatory, community-based ac­
tion research approach (Greenwood and Levin, 1998) was employed
where participants defined issues and research questions, developed
agendas, and conducted research based upon areas of opportunity
identified by ongoing discussion.
Network members quickly came to the understanding that discon­
nections between medicinal herb producers and end-user practitioners
kept both groups from realizing the significant benefits and opportuni­
ties that might exist for domestically grown herbal medicines. Local
herb growers expressed their readiness to grow a variety of medicinal
herbs, but had concerns related to profitability and sustainability. Price
volatility observed over the course of the growing season heightened a
sense of uncertainty of the demand and potential for profit generated
by their products. They reported receiving mixed messages from dis­
tributors concerning future prices for given herbs and premium pricing
for “higher quality” products. They indicated poor definition, under­
standing, and communication regarding the concept of “high quality”
190 EATING AND HEALING

within the marketplace. When growers engaged in contract negotia­

tions, processors/distributors were often unclear about the desired
qualities of the medicinal herbs to be produced.
CM practitioners indicated that they relied significantly upon
products imported from Asia, South America, and Europe, but were
suspicious of dubious quality, including concerns of contamination
and/or adulteration. Because of DSHEA regulations and poor over­
sight of imported products, they had no way of certifying authenticity
or the conditions under which the product was produced or pro­
cessed. Practitioners suggested that locally grown herbs produced
with specific attention to generating a high-quality product would
provide added value to their practice. As one practitioner indicated,
“my diagnosis can be flawless, yet if the herbs I prescribe are of sub­
standard quality, the patient will not see the best results” (Hassel et
al„ 2002).

N e tw o r k I n itia tiv e s

Practitioners expressed confidence that higher quality medicinal

herbs would translate into better health care for patients. The network
produced a survey that was distributed to CM practitioners in the up­
per Midwest to gather data on specific medicinal herb product use
and sought insights regarding quality concerns with available prod­
ucts (Cooperative Development Services, 2000). The survey was part
of a larger, broad-based market research study of medicinal herbs
conducted by the Minnesota Grown Opportunities (MGO) Project.
Practitioners stated their willingness to pay a premium price for as­
surance of quality as recognized within the system of CM practice
(Cooperative Development Services, 2000).
Another initiative resulted in the development of the Organic Herb
Producers Cooperative to focus specifically on producing and mar­
keting high-quality medicinal herbs. The cooperative brings together
organic herb growers with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise
throughout the upper Midwest to deal with issues regarding growing;
harvesting; postharvest processing, including dry-cut/sift and essen­
tia] oil production; and marketing. Some 80 different medicinal herbs
used in CM were propogated and field tested by Cooperative mem­
bers. Growers are especially interested in a means to assess quality
throughout the production and processing cycle without having to
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States 191

rely upon the time and expense associated with chemical analysis
procedures.
A third activity directly addresses the issues of medicinal quality
described previously. Indications from the practitioner survey sug­
gest standards of quality would enhance market opportunities for do­
mestic growers by making their products more attractive to CM prac­
titioners. A product certified under a system that could verify
growing, harvest, processing, and storage conditions would give pro­
ducers a market advantage by providing practitioners with medicinal
herbs assured to meet certain criteria for quality. Quality benchmarks
would include certification of organic production, botanical authen­
ticity, and postharvest processing methods and practice. Most impor­
tant, quality recommendations would include a means of assessment
that would employ the fundamental principles of CM as a basis for
clinical efficacy and safety.

Q u a lity A s D e te r m in e d U s in g C M

Practitioners suggested that quality assessment using CM princi­

ples already in place may offer an alternative perspective to chemical
analysis and standardization efforts that predominate in the pharma­
ceutical industry (Bensky and Gamble, 1993; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang,
2002). As described previously, CM recognizes and discriminates
characteristics of medicinal herbs—and indeed categorizes them—in
terms of their property (si xing) and flavor (wei) attributes as accessed
by the senses. CM practitioners with expertise in classical principles
of CM have the capacity to evaluate the quality and potential for clini­
cal efficacy of a given herb by its smell and/or taste characteristics
(Chiu, 1997; Hsu et al., 1986; Yang, 2002). The Medicinal Herb Net­
work has developed a project to take advantage of both CM knowl­
edge and descriptive sensory analysis, a subdiscipline within food
science where panelists are trained to detect specific sensory charac­
teristics (“attributes” or “notes”) present in food (Gacula, 1997).
This project includes the expertise of CM practitioners with expe­
rience in the evaluation of medicinal herbs and graduate food scien­
tists trained in the procedures of descriptive sensory analysis. Its pur­
pose is to establish a means of communicating the concepts of quality
as understood by CM practitioners using a vocabulary of terms devel­
oped by descriptive sensory analysis procedures. A given herb is se­
192 EATING AND HEALING

lected for analysis and a wide variety of samples (both imported and
domestic) are procured from the marketplace. Expert CM practitio­
ners are then asked to evaluate the overall quality of the herb samples
with regard to their si xing and wei characteristics and to offer a cur­
sory description of its taste/smell characteristics. The graduate-food-
scientist panelists are then employed to more fully elucidate and
identify the sensory attributes or “notes” inherent within the spectrum
of samples for a given species of medicinal herb. Once the attributes
are discriminated, identified, described, and labeled, intensity scores
for each attribute in each sample can be assessed. In this way, differ­
ent sources of the same herb species can be compared and evaluated
with respect to the presence and intensity of sensory attributes. The
assessment of quality by CM practitioners can then be correlated with
the presence and intensity of attributes as determined by the panelists
using descriptive sensory analysis. By evaluating several different
species of medicinal herbs, a dictionary of attributes could be com­
piled that might be used to convey information about medicinal herb
characteristics and qualities. CM practitioners envision that as more
species are analyzed the redundancy of attributes would increase, so
that a fairly complete dictionary of attributes could be derived from
several species of medicinal herbs. Such a dictionary of attributes
would form a lexicon (vocabulary) that could be used to communi­
cate a sense of quality, as understood from the CM knowledge sys­
tem, to others less familiar with CM. The lexicon would not replace
chemical analysis, but could offer a different and perhaps more cost-
effective means to perceive and distinguish medicinal herb quality,
using the lens of CM theory. Once learned by medicinal herb grow­
ers, processors, health care practitioners, and other professionals, the
lexicon could be used to create a common understanding of quality
that would not depend solely upon more expensive and exhaustive
chemical analysis methodologies. In addition, growers could poten­
tially use sensory assessment as a means to add value to their prod­
ucts, making them more attractive to CM practitioners seeking qual­
ity products.
The Medicinal Herb Network has begun working on a pilot study
to test the feasibility of these ideas, using a cross-section of eight to
ten samples of two different herbs (of both imported and locally
grown origin) of varying quality. Briefly, a critical mass of local and
knowledgeable CM practitioners was assembled to offer an initial
 Medicinal Herb Quality in the United States 193

quality assessment of each herb sample. Practitioners were asked to

judge overall quality for clinical use and then to briefly describe sen­
sory characteristics for each sample. Descriptive analysis sensory
panels were organized using graduate students trained at the Sensory
Center in the Department of Food Science & Nutrition at the Univer­
sity of Minnesota. Student panelists were trained using individual
descriptor-element reference “attribute” standards, deciphered from
the herb samples. During these sessions, students developed their
ability to discern and rate the intensity of the individual attributes for
a given sample. Based upon the practice sessions, students were able
to discern some thirty individual notes or descriptor characteristics
found among all herb samples. Intensity scores for each attribute
were aggregated into mean data for each individual herb sample. At­
tributes rated by students in samples are statistically correlated with
medicinal herb quality as assessed by qualified practitioners. Thus,
establishment of a lexicon of quality attributes based upon descriptive
sensory analysis appears feasible. Additional studies and analysis of
several other medicinal herb species will yield a lexicon that could be
incorporated into clinical trials that include the CM system of diagno­
sis and treatment as part of the randomization protocol. If successful
in such trials, a lexicon could potentially offer medicinal herb
growers a means through which to target growing and processing
protocols, thereby adding value and quality to locally grown products
sought by practitioners of CM,

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 Chapter 8

Balancing the System:

Humoral Medicine and Food
in the Commonwealth of Dominica
Marsha B. Quinlan
Robert J. Quinlan

IN T R O D U C T IO N

People in many societies—Western cultures included—believe

that a well-balanced lifestyle yields a healthy mind and body. People
strive for a “balanced” diet and some harmony between work and
play, sitting and exercise, and so forth. Humoral medicine is a similar
concept, in which wellness is maintained or restored by balancing op­
posite forces (or humors) such as heat and cold or dryness and wet­
ness. In the Commonwealth of Dominica, villagers assert that much
illness is the result of hot or cold humors that enter a person’s body
and disrupt the balance of his or her “system.” Disruptive humoral
forces may enter a person’s body in a number of ways. For example, a
wound might allow a hot or cold element to contaminate a person, the
body might become deeply chilled in cool weather, or a person might
become overheated by hard work in the tropical sun. Most com­
monly, however, disruptive hot or cold forces are thought to enter the
body by eating. People are expected to become unhealthy by eating

We thank Mark V. Flinn for introduction and project support in the study site. We
thankfully acknowledge Dominica's Ministry of Health for sponsoring this research.
We are most grateful to villagers of the study community, especially Edith Coipel,
Juranie Durand, and the Warrington family. Research in this chapter was funded in part
by the Earthwatch Institute (1998 Grant for “Dominica Family Environment and Child
Health Project” to M. Flinn, R. Quinlan, and M. Quinlan) and by the National Science
Foundation (Grants BNS 8920569 and SBR 9205373 to M. Flinn).

197
198 EATING AND HEALING

an unbalanced diet or by neglecting to adjust their diet to their life­

style. Logically, when people feel that they are suffering from a diet-
related disorder, they adjust their diet. The reader should find this sce­
nario familiar. The idea that ill health results from an unbalanced diet
is not unique to Dominica; in fact it may be a human universal.
The hot/cold humoral system has been documented throughout the
New World, particularly in Latin America (for an overview, see Fos­
ter, 1994). Foster claims, in fact, that “humoral medicine in the Amer­
icas is the most completely described of all ethnomedical systems”
(1994, p. 2). In the hot/cold humoral system, people group mental and
physical states, plants, and animals into “hot” and “cold” categories.
Here, “cold” or “hot” may refer to the temperature of air or bathing
water; however, “hot” and “cold” often refer to culturally ascribed
symbolic values having nothing to do with thermal state. North
Americans similarly refer to chili peppers as “hot” regardless of the
temperature at which they are served. Some mental states also carry
hot or cold labels. The North American view of anger as hot-headed-
ness and indifference as coldness reveals a glimpse of similar
symbolic use of heat and cold.
In addition to associating temperatures and emotions with heat and
cold, the humoral approach associates heat and cold with all living
things. Every plant or animal (therefore everything one eats) has an
assumed inherent humoral temperature.
People who live by the hot/cold humoral system believe that the
human body functions best at a warm state that is in-between the hot
and cold extremes that exist in other species of the plant and animal
kingdoms.
Heat and cold are reckoned as transferable; not only can tempera­
tures of water and air in the physical environment be absorbed or
transferred to the internal and external body, but one can also transfer
the humoral quality of something one ingests to one’s own body. Just
as people must avoid overexposure to hot or cold temperatures, they
must also avoid overexposure to hot or cold humoral states. They
must therefore balance the hot or cold humoral qualities of the foods
they eat.
The Dominican version of the balanced diet presents an example
of the internal logic of one hot/cold humoral belief system. In Domi­
nica, much illness is blamed on eating too much Immorally hot or
Immorally cold food, thereby changing the body’s optimal warm state
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 199

to a hot or cold one. The remedy to a hot or cold condition is to ingest

a food which has cooling or heating properties to counteract the per­
ceived causes of illness. Health maintenance through balancing Im­
morally hot and cold properties in the diet is a fundamental compo­
nent of “bush medicine,” the folk medical system of Dominica and
much of the Caribbean.

S E T T IN G

The Commonwealth of Dominica is a small island nation located

between the French Departments of Guadeloupe to the North and
Martinique to the South (15°N, 61°W). The island is mountainous,
relatively undeveloped, and supports little agriculture or tourist in­
dustry compared to other Caribbean islands. Dominica’s population
(approximately 68,000) is composed of people from a mixed African,
European (French and English), and Native American (Island-Carib)
descent. Most Dominicans are bilingual in Creole English and
French-Patois.
This research took place in an east (windward) coast village nes­
tled at the crux of two mountain ridges (see Quinlan, 2004). The
mountains trap rain blown in from the ocean, so the village’s annual
rainfall is between 100 and 150 inches per year, making for lush vege­
tation. The site is primarily a subsistence agricultural community. Al­
most everyone gardens. In addition to subsistence gardens at the vil­
lage periphery, most land within the village is cultivated with fruit
trees and other plantings. Many families also maintain small house
gardens for condiments and herbs for cooking and medicine.
Remote even by Dominican standards, the site is located about a
40-minute drive from the main road at the dead-end of a narrow,
mountainous, sometimes washed-out lane. There are approximately
650 full- and part-time residents. Relative isolation reduces residents’
economic opportunities. Average annual income is approximately
5,000 East Caribbean dollars (U.S. $1,850). Villagers earn their liv­
ing through subsistence gardening, fishing, bay oil production, and
banana production, and a few residents engage in wage labor.
The village’s location also limits residents’ access to outside
(Western) health care. There is a local health center that offers inocu­
lations and a small supply of common medications (e.g., ibuprofen)
200 EATING AND HEALING

and first-aid materials. The nearest pharmacy is a two-hour drive

away. A doctor is available at the government health center, approxi­
mately a 45-minute drive from the village. No villager owns a private
automobile, however, and rides are expensive and sometimes difficult
to arrange. Hence, all villagers rely heavily on home remedies—lo­
cally called bush medicine. Villagers assert over and over that every­
one in the village is his or her own bush doctor. Diet is a fundamental
component of bush medicine.

M ETH ODS

Fieldwork for this project was conducted during five trips to the
study site between 1993 and 1998. Ethnographic data on bush medi­
cine were collected using informal key-informant interviews, a vil­
lage health survey, semistructured key-informant interviews with
bush-medicine experts, and free-list tasks with 160 village residents
(90 percent of adults).

I n f o r m a l I n te r v ie w s

The informal interviews were conversational and involved asking

a representative sample of village adults about their own experiences
with and responses to illness events. Informal interviewing was also
conducted during the course of participant observation, such as work­
ing with people in their gardens, cooking meals with them, and so
forth.

H e a lth S u r v e y s

The health survey involved asking every village mother a series of

questions regarding the health of family members. Women were
asked about the general health history and condition of all household
residents. They were asked to recall any illness or injuries their fam­
ily members had suffered in the past week, past month, and past year.
Each time a woman mentioned an illness event she was asked how the
family member became sick, in order to probe for the perceived etiol­
ogy of the illness. Women were next asked what, if anything, anyone
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 201

did to treat the sick person. If someone at home treated the sick per­
son (which was usually the case), the woman was asked to describe
the treatment. Mothers were also asked who they sought out for bush
medical advice and which villagers knew the most about bush
medicine.

K e y - I n fo r m a n t I n te r v ie w s

From the survey of mothers, five village residents stood out as par­
ticularly sought after for their bush medical advice. These five ex­
perts became key informants, or project consultants. They included
three women, ages 39, 55, and 68, and two men, ages 25 and 49.
Each consultant was interviewed three times. The first interview
was a long, general interview on the medical system, including the
kinds of health practitioners villagers use under certain circum­
stances, local notions of ethnophysiology, and which illnesses the ex­
pert treated with bush medicines. During the second interview the ex­
perts were asked which bush remedies they used for each sickness
they listed during the previous interview. Next, the informant was
asked about the use(s) of each bush medicine that he or she had listed.
Finally, the consultants helped to gather samples of every remedy
they had mentioned during the previous two interviews (the majority
of the remedies were plants, for which voucher specimens were col­
lected; however, there were also many nonherbal treatments, includ­
ing foraged animal and mineral ingredients and purchased products).

F r e e -L is t I n te r v ie w s

Interviews eliciting the health problems that villagers treat with

bush medicine were conducted with 30 residents to identify salient
illnesses in the community.1 Next, free-list interviews for remedies
were conducted with every willing adult villager (N = 160, about 90
percent) in residence during the summer of 1998. Villagers were
asked to list all bush medicines (many foods are considered bush
medicine as well as nourishment) used to treat each of the salient
illnesses.
202 EATING AND HEAUNG

R E S U L T S A N D D IS C U S S IO N

Rural Dominicans emphasize the importance of maintaining a bal­

anced body “system.” Balance is necessary regarding how much
blood one has; how often one eats, drinks, and eliminates waste; the
size of one’s intestinal parasite load; and the hot/cold humoral state of
one’s body. The balance of hot and cold, however, is the primary con­
cern expressed in many rural Dominican conversations about illness.

D o m in ic a n D a ily D ie t

There is a lot of variation in what, when, and how much Dominican

villagers eat. However, three general dietary rules predominate. First,
every villager starts his or her day with “tea.” Second, everyone eats
lunch, the main meal of the day, between noon and 2:00. Finally, ev­
eryone’s food and drink intake attempts to follow the basic guidelines
of local hot/cold humoral theory.
The hot/cold humoral qualities inherent in things people eat corre­
spond to the local models of nutrition. Human bodies are reckoned to
contain the same elements present in animals; therefore, animal prod­
ucts (meat, milk, and eggs), like the healthy human body, are seen as
neither too hot nor too cold, or humorally neutral. Dominicans regard
animal foods as essential, at least in small amounts. They state that
the body can easily transform animal products into human fluids and
tissue. Staples such as legumes and boiled tubers or starchy fruits are
also neutral and eaten together. Processed starch foods (i.e., kinds of
flour) are “hot” (and cause constipation) while fruits and greens are
“cool” (and alleviate constipation). These notions make sense in
terms of two opposing Dominican food preoccupations: keeping the
belly full and keeping the belly and bowels (or intestines) blockage-
free.
In addition to water, Dominicans drink three kinds of beverages:
juice, “tea,” and alcohol. Dominicans make most fruit juices by grat­
ing, squeezing, or blending fruit and adding water and some raw
sugar. Dominicans include unripe coconuts (Cocos nucifera), or “jel­
lies” as a kind of juice, though a good portion of it is actually eaten.
One “has a jelly” by opening a hole in a green coconut with a ma­
chete, drinking the liquid endosperm, then splitting the drained coco­
nut open and scooping out the unripe coconut meat (which has a ge­
latinous, or jelly-like consistency). All juice is reckoned humorally
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 203

cold, though coconut, pineapple (Ananas comosus), and papaya

(Carica papaya) are especially cold. Drinking plenty of juice (two to
three servings a day) is thought to provide refreshment, keep one’s di­
gestive tract moving as it should, keep one’s skin blemish-free, and
protect against heat exhaustion.
Dominicans use the word tea to refer to any hot, nonmeat bever­
age. It is rarely store-bought green tea (i.e., cured leaves of Asian tea
shrubs lCamellia sinensis]—green, orange pekoe, black oolong, or
otherwise). Rather, people drink some kind of plant-based infusion
from materials that they harvest themselves. These “teas” include
coffee, “cocoa tea” (hot chocolate), or “bush tea” (any herbal tea,
such as mint and orange-leaf tea). People drink morning “tea” every
day to “ease off ” two bodily accumulations that occur during sleep in
the cool air: (1) the gas that accumulates in the belly overnight and (2)
the cold that builds in the body overnight (i.e., “tea” loosens up mu­
cus and joints). Most people drink at least one more cup of “tea” in
the late afternoon, though some men skip their afternoon tea in favor
of alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol, especially cask rum, has a large, visible presence in Do­
minican village life. With the exceptions of a few strict Seventh-Day
Adventists, all villagers, from teenagers through the elderly, drink on
occasion. Middle-aged and older men drink the most, and some adult
males are routinely publicly inebriated. Alcohol doubtless comprises
a large proportion of the calories that these men consume. Beer, gin­
ger wine, brandy, and bottled rum are usually available at village
shops, but the typical (and most economical) drink is a “shoot” (shot)
of cask rum followed by a chaser of water. Villagers reckon alcohol
and alcohol-related illnesses as humorally “hot.” Drinkers try to bal­
ance their humoral intake by eating “cold” fruits.
Lunch, the main meal, is “food” complimented with “peas” (any
kind of bean) and usually meat or bouillon-based gravy. Rural Do­
minicans use the word “food” only to refer to the starchy provisions
that form the base of their diet. Dominicans especially refer to their
principal subsistence crop, dasheen (taro, Colocasia esculenta) as
“food.” However, plantains (Musa x paradisiaca), breadfruit (Ar-
tocarpus altilis), sweet and Irish potatoes (fpomoea batatas and
Solanum tuberosum), and yams (Dioscorea spp.) are also “food.”
Processed starches including manioc flour (Manihol esculenta), ar­
rowroot starch (Maranta arundinacea), rice (Oryza sativa), commeal
204 EATING AND HEAUNG

(Zea mays), and anything made with wheat (Triticum aestivum) flour
(e.g., bread, pasta, dumplings) is “like food” but is not “real food.”
“Food” “fills your belly” and “stays with you” without causing con­
stipation. Edibles “like food” fill the belly, but only for a short time.
Further, these processed starches are humorally hot. Eaten alone they
cause “inflammation,” which swells up the inner body, causing con­
stipation by blocking the bowels. Dominicans occasionally eat “hot
things” (e.g., dumplings) as a “food” replacement. They must then
accompany “hot” starches with fruit juice, greens, cucumber, or an­
other humorally “cold” item to “keep the system free of blockage.”
“Food” and things “like food” are not said to “build” the body.
Rather, they provide simple sustenance— give energy and fill hungry
bellies. Fruits and vegetables build the body, especially digesting into
components of body fluids (blood, breastmilk, and semen). Meat,
milk, eggs, and (to a lesser extent) legumes digest directly into body
components, such as muscles and blood. People discuss these edibles
as the essence for strength, growth, and wound healing.

H u m o r a l Q u a lity o f F o o d

How do cultures ascribe certain foods with hot or cold humoral

values? The enthnography points to factors that some groups use to
assign “hot” versus “cold” values. For example, Nahuatl Indians in
the Valley of Mexico make humoral distinctions between certain
foods in their raw versus cooked state (Madsen, 1955). This is not the
case in Dominica where, for example, a humorally “hot” “bush tea”
remains “hot,” even if it cools completely. Likewise, “cold” food re­
mains “cold” (such as papaya in goat stew), even if it is hot or cooked.
In some populations (e.g., Guatemala [Logan, 1973]) color is an as­
cription factor, but not in Dominica. The Central American Quiches’
humoral definition of meat is tied to the animal’s wild or domestic
status (Neuenswander and Souder, 1977). Meat is neutral in Domi­
nica, so a distinction contrasting natural to human-altered food is not
an issue. However, Dominicans do make one similar type of distinc­
tion: processed versus unprocessed staples. Dominicans view pro­
cessed starches (e.g., wheat flour, manioc flour [farm], and corn-
meal) as hot foods. Whole carbohydrate foods that— other than
peeling or cooking—do not require' processing (plantain, dasheen
[taro], potatoes, yams, and breadfruit) are neutral staples.
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 205

Food’s perceived sensory effect is another factor for assigning hot

or cold humoral quality. How does the food or seasoning feel to the
skin or mouth? Does exposure to it burn one’s skin, as with the bay
leaf that Dominicans distill as a fragrance and eat as a seasoning, or
does it feel cool and soothing like the flesh of banana fruit (Musa x
paradisiacal After one ingests the plant, does it feel refreshing (i.e.,
“cool”) or piquant (i.e., “hot”) on one’s mouth/throat? Organoleptic
qualities such as taste, appearance, and odor may be passed down as
explanations of plants that work, yet it is doubtful that Dominicans
assign hot, cold, or neutral values to foods based solely on sensory, or
organoleptic properties.
Messer (1981) and Brown (1976) found that people in their re­
search areas (Oaxaca, Mexico, and Highland Ecuador, respectively)
classified some foods according to their sensory qualities (e.g., spicy
foods are “warming”). However, both studies found that the per­
ceived physiological effect on people was more important in assign­
ing a hot or cold value than the immediate organoleptic sensation a
food/herb produced. People in both populations reasoned that, ulti­
mately, their experience and observations of what the substance did
was the main issue in determining humoral quality.
Organoleptic indicators are present in a small minority of foods
and medicine. However, when present, they function as mnemonic
aids in Dominica as elsewhere (Leonti et al., 2002). After seeing a
fire-roasted banana, one will not likely forget its use as a laxative
(and, as laxatives are always viewed as cold in Dominica, one is un­
likely to forget the banana’s humoral property). Papaya fruit remains
protected from the sun’s heat because the tree’s large leaves shade the
fruit and the fruit’s skin protects the flesh from the heat. Hence fresh,
moist papaya fruit might seem cool to Dominicans. Papaya is indeed
regarded as a cold food in Dominica. Rum produces a burning sensa­
tion when swallowed and is regarded as a hot drink, yet other sub­
stances that produce burning oral effects, such as curry, seasoning
peppers, and ginger are regarded as neutral. Further, burning sensa­
tion from acid in lime (Citrus aurantifolia), pineapple, and tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum), though potentially hot to the senses, does
not effect the Dominican classification of these fruits as Immorally
cold.
One might argue that, for most people, tradition provides the basic
guidelines for knowing whether a food is hot or cold. Children know
206 EATING AND HEAUNG

the humoral qualities of many foods through traditional learning.

Through casual observation and conversation, children memorize the
names, medicinal uses, and humoral qualities of many foods that
their families and neighbors eat, as well as the “bush teas” that they
drink. In some societies, hot/cold assignment of plant humoral qual­
ity appears to be entirely memorized, in that it has nothing to do with
a human’s physiological reaction to the plant. For example, New
York Puerto Ricans classify lima beans and white beans as “cold” and
kidney beans as “hot,” though they all offer very similar benefits and
effects on the body (Harwood, 1971).
However, in Dominica, as in Ecuador and Mexico (Brown, 1976;
Messer, 1981), a plant’s humoral value comes from the effects the
plant produces when people ingest or apply it. The most important
factor that Dominicans use to determine a substance’s humoral value
is the effect that the substance has on the human body. Though people
may memorize the hot or cold status of foods as children, adults usu­
ally discuss a food or medicine’s use (and ascribe a hot/cold/neutral
quality) in terms of the internal logic of the ethnomedical system. For
example, in Dominica, a rash is a hot condition. Dominicans would
thus refer to a plant that soothes rashes as a cold plant (whether eaten,
drunk, or applied topically) because it counteracts a hot condition.
The Dominican ethnomedical system is one in which the assumed
humoral state of human maladies takes precedence in determining the
humoral value of a food or herb. In fact, people do not seem to have
the humoral qualities of plants committed to memory as well as they
have the humors of illnesses. Thus, when asked if a plant had a hot or
cold value, informants generally had to reason out a response. For ex­
ample, one might say that a food makes one feel “refreshed” or helps
“clean your bowels,” and that is why it is “cooling.”
In many respects, the Dominican humoral system conforms to the
general pattern of humoral theory found across cultures. It differs,
however, from most New World hot/cold humoral systems in one im­
portant aspect. In most New World cultures, humans are viewed as
the only living thing (or one of a few) that is humorally neutral (or
warm— in-between hot and cold). All other animals and plants
(therefore all edibles) are regarded as either colder or hotter than hu­
mans (Foster, 1994). Dominicans regard only certain foods and dis­
eases as hot or cold, while others— approximately one-third of ill­
nesses—are neither hot nor cold, but rather humorally neutral
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 207

(Quinlan, 2004). People treat a cold illness by ingesting something

humorally hot and likewise ingest cold things for a hot illness, but
treatments for neutral illnesses are not typically regarded as hot or
cold. In these cases, they target areas of pollution or imbalance that
residents associate with the particular humorally neutral health
problem.

H u m o r a l I lln e s s in D o m in ic a

The foundation of rural Dominican humoral theory is that humans

are made of meat. Locals compare the behavior of human flesh and
fluids to that of the meat and gravy in their daily stewpot, which be­
comes thin or supple when warm and thick or hard when cool. Thus,
if temperature, food/drink, or emotions create too much cold inside a
person’s body, his bodily fluids and tissues presumably thicken or
harden. Hard tissues or thick body fluids are the perceived etiology of
a cold illness. Conversely, when temperature, food/drink, or emo­
tions result in too much bodily heat, a person’s insides soften and
thin, or (in extreme cases) cook. Cold and heat are thought to affect
all body tissues and the viscosity of bodily fluids, but especially
blood and mucus.
The body can regulate its own temperature to some degree. If a
person needs to cool down, his or her pores will allow some heat to
escape from his or her body and the person will perspire. The body is
particularly good at heating itself up. When one has a cold illness, the
body often heats up on its own to “melt out” the cold. Sometimes,
“melting out” a tenacious “cold” overheats the body. In the Domini­
can view, a fever (a hot condition) comes from overheating in re­
sponse to a cold illness. Self-cooling during the daytime is difficult,
Dominicans say, because the air temperature is hot. Sweating and
open pores do not cool the body well when it is hot out. Usually, cool­
ing requires external forces such as shade, breeze, bathing, and
ingestion of humorally cool foods and fluids.
In Dominican ethnomedicine, humoral states can have an impor­
tant influence on illnesses relating to blood and the circulatory sys­
tem. Dominicans describe the heart as a muscular pump that receives
blood from two blood entrance tubes. Informants explain that the bot­
tom tube receives clean, new blood from the kidneys and liver, while
the top one takes in old blood from the body for recirculation. The
208 EATING AND HEALING

heart pumps, squeezing the blood from the entrance veins into one
big exit vein (presumably the aorta) that divides three ways. The left
vein division fuels the left side of the body with blood, the middle di­
vision goes up to the head, and the right division delivers blood to the
right side of the body. The quality of the blood pumping through
one’s veins, Dominicans allege, is a primary cause and indicator of
health or illness. Dominicans judge the quality of one’s blood by
three basic criteria: viscosity, quantity, and purity.
Blood viscosity, in particular, is thought to vary with temperature
or humoral status. Blood congeals when it is cool and thins when it is
hot. Warm blood is too thin, it does not scab quickly and flows
through cuts or menstruating women too fast. The ambient tempera­
ture, humoral “heat” in food or “teas,” or overexertion can cause
warm blood. Warm blood usually goes away on its own as the body
cools and rests. Prolonged warm, thin blood leads to weakness or
may make some “anemic.” Villagers say that “anemic” people are
thin, always tired, have poor color, and tired eyes. According to lo­
cals, anemics have thin, weak, pale blood. Folk diagnosis involves
checking the color and texture of the veins on the underside of a per­
son’s arms. Rest and eating “plenty peas” (beans), especially wild
“pigeon peas,” or pwa angol (Cajanus cajan), are prescribed for peo­
ple who seem anemic. Anemics also need to eat “plenty meat,” espe­
cially wild manikou (opossum) and agouti, but goat or beef is also
good.
Cold blood is thick. It clots too easily, potentially causing a “mass”
that blocks circulation. If a mass blocks circulation to the “brains” or
heart, a person could drop dead suddenly. Otherwise, cold blood
might just slow a person down. It also might cause one’s mucus to
thicken and one’s joints to stiffen. Respiratory illnesses (such as
asthma and the common cold) and arthritis are thus cold. A person’s
blood can become “cold” through exposure to cold temperatures (lo­
cals describe air below about 68°F as “cold”), which is a relatively
rare experience for Dominicans. Dominicans have occasion to feel
cold during tropical depressions, at higher elevations, and when wet
in the rain, out at sea, or swimming in cold water for extended times.
Shock or fear, humorally cold emotions, can also lead to cold ill­
nesses, including respiratory illnesses and a folk illness called
“fright” (similar to post-traumatic stress syndrome), in which one’s
blood is thought to chill. Although the Dominican humoral system
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 209

recognizes food and herbs that are cold enough to cause vomiting or
diarrhea, no food or herb has a humoral quality so cold that it can
cause cold, thick blood, or mucus. There are, however, foods to treat
cold blood. They are all seasoning or condiment foods, including
wild basil (Ocimum basilicum), bay leaf, garlic (Allium sativum), Cu­
ban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus), cinnamon (Cinnamomum
zeylanicum), “male garlic,” or ajo sacha (Mansoa alliacea, syn M.
hymenaeamanilkara), lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), and goat-
weed (Capraria biflora).
There is a folk blood condition that Dominicans refer to as “pres­
sure.” “Pressure” is not the same as “high blood pressure,” or hyper­
tension. “Pressure” is a hot condition in the blood and the veins that
can be caused by diet, digestion, or stress. The body of someone suf­
fering from “pressure” is internally hot and inflamed. Inflammation
causes the veins to swell, making the tubes for blood circulation nar­
rower. A large gas build-up can also push against veins, restricting the
amount of blood that can pass through them. A person with “pres­
sure” also has hot blood. Hot blood generally becomes thin and weak.
However, hot blood under “pressure” goes one step further and actu­
ally begins to cook, as if boiling off the water in the blood. This
makes the blood too concentrated or too “rich.” Because this blood is
extra rich and thick, the body has a hard time pushing it through the
already compromised veins. Hence, pressure builds up in the veins.
“Pressure” can result from the stress of worrying, studying too
hard, and having strained relationships. These stressors cause the
mind to work overtime, which is said to generate heat in the blood.
Dietary “pressure” can result from eating too many processed
starches, the “hottest” foods. Drinking too much rum (also very hot)
exacerbates the possibility of developing “pressure.” Digestion is in­
volved with “pressure” because some people with otherwise healthy
diets are said to digest too efficiently, leading to “pressure.” If people
are particularly good digesters, or have a diet particularly rich in
foods that “build the blood” (meat), their blood will be too thick and
rich. The local ethnophysiology of the digestive and circulation sys­
tems provides for “building” blood, but not for thinning blood or tak­
ing blood away. Females with “pressure” rid some supposed extra
blood or extra blood richness with menstruation, but this might be
temporary, so the blood becomes too rich again.
210 EATING AND HEAUNG

The typical reaction to “pressure” is to exclude all hot (flour-

based) foods from the diet, eliminate or limit animal products from
the diet, and eat a cold (high-fiber) diet that is heavy in fruits and veg­
etables. Favored foods for “pressure” are papaya, christophine or
chayote (Sechium edule), and passion fruit (Passiflora laurifolia). If a
change in diet does not sufficiently relieve the “pressure,” a Domini­
can thought to have too much blood (or blood richness) in the veins
may resort to cutting (bleeding) himself or herself to relieve the vein
pressure.
Dominicans theorize that blood may become polluted by dirt that
gets inside the body. As dirty blood flows through the body, it is
imagined to irritate and abrade body tissues. The result is what Do­
minicans call “inflammation” (internal humoral heat and occasional
swelling). “Inflammation” can be in a specific body part, but more of­
ten it is generalized. General inflammation eventually moves outward,
to the limbs and the head, and finally to, or through, the skin. Dirt
enters the body via an open wound, air pollution, or on food. Domini­
cans claim that cuts—especially cuts on feet—and bites—especially
dog and witch bites—are wounds that put people most at risk for dirty
blood. Dirt can also enter the body system by breathing it in. Smoke is
said to carry dirt in it, and smoke is all around the village. Villagers
use fire to cook, clear gardens, distill bay oil, and burn rubbish. Peo­
ple also breathe in dirt in dusty air. The study site is on the wet, east­
ern side of the island, so dust is uncommon, although one can breathe
in dust and ashes while cleaning out a hearth or planting in a newly
cleared garden on a dry day. If one goes to Roseau, the capital, he or
she will certainly breathe in some dust. Roseau is on the island’s drier
side, and the relative bustle of its 15,000 inhabitants results in air­
borne dust. Villagers always complain about feeling dirty and run
down after a trip to town.
Any dirt that enters the body with food (or on food) may be pushed
through the walls of the “worm bag,”2 stomach, and intestines into the
“belly,” and through the “belly” walls, where it pollutes the outer
body and blood as it circulates through the body. People wash their
food thoroughly to avoid eating dirt. However, if they suspect that
there is dirt inside the body already (evidenced by pimples and rashes
on the skin where the dirt is trying to “force” itself out) Dominicans
follow a few steps. First, they drink extra water to help “wash” the dirt
through the body’s pores. Second, they eat “plenty” of cold (high-
 Humoral Medicine and Food in the Commonwealth o f Dominica 211

fiber) fruits and vegetables (the same as those mentioned for “pres­
sure”)- Finally, they take a “washout” (laxative or emetic treatment)
with castor oil or various herbal infusions (see Quinlan, 2000).

C O N C L U S IO N

Illnesses in rural Dominica tend to have associated explanatory

models and treatments consistent with the internal logic of their
ethnomedical system. The purely cold illnesses are associated with
respiratory problems or are stress induced. Hot remedies for cold ill­
nesses relax a sufferer and/or ease breathing. They are typically ad­
ministered in the form of herbal “teas” (infusions), as seasonings in
the daily stew, or as a tincture in an alcoholic drink. Hot illnesses in
the Dominican system have to do with (thermal) heat, redness, and/or
swelling usually thought to stem from dirt or feces in the body. Hot
illnesses are treated with cold foods and “teas,” which often have lax­
ative properties. Conditions that do not have respiratory, stress, con­
stipation, or inflammation symptoms are typically “neither hot nor
cold.”
In sum, for rural Dominicans, health is largely maintained through
balance. One important issue is the balance between hot and cold hu­
mors. Balance is maintained on a daily basis by ingesting Immorally
hot or cold food or drink in accordance with the body’s present state.
In case of illness, health can often be regained by ingesting foods with
certain humoral qualities that compensate for the humoral imbalance
associated with the particular illness.

NOTES

1. The sample was stratified by age, sex, and village location (see Quinlan,
2004).
2. Worms in the worm bag (see Quinlan et al., 2002) function in the digestive
process to refine chewed food, turning it into rich blood, much the way that earth­
worms convert compost to rich soil. The rich blood that the worms expel passes
through the walls of the worm bag and into the belly. From the worm bag, semidi-
gested solids, waste, blood, and nutrients travel into the intestines or “tripe.”
212 EATING AND HEAUNG

REFERENCES

Brown, M. (1976). Patterns of variability in two folk systems of classification.

Michigan Discussions in Anthropology 2: 76-90.
Foster, G.M. (1994). Hippocrates' Latin American legacy: Humoral medicine in
the New World. Langhorne, PA: Gordon & Breach Science Publications.
Harwood, A. (1971). The hot-cold theory of disease: Implications for treatment of
Puerto Rican patients. Journal of the American Medical Association 216: 1153-
1158.
Leonti, M., O. Sticher, and M. Heinrich (2002). Medicinal plants of the Popoluca,
Mexico: Organoleptic properties as indigenous selection criteria. Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 81(3): 307-316.
Logan, M.H. (1973). Humoral medicine in Guatemala and peasant acceptance of
modern medicine. Human Organization 32: 385-395.
Madsen, W. (1955). Hot and cold in the universe of San Francisco Tecospa, Valley
of Mexico. Journal of American Folklore 68: 123-139.
Messer, E. (1981). Hot-cold classification: Theoretical and practical implications of
a Mexican study. Social Science and Medicine 15B: 133-145.
Neuenswander, H.L. and S.D. Souder (1977). El sidrome calient-frio, humedo-seco
entre los Quiches de Joyabaj: Dos modelos cognitivos. In Neuenswander, H.L.
and D.E. Arnold (Eds.), Estudios Cognitivos del Sur de Mesoamerica (pp. 92-
121). Dallas: SIL Museum of Anthropology.
Quinlan, M.B. (2000). Bush medicine in Bwa Mawego: Ethnomedicine and medi­
cal botany of common illnesses in a Dominican village. PhD dissertation, Uni­
versity of Missouri-Columbia.
Quinlan, M.B. (2004). From the Bush: The front line of health care in a Caribbean
Village. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press.
Quinlan, M.B., R.J. Quinlan, and J.M. Nolan (2002). Ethnophysiology and herbal
treatments of intestinal worms in Dominica, West Indies. Journal of Ethno­
pharmacology 80: 75-83.
 Chapter 9

Medicinal Foods in Cuba:

Promoting Health in the Household
Gabriele Volpato
Daimy Godinez

IN T R O D U C T IO N

Food and beverages play a vital role in the lives of men and
women, as they reflect people’s ethnic, historical, and cultural heri­
tage. They represent a link between the material and spiritual: on the
one hand satisfying hunger, thirst, and basic health necessities and on
the other contributing to human social relations by generating tradi­
tions and customs. In certain circumstances, foods and beverages are
consumed for medicinal purposes. Although foods and medicines are
often approached as two separate fields of study, the nutritional and
pharmacological properties of plants are often not easily distinguish­
able (Johns, 1990, 1996; Johns and Chapman, 1995). Thus, many
plants generally considered as foods have important therapeutic roles
and are used in different contexts (Etkin and Ross, 1982), according
to socioeconomic and cultural factors.
Since colonial times, due to the complex links between the original
ethnic components of the main expressions of Cuban material and
spiritual culture have been connected to the historic process of settle­
ment (Rivero de la Calle, 1992). Cuban people rely for food and med­
icine on a mixed culture that draws upon wisdom originating mainly
from indigenous Cuban, African, Spanish, and Antillean ethnic
groups (Guanche, 1983; Esquivel and Hammer, 1992a; Rivero de la
Calle, 1992; Nunez and Gonzalez, 1999; Sarmiento, 2001b). This
multiethnic legacy has resulted in a rich pharmacopoeia, food knowl­
edge, and food traditions. Due to the economic crisis following the

213
214 EA TING AND HEALING

collapse of trading relations with the socialist bloc and the tightening
of the U.S. blockade of the country during the twentieth century,
these are presently being revalorized (Deere, 1992; Garfield and
Santana, 1997). The general population has moved toward greater re­
liance on urban communal garden production, home-grown and wild
food (Chaplowe, 1998; Wezel and Bender, 2003), local folk medicine
(Acosta de la Luz, 2001), and hence also on medicinal food lore and
practices.
The knowledge of medicinal foods lies primarily within family tra­
ditions, particularly in the mothers’ and grandmothers’ experiences
with dietary items employed medicinally in the fabrication of inex­
pensive and simple remedies. The medicinal uses of these remedies
in primary health care are common knowledge, passed down through
generations via traditions, and do not require the specialized and
trained curanderos, traditional Cuban healers.
Through open-ended interviews (Levy and Hollan, 1998), mostly
with elderly women in the provinces of La Habana, Santiago de
Cuba, and Camagiiey, an attempt has been made to investigate the lo­
cal perception and use of medicinal foods as components of health
maintenance and disease prevention. In this chapter we report on the
findings and also highlight the role of medicinal foods and related
knowledge in the Cuban historic process and present economic crisis.

R E S U L T S A N D D IS C U S S IO N

Table 9.1 lists the medicinal food plants most used in Cuba, with
their scientific and popular names, used part(s), traditional gastro­
nomic use, and medicinal properties as reported by the informants.
Seventy-one species belonging to 60 genera and 37 families were re­
corded. These figures include most of the major food crops used in
Cuba since colonial and precolonial times.
About 80 percent of the plants are cultivated in traditional Cuban
home gardens or conucos (Hammer et al., 1992). Among the plants
collected from the wild, most live as weeds and synanthropic species
around cultivated fields and human habitations (e.g., Amaranthus
viridis, Cleome gynandra), while a few of them are primary or sec­
ondary forest species (e.g., Guazuma ulmifolia, Smilax domingensis).
Only one species endemic to Cuba was reported by the informants
(Gastrococos crispa). Thus, managed and disturbed landscapes are
 TABLE 9.1. Medicinal food plants used in Cuba.

Part(s) Traditional gas­

Botanical taxon Botanical family Cuban phytonym used tronomic use(s) Medicinal use(s)
Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Malvaceae Quimbombo fr C boiled (calalu) Depurative, re­
Moench freshing, nourish­
ing
Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Arecaceae Corojo fr R; C toasted Diuretic, refreshing
Lodd. ex Mart.
Amaranthus viridis L. Amaranthaceae Bledo le C boiled Depurative
Anacardium occidentale L. Anacardiaceae Maranon fr R Astringent
Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. Bromeliaceae Pina fr R juice Stomachic
fr R juice with For asthma and
Annona muricata colds
Annona cherimolia Mill. Annonaceae Chirimoya fr R champola Antianemic
Annona muricata L. Annonaceae Guanabana fr R champola Antihypertensive
fr R juice with A. For asthma and
comosus colds
Annona squamosa L. Annonaceae Anon fr R juice Digestive
Artocarpus communis Moraceae Mapen fr C boiled Stomachic
J.R. et J.G. Forster
Averrhoa carambola L. Oxalidaceae Carambola or Pera fr R Astringent
China
Beta vulgaris L. var. vulgaris Chenopodiaceae Remolacha le R juice with orange Nourishing for chil­
juice dren

215
 TABLE 9.1. (continued)

216
Part(s) Traditional gas­
Botanical taxon Botanical family Cuban phytonym used tronomic use(s) Medicinal use(s)
Bromelia pinguin L. Bromeliaceae Pina de raton fr R Antihelmintic
Cajanus cajan (L.) Huth Fabaceae Frijol Gandul fr C boiled Nourishing
Canavalia gladiata (Jacq.) Fabaceae Frijol de Machete se C coffee substitute Digestive
DC.
Canella winterana (L.) Canellaceae Canela ba C infusion Tonic, antinausea,
Gaertn. hypertensive
Capsicum frutescens L. var. Solanaceae Ajf guaguao fr R juice with Antianemic
frutescens Petroselinum
crispum
Carica papaya L. Caricaceae Frutabomba, Pa­ fr R juice Refresh the stom­
paya ach, antihyperten­
sive, diphtheria
se R with milk of the Antihelmintic
green fruit
yf C chopped and Digestive, against
boiled with milk colics in children
yf C decoction Antidiarrheic,
against gastroin­
testinal infections
Cassia fistula L. Fabaceae Canafistola fr R before breakfast Antihelmintic
fr R snack/ with milk Antianemic, mild
and sugar laxative
Cassia grandis L. Fabaceae Canandonga fr R snack/ with milk Antianemic, mild
and sugar laxative
 Chenopodium ambrosio- Chenopodiaceae Apasote yi R salads Antihelmintic
ides L.
Citrus aurantium L. Rutaceae Naranja Agria fr R juice Astringent,
antihypertensive
Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f. Rutaceae Limon fr R juice Astringent, diges­
tive, antihyperten­
sive
Citrus medica L. Rutaceae Cidra fr R juice Antihypertensive
Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck Rutaceae Naranja Dulce fr R juice Astringent,
antihypertensive
fr R eaten with salt Stomachic
fr R juice with oil of To treat empacho
R. communis
Cieome gynandra L. Capparaceae Una de Gato, yi R salads Diuretic
Volantin
Cocos nucifera L. Arecaceae Coco fr R “water” Diuretic,
antihypertensive
fr C “milk” Laxative,
antihelmintic
fr C manteca Antihelmintic
Coiocasia escuienta (L.) Araceae Malanga Islena rh C boiled Nourishing, sto­
Schott et Endl. machic
Corchorus siiiquosus L. Tiliaceae Malva te yi C boiled Depurative, nour­
ishing
Cucurbita maxima Duch. Cucurbitaceae Calabaza fr C boiled Nourishing
Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Poaceae Cana Santa le C infusion Carminative, tonic

217
Stapf.
 TABLE 9.1. (continued)

218
Part(s) Traditional gas-
Botanical taxon Botanical family Cuban phytonym used tronomic use(s) Medicinal use(s)
Daucus carota L. ssp. sativa Apiaceae Zanahoria fr R with orange juice Good for the blood
(Hoffm.) Schuebl. et Mart.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae Name rh C boiled Nourishing
Dioscorea bulbifera L. Dioscoreaceae Name Volador rh C boiled Stomachic
Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Apiaceae Hinojo le R with orange juice Diuretic, stomachic
Gastrococos crispa (H.B.K.) Arecaceae Corojo fr R Diuretic, refreshing
H. E. Moore
fr, se C toasted/oil Internal anti-inflam­
matory
Gouania polygama (Jacq.) Rhamnaceae Bejuco de Indio ba C pru component Hypotensive (pru)
iJrban
Guazuma ulmifolia Lam Sterculiaceae Guasima fr R Antianemic,
antihelmintic
Ipomoea batatas L. Convolvulaceae Boniato ro C boiled Nourishing
Lepidium virginicum L. Brassicaceae Mastuerzo yi R salads Diuretic
Lycopersicum esculentum Solanaceae Tomate fr R juice with orange Good for the blood
(L.) Karsten juice
Mammea americana L. Clusiaceae Mamey de Santo fr R juice Antianemic
Domingo
Mangifera indica L. Anacardiaceae Mango fr R juice Digestive, laxative,
stomachic
Manilkara zapota (L.) R Sapotaceae Nispero fr R juice Stomachic
Royen
 Maranta arundinacea L. Marantaceae Sagu, Yuquilla rh D with milk Digestive,
antidiarrheic
Melicocca bijuga L. Sapindaceae Mamoncillo fr R Antihypertensive
Momordica charantia L. Cucurbitaceae Cundeamor fr C salads/condi- Antihelmintic
ment
fr, le C infusion Antihelmintic
Musa x paradisiaca L. Musaceae Platano fr C boiled with Refreshing, good
sugar, jam for the blood
fr C boiled, fufu Nourishing for chil­
dren, antidiarrheic,
antihelmintic
fr D with milk, Nourishing for chil­
bananina dren, antidiarrheic,
antihelmintic
Nasturtium officinale L. Brassicaceae Berro le R juice with orange Nourishing for chil­
juice dren
Persea americana Mill. Lauraceae Aguacate fr R salads Digestive
Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Apiaceae Perejil le R juice with Antianemic
Nym. mashed C.
frutescens
Phaseolus lunatus L. Fabaceae Frijol Caballero fr C boiled Nourishing for chil­
dren
Phyllantus acidus (L.) Skeds Euphorbiaceae Grosella fr R Stomachic
Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr. Myrtaceae Pimienta dulce le C pru component
Portulaca oleracea L. Portulacaceae Verdolaga yi R salads Astringent, for
stomach ulcers

219
Pouteria campechiana Sapotaceae Canistel fr R Antianemic
(Kunth) Baehni
 TABLE 9.1. (continued)

220
Part(s) Traditional gas-
Botanical taxon Botanical family Cuban phytonym used tronomic use(s) Medicinal use(s)
Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) Sapotaceae Mamey Colorado fr R Antihelmintic
H.E. Moore et Stearn
Psidium guajava L. Myrtaceae Guayaba fr R juice/in syrup Antianemic,
antidiarrheic
Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae Higuereta fr C oil with orange To treat empacho
juice
Roystonea regia (H.B.K.) Arecaceae Palma Real yi R salads (palmitos) Nourishing
O.FCook
Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. Cucurbitaceae Chayote fr R, C snacks Diuretic
le R salads Antihypertensive
1Senna obtusifolia (L.) Fabaceae Guanina se C coffee substitute Digestive, antiane­
Irwin et Barneby mic, against mi­
graine and stom­
ach spasms
Senna occidentalis (L.) Link. Fabaceae Guanina se C coffee substitute Digestive, antiane­
mic, against mi­
graine and stom­
ach spasms
Sesamum orientale L. Pedaliaceae Ajonjolf se C toasted/oil Nourishing, anti­
asthmatic, anti-in­
flammatory
Smilax domingensis Willd. Smilacaceae Raiz de China rh C pru component
Smilax havanensis Jacq. Smilacaceae Alambrillo rh C boiled Stomachic
Solanum americanum Mill. Solanaceae Yerba Mora yl R salads, condi­ To treat stomach
ment ulcers, depurative,
aperitive, sto­
machic
Spondias mombin L. Anacardiaceae Jobo fr R Stomachic
Spondias purpurea L. Anacardiaceae Ciruela fr R Laxative, sto­
machic
Tamarindus indica L. Fabaceae Tamarindo se R juice Antianemic,
antihypertensive,
mild laxative, febri­
fuge
Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Araceae Malanga bu, rh C boiled Nourishing for chil­
Schott dren
rh C mashed with Stomachic, against
milk gastritis and stom­
ach ulcer
rh C with plantain Antidiarrheic
Zingiber officinale Rose. Zingiberaceae Jengibre rh C infusion Antispasmodic, di­
gestive, carmina­
tive, tonic

Part(s) used: ba, bark; bu, buds; fr, fruits; le, leaves; rh, rhizome; ro, root/ tuber; se, seeds; yf, young fruit; yl, young leaves.
Traditional gastronomic use(s): C, cooked; D, dried; R, raw.
222 EATING AND HEALING

the most important foraging places for wild food and medicinal
plants, as has been found for many native peoples of America and
worldwide (e.g., Alcorn, 1981; Frei et al., 2000).
The interviews defined three main categories of medicinal foods.
These will now be discussed in the following sections.

F u n c tio n a l Viandas: S ta r c h y R o o t
a n d T u b e r C ro p s f r o m A f r ic a

African influence can be considered the strongest in the Caribbean

(Laguerre, 1987); this also holds for Cuba (Lopez, 1985; Esquivel et
al., 1992). Afro-Cuban foodstuffs and meals, for human consumption
and sometimes for religious practices, have shaped popular Cuban
food systems. The plant composition of these dishes and drinks var­
ied according to the available species that the African slaves were
faced with, although several species originating from Africa were
used as well. About 15 percent of the plants reported in Table 9.1 are
of African origin; they include important crops such as Dioscorea
species, Abelmoschus esculentus and Cajanus cajan. At present,
foods from the era of slavery still represent the staple foods of Cuban
rural populations, and starch-rich tubers, vegetables, and legumes
have come to be of paramount importance to people’s health. Species
such as malanga (Xanthosoma sagittifolium and Colocasia escu-
lenta), calabaza (Cucurbita maxima), platano (Musa paradisiaca),
boniato (Ipomoea batatas), name (Dioscorea spp.), and many spe­
cies of beans (i.e., frijol gandul: Cajanus cajan; frijol caballero:
Phaseolus lunatus) are cultivated in home gardens throughout Cuba
(Hammer et al., 1992; Wezel and Bender, 2003). These food items,
popularly called viandas, are boiled in water and eaten as mashed
vegetables (fufu) or in soups and regarded as nourishing foods to be
given to children, “to let them grow strong,” and to the ill.
All of these viandas have been cultivated in home gardens since
the sixteenth century. They were the food of the slaves, who had to
rely on an energy- and pharmacologically rich diet in order to be able
to cope with the harsh workload of cutting and milling sugarcane.
Staple foods such as Xanthosoma spp., Dioscorea spp., Musa para­
disiaca, and Abelmoschus esculentus were brought to Cuba from Af­
rica soon after the conquest or with the slave shipments (Esquivel et
al., 1992), and often retained their African names. Words such as
 Medicinal Foods in Cuba: Promoting Health in the Household 223

name, malanga, and calalu are subsaharianisms that have become

part of the Cuban vernacular (Valdes, 1987). Malanga means aquatic
plant in the Quicongo language (Valdes, 1987), and the word name
has a possible Bantu origin, as it means “eat” in several Bantu lan­
guages (Mendoza, 1948). Abelmoschus esculentus is the main ingre­
dient of the calalu, a soup of wild and cultivated vegetables of Afri­
can origin sparsely distributed throughout America (Ortiz, 1956;
Nunez and Gonzalez, 1995, 1999). It is often prepared with bledo
(Amaranthus viridis) and is regarded as a depurative and refreshing
food “good for the health of the children and whatever person feeling
ill or tired.” Quimbombo (the Cuban folk name for A. esculentus) de­
rives from the African quim’-gombo (Ortiz, 1956), and variants of
this term are widespread throughout American countries with popu­
lations of African origin (Valdes, 1987).
Having to rely on a few food items for their general health, in the
past people sought ways further to exploit the available resources.
Plant varieties and congenerics (i.e., different species of Dioscorea
and Xanthosoma) with different maturation periods were cultivated,
wild relatives such as wild yam {name cimarron: Smilax spp.; name
volador: Dioscorea bulbifera) were used as famine foods (Roig,
1965), and less-important starchy foods such as Artocarpus com­
munis were cultivated. These may have been used also as medicinal
resources, particularly for gastrointestinal disorders. The vianda re­
garded as the favorite and most nourishing by Afro-Cuban people is
probably Xanthosoma spp.; the rhizome and buds are widely re­
garded as children’s food (Nunez, 1999). The fufii with milk is used
as a stomachic, against gastritis and stomach ulcer. Cut into pieces
and mashed with plantain, it is given to children as a healthy and anti-
diarrheic food. The plantain is a main component of the Cuban diet: it
is consumed as a strengthening food, particularly for breakfast in the
morning; its fufii and bananina (plantains cut into pieces, dried,
mashed, and added to the milk given to children) are two traditional
dishes used to make children grow strong and to treat intestinal para­
sites and diarrhea. As well, the jam made from mature plantain is con­
sidered to be “refreshing” and “good for the blood.” Maranta arun-
dinacea is cultivated on a small scale mainly in the Eastern Provinces
of Cuba (Esquivel and Hammer, 1992b). Its rhizome, grated, sun
dried and given to children with milk, is considered a digestive and
antidiarrheic.
224 EATING AND HEALING

Among medicinal foods used by Cuban people, palms play an im­

portant role in spiritual, religious, and material terms (Fuentes,
1992). They were among the first plants to attract the attention of Co­
lon when he landed in Cuba (Esquivel and Hammer, 1992b; Jimenez,
1999), and the Arecaceae family is one of the most important food re­
sources to Native Americans (Henderson et al., 1995; Leiva, 2001).
The young leaves of the palma real (Roystonea regia), locally called
palmitos, are eaten raw in salads and regarded as highly nutritious;
they were also one of the main staples of the mambises during the Cu­
ban secession war against Spain (Sarmiento, 2001b). The coconut,
Cocos nucifera, was brought to Cuba soon after the conquest (White-
head, 1984) and is now a major local resource. The “water” inside the
young fruits is drunk as a diuretic and an antihypertensive, while the
“milk” (grated endosperm) is reported to be laxative and antihelmin-
tic. The manteca (butter), made by toasting the “milk,” is said to be
good against intestinal parasites, and is often used as a frying oil in
Cuban households. Two more species of spiny palms called cornjo
are similarly used, often as coconut substitutes in more restricted geo­
graphical areas (e.g., Sierra de Cubitas in the province of Camaguey).
Acrocomia aculeata, distributed throughout tropical America, and
Gastrococos crispa, endemic to Cuba, are appreciated for the food
and medicinal properties of their fruits (Leiva, 2001). The inner part
of the fruits of both species (masa) is eaten and considered refresh­
ing, and it is also used for its diuretic properties. The fruits are also
toasted to make cooking oil, and because the economic crisis has led
to shortages of cooking oil throughout Cuba, wild populations of
these species are being exploited.
Fufu and soups of African origin are often accompanied with vege­
tables cultivated in home gardens or present in Cuban plantations as
weeds (Gutte, 1994). As examples, the young leaves of Lepidium
virginicum and Cleome gynandra are eaten in salads and considered
diuretic, while those of Chenopodium ambrosioides are considered
antihelmintic (Kliks, 1985). Portulaca oleracea and Solarium ameri-
canum are collected from the wild to be eaten in salads. They are both
considered good to treat stomach ulcers, while P. oleracea is also
used as an astringent against diarrhea and S. americanum as a depura-
tive, aperitive, and stomachic.
Many of the ritual dishes of African origin include depurative and
nourishing species (e.g., Corchorus olitorius, Portulaca oleracea,
 Medicinal Foods in Cuba: Promoting Health in the Household 225

Amaranthus spp., Gastrococos crispa) which can be regarded as sec­

ondary and famine foods within Afro-Cuban populations, transmit­
ted through generations via ritual and religious offerings (cf. Esquivel
et ah, 1992; Valdes, 1987). As stated by Johns (1994), and Huss-
Ashmore and Johnston (1994), some edible wild plants consumed on
an infrequent and opportunistic basis or as minor components in
complex dishes appear in the intergenerational transmission of knowl­
edge using myths and rituals as vehicles. Similarly, Afro-Cuban ritual
dishes could have played a role to offset food shortages during the
1990s in Cuba, following a resurgence of forgotten religious prac­
tices and reinforcement of ethnic identity. A large number of plants
used in Afro-Cuban religions are also used as foods and medicines
(Aguilar and Herrera, 1995; Cabrera, 1954; Fuentes, 1992), which
highlights the link between the spiritual and material activities of
these people in the selection of plants to be used.

F r u its: A W id e s p r e a d M e d ic in a l F o o d R e s o u r c e

Fruits are important secondary and medicinal food resources

worldwide (e.g., Fleuret, 1986). They are used as simple remedies,
mainly for gastrointestinal afflictions, and their therapeutic proper­
ties are orally transmitted as common social knowledge across
generations.
According to historical and archeological records, the selection of
fruits consumed by Cuban aboriginal peoples was restricted (Wilson,
1999; Liogier, 1992; Hernandez and Navarrete, 1999) and included
species such as Spondias mombin, Annona spp., and Pouteria sapota,
which were probably not grown as crops. Many species of fruits were
later introduced by the Spanish from the Mediterranean and Asiatic
areas (e.g., Citrus spp., Mangifera indica), Africa (i.e., Tamarindus
indica), and other areas of America (i.e., Persea americana) (cf.
Esquivel et al., 1992). Fruits are at present a main resource to local
people and represent more than half of the medicinal foods reported
in Table 9.1. Species such as Anacardium occidentale, Carica pa­
paya, Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, Spondias purpurea, Phyl-
lantus acidus, and Tamarindus indica, among others, are widely
grown in traditional home gardens (Hammer et ah, 1992; Wezel and
Bender, 2003). These fruits may be prepared in syrup, juice, or batido
(milkshake) and also used in old, traditional preparations such as the
226 EATING AND HEALING

alinao (fruits fermented under the ground in rum). Fruits are mainly
used to help the digestive process (e.g., C. papaya, M. indica), as ver­
mifuge (e.g., C. papaya), against diarrhea (e.g., green P guayava), or
as a laxative (e.g., Spondias purpurea), and the medicinal food use of
available fruits is perceived by people as a simple, cheap, and effec­
tive remedy for many common ailments, especially gastrointestinal
disorders. During the food shortages and deterioration of the general
health of the population in the 1990s (Garfield and Santana, 1997;
Rodrfguez-Ojea et al., 2002), fruits represented a primary food for
people; they were consumed as snacks in the field or bought at mar­
kets and in the streets (e.g., the fruits of Melicocca bijuga are sold in
the streets as snacks or to be sucked as an antihypertensive). Fruits
were a major source of vitamins and minerals, and the lore of their
use as medicinal food came to be of paramount importance to main­
tain health within the households. As examples, the green fruit of C.
papaya is chopped and boiled with milk to prevent bad digestion and
colic in children, and its decoction is used to treat diarrhea and gastro­
intestinal infections. C. sinensis is cut in half and eaten with salt to
clean the gastrointestinal tract after bad digestion, and its juice is
mixed with a tablespoon of oil of Ricinus communis and used to treat
empacho, a kind of stomach congestion described by an informant as
“something like a ball [bola] of undigested food that develops within
the stomach.”
Although most common fruits are eaten in a food rather than in a
medicinal.context, others are more often sought for specific medici­
nal purposes. For example, this is highlighted in the fruits of Guazu-
ma ulmifolia and Bromelia pinguin, which are regarded as antihel-
mintic and eaten sometimes as snacks in the field. Other food species
specifically sought as a treatment for intestinal parasites include
Pouteria sapota and Momordica charantia, eaten before breakfast. In
Cuba, fruits of the latter species are mainly grown as vegetables by
people of Asiatic origin (Hammer and Esquivel, 1992; Perez et al.,
1994), and they are sometimes used as fresh snacks, especially by
children. The habit of consuming antihelmintic foods or teas before
or during breakfast is particularly common among Cubans of Haitian
origin. The continuous ingestion of the low doses of allelochemicals
in these species may be an effective means of preventing massive
parasite infestations, especially in children.
 Medicinal Foods in Cuba: Promoting Health in the Household 227

Medicinal foods in Cuba are widely used for the treatment of ane­
mia and hypertension, two major health problems that may be allevi­
ated by the high iron and vitamin B content of some fruits and green
leafy vegetables and the high potassium and vitamin C content of oth­
ers (Roberts et al., 2001). As examples, the fruit of G. ulmifolia,
Pouteria campechiana, the green fruit of Mammea americana, and
the seeds of T. indica are ingested (or sucked) as antianemics. In spite
of the Cuban government’s policies of promoting the equity of vul­
nerable groups and giving them priority, since the early 1990s protein
intake has dropped by 36 percent, dietary fats by 65 percent, and nu­
tritional deficiencies have led to major health imbalances among the
population and to the outbreak of new diseases (Gay et al., 1995;
Tucker and Hedges, 1993). In this context, fruits and vegetables have
played an important role as suppliers of iron and vitamins, and tradi­
tional antianemics and vitamin-rich formulas based on local bio­
diversity have been revalorized. Juices and batidos (milkshakes made
from juice and sugar) of various fruits are commonly prepared as re­
freshments and for specific medicinal purposes. Batidos of the fruits
of Annona spp. (e.g., A. cherimolia) are called champolas and re­
garded as useful to treat conditions of anemia. The term champola
probably derives from the Congo sampula (to shake rapidly), an allu­
sion to how this drink is prepared (Ortiz, 1956). Fruit juices are often
mixed with vegetable juices to prepare refreshing drinks that are also
used within Cuban households as home remedies with high nutri­
tional and antianemic value. Orange juice is mixed with the juice of
the leaves of Nasturtium officinale and Beta vulgaris as a functional
food for children, with Lycopersicum esculentum and Daucus carota
“for the blood,” and with Foeniculum vulgare as a diuretic and sto­
machic. In the same way, the fruits of Capsicum frutescens var.
frutescens are mashed and eaten with the juice of Petroselinum
crispum as an antianemic.

M e d ic in a l D r in k s a n d C o ffe e S u b s titu te s

Beverages play a special role that overlaps both food and medi­
cine. Infusions or teas are often the preferred way of consuming med­
icine, but herbal teas also form part of the routinely dietary food
items, and the distinction between teas consumed as a refreshing
drink and teas used as medicine is unclear (Johns, 1990).
228 EATING AND HEAUNG

Pm is a traditional refreshing drink produced from the decoction

and fermentation with sugar of the following main components:
stems of Gouania polygama, the rhizome of Smilax domingensis, and
the leaves of Pimenta dioica. It is purported to have depurative and
diuretic properties; it is taken as a medicinal drink by people with
chronic high blood pressure, to help digestive process, and to heal
empacho “by cleaning stomach walls” (Volpato and Godinez, 2004;
Hernandez and Volpato, 2004). Pm has long been confined to a num­
ber of traditional villages in eastern Cuba, and its origin may be
traced back to the ethnobotanical knowledge of French-Haitian peo­
ple who migrated to Cuba from the end of the 1700s. During the
1990s, p m spread almost throughout the island, and its prevalent con­
sumption shifted from being a medicine to a food; at present it is sold
in almost every Cuban city as a refreshment. In the historical develop­
ment of food and medical systems, the original consumption of
herbal preparations as medicines can shift to a food context and vice
versa. With the commercial exploitation of pm, its consumption may
have become associated with food habits, just like coffee (also a for­
mer medicinal tea; Johns, 1990) or soft drinks, with little regard to its
purported health benefits.
Beverages containing caffeine and other stimulants may also have
been more important in the past as medicines, and teas originally
taken with therapeutic aims could have culturally shifted to a preva­
lent consumption as food. Indeed, as well as retaining their original
medicinal properties, teas may make important nutritional contribu­
tions of vitamins and minerals (Johns, 1990). The habit of drinking
coffee for breakfast is widespread throughout Cuban cities and coun­
tryside, although coffee is sometimes not available to Cuban farmers.
They thus substitute it with the seeds or sometimes the leaves of other
more easily available species collected from the wild and from the
gardens, such as guanina (Senna obtusifolia and Senna occidentalis)
and frijol de machete (Canavalia gladiata). Seeds of these species are
roasted and ground and have the food and medicinal (mainly diges­
tive) role of coffee. The habit of drinking “coffee” made from the
seeds of guanina is widespread throughout Africa and America (Cor­
rea and Bernal, 1990; Roig, 1974), and it was probably brought to
Cuba with the African slaves or by Antillean immigrants of African
origin. This infusion is also drunk as a diuretic and to treat bad diges­
tion, stomach spasms, migraine, and anemia. As one informant ex­
 Medicinal Foods in Cuba: Promoting Health in the Household 229

plained, “guanina coffee when drunk in the morning is the best for
the blood, but care must be taken to prepare it light and not to drink it
much, because it makes too much blood and be harmful.” The seeds
of the species have been found to be rich in proteins (Flores et al.,
1988) and antraquinonic glycosides (Lai and Gupta, 1973, 1974),
though no toxicity to humans has been reported yet to confirm Cuban
ethnomedical lore.
As emphasized in other works (Johns, 1990; Leonti et ah, 2002),
the palatability and the taste of plants used in traditional medicine are
related to their perceived and expected medicinal properties. Bitter
foods and teas are often used as marginal food sources but regarded as
“strong” (fuerte) medicinal foods (e.g., as antihelmintic). People per­
ceive that the common characteristic of these coffee substitutes is
their bitter taste, which is often related to the allelochemicals present
in the species. Momordica charantia (cundeamor) is a common me­
dicinal plant almost worldwide, and in Cuba the infusion of the leaves
is taken as febrifuge, vermifuge, to treat colitis, renal calculus, and
liver afflictions, and to regulate menstruation (Fuentes, 1988; Roig,
1974; Seoane, 1984). Its bitterness and medicinal properties are
mainly related to the presence of cucurbitacins (Ng and Yeung, 1984;
Raman and Lau, 1996; Rathi et al., 2002), and the bitter taste is per­
ceived by people as imparting health properties to the resulting drink.
An old woman reported: “In my childhood, my mother gave me to
drink every morning a little cup of an infusion of a few leaves of
cundeamor. We used to drink it without sugar, in spite of its bitter­
ness, first thing in the morning before breakfast, as a coffee. The infu­
sion cleans the blood and prevents lombrices [stomach and intestinal
parasites] moving upward looking for sweet food. If in fact someone
having parasites drinks or eats something with sugar first, parasites
move, causing stomach pains and even coming out from mouth and
nostrils. We used to take it every morning.”
Many systems of traditional medicine emphasize proper diet as a
requirement for health, along with prophylactic uses of herbal medi­
cines (Johns, 1990). Using herbal teas such as that of M. charantia as
preventive medicine could represent an evolutionary step toward
their consumption in a medicinal food context in specific cultural and
social situations (e.g., when coffee is not available and substitutes are
needed).
230 EATING AND HEAUNG

Cuban medicinal food habits draw upon the hot-cold (fri'o-

caliente) dichotomy (Fuentes, 1984; Nunez, 1999), widespread in
Latin American and Afro-Caribbean medical cultures (Harwood,
1971; Wiese, 1976; Laguerre, 1987; Foster, 1994). It is believed that
the balance of the hot and cold in the body should be maintained by
adding to the diet equal amounts of foods with hot and cold qualities;
disrupting this can result in illness. The classification of many food
items in terms of their hot and cold properties, and the empirical rela­
tion between the consumption of these items and the state of health of
a person, make these items important as medicinal and preventive
foods. Thus, eating “cold” food such as Ananas comosus, Persea
americana, and Annona muricata while one is warm or hot (e.g., after
one has been engaging in physical activity such as collecting coffee
or cutting sugarcane) could lead to “cold” illnesses such as asthma
and colds. A. muricata is considered a cold fruit, not to be given to
young children or to people with resfriado (cold). However, hot items
such as honey and teas made from “hot” plants such as canasanta
(Cymbopogon citratus), locally called calientura, are regarded as
useful in such cases. The infusion of the leaves of this plant is re­
ported as either a medicinal or an everyday tea, depending on the in­
formant: that is, it can be taken as a medicine or as a hot tea for break­
fast. Infusions of Zingiber officinale and Canella winterana are
sometimes used as everyday “hot” tonics “like coffee,” while the for­
mer is also regarded as an antispasmodic, digestive, and carminative,
and the latter as an antinausea and hypertensive. Moreover, they are
both used as spices in traditional dishes and cakes. Spices are used
worldwide to increase the palatability and the variety of foods, but
also to give dishes some medicinal properties due to the allelo-
chemicals contained in these species (Johns, 1990). The contempo­
rary use of these plants in Cuba as teas, spices, foods, and medicines
highlights the overlap that exists within traditional systems between
“what is food” and “what is medicine,” and the multiple ways to
exploit the nutritional and therapeutic properties of plant species.

CONCLUSIONS

The food habits of a population are the result of cultural and social
changes determined by historical 'developments. Cuban “ethno-
alimentation” has been shaped by the interaction of the different eth­
 Medicinal Foods in Cuba: Promoting Health in the Household 231

nic actors in the history of the island, each bringing its own knowl­
edge of foods and drinks for health and medicinal purposes.
Within Cuban households, staple and secondary foods are re­
garded as the main way to preserve good health and treat minor ail­
ments. Most starch-rich tubers and viandas of African origin are re­
garded as nourishing foods, as they were used and cultivated by
slaves faced with hard work on the sugarcane plantations. Fruits and,
to a lesser extent, vegetables, are used mainly as depuratives (“good
for the blood”) and in the treatment of gastrointestinal afflictions.
Medicinal foods are among the more available home remedies for
treating certain common ailments. The economic crisis that affected
Cuba in the 1990s brought shortages of food and medicine and led to
a revalorization of traditional lore on local plant resources. Medicinal
foods and related knowledge of restricted ethnic and/or geographic
origin diffused and their traditional forms of consumption changed.
Ritual dishes and emergency foods have been included in the diet,
and teas formerly used therapeutically have become dietary drinks as
coffee substitutes. The medicinal and food uses of plants overlap and
are continuously changing, highlighting the multiple ways with
which people deal with plants and the local environment.

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 Chapter 10

Healthy Fish: Medicinal

and Recommended Species in the Amazon
and the Atlantic Forest Coast (Brazil)
Alpina Begossi
Natalia Hanazaki
Rossano M. Ramos

INTRODUCTION

Food as medicine, recommended in diets for ill individuals, in­

cludes certain specific species that are eaten or mixed with other
foods. These medicinal foods may be roasted, boiled, or made into
beverages. Such use of specific foods to cure illness goes back a long
way in human history. As pointed out by Etkin and Johns (1998, p. 3),
a key organizing principle of this practice is that all foods contain a
single element that when digested repairs the body and provides en­
ergy, thereby mediating disease.
The practices of the Hippocratic school included curing by provid­
ing a beneficial environment for the patient and a regimen of suitable
diet and exercise (Porter, 1997, p. 20). The spiciness of Indian cuisine
is well-known, and its ingredients may have the role of maintaining
health or preventing illness. According to Handa (1998, p. 57), the In-

We are grateful to FAPESP (Brazil) grants for the fieldwork along the Araguaia and
the Negro rivers, and to the MacArthur Foundation for the fieldwork along the Junta
River. FAPESP has also supported fieldwork on the Atlantic Forest coast since 1992.
One of the authors (A.B.) thanks CNPq (Brazil) for a productivity scholarship (1B) and
for a research grant in 1992. We thank M. Quinlan, Ball State University, IN, USA, for
the valuable review of and suggestions for a draft of this paper. An interim report of this
study was presented at the XV 1CAES 2K3, Florence, Italy, July 5th-12th, 2003 (travel
funded by FAPESP).

237
238 EATING AND HEALING

dian diet has components to balance the body’s equilibrium in order

to prevent illnesses, and diet is considered the most important compo­
nent of health (Handa, 1998). Prohibitions of plants and animals dur­
ing illness, menstruation, and puerperium have historical roots and
are widespread around the world, as exemplified by food taboos on
fish, animals, and vegetables (Begossi, 1998, pp. 41-43; Begossi et
ah, 2002). Other food may be recommended to treat illnesses or in­
cluded in diets prepared to alleviate illnesses or their related symp­
toms.
In many cases, the interface between a recommended food and a
medicine includes a threshold that is difficult to define. Beverages
used in treatments often include plants, but in many cases they also
contain animal parts. Mystic or supernatural factors may be associ­
ated with treatments. In many different parts of rural Brazil, among
coastal populations, or in riverine environments, the association of
supernatural factors with diseases is fairly common. Maues (1990)
found different categories of diseases in a fishing community in the
northern part of Brazil, where some illnesses were associated with
natural (biological) causes and others were associated with supernat­
ural causes. In rural Brazil there are specialists such as the curan-
deiro, who gives recipes and beverages to the ill, the rezador, who
prays and uses magical practices to induce cures, and the raizeiro,
who prepares and gives recipes on radish leaves and essences to be
used in cures (Araujo, 1979; Campos, 1967, pp. 32-33).
Most medicinal recipes and practices are usually based on the veg­
etal world, as exemplified in the medicine found in the colonial Brazil
of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries (Beltrao Marques, 1999;
Ribeiro, 1971) or by the relative abundance of publications on the use
of plants by peoples such as the Caigaras in the Atlantic Forest and
the Caboclos of the Amazon (Begossi et al., 1993; Begossi et al.,
2000; Begossi et al., 2002; Hanazaki et al., 2000; and Rossato et al.,
1999).
The animal world, even as a secondary source of medical treat­
ments, is also used in medicinal practices in other parts of Brazil,
such as the northeast. Fish are also used. In particular, the oils of some
fish species are used in treatments to cure illnesses such as leish-
maniosis, rheumatism, cystitis, and earache (Begossi, 1992; Begossi
and Braga, 1992; Seixas and Begossi, 2001). Other fish are used not
strictly as a medical treatment, but as part of a diet to be given to ill
 Healthy Fish: Medicinal and Recommended Species in Brazil 239

persons. These species are the main focus of this chapter, and they
straddle the threshold between the realms of food and medicine.

METHODS

The results shown in this chapter are from research projects carried
out in the Amazon since 1987, and in the Atlantic Forest coast since
1985. The methods included interviews with adult couples of riverine
fishers (Caboclos) and coastal Atlantic fishers (Caigaras), based on
questionnaires. Along the Araguaia, Jurua, and Negro Rivers in the
Brazilian Amazon, the sampling effort varied from 25 percent (Jurua
River) to 50 percent (Araguaia). Along the Negro River, we sampled
about 50 percent of the residences at the mouth of tributaries between
Ponta Negra (Manaus) and the Unini River. The data obtained in the
Atlantic Forest coast area came from two communities from Jureia,
on the southern coast of Sao Paulo state; eight communities, includ­
ing two islands (Biizios and Vitoria) from the northern coast of Sao
Paulo; and one island (Gipoia), from the southern coast of Rio de Ja­
neiro state (see Figure 10.1). For details of the methods used in the
specific sites, see Begossi (1992), Begossi and colleagues (1999,
2000), and Hanazaki and Begossi (2000). The freshwater fish were
identified by J. Zuanon of the National Institute of Amazonian Re­
search (INPA, Manaus), and by O. Oyakawa of the Zoology Museum
of the University of Sao Paulo. Marine fish were identified by J. L.
Figueiredo of the Zoology Museum of the University of Sao Paulo,
and with the help of identification keys (Figueiredo, 1977; Figuei­
redo and Menezes, 1980, 2000; Menezes and Figueiredo, 1980,
1985). Other sources of identification were Begossi and Garavello
(1990), Ferreira and colleagues (1998), Santos and colleagues (1984),
and Silvano and colleagues (2001). The English names have been
taken from Begossi (1989), Begossi and Figueiredo (1995), and the
database of www.fishbase.org.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Caigaras and Caboclos are people of mixed Amerindian, Por­

tuguese, and other descent. The Caigaras are rural inhabitants of
240 EATING AND HEALING

60 °w 45° W

Research areas
FIGURE 10.1. Map of the research areas.

coastal sites of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and the Caboclos are ru­
ral inhabitants of the Amazon (in this study, riverine Caboclos). Their
livelihood depends on aquatic resources and forest resources, along
with shifting cultivation, in which cassava is the staple crop.
The Caigaras include coastal artisanal fishers. Most riverine
Caboclos in the Amazon area are also engaged in artisanal fishing.
Fish is an important part of their daily intake of animal protein, and
both peoples include certain fish species in the recommended diet
prescribed to invalids.
In both fieldwork areas, the list of recommended fish is much lon­
ger than the list of specifically medicinal fish. In the Amazon, the in­
terviews yielded the names of 49 fish recommended for specific diets,
 Healthy Fish: Medicinal and Recommended Species in Brazil 241

compared with 28 names of medicinal fish. The comparable figures

for the Atlantic Forest coast were 64 and 16 fish names. Because of
the great diversity and dispersion in the data from the interviews, here
we have included only those fish species mentioned by at least ten
interviewees in any community studied.

R e c o m m e n d e d F is h f o r III P e r s o n s
a n d P u e r p e r a l o r M e n s tr u a tin g W o m e n

In the Amazon fieldwork area, the fish mentioned as recom­

mended during illness in the three research areas (Araguaia, Jurua,
and Negro rivers) were pacu (Mylossoma sp., Myleus sp., Metynnis
sp.), anchovy or sardine (Triportheus sp., Clupeidae, Engraulidae),
and traira (Hoplias malabaricus). In specific areas it seems to be
very important to eat certain species during illness. Area-specific ex­
amples are pacu, piranha (Serrasalmus), and sardines along the Ara­
guaia River, bode (Loricariidae) and sardines along the Jurua River,
and acara (Cichlidae) and pacu along the Negro River (Figure 10.1).
The differences in uses found between the rivers may be due to re­
gional differences in the abundance of fish species, since Loricariidae
are easily available at the research site along the upper Jurua River
and are also very important in the diet of the riverine Caboclos
(Begossi et al., 1999).
On the Atlantic Forest coast, the Caigaras in all the study sites
mentioned eating corvina (Micropogonias fum ieri and Umbrina
coroides) and bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) during periods of ill­
ness and during puerperium and menstruation. The relative impor­
tance of the fish recommended per study area fluctuated. Grouper
(Epinephelus spp.), spottail pinfish (Diplodus argenteus), and yellow
chub (Kyphosus spp.) were mentioned especially often on Buzios and
Vitoria Islands; tomtate (Haemulon spp., Orthopristes ruber) and
weakfish (Cynoscion, Nebris, Macrodon) were mentioned on Gipoia
Island; the cichlid (Geophagus brasiliensis), caratinga (Diaplerus
spp.) and snook (Centropomus spp.) were mentioned in the Jureia
communities of Barra do Una and Praia do Una; and grouper, spottail
pinfish, weakfish, and especially the southern kingfish (Menticirrhus
americanus) were mentioned by the Caigaras of the six communities
studied in Ubatuba district (Table 10.2 and Figure 10.1). Piso (1658),
a Dutch physician who came to Brazil in 1637 and organized a scien­
242 EA TING AND HEAUNG

tific expedition, recorded the names of some fish recommended in in­

valid diets. They included a fish called carauna, which Freire (1939,
p. 120) gives as G. brasiliensis (the acara found in Table 10.2) and a
freshwater fish called amore-guagu, which Freire (1939, p. 503)
gives as Chronophorus taiacica, a Gobiidae. Such references show
that some of these feeding behaviors have an earlier historical origin,
predating the arrival of Portuguese colonists in Brazil. Most fish rec­
ommended to be eaten during illness eat invertebrates, or they are
detritivorous or even omnivorous (data in Ferreira et al., 1998; Santos
et al., 1984; Silvano et al., 2001,2002). In the Amazonian case, these
are acara, aracu, aruana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum), bode, caran-
ha (Colossoma brachypomum), corvina (Plagioscion, Pachyurus),
jaraqui (Semaprochilodus spp.), mandi (Pimelodina, Pimelodella,
among others), matrincha (Brycon), mocinha (Potamorhina altama-
zonica), pacu, piau (Anostomidae), saburu, (Steindachnerina spp.),
and sardine (see Table 10.1). Some fish may occasionally eat other
fish species such as acara, corvina, and mandi. A few exceptions,
such as piranha, traira, and tucunare (Cichla spp.) are usually pisci­
vorous. On the Atlantic Forest coast, with the exception of king
mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), bluefish, and traira, the fish rec­
ommended are not piscivorous, but instead are invertebrate eaters,
omnivorous, or detritivorous. Therefore, acara, round scad (Decap-
terus punctatus), carapeba (Diapterus spp.), carapicu (Eucinos-
tomus spp.), caratinga, tomtate, corvina, grouper, goete (Cynoscion,
Larimus), southern kingfish, spottail pinfish, white mullet (Mugil
curema), weaktish, piragica, robalo, and mullet (Mugilplatanus) are
in these categories (see Table 10.2). Some of them, such as corcoroca
and garoupa, may sometimes eat fish.
The importance of recommending nonpiscivorous fish for ill peo­
ple is especially relevant, given that most fish species prohibited from
the diets of puerperal or menstruating women or invalids, are
piscivorous (Begossi, 1992; Begossi and Braga, 1992; Begossi et al.,
2004). One reason for recommending a diet based on nonpiscivorous
prey is that fish from low trophic levels are probably very digestible,
as at higher trophic levels there is an increasing probability of accu­
mulating toxins. The accumulation of toxins at upper trophic levels is
referred to as biological magnification, and it is widely known for
substances such as DDT and mercury (Kormondy and Brown, 1998).
 Healthy Fish: Medicinal and Recommended Species in Brazil 243

TABLE 10.1. Fish re co m m e n d e d to be eaten d uring illness, p u e rp e riu m , or m e n ­

stru a tio n by riverine fish e rs of the A m a zo n ian rivers A ra g u a ia , Jurua, and Negro,
and by fish e rs from 18 coastal co m m u n itie s of the A tla n tic Forest coast. D ata on
fish cited by at least ten in te rvie w e e s at one o f the stu d y sites.

N um ber
o f c ita tio n s per s tu d y area
Local E nglish S p ecies,
nam e n am e g en e ra , o r fa m ily A ra g u a ia J u ru a N egro
Acara Cichlid Cichlidae 4 8 37
Aracu Leporinus Anostomidae - - 12
Aruana Arawana O steoglossum - - -
bicirrhosum
Bode Loricariidae - 70 -
Caranha C olossom a 12 - -
brachypom um
Corvina Croaker Plagioscion, 13 1 —
P achyurus sp.
Jaraqui S em aprochilodus spp. 10 - 19
Mandi Catfish Pim elodina, 9 18
Pim elodella,
Pim elodus, among
others
Matrincha B rycon 17 - -
Mocinha P otam orhina - 13 -
altam azonica
Pacu Pacu M ylossom a duriventre, 45 1 40
M yleus spp., M etynnis
spp.
Piau Leporinus Anostomidae 16 17 -
Piranha Piranha S errasalm us spp. 21 1 -
Saburu S teindachne rina spp. - 13 -
Sardinha Anchovy, Triportheus spp., 24 50 12
Hatchetfish Clupeidae Engraulidae
Traira Trahira H oplias m alabaricus 19 18 18
Tucunare Peacock C ichla spp.
cichlid,
Speckled
pavon
Total Number * 113 120 64

Note: A m a zo n ian fish (fre sh w a te r) N = 297.

 TAB LE 10.2. Fish re com m ended to be eaten during illness, puerp e riu m , o r m enstruation by riverine fishers from five areas

244
of A tla n tic Forest coast, including nine fishing com m unities. D ata on fish cited by at least ten intervie w e e s at one of the
stu d y sites.

SnpripQ N u m b e r o f cita tio n s p er stu d y

Local
n am e Eng lish n am e g en era, o r fa m ily B uzios G ip oia Ju re ia U batub a V ito ria
Acara Cichlid G eophagus rasiliensis - - 22 7 -

Cacao Small shark Carcharhinidae 9 — — 22 1

Carapau Round scad D ecapterus punctatu - 7 - 13 -
Carapeba Mojarra D iapterus spp. - - 1 11 -
Carapicu Mojarra E ucinostom us spp. - - - 23 -
Caratinga Mojarra D iapterus spp. - - 28 7 -
Cavala King mackerel S com berom us cavalla - 7 - 13 -
Corcoroca Tomtate, Grunt H aem ulon spp. 4 10 - 2 -
H aem ulon spp.r.
Corvina Croaker, Sand M icroponias furnieri 1 7 6 23 1
drum U m brina coroides
Enchova Bluefish Pom atom us saltarix 1 3 1 25 4
Garoupa Grouper E pinephelus spp. 25 6 - 34 7
Goete Weakfish Cynoscion, Larim us - 1 - 15 -
Imbetara Southern M enticirrhus - 2 12 93 -
kingfish am ericanus
Marimba Spottail pinfish D iplodus argenteus 27 - - 30 4
Pampo Pompano Trachinous spp. - - 2 10 -
Parati White mullet Mugil curema - - 13 3 -
Pescada Weakfish Cynoscion, Nebris, - 10 9 37 -
Macrodon
Piragica Yellow chub Kyphosus spp. 21 1 - 9 5
Robalo Snook Centropomus spp. - - 31 26 -
Tainha Mullet Mugil platanus - - 7 29 -
Traira Trahira Hoplias malabaricus - - 10 - -
Total number 113 120 64 - —

Note: Atlantic Forest coast (estuarine or marine species) N = 374.

246 EATING AND HEALING

Prey that feed at lower trophic levels are expected to contain less tox­
ins; thus herbivorous preys should be very acceptable.

Medicinal Fish

Some fish are used as medicine or used to treat certain diseases

when prepared in a certain way. Rays are medicinal in both the Ama­
zon and the Atlantic Forest areas. In the 297 interviews from the
Araguaia, Jurua, and Negro river areas, the fish mentioned most often
as having medicinal uses were rays (different species: 45 mentions),
poraque (Electrophorus electricus: 21 mentions), traira (77. mala-
baricus: 19 mentions), and pirarara (Phratocephalus hemiliopterus:
17 mentions). The oil from these fish is used to treat asthma and bron­
chitis (rays); rheumatism (poraque, also pirara), skin burns, cough,
and wounds; and, in particular, asthma (pirarara); and earache
(traira). The fish oil is usually drunk, but in the case of rheumatism it
is rubbed on the body. The liver of rays may also be used, toasted and
drunk as an infusion (locally referred to as “tea”) for bronchitis and
flu.
In the Atlantic Forest coast area, none of the medicinal fish were
mentioned by more than 10 interviewees from each community. The
“ray egg,” mentioned at Buzios Island and Ubatuba in less than five
interviews, is used against hemorrhages by puerperal women. It is of­
ten toasted and drunk as an infusion, also locally referred to as “tea.”
At Ubatuba, the “ray egg” is mentioned to cure bronchitis as well.
The most-mentioned medicinal fish is sea horse (Hippocampus
reidi), with a total of 29 mentions on the Atlantic Forest coast. It is
used toasted in a beverage (as an infusion or as a tincture in pinga, a
Brazilian rum) to treat bronchitis and puerperal hemorrhages. An
aquatic animal mentioned on the coast is a turtle (Chelonia mydas); it
is used to treat asthma, bronchitis, and rheumatism (29 mentions). On
the coastal islands of Jaguanum and Itacuruga (Rio de Janeiro), peixe
porco (filefish; Alulerus monoceros, Stephanolepis hispidus) was
mentioned in 100 interviews as a medicinal fish to treat bronchitis.
The filefish’s skin is toasted and drunk or mixed with food. Three in­
terviews on Gipoia Island and at Ubatuba also mentioned the medici­
nal properties of filefish. In communities on Grande Island, on the
southern coast of Rio de Janeiro, 77. reidi (sea horse), M. furnieri
(croaker), and Batistes capriscus (other filefish) were mentioned to
 Healthy Fish: Medicinal and Recommended Species in Brazil 247

treat bronchitis. The skin of H. reidi or the skin of B. capriscus are

toasted, ground, and drunk as an infusion or eaten during meals, and
the otolith of M. furnieri, also toasted and ground, is drunk as an
infusion (Seixas and Begossi, 2001).
In other Brazilian fishing communities, such as Siribinha Beach in
the state of Bahia (northeastern Brazil), black prochilodus, marine
electric fish, marine catfish, shark, and trai'ra are also used as medici­
nal fish (Costa-Neto and Marques, 2000). In fishing communities in
northeastern Brazil, such as Varzea de Marituba, some fishermen rec­
ognize medicinal uses for the oil of fishes, such as Tarpon atlanticus,
Paraucheniplerus galeatus, Erythinus cf. erythrinus, Schizodon
kneery, and Leporinus sp. (piau), Serrasalmus brandtii, as well as
Hoplias aff. malabaricus (trai'ra) (Marques, 2001).

CONCLUSIONS

The riverine Caboclos of the Amazon differ slightly from the

coastal Cai9 aras of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, in modifications to the
diet that involve particular fish species and are a response to a particu­
lar condition of the consumer (e.g., fish recommended for invalids
and puerperal or menstruating women). They also differ in the use of
animals (or animal parts) to treat diseases. In fact, it seems that more
species of fish are recommended in periods of illness, puerperium, or
menstruation than there are medicinal species of fish. These results
contrast with the use of plants, where we frequently find an especially
well-defined category of “medicinal plants,” which are taken in the
form of an infusion or syrup, for example (Begossi et al., 2002; see
Chapter 11 by Hanazaki et ah, this volume).
Though the first records of the consumption of fish (such as the
carauna [G. brasiliensisj and amore-guaqu [C. taiacica] being rec­
ommended for invalids) are from Piso’s expedition in the 1600s, it
seems likely that the consumption of particular fish species to treat
illness predates the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil.
Finally, the importance of nonpiscivorous fish in recommenda­
tions for the ill indicates that the prey’s diet might be a relevant factor
in the choice of the food forbidden for invalids and menstruating or
puerperal women. The diet of the prey might influence its toxicity
and digestibility, and therefore its acceptability as food for humans in
248 EATING AND HEALING

a weakened physical state. These findings suggest a need for addi­

tional research on the toxins in freshwater and coastal fish and on fish
digestibility according to the species’ position within the food chain.
Further, we should examine the conditions in which humans are
likely to prefer larger, meatier fish or smaller, possibly more digest­
ible fish. These questions would increase our knowledge of human
nutrition, health behavior, and environmental interaction.

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 Chapter 11

Edible and Healing Plants

in the Ethnobotany
of Native Inhabitants of the Amazon
and Atlantic Forest Areas of Brazil
Natalia Hanazaki
Nivaldo Peroni
Alpina Begossi

INTRODUCTION

Ethnobotany deals with the way people incorporate plants into

their cultural traditions and customary practices (Balick and Cox,
1997) or, according to Alcorn (1995), with the dynamics of the sys­
tem of which plant use and plant management are a part.
An important approach of ethnobotany is to apply quantitative
methods (Martin, 1995; Alexiades, 1996; Phillips, 1996). Quantifica­
tion in ethnobotany is a useful tool, as long as it is used to address par­
ticular ethnobiological questions (Phillips, 1996). One of the advan­
tages of quantitative methods is that they yield comparable data,
either through systematic and replicable data collection or under an
etic and an ethic research orientation (Zent, 1996). In this sense,
ethnobotanical studies often deal with predefined categories of use,

We are grateful to two Brazilian agencies: FAPESP, for financial support for field­
work and a doctoral scholarship (N. Hanazaki), and CNPq, for a research grant (A.
Begossi) and a doctoral grant (N. Peroni). We thank Jorge Y. Tamashiro from De-
partamento de Botanica (UNICAMP), who identified the botanical material, and Silvia
Rossato, who collected ethnobotanical data at Araguaia River. Last, but not least, we are
very grateful to all the interviewees who kindly collaborated in this research.

251
252 EATING AND HEAUNG

in order to have comparable data from different surveys and to under­

stand the importance of the plant resources for a given population.
Though predefined use categories have advantages, researchers
using them frequently ponder how to construct categories that fully
correspond to those of the informants. Classic examples of such cate­
gories are food plants and medicinal plants (Phillips, 1996). Al­
though a real distinction exists between these categories among many
native communities and for many plant species (Moerman, 1994),
this division is not always crisp. Many species are undoubtedly con­
sidered as medicinal—clearly used to cure illnesses, diseases, or a
given type of debilitation. However, some species straddle two or
more categories at the same time. Bennett and Prance (2000) argue
that the dichotomy between food and medicine can be largely absent
among indigenous and rural populations. Several plants used for food
are also important medicinal resources, and vice versa. In this con­
text, the emic concepts of health, disease, and illness should vary
from the etic ones (cf. Pike, 1993 and Harris, 1976). Thus, in some
extreme situations, the food plants can be considered as medicinal
plants, even if their unique medicinal role is to satiate hunger.
Underlying these previously constructed categories a gradient of
management and domestication can be observed for each species.
The terms wild, weed, cultivated, and domesticated are widely dis­
cussed in the literature and represent a continuum of the human-plant
relationships (see De Wet and Harlan, 1975; Rindos, 1984; Harris,
1989; Harlan, 1992; Logan and Dixon, 1994; Clement, 1999).
In this continuum, a key group of plants lies in the wild-weed gra­
dient. In spite of the fact that wild plants cannot invade habitats per­
manently disturbed by humans (De Wet and Harlan, 1975), the com­
plex wild-weed species represent the individuals of a population that
can tolerate some degree of disturbance and move back and forth on
this continuum (Harlan, 1992). Another problem related to the con­
tinuous nature of human modifications of plant habitats is the diffi­
culty of defining whether a given species is native to the area. This is
especially relevant for plants from the Amazon region, because hu­
man influence in Amazonian forests is historical and intense (Balee,
1994) and includes many intermediate stages of human modification
and utilization of plants in different stages of interaction. A corollary
to this is that the concept of a pristine forest is not appropriate for a
great part of the Amazon basin (Balee, 1994), and what is a wild plant
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Elhnobolany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 253

today could once have been a weed. The questions raised when deal­
ing with predefined and rigid categories are also the consequence of
the frozen-in-time nature of the snapshot of these dynamic processes.
Ethnobotanical surveys conducted in different parts of Brazil (e.g.,
Amorozo and Gely, 1988; Figueiredo et al., 1993, 1997; Rossato et
al., 1999; Begossi etal., 2001,2002; Hanazaki etal., 2000; Albuquer­
que and Andrade, 2002) have shown that local knowledge of plant re­
sources is important when discussing plants used for various pur­
poses, such as medicine, food, and handicrafts. In this chapter we
explore the plants useful as both food and medicine in three areas of
Brazil: the Atlantic rain forest, the Araguaia River (Brazilian sa­
vanna), and the Negro River (Amazon forest).
Etkin (1994) has discussed the limitations of a perspective of plant
use based mainly on the maximization of caloric sources; he stressed
the need to consider other potential uses, such as the nutritional and
pharmacological ones. Such a perspective, expanded by Etkin (1994),
is implicit when dealing with predefined categories of “food” or
“medicine,” which frequently obscure less conspicuous features of
plants. In this study, we analyze these overlapping features of plant
species, which are reflected in overlapping categories of use.

STUDY SITE AND METHODS

Data were collected in three areas with different environmental

and vegetation characteristics. During 1997 and 1998, 96 interviews
were performed among riverine people from the Araguaia River, liv­
ing between Aragarqas and Sao Felix do Araguaia (11° 37'-15° 53' S
and 50° 40'-52° 12' W). We covered a stretch of river approximately
900 km long, interviewing people living on both banks but excluding
Indian tribes and the inhabitants of urban sites, such as cities. At each
settlement we sampled 50 percent of the houses. Note that some in­
terviews were performed in areas of cerrado vegetation (Brazilian sa­
vanna), which have been appreciably altered by cattle ranching and
large soybean farms.
In the Amazon region, we conducted 73 interviews with riverine
people from the Negro River, between Ponta Negra and the Unini
River (01 ° 54'-3° 04' S and 60° 06’-6 1° 30' W), from 2000 to 2001. We
covered approximately 300 km of the lower course of the Negro
254 EATING AND HEALING

River and part of the lower course of the Unini River, interviewing
people living on the right bank, but excluding towns. In communities
with more than ten houses and in communities located at the mouth of
small tributaries (igarapes) the sample included 50 percent of the
houses on the river bank. The Negro is a black-water tributary of the
Amazon, flowing through an area of igapo (flooded forest) and terra
firme forest (areas not periodically flooded) (Hueck, 1972).
In the Atlantic Forest region, data were collected through inter­
views with the local inhabitants of nine communities. Several north­
ern communities from this part of the coast of Sao Paulo State (23°
15'-23° 45' S and 44° 45'-45° 00' W) were included in this study:
Puruba, Picinguaba, Sertao do Puruba, Casa de Farinha, Ilha da
Vitoria (Rossato et al., 1999), Almada, and Camburf (Hanazaki et al.,
2000). The southern communities from the coast of Sao Paulo State
(24° 50-24° 55' S and 47° 45'-47° 55' W) included in this study were
Pedrinhas and Sao Paulo Bagre (Hanazaki, 2001). We interviewed
264 inhabitants between 1991 and 1999. On average, the number of
families in these communities is 35; the range is from 13 (Ilha da
Vitoria) to 70 families (Picinguaba and Camburf). On the coast of Sao
Paulo State the Atlantic rain forest is reasonably intact, despite recent
changes due to increased tourism and urbanization.
Despite the regional differences, all interviewees shared some fea­
tures regarding their main economic activities. The riverine and
coastal populations we studied depended largely on fishing, either for
direct subsistence or for commercial purposes. These people live in
rural areas, and their degree of contact with urban centers varies with
the distance from the cities and the transport facilities. The people in
the Amazon region are generally called Caboclos, and those in the
Atlantic Forest region are generally called Cai§aras. Both the Cabo­
clos and the Cai§aras are people of mixed origin, descended from Eu­
ropeans, Amerindians, and Africans (Willems, 1975; Wagley, 1976;
Mussolini, 1980; Parker, 1985).
We accessed all the communities in the Atlantic Forest region ex­
cept Ilha da Vitoria by car. Most of the communities have public pri­
mary schools and public transport to the urban centers. The houses
and communities along the Negro and the Araguaia were reached by
boat, but some localities on the banks of Araguaia can also be reached
by car. In the Araguaia and Negro River areas, especially the latter,
the houses were simpler than in the Atlantic Forest area. In the
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 255

Araguaia and Negro River areas the bigger settlements have a public
primary school. Transportation to the urban centers is mainly by boat.
Medical assistance varies from place to place; most places are visited
infrequently by the public health care service. In the Negro and
Araguaia areas we observed frequent visits by government workers
to control malaria.
The interviews were done individually with male and female
adults, after we had asked the local inhabitants whether they were
willing to participate in the research. Based on a semi structured re­
search protocol (open-ended questionnaires), we asked them ques­
tions about their socioeconomic activities, about fishing, and about
three broad, predefined categories of known and used plants: plants
for medicine, plants for food, and plants for handicrafts and construc­
tion. Botanical material was collected and herborized for identifica­
tion. Some common species were identified in field. The taxonomic
identification was done by the late Hermogenes F. Leitao-Filho
(Unicamp, Campinas), Jorge Y. Tamashiro (Unicamp, Campinas),
and Olga Yano (Instituto Botanico, Sao Paulo). The botanical mate­
rial collected was deposited at the Herbarium of the Campinas Uni­
versity (UEC). The field identification of some common species was
checked against the literature (Lorenzi et al., 1996; De Souza et al.,
1997; Lorenzi, 1998). The plant origins were based on Briicher
(1989), Rehm and Espig (1991), Pipemo and Pearsall (1998), and
Clement (1999).
The management intensity was classified into four broad catego­
ries: plants with little or no management (Mi0); plants facilitated by
human management (Mij); plants infrequently cultivated (Mi2 ); and
plants frequently cultivated (Mi3). Both “cultivated” and “managed”
refer to human activities. Note that the term “cultivated” refers to spe­
cies that are planted in prepared land or sown in prepared beds (Etkin,
1994), while “managed” refers to species that are influenced by some
degree of alteration of the environment. Just as constructed categories
of use do not reflect the continuum of plant uses, the categories of
management intensity do not reflect the continuum of plant manage­
ment; some species, therefore, straddle categories.
256 EATING AND HEALING

RESU LTS AND DISCUSSION

In total there were 433 interviews. In these interviews, 85 plants

mentioned were used both for food and for medicine (see Appendix).
Two of the 85 species were not considered in this analysis because
they are bought in markets and not produced locally (A. sativum and
Myristica fragrans Houtt.).
The interviews along the Araguaia River yielded 24 plants used
both for food and medicine, and the Negro River interviews yielded
19. In both cases, these figures represented 18 percent of all the total
number of plants mentioned in each area. In the Atlantic Forest, ap­
proximately half (48 percent) of the species mentioned were used
both for food and for medicine (see Table 11.1). The proportions of
plants used only for food, only for medicine, and for both food and
medicine in the three areas were statistically different (%2 = 25.57
with 4 degrees of freedom, p < 0.01). A chi-square test on the propor­
tions for the Araguaia and Negro rivers revealed that these propor­
tions did not differ statistically (%2 = 0.27, with 3 degrees of freedom,
p < 0.01). However, although the proportions in the three areas were
statistically different, in all three areas the average number of plants
used for both food and medicine was similar (0.25 plants per inter­
view for Araguaia, 0.26 for Negro, and 0.23 for Atlantic Forest).
In spite of the environmental and other differences between the
three areas (Amazon forest, Atlantic Forest, and Brazilian savanna)
seven species were used both as food and medicine in all three areas.
Three of these species are introductions that are widely used in Brazil
and elsewhere in the world, both as food and as medicine: mango
TABLE 11.1. Number of interviews in each area, and number of plants men­
tioned only as food plants, mentioned only as medicinal plants, and, post hoc,
found to have been mentioned as both. Figures in parentheses indicate the aver­
age number of plants mentioned per interview in each area.

Araguaia Negro A tlantic

River River Forest
Number of interviews 96 73 264
Number of plants mentioned
Food 132 (1.37) 107 (1.46) 128 (0.48)
Medicinal 133(1.38) 98 (1.34) 221 (0.84)
Food and medicinal 24 (0.25) 19(0.26) 62 (0.23)
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 25 7

(.Mangifera indica L.), orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck], and

lemon (Citrus limon L. Burm.). These species are economically im­
portant in Brazil (Mors and Rizzini, 1966; Joly and Leitao-Filho,
1979). A further three species are native and also widely used in other
parts of Brazil: jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril L.), guava (Psidium
guajava L.), and cashew (Anacardium occidental L.) (Mors and
Rizzini, 1966). All six of these species have in common that their ed­
ible part is the fruit, whereas the medicinal part may be their bark,
shoots, or leaves. The seventh species, garlic (Allium sativum L.), is
an exception: its bulb is widely used as a condiment and as a medi­
cine.
As well as recording whether the plants mentioned were native or
introduced, we also recorded their management intensity and the en­
vironment from which they are collected. Over half (53 percent) of
the 83 species mentioned that were used both for food and medicine
were introduced; 47 percent were native. The similarity of these per­
centages indicates that the people depend on both native and intro­
duced resources for food and medicine.
Interestingly, according to Bennett and Prance (2000), surveys of
food plants tend to ignore wild species (Etkin, 1994), while surveys
of medicinal plants tend to ignore introduced ones. In this context,
Bennett and Prance (2000) noted that the widespread use of intro­
duced plants is partly due to the medicinal value of plants whose pri­
mary use is for food. This is true of many edible fruit species, such as
mango, papaya (Carica papaya L.), black mulberry (Monts nigra
L.), avocado (Persea americana Mill.), and orange.
Native species used for food and medicine included fruits such as
inhare [Licania gardnerii (Hook.) Fritsch]; pequf (Caryocar brasil-
iense Cambess.); and curriola (Cissus spinosa Cambess.) in the
Araguaia area and a cat' {Euterpe precatoria Mart.); beriba [Rollinia
mucosa (Jacq.) Bail!.]; murict {Mauritia flexuosa L.); and uichi
[Endopleura uchi (Huber) Cuatrec.] in the Negro area. In the Atlantic
Forest area, the native species included araga (Psidium cattleianum
Sabine); bacupari [Garcinia gardneriana (Planch & Triana) Zappi];
cambuca (Marlierea edulis Nied)\ jabuticaba [Myrciaria floribunda
(West. & Wild) Berg.]; and pitanga [Eugenia pilanga (O. Berg)
Kiaersk.]. (See Appendix.)
Figure 11.1 schematically illustrates the different management
categories. The different contexts represented in Figure 11.1 can be
258 EA TING AND HEAUNG

FIGURE 11.1. Schematic representation of areas where plants for food and
medicine occur. Mi0 = plants with little or no management; Mi1 = plants facilitated
by human management; Mi2 = infrequently cultivated plants; and Mi3 = fre­
quently cultivated plants. See text for further details.

defined as a spatial and temporal mosaic, in which Mi2 and Mi3 are
frequently located near the houses. However, Mi3 can be inside Mi2
and Mij. In some situations, Mi3 can be located inside Mi0, because
many frequently cultivated plants are associated with swidden culti­
vation systems (Denevan and Padoch, 1987; Peroni and Hanazaki,
2002). Plants with little or no management occur in the forested ar­
eas, while plants facilitated by human management can occur in a
broad range of environments, including forested areas that have un­
dergone some manipulation (e.g., the forest-fallows). Infrequently
cultivated plants generally occur near the houses, in the backyards,
orchards, swidden plots, or in anthropogenic environments such as
along paths, trails, and small roads.
We will now contrast similar environments with some particular
features. A swidden plot is an area of 0.5 to 1.0 ha, where some crops
are frequently integrated into an agricultural system based on shifting
cultivation (Conklin, 1954; Denevan and Padoch, 1987; Fox et al.,
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 259

2000; Begossi et al., 2001; Peroni and Hanazaki, 2002). The species
cultivated in swidden plots are used for subsistence and sometimes
are sold. In spite of this, through the plot or along its edges it is com­
mon to find some infrequently cultivated species, as well as some
species facilitated by human management or by human activity.
An orchard is a smaller area, usually located in the backyards of
the houses, where some species are frequently or infrequently culti­
vated on a smaller scale than in swidden plots, always for direct sub­
sistence. In the backyards we often found some species facilitated by
human activity or infrequently cultivated, such as fruit trees.
More than half of the species mentioned as both food and medicine
are infrequently cultivated (see Figure 11.2). Eighty percent of these
species are introductions. They include edible fruits (such as orange,
papaya, and avocado) and other species of widespread use among
many cultures throughout the world, such as sugarcane (Saccharum
officinarum L.), onion (Allium cepa L.), tomato (Lycopersicon
esculentum Mill.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), and beans
(Phaseolus vulgaris L.).
The species facilitated by human management included some in­
troduced ones (20 percent) with weedy habits (e.g., Amaranthus

Mi 0 (26%)

Mi! (12%)
□ Native
■ Introduced
Mi 2 (56%)

Mi 3 (6%)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

FIGURE 11.2. Management intensity of 83 plants mentioned as food and medi­

cine in Araguaia River, Negro River, and Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil. Mi0 =
plants with little or no management; Mi! = plants facilitated by human manage­
ment; Mi2 = infrequently cultivated plants; and Mi3 = frequently cultivated plants.
See text for details.
260 EATING AND HEALING

viridis L.) or ubiquitous distribution (Typha sp.). Species with weedy

habits that grow wholly or predominantly in sites disturbed by human
activity (Etkin, 1994) can be an important food resource to some cul­
tures, as exemplified by the noncultivated edible greens (Bye, 2000).
We observed that in the Atlantic Forest area the use of these species as
a food resource is very sporadic.
There is broad correspondence between the species with little or
no management and the species occurring in forested areas (see Fig­
ure 11.3). In a general sense, a parallel correspondence occurs be­
tween the infrequently cultivated species and the species found in the
backyards (Y, Figure 11.3), as well as between the frequently culti­
vated species and the species in the swidden plots (P, Figure 11.3).
Examples of this latter group are the introduced watermelon [Citrul-
lus lanatus (Thumb.) Matsum. & Nakai], squash (Cucurbita spp.),
and beans. However, the chief species cultivated in swidden plots is
cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) (Peroni and Hanazaki, 2002),
which is a native of the lowlands of South America. Cassava is the
main source of carbohydrates in the Negro River area, but in the
Araguaia and Atlantic Forest areas it has lost its importance, having
been replaced by rice.

F (28%)

A (6%)

H (11%) □ Native
■ Introduced
P (9%)

Y (46%)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

FIGURE 11.3. Environments of 83 plants mentioned as food and medicine in

Araguaia River, Negro River, and Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil. F = forest; A =
anthropogenic environment; H = orchard; P = plots (swiddens); Y = yards. See
text for details.
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 261

Other plants used both for food and medicine are infrequently cul­
tivated in orchards, such as leafy vegetables [e.g., Nasturtium offici­
nalis R. Br., Hipochaeris brasiliensis (Less.) Benth., Brassica oler-
acea L.] as well as plants used as spices and condiments [e.g., onion,
A. cepa L.; and parsley, Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) A.W. Hill.]. Lo­
gan and Dixon (1994) opined that with the shrinking of dietary
breadth, many agricultural societies may have increasingly favored
the use of spices, many of which are also used medicinally. Further­
more, the spices and condiments add palatability to the diet. Accord­
ing to Johns (1994), the sensory preferences in the diet can play an
important role in choosing nutrient sources, pharmacological sources,
and cultural markers.
It is important to stress that 80 percent of the species cultivated
(which in turn represent 62 percent of the plants mentioned) have
been introduced (Figure 11.2) and are present in manipulated envi­
ronments (Figure 11.3). To be maintained over time, these species
have required human manipulation of environments for the purpose
of cultivation. We can suggest several interrelated hypotheses to ex­
plain why more introduced species are cultivated than native ones.
For example, besides the strong influence of the Portuguese economy
during colonial times and the strong influence of external demands
regarding what is cultivated where, local inhabitants such as the
Caigaras (Atlantic Forest) and the Caboclos (Amazon) are of mixed
origin and have a mixed cultural heritage. The legacy of this is visible
today as cultivated plants of different origins. In Brazil, the introduc­
tion of species such as coffee, sugarcane, and orange followed an eco­
nomic strategy of monocultures (Crosby, 1986). This kind of agricul­
ture modified many native landscapes, changing large tracts of
Brazilian territory. These processes have negative impacts for local
people, contributing to many introduced species supplanting native
ones. Associated with these factors, the high number of introduced
cultivated species may be the result of the genetic erosion of local
species that followed the decline of the indigenous people after 1492
(Clement, 1999). The historical loss of species and the ethnobotani-
cal knowledge of the indigenous people could explain the current low
number of native species cultivated by people of mixed origin, such
as the Caigaras and Caboclos.
Analyzed from an evolutionary perspective, the domestication
process allows for a detailed examination of human-plant interac-
262 EATING AND HEAUNG

dons that can be overlooked when these interactions are frozen or

closed off in categories of use. The domestication processes have an
evolutionary nature, showing many degrees of intermediate condi­
tions and stages (Harlan, 1995). Along this gradient, humans alter the
genetic structure of useful plant populations, modifying their distri­
bution and abundance through management. However, modifications
in distribution and abundance suggest modifications in the environ­
ments where these species occur or, in other words, not only in the
management of cultivated landscapes but also in the managed land­
scapes where plants are collected and extraction takes place. At any
given moment, the human-plant interaction is the result of a gradual
process of increasing management intensity, as well as of increasing
management of the environment of the species (Clement, 1999). De­
spite the paradigms that situate domestication as a coevolutionary
process with blurred categories (Rindos, 1984) and assume the im­
portance of caloric content in the progressive and intensifying human-
plant interaction (Harris, 1989), in the discussion of domestication it
is of paramount importance to include plants with pharmacological
potential, in order to really understand the continuum of human-plant
interactions (Etkin, 1994). Cases in which the dichotomy between
what is used for food and what is used for medicine is absent should
be considered carefully.
Though the Brazilian mixed-origin populations we studied make a
real distinction between plants that are both edible and medicinal, we
cannot ignore the richness of plants mentioned as used only .for food
and only for medicine, especially in Araguaia River and Negro River
areas (Table 11.1). The knowledge of medicinal plants among the
Caigaras from the Atlantic Forest also shows the importance of intro­
duced plants with a pharmacological role (Begossi et al., 2002).
Among the medicinal species mentioned by at least 10 percent of 449
interviewees, Begossi and colleagues (2002) found that the species
mentioned most often were used solely for medicine (e.g., Melissa
officinalis L., Lippia citriodora H.B.K., Coleus barbatus Benth,
Chenopodium spp., Foeniculum vulgare Gaertn.), while plants widely
used also for food included the introduced orange and the native guava
and Eugenia uniflora L., both with only 10 percent of mentions.
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobolany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 263

C O N C L U S IO N S

Our analysis of the continuous human-plant interactions revealed

the paramount importance of the plants used both for food and for
medicine, in spite of the fact that Caigaras and Caboclos do distin­
guish many species used only as edible resources or only as medici­
nal resources.
Plants used for food and medicine are a relevant group of resources,
and studying them can reveal important particularities of the human-
plant interaction. Here, we discussed data from different environments
in different parts of Brazil (Amazon forest, Brazilian savanna, and the
southeastern coast of the Atlantic Forest). These resources are used by
human populations sharing some similarities: their mixed origin and
their main economic activities. Against this background of differences
and similarities we observed a general trend when considering plants
used for both food and medicine. Most of the species have edible fruits,
but frequently their shoots, roots, or leaves are used as medicine. Al­
though some plants are collected from the forest, the majority of these
species depend to some degree on the anthropogenic environment (i.e.,
are favored by management or by cultivation). We confirm earlier pre­
dictions that some species are medicinal, but that some species straddle
the categories of food and medicine.

A P P E N D IX

S p e c ie s m en tio n e d as fo o d and m e d ic in e in 4 3 3 in te r v ie w s in A ra g u a ia
R iver, N eg r o R iver, and A tla n tic F o rest c o a st, B ra zil. M i = m a n a g e m e n t in ­
tensity: 0 = p lants w ith little or n o m a n a g e m e n t, 1 = p lants fa cilita ted b y h u ­
man m a n a g em en t, 2 = p lants in freq u en tly cu ltiv a ted , 3 = p lants freq u en tly
cu ltivated . Env = en v iro n m en t; F = forest; A = a n th ro p o g en ic areas; Y =
backyards; P = sw id d e n p lo ts (s e e text for further d eta ils); nat = native; int -
in troduced; na = plants b o u g h t in m arkets; * = id e n tifie d from the literature
(L o ren zi, 1998; L o ren zi et al., 1996; D e S o u z a et al., 1997).

V ern acular
B otanical fam ily Species nam e S tatus Mi Env
A ra g u a ia R iv e r
Anacardiaceae Anacardium Caju m nat 2 Y
occidentale L.
Anacardiaceae Mangifera indica L. Manga int 2 Y
264 EATING AND HEALING

Vernacular
B otanical fam ily S pecies nam e S tatus Mi Env

Apocynaceae H ancornia speciosa Mangaba nat 0 F

Gomez
Arecaceae S yagrus oleraceae Guariroba nat 0 F
(Mart.) Becc.
Caesalpiniaceae H ym enaeacourbarilL Jatoba nat 0 F
Caesalpiniaceae Tamarindus indica L. Tamarindo int 2 Y
Caricaceae C arica papaya L. Mamao int 2 Y
Caryocaracee C a ryo ca r brasiliense Pequi nat 0 F
Cambess.
Chrysobalanaceae Licania g a rd n e rii Inhare* nat 0 F
(Hook.) Fritsch
Cucurbitaceae C itrullus lanatus Melancia int 3 P
(Thumb.) Matsum. &
Nakai
Cucurbitaceae C ucurbita m oschata Abobora int 3 P
Duchesne
Liliaceae A lliu m cepa L. Cebola int 2 H
Liliaceae A lliu m sativum L. Alho int na na
Moraceae M orns nigra L. Amora int 2 Y
Myrtaceae P sidium guajava L. Goiaba nat 1 Y
Oxalidaceae Averrhoa caram - Carambola int 2 Y
bola L.
Poaceae S accharum Cana int 2 Y
officinarum L.
Rubiaceae G enipa am eri- Jenipapo nat 0 F
cana L.
Rutaceae C itrus aurantifolia Lima int 2 Y
Swingle
Rutaceae C itrus lim on L. Limao int 2 Y
Burm.
Rutaceae C itrus sinensis (L.) Laranja int 2 Y
Osbeck
Solanaceae Lycopersicon Tomate int 2 H
esculentum Mill.
Verbenaceae Vitex polyg am a Taroma nat 0 F
Cham.
Vitaceae C issus spinosa Curriola nat 0 F
Cambess.
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 265

Vernacular
Botanical fam ily S p ecies nam e Statu s Mi Env

Negro River
Anacardiaceae A nacardium Caju nat 2 Y
occidentale L.
Anacardiaceae M angifera indica L. Manga int 2 Y
Annonaceae A nn o n a m uricata L. Graviola* nat 2 Y
Annonaceae D uguetia sp. Azeitona nat 0 F
Annonaceae R ollinia m ucosa Beriba nat 2 Y
(Jacq.) Baill.
Apocynaceae C oum a utilis Muell. Sorva nat 0 F
Arg.
Arecaceae E uterpe p recatoria Acai nat 2 Y
Mart.
Arecaceae G eonom a spp. Ubim* nat 0 F
Arecaceae ’ M auritia flexuosa L. Murici* nat 1 F
Caesalpiniaceae H ym enaea cour- Jatoba nat 0 F
b a ril L.
Humiriaceae E ndopleura uchi Uichi Liso* nat 0 F
(Huber) Cuatrec.
Lauraceae Persea am ericana Abacate int 2 Y
Mill.
Lecythidaceae B ertholletia excelsa Castanha nat 1 F
Humb. & Bonpl.
Liliaceae A llium sativum L. Alho int na na
Myrtaceae P sidium guajava L. Goiaba nat 1 Y
Passifloraceae Passiflora nitida Maracuja nat 2 Y
Humb. & Bonpl.
Rutaceae C itrus aurantifolia Lima int 2 Y
Swingle
Rutaceae C itrus lim on L. Limao int 2 Y
Burm.
Rutaceae C itrus sinensis (L.) Laranja int 2 Y
Osbeck

A tlantic Forest Coast

Amaranthaceae A m aranthus viri- Caruru int 1 A
dis L.
Anacardiaceae A nacardium Caju nat 2 Y
occidentale L.
266 EATING AND HE AUNG

V ern acular
Botanical fam ily S pecies nam e S tatu s Mi Env

Anacardiaceae M angifera indica L. Manga int * 2 Y

Anacardiaceae Schinus Aroeira nat 1 Y
terebinthifolius
Raddi
Apiaceae Petroselinum Salsa int 2 H
crispum (Mill.) A.W.
Hill.
Arecaceae B actris setosa Mart. Tucum nat 0 F
Arecaceae E uterpe edulis Mart. Palmito nat 0 F
Asteraceae H ypochaeris Almeirao nat 2 H
brasiliensis (Less.)
Benth.
Bignoniaceae Tynnanthus elegans Cipo cravo nat 0 F
Miers
Bixaceae Bixa orellana L. Urucum int 2 Y
Brassicaceae Brassica oleracea L. Couve int 2 H
Brassicaceae N asturtium officinale Agriao int 2 H
R. Br.
Caesalpiniaceae H ym enaea cour- Jatoba, jatai nat 0 F
b a ril L.
Caricaceae C arica papaya L. Mamao int 2 Y
Chenopodiaceae B eta vulgaris L. Beterraba int 2 H
Clusiaceae G arcinia Bacupari nat 0 F
gardneriana (Planch.
& Triana) Zappi
Commelinaceae C om m elina sp. Treporava nat 0 F
Convolvulaceae Ipom oea batatas L. Batata doce int 3 P
Cucurbitaceae C ucum is sativus L. Pepino int 2 Y
Cucurbitaceae C ucurbita p e p o L. Abobora int 3 P
Cucurbitaceae Sechium edule Chuchu int 2 Y
(Jacq.) Sw.
Euphorbiaceae M a n ih o t esculenta Mandioca nat 3 P
Crantz
Fabaceae C ajanus cajan (L.) Feijao int 2 Y
Millsp guando
Fabaceae P haseolus vul­ Teijao int 3 P
garis L.
 Edible and Healing Plants in the Ethnobotany o f Inhabitants o f Brazil 26 7

Vernacular
B otanical fam ily S pecies nam e S tatus Mi Env

Lamiaceae M entha x p iperita L. Hortela int 2 H

Lamiaceae O cim um Manjericao int 2 Y
cam pechianum
Willd.
Lamiaceae O cim um Alfavaca int 2 Y
gratissim um L.
Lamiaceae O cim um tenuiflor- Alfavaca int 2 Y
um L. Cravo
Lamiaceae R osm arinus Alecrim int 2 Y
officinalis L.
Lauraceae Persea am ericana Abacate int 2 Y
Mill.
Liliaceae A llium cepa L. Cebola int 2 Y
Liliaceae A llium sativum L. Alho int ,na na
Malvaceae M orus nigra L. Amora int 2 Y
Menispermaceae A buta sp. Buta nat 0 F
Musaceae M usa acum inata Banana int 2 P
Colla
Myristicaceae M yristica fragrans Nanoscada int na na
Houtt.
Myristicaceae M yristica sebifera Bacuiba nat 0 F
Sw.
Myrtaceae Eugenia aquea Jambro int 2 Y
Burm.
Myrtaceae Eugenia brasiliensis Gumixama nat 0 F
Lam.
Myrtaceae E ugenia pitanga (0. Pitanga nat 2 Y
Berg) Kiaersk.
Myrtaceae M arlierea edulis Cambuca nat 0 F
Nied.
Myrtaceae M yrciaria floribunda Jabuticaba nat 2 Y
(West. & Wild) Berg
Myrtaceae P sidium cattleianum Araga nat 1 Y
Sabine
Myrtaceae Psidium guajava L. Goiaba nat 1 Y
Myrtaceae S yzygium cum ini Jambolao int 2 Y
(L.) Skeels
268 EATING AND HEALING

Vernacular
B otanical fam ily Species nam e S tatus Mi Env

Oxalidaceae A verrhoa caram - Carambola int 2 Y

bola L.
Passifloraceae Passiflora edulis Maracuja nat 2 Y
Sims.
Poaceae C ym bopogon Capim cidro int 2 Y
citratus (DC.) Stapf.
Poaceae S accharum Cana int 2 Y
officinarum L.
Poaceae Z ea m ays L. Milho int 2 P
Punicaceae P unica granatum L. Roma int 2 Y
Rosaceae E riobotrya ja p o rtica Ameixa int 2 Y
Lindl.
Rosaceae P yrus com m unis L. Pera int 2 Y
Rosaceae R ubus sp. Morango nat 1 A
Rubiaceae Borreria verticillata Bassora nat 1 A
G.F.W.Mey.
Rubiaceae Coffea arabica L. Cafe int 2 Y
Rutaceae C itrus lim on (L.) Limao int 2 Y
Burm.
Rutaceae C itrus sinensis (L.) Laranjeira int 2 Y
Osbeck
Solanaceae C apsicum bacca- Combari int 2 Y
tum L.
Solanaceae S olanum tubero­ Batata int 2 H
sum L.
Typhaceae Typha sp. Taboa int 1 A
Zingiberaceae C ostus spiralis Cana do nat 1 A
Roscoe brejo

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 Chapter 12

Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes

(Apillapampa, Cochabamba Department)
Ina Vandebroek
Sabino Sanca

IN T R O D U C T IO N

Wild and domesticated or semidomesticated plants are a versatile

resource for many rural, traditional, or indigenous communities
worldwide and are often used in overlapping contexts, including nu­
trition, health, firewood, construction material, hygiene, cosmetics,
handicrafts, and as ornamentals (Etkin, 2002). A particularly interest­
ing relationship exists between food and medicinal plants, since the
borderline between food and medicine is sometimes diffuse (Bennett
and Prance, 2000). Hence, food plants are often used as medicines,
and vice versa. Furthermore, in many cases the food use of a plant
cannot be separated from its medicinal action (Bonet and Valles,
2002). A continuum has been described, ranging from plants that are
exclusively used as food, through multipurpose food medicinals, to
predominantly medicinal plants (Pieroni et ah, 2002).
It seems to be difficult, however, to provide an unambiguous defi­
nition of either food or medicine. According to Moerman (1996),
foods can be understood by observing the behavior “eating or drink­
ing,” whereas “medicine” refers to the intention with which the plant

The present research was funded by the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation
through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT), Belgium, by means of a postdoc­
toral grant to Ina Vandebroek. The authors thank the traditional healers and community
members from Apillapampa and the local NGO Fepade for logistic support. The Centro
de Biodiversidad y Genetica from the Universidad Mayor de San Simon, Cochabamba,
was the local counterpart during execution of the project.

273
274 EATING AND HEALING

is used. Hence, a person consuming a plant with the intent to relieve a

stomachache is medicating, not eating. However, at the same time,
the species being consumed may have a nutritional value, as is the
case with passion fruit (Passiflora spp.): its fruits are eaten but can
also be consumed to treat hepatic colic, as will be discussed.
The top five plant families in terms of medicinal species are the
Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Ericaceae, Rosaceae, and Ranunculaceae
(Moerman, 1996). These families contain more medicinal species
than would be predicted by chance (based on their relative sizes; for
instance, the Asteraceae is a very large family containing many spe­
cies). The plant families with the fewest medicinal species are the
Fabaceae, Cyperaceae, and Poaceae. The five most important fami­
lies in terms of species people use for food are Liliaceae, Rosaceae,
Ericaceae, Apiaceae, and Chenopodiaceae; the least important fami­
lies are Rubiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, and Cyperaceae. Hence, the
Asteraceae family has little overlap of food and medicinal species,
but the overlap is large in Rosaceae and Ericaceae. The Scrophu­
lariaceae, Rubiaceae, and Cyperaceae are underutilized for food as
well as for medicines, whereas the Fabaceae and Poaceae tend to be
underutilized as medicines (Moerman, 1996).
In this chapter, we report on the food aspects of medicinal plants
used by Quechua healers from the Bolivian Andes. During interviews
the healers were asked to report “other uses” for each medicinal plant
species. They spontaneously named food applications several times.
This allowed us to explore the gray area of multipurpose medicinal
and food plants.

STUDY AREA

Apillapampa is situated in the Cochabamba Department, Capinota

Province, at an altitude of 3,250 m, 17° 51'S (latitude) and 66° 15’E
(longitude). At the nearby village of Capinota, which is at a lower al­
titude (2,380 m) the mean annual temperature is 18°C and the mean
annual precipitation is 524 mm. In Apillapampa, the temperatures are
lower and the precipitation greater, due to the higher altitude.
We collected medicinal plants at altitudes ranging from 2,800 to
3,900 m. In this range there are two ecological units: the prepuna
(from 2,000-2,300 to 3,100-3,300 m)’and the puna (from 3 ,100-3,300
to 3,900-4,000 m). The prepuna is a transitional zone, considered to
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 275

be the upper part of the dry inter-Andean valleys in the broadest

sense. The true valleys are below about 2,000 m (Navarro and
Maldonado, 2002). For a more detailed description of the vegetation
of the research area, see Vandebroek and colleagues (2004). Briefly,
the vegetation has undergone significant human disturbance and is
therefore mainly secondary. It is characterized by shrubs of various
heights (chaparrales and matorrales) and grasses. In the prepuna
part, the climax vegetation (free of anthropogenic disturbance) is
Kageneckia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. and Schinus molle L. On soils
with a high degree of erosion the vegetation is Dodonea viscose Jacq.
and Baccharis dracunculifolia D.C. (matorrales of 1 to 2 m). In the
puna, the study area has a climax vegetation of Polylepis besseri
Hieron. and Berberis commutata Eichler and a degraded vegetation
of grassland.

ETHNOGRAPHIC DA TA

Apillapampa is a community of around 2,500 Quechua-speaking

inhabitants (430 families) who have been living in villagelike settle­
ments (ex-haciendas) since the colonial period (Fepade, 1998). The
population is agrarian and keeps livestock (sheep, goats, cows). Most
people grow crops without irrigation and adapt their farming to the
altitudinal zonation. The principal crops are wheat, potato, and
maize. They are cultivated mainly for home consumption. One quar­
ter of the produce is sold. Livestock are considered a source of sav­
ings and their dung is used as fertilizer. When harvests are poor, meat
is used as source of protein (Fepade, 1998). The constraints to crop
production are severe erosion (resulting in degraded soils) and a low
ratio of cropland to grassland and nonarable land (Fepade, 1998). In
order to improve the weak economic situation, there is constant and
dynamic out-migration, essentially of men. The result is a sharp in­
crease in the labor pressure on the women who are left behind
(Fepade, 1998). Consequently, some traditional tillage practices are
abandoned, which aggravates the decreases in yield. This in turn may
contribute to a poor diet and hence increase susceptibility to disease.
In spite of the permanent loss of cultural values and practices
worldwide (Cox, 2000) and in the present study area (Fepade, 1998),
in Apillapampa there is still a tradition of collective behavior, called
276 EA TING AND HEAUNG

ayni: members of the community collaborate to build houses, harvest

crops, and repair roads. Rituals such as k ’owa, the worshipping of
Mother Earth (Pachamama), are still part of daily life. Another im­
portant aspect of culture that has been maintained is traditional medi­
cine. Traditional healers or medicine men, called naturistas or curan-
deros depending on their hierarchical level, are closely related to
community members and are regarded as advisers. They are usually
the first persons to be consulted about health, family, livestock, crops,
and travel (Fepade, 1998). Eight traditional healers of Apillapampa
are united in a semiformal organization, called AMETRAC (Asocia-
cion de Medicos Traditionales), which was founded in 1994. Health
care is also provided by a primary health care service that is operated
on weekdays by a bilingual (Spanish, Quechua) nurse and a medical
doctor from outside the community.

M ETH ODOLOGY

A g r e e m e n ts a n d P e r m its

Before the start of research, meetings were held with members of

AMETRAC, during which the project was presented and the objec­
tives discussed. AMETRAC’s approval was formalized in a written
agreement. Thereafter, a permit for fieldwork was obtained from the
Bolivian Ministry of Sustainable Development and Planning in La
Paz (General Directory of Biodiversity).

F ie ld w o r k

Medicinal plant species were collected during field trips with tra­
ditional healers in the dry (July to October 2000) and rainy (January
to April 2001) seasons. Four to five voucher specimens of each spe­
cies were collected for botanical identification. Subsequently, GPS
(Garmin 12XL) coordinates and altitude (Thomming) measurements
were taken. Plant characteristics were photographed (Minolta 600si
Classic with 28-80 mm zoom lens) and noted, together with the eco­
logical conditions of the collection site. Voucher specimens were
pressed, dried, and identified at a later stage according to standard
herbarium procedures in the Herbario Nacional Forestal Martin
Cardenas in Cochabamba, in which they have been deposited, and
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 277

the Herbario Nacional de Bolivia in La Paz. Upon return from the

plant collection trips, semi structured interviewing was conducted in
the primary health care service of the community with each of eight
traditional healers (the healers’ background is described in Van-
debroek et ah, 2004). During the interviews, the drying plant speci­
mens were shown to each interviewee to stimulate answers. The heal­
ers were asked about local plant names, the precise use of the species
as a remedy to treat named illness(es), the plant parts used, the mode
of application, the dosage and treatment regime, the restrictions on
use (for pregnant women and children), other uses (all categories, in­
cluding food, forage, firewood, construction material and working
tools, ornamental, ritual, coloring agent), the plant habitat, the per­
ceived abundance, and plant ecology.

R E S U L T S A N D D IS C U S S IO N

In total, 180 medicinal plants were collected during the research.

About a quarter (23 percent) of these species are also used as food, to
supplement the regular diet. Table 12.1 shows the species with food
applications and also the uses other than for medicine or consump­
tion.
Fifteen percent of all species collected have no other use besides
their medicinal application. Among the other uses frequently men­
tioned for medicinal plants are firewood and forage. The minor uses
reported are coloring agent, raw material for tools, construction mate­
rial, ornamental, handicrafts, and use in rituals.
Table 12.2 shows the proportion of species per plant family that are
used both as food and as medicine, in relation to the total number of
medicinal species collected from that family. Only data on the most
abundant families in the sample are shown (Asteraceae, Fabaceae,
Solanaceae, and Lamiaceae). The table shows a substantial overlap of
medicinal and food plants in the Lamiaceae and Fabaceae species.
Five of the nine Lamiaceae species collected have overlapping uses,
in comparison with 29 percent of the Fabaceae, 17 percent of the
Asteraceae, and 8 percent of the Solanaceae. As has been pointed out
in the literature, the Fabaceae contains a fair number of food species
and the Lamiaceae produces a wide range of aromatic volatile oils,
including menthol and thymol, which are appreciated by local peo-
TABLE 12.1. Food uses and other applications of medicinal plant species collected in Apillapampa, Cochabamba
Department (N = 43 species).

Voucher Plant part used for

num ber Local nam e Plant fam ily Scientific nam e N onm edicinal uses m edicinal purposes
IV89 Khuchi kuruta Alstroemeriaceae A lstroem eria Food (tubers eaten), -
pygm aea Herb. forage
IV46 Yuyu/jatago (w) Amaranthaceae A m aranthus hybri- Food (leaves eaten as Leaves, seeds
dus L. spinach), forage
IV35 Molle Anacardiaceae Schinus m olle L. Food (refreshing bever­ Branches, leaves
age, alcoholic beverage
from fruits), firewood,
construction wood
JBC49 Jamaskia Asteraceae B accharis torricoi Food (leji'a), forage, Aerial parts
spec. ined. coloring agent
ET11 Kuti, chini michi Asteraceae C huquiraga Food (coffee), firewood, Branches, flowers,
michi parviflora (Griseb.) forage leaves
Hieron.
JBC53 Chini t’ola, Asteraceae H elogyne stram inea Food (lejia), firewood, Branches
k’itachini t’ola (D.C.) B.L. ROB forage
IV66 Leche leche (w) Asteraceae Sonchus a sp e r (L.) Food (leaves eaten in Whole plant, exudate,
Hill salads) leaves, roots
IV5 Leche leche (w) Asteraceae Sonchus olera- Food (leaves eaten in Whole plant, exudate,
ceus L. salads), forage leaves
IV147 Kuru suyko (w) Asteraceae Tagetes m inuta L. Food (condiment), Flowers, leaves
forage
IV7 Suyko (w) Asteraceae Tagetes m ultiflora Food (condiment) Whole plant, branches,
Kunth roots
 IV138 Anis anis, k’ita Asteraceae Tagetes pusilla H.B. Food (alcoholic bever­ Whole plant, aerial
anis (w) & K. age, condiment, fla­ parts, flowers, leaves
vored tea), forage
IV106 Graniso t’ika Begoniaceae Begonia baumannii Food (tubers used for Whole plant, roots
Lemoine preparation of cheese),
forage, ritual (brings
rain)
IV79 Nina nina Berberidaceae Berberis boliviana Food (sweet fruits Branches
Lechler eaten), forage
JBC17 Churisik’e Berberidaceae Berberis commutata Food (fruits eaten), Branches, flowers,
Eichler coloring agent, firewood leaves, spines
IV6 Mostaza (w) Brassicaceae Brassica rapa L. Food (roots eaten), Flowers, leaves, roots
forage
IV128 Isikira, tisikira, Cactaceae Cleistocactus Food (fruits eaten, Spines, juice from stem
sitikira buchtienii Backeb. lejia), forage
IV88 Waraqo Cactaceae Echinopsis Food (fruits eaten), Juice from stem, roots
obrepanda (Salm- forage
Dyck) K. Schum. Var.
calorubra
JBC33 Tuna (c) Cactaceae Opuntia ficus-indica Food (fruits eaten, Stem (pads)
(L.) Mill. alcoholic beverage,
jam), fodder
IV129 Ulala Cactaceae Trichocereus Food (fruits eaten), Spines, juice from stem
tunariensis Cardenis forage (spines re­
moved)
IV24 Sano sano Ephedraceae Ephedra americana Food (coffee), forage, Whole plant, branches,
Humb. & Bonpl. ex firewood flowers, leaves, roots,
Willd. seeds

279
 TABLE 12.1. (continued)

Voucher Plant part used for

number Local name Plant family Scientific name Nonmedicinal uses medicinal purposes
JBC18 Tarwi (c) Fabaceae Lupinus mutabilis L. Food (fruits eaten Whole plant, flowers,
cooked and rinsed), leaves, fruits
forage
IV61 Alfa, alfa alfa (c) Fabaceae Medicago sativa L. Food (sauce, leaves Branches, flowers,
eaten in salads), fodder leaves, shoots
IV15 K‘ita alfa, trebol Fabaceae Melilotus indicus (L.) Food (leaves eaten in Whole plant, branches,
amarillo (w) All. salads), forage flowers, leaves
IV13 Thaqo Fabaceae Prosopis laevigata Food (fruits eaten, Whole plant, leaves,
(Humb. & Bonpl. ex refreshing beverage), stems, fruits, seeds
Willd.) M.C. Johnst. firewood, forage
IV48 Janukara/aujilla Geraniaceae Erodium cicutarium Food (leaves eaten in Whole plant, roots,
(w) (L.) L Her. Ex Aiton salads), forage leaves
IV90 Chini oregano, Lamiaceae Hedeoma cf. Food (condiment), Whole plant
pampa oregano mandoniana Wedd. forage
JBC39 Aya muna Lamiaceae Minthostachys Food (flavored tea, Whole plant, branches,
andina (Britton ex refreshing beverage, flowers, leaves
Rusby) Epling condiment), forage
JBC60 Chumu chumu Lamiaceae Salvia haenkei Food (tea from sweet Whole plant, branches,
Benth. flowers), firewood, flowers, leaves
forage
IV135 Chumu chumu Lamiaceae Salvia orbignaei Food (tea from sweet Branches, flowers,
rosado Benth. flowers), forage, fire­ leaves
wood
IV31 Chini muna Lamiaceae Satureja boliviana Food (condiment) Whole plant, branches,
(Benth.) Briq. flowers, leaves
 JBC6 Chini jamillo Loranthaceae Ligaria cuneifolia Food (lejia) Flowers, leaves
(Ruiz & Pav.)
ET8 Llave Loranthaceae Tripodanthus Food (flavored tea, Branches, flowers,
acutifolius (Ruiz & alcoholic beverage), leaves
Pav.) Tiegh firewood, forage, orna­
mental
IV91 Awayunku Oxalidaceae Oxalis eriolepis Food (sweet tubers -
Wedd. eaten)
IV98 Awayunku Oxalidaceae Oxalis pinguiculacea Food (stems used to
R. Knuth make cheese, sweet
tubers eaten)
ET39 Tumbo (c) Passifloraceae Passiflora mollissima Food (fruits eaten, Fruits, flowers
(Kunth) Bailey alcoholic beverage from
fruits), forage
JBC38 Locoste (c) Passifloraceae Passiflora umbilicata Food (fruits eaten) Leaves
(Griseb.) Harms
JBC23 Durasno (c) Rosaceae Prunus persica (L.) Food (fruits eaten), Buds with leaves,
4 flowers
Batsch firewood, construction
wood
JBC32 Roda (c) Rutaceae Ruta graveolens L. Food (condiment) Whole plant, aerial
parts, branches,
flowers, leaves, roots
JBC46 Chiri molle Rutaceae Zanthoxylum coco Food (coffee), firewood, Branches, flowers,
Gillies ex Hook. F. & forage leaves, fruits
Arn.
IV154 Pampa chumu Scrophulariaceae Castilleja pumila Food (sweet flowers Whole plant
chumu (Benth.) Wedd. sucked), forage
 TABLE 12.1. (c o n tin u e d )

Voucher Plant part used for

n um ber Local nam e Plant fam ily S cientific nam e N onm edicinal uses m edicinal purposes
IV93 Okururo Scrophulariaceae Mimulus glabratus Food (leaves eaten in Whole plant, leaves
H.B.K. salads), forage
IV73 Chuli chuli Solanaceae Salpichroa tristis Food (sour fruits eaten), Fruits
Miers var. tristis forage, firewood
IV133 K’ita uva (w) Verbenaceae Lantana fiebrigii Food (sweet fruits Branches
#
Hayek eaten), firewood
IV59 Verbena (w) Verbenaceae Verbena hispida Ruiz Food (refreshing bever­ Whole plant, flowers
& Pav. age from flowers), for­
age

Note: (w) indicates weed species growing in agricultural fields; (c) indicates cultivated species.
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 283

TABLE 12.2. Percentage of species collected per family that are used both as a
medicine and as a food.

T o tal n u m b e r N u m b er o f s p e c ie s used
F am ily o f s p e c ie s co lle c te d as both m e d ic in e and fo o d
Lamiaceae 9 5 (56% )
Fabaceae 14 4 (29% )
Asteraceae 42 7 (1 7 % )
Solanaceae 12 1 (8% )

Note: Only the four most abundant families are shown in relation to the family
size (total number of species collected).

pies for their therapeutic value as well as for their culinary use as con­
diments and aromatic teas. The Asteraceae, however, is a very large
family in which food plants are underrepresented by comparison with
medicinal plants. Finally, the Solanaceae contain a variety of quite
toxic species, which might restrict their use as foods (Moerman,
1996).

M e d ic in a l F o o d s : F o o d P la n ts w ith M e d ic in a l V a lu e

Several species collected during the study are cultivated food

plants. Most of these are cultivated for their fruits, such as Opuntia
ficus-indica (L.) Mill., Prunuspersica (L.) Batsch, Passiflora umbili-
cata (Griseb.) Harms, and Passiflora mollissima (Kunth) Bailey.
Lupinus mutabilis L. is a native crop of the Central Andes, cultivated
as a pulse. It was an important crop in pre-Columbian times that lost
its importance after the arrival of the Spanish. Its seeds contain a toxic
alkaloid, so special treatment is needed to extract this chemical be­
fore the seeds are safe to eat. The treatment entails boiling the seeds
and then washing them for several days in running water.
Ruta graveolens L. is also cultivated. Its leaves are used as a condi­
ment in meals, although several informants stated that the species has
a bad odor. Therefore, we suspect that it is primarily cultivated for its
use as a medicine, as is the case in Catalonia (Agelet et al., 2000).
Several species collected during our research are used to feed live­
stock: Medicago sativa L. is cultivated as fodder, and after their
284 EATING AND HEALING

spines have been removed the cultivated Opuntia ficus-indica and

wild Cactaceae (Cleistocactus buchtienii Backeb., Trichocereus
tunariensis Cardenas) are also fed to animals.

F o o d M e d ic in e s : M e d ic in a l S p e c ie s w ith F o o d A p p lic a tio n s

Weeds Used As Medicines and Foods

Several weed species that grow in agricultural fields are eaten.

Many are introduced species, such as Sonchus asper (L.) Hill, Son-
chus oleraceus L., Melilotus indicus (L.) All., Erodium cicutarium
(L.) L’her. ex Aiton, and Brassica rapa L. The leaves of these species
are eaten raw in salads. According to our informants, the root of Bras­
sica rapa contains vitamin C and is considered a famine food “when
there are no vegetables on the land.” In Patagonia, it is the leaves, not
the root, of Brassica rapa that are eaten raw in salads or cooked
(Ladio, 2001), while in Italy and Mexico its leaves, the young stems,
and flowering tops are boiled and fried (Pieroni et al., 2002; Vieyra-
Odilon and Vibrans, 2001). The literature confirms consumption of
the cooked leaves of Erodium cicutarium (Patagonia), and of the raw
or cooked leaves of Sonchus asper and S. oleraceus (Italy, Mexico)
(Casas et al., 2001; Ladio, 2001; Pieroni, 2000; Pieroni et al., 2002).
Sonchus oleraceus and S. asper leaves have a high concentration of
nutrients, which accounts for their value as food (Guil-Guerrero et
al., 1998).
Some weedy native species are also eaten, such as Amaranthus
hybridus L., whose leaves are cooked and eaten as spinach is. Ac­
cording to our informants, the leaves must be cooked before the plant
is flowering and are considered a source of vitamin C. They declared
that this species does not grow in poor soils. Amaranthus hybridus is
better known as a vegetable than as a medicinal plant in Peru, where it
is a wild species that is sometimes cultivated for its leaves (Roersch,
1994). It is also used as a food and medicine in Mexico (Casas et al.,
2001; Vieyra-Odilon and Vibrans, 2001). Other native species that
are found in agricultural fields are Tagetes pusilla H.B. & K. and T.
multiflora Kunth. At higher altitudes Tagetes minuta L. can be found.
The leaves of these three species are used as a condiment in soups and
main dishes. T. minuta is sometimes cultivated in Peru for its use as a
condiment (Roersch, 1994) and in Catalonian home gardens for its
medicinal use as a digestive (Agelet et al., 2000). One informant
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 285

stated that flowers from the weed Verbena hispida Ruiz & Pav. are
used to prepare a refreshing drink, but this use was not confirmed by
other informants.

Modes o f Consumption

Some species are consumed directly after the edible part has been
cleaned, while others undergo further preparation. Direct consump­
tion includes eating the leaves in salads, consuming the fresh fruits or
raw roots or tubers, sucking the flowers because of their sweet taste,
or using the plant part as a condiment in soups or main dishes. Alter­
natively, plant parts may be processed before consumption: boiled or
braised (in the case of leafy vegetables); infused (for refreshing bev­
erages, flavored teas, alcoholic beverages, or coffee substitutes);
made into jam; used in cheese making; and burnt to make leji'a (plant
ash, which is chewed together with coca leaves).

Leaves Are Eaten Raw in Salads or Used in a Sauce

Weedy vegetables, as well as the marsh species Mimulus glabratus

H.B.K and the cultivated Medicago sativa, are eaten raw in salads
that are often dressed with oil. The leaves of Mimulus glabratus (see
Figure 12.1) are also eaten raw in salads in another high-altitude area
in Bolivia (Pestalozzi, 1998), in Patagonia (Ladio, 2001), and in Peru.
Ln the latter country, the species is described as a “health-promoting
food eaten in salads” (Roersch, 1994). Not only the leaves but also the
shoots of Medicago sativa are eaten. The species is considered a
source of vitamins by informants and also in the literature (Roersch,
1994). Its leaves, as well as the leaves of Mimulus glabratus, are also
processed separately in a sauce that is useful to clean the abdomen.
Consumption of the leaves of Medicago sativa is a remedy to treat
gastritis. The weedy species Melilotus indicus and Erodium cicutar-
ium are eaten to alleviate kidney problems.

Condiment in Soups, Salads, or Bread

The plant species used as a condiment have aromatic properties.

Those on our list belong to the mint family (Lamiaceae) or sunflower
family (Asteraceae); Ruta graveolens from the Rutaceae is also used
286 EATING AND HEALING

FIGURE 12.1. Mimulus glabratus H.B.K. (Scrophulariaceae), a marsh plant that

is eaten raw in salads.

as a flavoring agent in soups or main dishes. The three plants col­

lected from the mint family belong to three different genera: Satureja
boliviana (Benth.) Briq., Minthostachys andina (Britton ex Rusby)
Epling, and Hedeoma cf. mandoniana Wedd. (see Figure 12.2). Nev­
ertheless, they all have the same local generic name muna, which
probably reflects their similarity in taste and smell. Three members
from the sunflower family that are also used as a condiment, Tagetes
minuta, T. pusilla, and T. multiflora, share the same scientific genus
name. However, one of them, T. pusilla, bears the local name k ’ita
anis, while the others are named suyko. Here again, the determining
characteristic is the smell. K ’ita anis has a smell that is similar to an­
ise but different from the two other Tagetes species, which is why it
was given a different local name. The term k ’ita reflects its wild sta­
tus. It is not cultivated.

Edible Fruits and Roots, Sweet Treats, and Jam

The plants providing edible fruits'are often cultivated and have al­
ready been mentioned. However, the fruits of wild species are also
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 287

FIGURE 12.2. Hedeoma cf. mandortiana Wedd. (Lamiaceae), an aromatic

species that is used as a condiment in main dishes.

consumed. Among these are Cactaceae fruits [Echinopsis obrepcmda

(Salm-Dyck) K. Schum. Var. calorubra, Cleistocactus buchtienii Backeb.,
Trichocereus tunariensis Cardenas], fruits of Berberidaceae (Ber-
beris commutata Eichler, Berberis boliviana), the sour fruits of
Salpichroa tristis (Miers) A.T. Hunziker (Solanaceae), the dark pur­
ple fruits of Lantana fiebrigii Hayek (Verbenaceae), and the pods
from the small Andean tree Prosopis laevigata (Humb. & Bonpl. ex
Willd.) M.C. Johnst. (Fabaceae). Informants indicated that it is usu­
ally children who eat the fruits from wild plant species. In Patagonia,
the fruits from Berberis heterophylla Juss. are eaten raw or processed
(Ladio, 2001). In the Bolivian highlands, the mature sweet and sour
fruit of Salpichroa glandulosa (Hook.) Miers, which has a taste com­
parable to that of grapes, is peeled and eaten raw (Pestalozzi, 1998).
In Peru, too, the fruits of different species of the genus Salpichroa are
eaten (Roersch, 1994). Finally, Prosopis laevigata is used both as an
edible and as a medicinal species in Mexico (Casas et ah, 2001).
The tubers of Oxalis eriolepis Wedd., Oxalis pinguiculacea R.
Knuth (Oxalidaceae) and Alstroemeria pygmaea Herb. (Alstroemer-
iaceae) are sweet and are eaten raw. According to informants, the tu­
288 EATING AND HEAUNG

bers of Oxalis spp. are sweeter than those of Alstroemeria pygmaea.

In Mexico, Oxalis spp. are considered edible, although it was not
stated whether the tuber is used (Casas et al., 2001). Although ac­
cording to our informants Oxalis eriolepis has no medicinal use, its
leaves are chewed in Peru to treat flu and gingivitis, while a tea made
from the whole plant is drunk to relieve stomachache (Roersch,
1994). In Patagonia, the rhizome of Alstroemeria patagonica Phillipi
is eaten raw or cooked (Ladio, 2001).
Nectar from the flower tube of Castilleja pumila (Benth.) Wedd.
(Scrophulariaceae) is sucked by children as a sweet treat. This use
has been confirmed in another Andean community in Bolivia (Pesta-
lozzi, 1998). Jam is made from one species only: the fruits of Opuntia
ficus-indica.

Refreshing Beverages, Flavored Teas,

Substitutes fo r Coffee, and Alcoholic Beverages

Castilleja pumila (Scrophulariaceae) has a sweet taste and is lo­

cally named pampa chumu chumu. Two other species (Salvia haenkei
Benth. and Salvia orbignaei Benth.) have the local generic name
chumu chumu, although they belong to the Lamiaceae instead of the
Scrophulariaceae (see Figure 12.3). The flowers of these latter spe­
cies are also appreciated for their sweet taste and are used to prepare a
tea that is drunk during meals. The similarity in taste may be the basis
for their shared local name. A tea can also be prepared from an aro­
matic species such as Tripodanthus acutifolius (Ruiz & Pav.) Tiegh
(Loranthaceae). This species has a rich flavor according to infor­
mants and hence is drunk in tea or in an alcoholic beverage made
from its leaves. Alcoholic beverages are also prepared from fruits of
Passiflora mollissima, Opuntia ficus-indica, and Schinus molle L.
(Anacardiaceae). Schinus molle is a typical resinous tree from the
Andes. Its fruits are sweet and are mixed with water to prepare a re­
freshing drink. An alcoholic beverage prepared from the fruits is
called chicha de mode. In ancient Peru, Schinus mode was cultivated
for its fruits to prepare chicha. However, when consumed in excessive
quantities the fruits are toxic (Roersch, 1994). In Mexico, Schinus
mode is used as an edible as well as a medicinal species (Casas et al.,
2001). Finally, three species from' different families collected in
Apillapampa are “drunk as coffee,” according to informants. These
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 289

FIGURE 12.3. Salvia haenkei Benth. (Lamiaceae). The sweet flowers of this
species are used to prepare a warm beverage.

are Ephedra americana Humb. and Bonpl. ex Willd (Ephedraceae),

Zanthoxylum coco Gillies ex Hook. f. & Am. (Rutaceae), and Chuq-
uiraga parviflora (Griseb.) Hieron. (Asteraceae). In another high-
altitude community in Bolivia, Ephedra cf. rupestris Benth. is boiled
in water to make a pleasant-tasting red drink (Pestalozzi, 1998).

Ingredients to Make Cheese

One popular use mentioned by all informants is the use of the tu­
bers of Begonia baumannii Lemoine (Begoniaceae) for the prepara­
tion of cheese. For this, the tubers are washed, chopped, and then put
in the milk to make it curdle. Subsequently, the tubers are removed
and the milk is further processed into cheese. According to infor­
mants, it is the juice from the tubers that is important in this prepara­
tion because it has a sour taste like lemon. Another species used
to curdle milk, though less often than Begonia baumannii (see Figure
12.4), is Oxalis pinguiculacea. Again, the juice of its stems has a sour
taste and is used to prepare cheese. In Patagonia, the leaves of
290 EATING AND HEALING

Oxalis adenophylla Gill, ex Hook & Arn. are used as lemon substi­
tutes to make juices (Ladio, 2001). In Peru, the local name for Oxalis
spp. is chupo, which probably derives from chupar and indicates the
use of the plant, since children like to suck its stems (Roersch, 1994).

Plant Ash Chewed Together with Coca (Erythroxylum coca)

Leaves

Coca insalivation is still widely practiced in contemporary Bolivia

as a means to maintain a high working pace without getting tired or to
make long journeys on foot without becoming hungry or thirsty. Of­
ten, coca leaves are chewed together with plant ash, or lejia, or in
more urban settings with sodium bicarbonate (NaHC 0 3 ) of commer­
cial origin. Plant ash consists of alkaline substances. When chewed
together with coca leaf, these substances are primarily responsible for
the transformation of alkaloids to free bases, which allows a better
extraction of these plant alkaloids and hence enhances the physiolog-

FIGURE 12.4. Begonia baumannii Lemoine (Begoniaceae). The tuber of this

species contains a sour juice that serves to curdle milk.
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 291

ical effect of Erythroxylum coca (Hilgert et al., 2001). In Apilla-

pampa, leji'a is prepared from three species, Cleistocactus buchtienii
Backet). (Cactaceae), Ligaria cuneifolia Ruiz & Pav. (Loranthaceae),
and Baccharis torricoi spec. ined. (Asteraceae). The stem (trunk) of
Cleistocactus buchtienii Backeb. is first dried and then converted into
ash. In Argentina, the species used to provide ash for coca insali­
vation are different. They belong to the Asteraceae (two species),
Amaranthaceae (two species), and Poaceae (one species) (Hilgert et
al., 2001).

Correspondence Between Plant Parts Used

fo r Medicine and Food

Table 12.1 shows which plant parts from each species are used for
medicinal and food purposes. They have been grouped into the fol­
lowing categories to allow a better comparison between food and me­
dicinal uses: (1) whole plant, (2) aerial part, (3) fruit, (4) root, and (5)
unknown. The aerial part includes the bark, branches, leaves, flowers,
or spines, and excludes any part of the fruit. For the majority (69 per­
cent) of the species in Table 12.1, the same plant part is used for both
food and medicinal applications. Table 12.3 shows the proportion of
plant parts used within the categories of medicine or food. In nearly
all (90 percent) of the 40 species considered in this table, the aerial
part is used for medicinal applications; the next most important cate­
gory is the whole plant (45 percent of species). For food applications,
the aerial part is also predominantly used (53 percent of species), fol­
lowed by fruits (35 percent of species). Data from native North
Americans show that medicinal uses are associated with aerial parts;
and, to a lesser extent, with roots and the whole plant, while fruits
(and to a lesser extent aerial parts) are primarily used for food
applications (Moerman, 1996).

Along the Food-Medicine Continuum

At the far left of the food-medicine continuum are plant species

primarily used as foods in Apillapampa, with no reported medicinal
applications. These are Alstroemeria pygmaea, Oxalis pinguicula-
cea, and Oxalis eriolepis. The roots of these plants are eaten raw. The
latter two species were collected during field trips with healers to
292 EATING AND HEAUNG

TABLE 12.3. Proportion of plant parts of the 40 species used for food and/or
medicine, expressed as percentages.

P lan t p art % used fo r fo o d % used fo r m e d icin e

Whole plant 3 45
Aerial part3 53 90
Fruit 35 18
Root 5 20
Unknown 10 0
Totalb 106 173

aAerial part includes bark, branches, leaves, flowers or spines, but excludes any
part of the fruit
bThe totals exceed 100 percent because often different parts of the same
species are used (total number of species on which the calculation is based is
40).

inventorize the medicinal plants from Apillapampa, but during subse­

quent interview sessions in the village the healers stated unanimously
that these species were only eaten for their sweet tubers. The far right
of the continuum is made up of “pure” medicinal plants with no re­
ported food applications in Apillapampa. These constitute 77 percent
of all medicinal species collected in the present study. In-between is a
gray area of medicinal foods and food medicines.
Passiflora mollissima provides a good example of a medicinal
food, since its fruits are eaten and drunk in juices or processed in an
alcoholic beverage, while its juice is also used to treat hepatic colic
and to alleviate the effects of a hangover. Examples of food medicines
are Melilotus indicus and Erodium cicutarium: their leaves are eaten
raw as a salad, with the addition of oil, to treat kidney problems. The
leaves of Medicago sativa are also eaten in a salad to treat gastritis. In
these cases, the food use of a plant cannot be separated from its me­
dicinal action. Actually, it is the mode of usage that can blur the bor­
ders between a food and a medicinal plant, since plants that are eaten
directly or drunk as a juice may be considered a food or a food-medi­
cine. Aromatic plants used as a condiment in dishes represent another
interesting group. Although they may not be deliberately used for
their medicinal value, their presence'in the often-heavy meals may be
more than just culinary, since they also increase the digestibility of
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 293

these meals. Furthermore, their positive effect on the digestive sys­

tem is confirmed by their explicit medicinal use as a carminative to
relieve pain and swelling of the abdomen, liver problems, vomiting,
and hepatic colic (our findings and Roersch, 1994).

Medicinal Plant Uses As Food Reported in the Literature

When reviewing the literature, not only were we able to confirm

the majority of our own results on food applications of medicinal
plants, but we also came across food uses of medicinal plants from
our inventory that were not reported in Apillapampa. For example,
the small tubers of Solanum acaule Bitter are eaten in Peru (Roersch,
1994). In Mexico, Anoda cristata (L.) Schltdl is eaten (Rendon et al.,
2001), while Malva parviflora L. and Polygonum aviculare L. are in­
gredients for a green chili sauce and Chenopodium ambrosioides L. is
used as a condiment (Vieyra-Odilon and Vibrans, 2001). The nectar
of the flowers of Mutisia orbignyana Wedd. is sucked by children in
Bolivia (Pestalozzi, 1998). Dianthus caryophyllus L., Chenopodium
ambrosioides, and Plantago lanceolata L. are used to prepare home­
made liquors in Catalonia (Bonet and Valles, 2002). In Patagonia and
Italy, the leaves and aerial parts of Stellaria media (L.) Vill. are eaten
raw in salads or cooked in soups (Ladio, 2001). Also in Italy, the
young whorls of Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. are boiled and
fried, while the leaves of Plantago lanceolata are boiled and mixed
with other greens in soups (Pieroni, 2000; Pieroni et al., 2002). It is
interesting that all these species, except Mutisia orbignyana, are
weeds on agricultural fields and that most have been introduced into
Bolivia. These additional food applications increase the food poten­
tial of our medicinal inventory from 23 to 28 percent. Although we do
not claim that our medicinal inventory is complete, this percentage is
similar to others reported in the literature. In the culturally important
plant flora of Native North America, for example, 29 percent of the
utilized species are used as both foods and drugs (Moerman, 1996).
In rural Hausaland in Nigeria, 26 perceht of local semiwild plant
species in the pharmacopoeia also serve dietary needs (Etkin, 2002).
294 EATING AND HE AUNG

CONCLUSION

Four main findings came from our research. First, the food uses of
medicinal plants reported in Apillapampa agree with literature data
from Bolivia, Peru, Patagonia, Mexico, Catalonia, and Italy. Second,
as eleven of 43 species with overlapping food and medicinal uses are
weeds on agricultural fields and seven species are cultivated, the wild
food/medicinal species account for 58 percent. Third, the ranking of
families according to the proportion of overlapping medicinal and
food applications (in relation to the total number of collected medici­
nal plants) is Lamiaceae > Fabaceae > Asteraceae > Solanaceae. Fi­
nally, the aerial plant parts (bark, branches, leaves, flowers, or spines)
are used most frequently for food applications, as well as for medici­
nal uses. However, use of fruits ranks second for food purposes, while
use of the whole plant ranks second for medicinal applications.

REFERENCES

Agelet, A., M.A. Bonet, and J. Valles (2000). Homegardens and their role as a main
source of medicinal plants in mountain regions of Catalonia (Iberian Peninsula).
Economic Botany 54 (3): 295-309.
Bennett, B.C. and G.T. Prance (2000). Introduced plants in the indigenous pharma­
copoeia of northern South America. Economic Botany 54 (1): 90-102.
Bonet, M.A. and J. Valles (2002). Use of non-crop food vascular plants in Montseny
biosphere reserve (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula). International Journal of Food
Sciences and Nutrition 53: 225-248.
Casas, A., A. Valiente-Banuet, J.L. Viveros, J. Caballero, L. Cortes, P. Davila, R.
Lira, and I. Rodriguez (2001). Plant resources of the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley,
Mexico. Economic Botany 55 (1): 129-166.
Cox, P.A. (2000). Will tribaJ knowledge survive the millennium? Science 287:44-45.
Etkin, N.L. (2002). Local knowledge of biotic diversity and its conservation in rural
Hausaland, Northern Nigeria. Economic Botany 56 (1): 73-88.
Fepade (Fundacion Ecumenica Para el Desarrollo) (1998). Diagnostico del distrito
Apillapampa. Cochabamba, Bolivia: Fepade.
Guil-Guerrero, J.L., A. Gimenez-Gimenez, I. Rodriguez-Garcia, and M.E. Torija-
Isasa (1998). Nutritional composition of Sonchus species (S. asper L., S. olera-
ceus L. and S. tenerrimus L.). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 76:
628-632.
Hilgert, N., S. Reyes, and G. Schmeda-Hirschmann (2001). Alkaline substances
used with coca ( Erythroxylum coca , Erythroxylaceae) leaf insalivation in north­
western Argentina. Economic Botany 55 (2): 325-329.
 Food Medicines in the Bolivian Andes 295

Ladio, A.H. (2001). The maintenance of wild edible plant gathering in a Mapuche
community of Patagonia. Economic Botany 55 (2): 243-254.
Moerman, D.E. (1996). An analysis of the food plants and drug plants of native
North America. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 52: 1-22.
Navarro, G. and M. Maldonado (Eds.) (2002). Geografla ecologica de Bolivia.
Vegetacion y ambientes acuaticos. Cochabamba, Bolivia: Centro de Ecologia
Simon I. Patino-Departamento de Difusion.
Pestalozzi, H.U. (Ed.) (1998). Flora ilustrada altoandina. La relacion entre hom-
bre, planta y medio ambiente en el Ayllu Majasaya Mujlli (Prov. Tapacari,
Departamento. Cochabamba, Bolivia). La Paz, Bolivia: Herbario Nacional de
Bolivia.
Pieroni, A. (2000). Medicinal plants and food medicines in the folk traditions of the
upper Lucca Province, Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 70: 235-273.
Pieroni, A., S. Nebel, C. Quave, H. Miin£, and M. Heinrich (2002). Ethnopharma­
cology of liakra: Traditional weedy vegetables of the Arbereshe of the Vulture
area in southern Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 81: 165-185.
Rendon, B., R. Bye, and J. Nunez-Farfan (2001). Ethnobotany of Anoda cristata
(L.) Schl. (Malvaceae) in central Mexico: Uses, management and population dif­
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Mexico. Economic Botany 55 (4): 545-554.
Roersch, C. (Ed.) (1994). Plantas medicinales en el sur Andino del Peru.
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Vandebroek, I., P. Van Damme, L. Van Puyvelde, S. Arrazola, and N. De Kimpe
(2004). A comparison of traditional healers’ medicinal plant knowledge in the
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 Chapter 13

Gathering of Wild Plant Foods

with Medicinal Use in a Mapuche
Community of Northwest Patagonia
Ana H. Ladio

INTRODUCTION

In aboriginal populations, wild plant use constitutes a distinctive

manifestation of cultural identity that reflects the characteristics of
local environment, the history, and the belief system of the people
(Wetterstrom, 1978; Thornton, 1999; Ladio and Lozada, 2003a). In
this context, the inclusion of wild plant foods in people’s diets is
deeply linked not only to their nutritional needs but also to the mitiga­
tion of their health problems; these needs are integrated and they can­
not be easily separated, as is currently done in occidental society. It
was Schultes and von Reis (1995) who suggested this aspect, indicat­
ing that in native classifications, the distinction between edible or me­
dicinal plants is very infrequent. The study I describe here was done
in a Mapuche community of Argentina. I will evaluate similarities
and differences between edible and medicinal wild plant use, using
distinct levels of analysis such as botanical, ecological, and socio­
cultural.
In ethnobotanical studies, the most investigated level of analysis
has been the species; when explaining patterns in wild plant use, little
attention has been paid to botanical families and their evolutionary
This research was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientfficas
y Tecnicas (CONICET), the Universidad Nacional del Comahue of Argentina (grant
082), and the FONCYT (grant PICT 0 1-06429). I also wish to thank Laura Acevedo and
the Hueche Foundation for their invaluable field assistance. Special gratitude is ex­
pressed to the families from Cayulef for their kind hospitality.

2 97
298 EATING AND HEALING

relationships (Gottlieb and Borin, 2002). It has been proposed that

the selection of plants for food or medicine by humans has a strong
chemical-taxonomical base (Gottlieb, 1982; Gottleib and Stefanello,
1991; Gottlieb et al., 1996; Gottlieb and Borin, 2002). The plant fam­
ilies used for food purposes are predominantly primitive in evolution­
ary terms, whereas the medicinal plants are from advanced families.
The diversity of phytochemical compounds increases gradually with
evolution (Gottlieb and Borin, 2002), and because of this, families of
medicinal plants possess a more developed biosynthesising mecha­
nism than families of food plants and, in consequence, contain a com­
plex of toxic compounds. Hence, human recognition of the presence
of these compounds should be crucial in the anthropogenically influ­
enced evolution of plants brought about by different patterns of plant
utilization.
From an ecological point of view, many studies have shown that,
guided by complex processes, humans weigh the nutritional benefit
(in terms of energy content) of food resources against the cost of
searching, handling, and traveling to the gathering site (Gragson,
1993; Ladio and Lozada, 2000, 2001). Classically, it is hypothesized
that foragers seek to maximize the net rate of energy capture while
foraging (Smith, 1983). In addition, some edible plants with medici­
nal use contain antinutritional substances such as tannins, alkaloids,
or glucosides that make them unpalatable or indigestible in large
quantities (Hoffmann et al., 1992; Prendergast et al., 1998). The
chemical defenses that plants use to protect themselves from herbi-
vory provide medicinal applications for human populations (Howe
and Westley, 1988; Moerman, 1996). Therefore, the selection by hu­
mans of wild plants with different uses (food, medicine, or both)
could be related to maximizing energy and minimizing antinutri­
tional sustances and could lead to differential patterns of gathering.
Finally, in terms of a sociocultural level of analysis, the use of ed­
ible and medicinal plants is principally passed on from individual to
individual by social transmission (Alcorn, 1995; Gispert and Gomez
Campos, 1986). People learn by doing as well as by observing others,
although they also learn from personal experience and motivations
such as illness situations or food shortages. In this context, since time
immemorial humans have acquired their plant knowledge via experi­
mentation, and this wisdom has been'transferred to their descendants
and disseminated to and among other individuals.
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 299

Nevertheless, knowledge of plants and their use variants are not

equally likely to be acquired by human groups (Boesch and Toma-
sello, 1998). It is generally thought that the different opportunities to
learn about edible and medicinal plants are closely related to age and
sex roles, because the division of labor between men and women gen­
erates a physical separation of the natural world they interact in
(Boster, 1985; Garro, 1986; Zent and Lopez-Zent, 2003; Begossi et
al., 2002). In this context, gender differentiation within an aboriginal
population could be proposed, given that women are generally more
involved in the health care of the family than are men. In contrast,
knowledge of food plants seems to be equally distributed between the
sexes (Ladio and Lozada, 2003b).
Many studies on aboriginal communities have shown that knowl­
edge of wild plants increases with age (Caniago and Siebert, 1998;
Benz et ah, 1994, 2000; Ladio and Lozada, 2001). This relationship
has been largely used to describe the processes of erosion of tra­
ditional knowledge and to find possible causes. Nevertheless, this
traditional knowledge is not lost in the same way; some plant infor­
mation is lost more easily, depending principally on its generality and
adaptability to new situations (Brodt, 2001). For example, younger
generations tend to abandon ancestral practices and refocus their in­
terest on manufactured products. However, in poor communities, not
all the wild resources are equally replaceable, especially if industrial
drugs are less easily obtainable than manufactured foods. Moreover,
the use of medicinal plants is associated with perceptions of the dif­
ferent diseases and their distinct causes (natural or supernatural) and
with a perception that these ailments can be suppressed only by these
traditional species and not by substitutes.
The aim of the study described here was to quantitatively compare
the pattern of using wild plants with edible and medicinal properties
in a rural Mapuche community by using different approaches. Five
hypotheses were formulated:

1. In addition to the plants used solely as remedies, many of the

wild edible plants people know and use in their diets also have
medicinal uses.
2. These wild edible plants with medicinal uses belong to different
botanical families than the plants that are used solely for food.
300 EATING AND HEAUNG

3. The plant-gathering patterns for plants that have both food and
medicinal uses will differ from the patterns used to gather edible
plants only.
4. The knowledge of wild food and medicinal plants varies with
gender; women know more about food and nonfood plants with
medicinal application than men do.
5. Though personal knowledge of wild edible plants is decreasing
in the younger generation, this is not true of personal knowledge
of medicinal plants.

T h e M a p u c h e P e o p le

At present, the Mapuche people are the most important aboriginal

group inhabiting the Andean and extra-Andean Patagonia of Argen­
tina and Chile (Donoso and Lara, 1996). The Mapuche communities
living in the province of Neuquen (northwest Patagonia, Argentina)
have been characterized as descendants of primary gatherers of the
temperate Araucaria araucana (Mol.) C. Koch forests {pehuen for­
ests) (Mosbach, 1992; Ladio, 2002). These ancient dwellers used to
base their subsistence on the pehuen seeds as a staple food and on the
hunting of the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and rhea (Pterocnemia
pennata) (Aagesen, 1998). As the guanaco and rhea have become
scarce, the transhumance circuits to obtain pehuen seeds and other
wild plants have prevailed in the Mapuche families who have settled
in rural areas in and around the Araucaria araucana forest (Ladio,
2001). In these poor and isolated communities wild plants are utilized
regularly, since their high nutritional and vitamin content and their
medicinal properties make them particularly important for the subsis­
tence of the Mapuche, constituting an essential component of their
material and spiritual life system (Ladio, 2002).
In spite of the profound social and economic changes the Mapuche
have undergone, the plant-gathering tradition persists in their com­
munities (Ladio, 2001). Horses, sheep, and cattle were brought to the
area by Spanish settlers, and as early as the seventeenth century the
Mapuches had incorporated them into their economy. The Mapuche
subsequently became cattle farmers. Hence, they adapted their trans­
humance circuits to the pehuen forests, also moving their livestock
for grazing. Since the late nineteenth Century, the majority of Mapuche
communities have been forced to live in reservations on land ceded
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 301

by the government, principally in the semiarid Patagonian steppe (ex­

tra-Andean Patagonia), far away from the pehuen forest or with diffi­
cult access to this traditional environment (Ladio, 2002).

C a s e S tu d y : T h e C a y u le f C o m m u n ity

This aboriginal community is composed of 40 families in two loca­

tions: La Costa (near the Catan-lil river) and El Salitral (30 km away). All
these families live in very poor socioeconomic conditions, lacking elec­
tricity, telephone, running water, and a sewage system. They inhabit pre­
carious single-room houses with almost no furniture and earth floors.
The primary energy source for cooking and heating is fuel wood, which
is mainly collected from the surroundings. Access to both areas is diffi­
cult because the few existing dirt roads are impassable for most of the
year and there is no regular transport service. Cayulef’s nearest urban
populations are Las Coloradas and Junin de los Andes, located more
than 100 km away. Most of the adults are illiterate or semiliterate, and
the children attend two nearby rural schools where they receive the
state-endorsed education in Spanish. At the time of the study, 68 percent
of the Cayulef people spoke the Mapuche language (Ladio and Lozada,
2003b). Livestock raising (sheep, goats, and horses) is the primary
source of their income. The exogenous products most widely used in
their diets are potatoes, onions, yerba mate (an herb tea from northeast­
ern Argentina), sugar, flour, and lard. No professional health care is
available in the community and the nearest public hospitals are located
in Las Coloradas and Junin de los Andes. The majority of the community
carry out their own medical practices in their domestic ambit, but some­
times they consult the machior yerbatera (always a woman). These are
the most highly regarded “medical practitioners,” especially when the
health problems are related to soul illness or supernatural factors.

STUDY AREA

The Cayulef community is located in northwestern Patagonia, in

the Argentine province of Neuquen (39° 70’ S and 70° 60' W).
Phytogeographically, the region belongs to the Patagonian steppe.
The study area receives strong westerly winds and has a mean annual
temperature of 8°C, a mean maximum temperature of 14. PC, and a
mean minimum temperature of 2.4°C. The mean annual precipitation of
300 mm is concentrated in autumn and winter (Barros et al., 1983).
The vegetation cover, which is herbaceous and bushy, is mostly
composed of Stipa speciosa Trin. et Ruprecht, Festuca pallescens
302 EATING AND HEAUNG

(St. Yves) Parodi, Mulinum spinosum (Cav.) Pers., Haplopappus

pectinatus Phil., Senecio filaginoides D.C., and Nassauvia glomeru-
losa (Lag.) Don (Cabrera, 1976; Cabrera and Willink, 1980). These
species are never taller than 2 m. There are also isolated specimens of
Schinus o ’donelli Barkley, the largest plant in the area, and Berberis
heterophylla Juss. The only trees are Salix fragilis L., planted near
houses to serve as windbreaks. In the vicinity of the houses, corrals,
and roads grow many exotic weeds, such as Erodium cicutarium (L.)
L’Herit., Bromus tectorum L., Hordeum murinum L., Capsella bursa-
pastoris (L.) Med., Brassica rapa L., Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) D.C.,
Plantago lanceolata L., Chenopodium album L., Rumex acetosella
L., Lactuca serriola L., and Taraxacum officinale Weber. In addition,
outside the settlements, in hills and mountains, thorny cushion­
shaped or crust plant forms withstand the low temperatures and the
strong winds of the area, including Azorrella monanthos Clos in Gay,
Adesmia corymbosa Clos, Tetraglochin alatum var. patagonicum
(Gill, ex Hook), Nardophyllum obtusifolium Hooker et Amott, Jun-
ellia spp., Ephedra ochreata Miers., Chuquiraga straminea Sanwith,
and Anarthrophyllum rigidum (Gill.) Benth. In rocky soil the species
commonly found are Diposis patagonica Skottsberg, Oxalis adeno-
phylla Gill, ex Hook & Am., Sisyrinchium arenarium Poepp., and so
on. Near the Catan-lil River, the most common plants are hydrofilous:
Juncus spp., Carex spp., Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steud.,
Mimulus glabratus H.B.K., and exotic species such as Medicago
lupulina L., Trifolium repens L., Taraxacum officinale Weber, Nas­
turtium officinale R. Brown, and Stellaria media (L.) Villars. At pres­
ent, the total area is grazed intensively by both caprine and ovine
livestock (Ladio, 2002).

METHODS

During the summer of 1999, one person from each Cayulef family
(32 in total) was interviewed using a semi structured questionnaire. At
each location the people were randomly selected: 15 (47 percent)
people from La Costa and 17 (53 percent) from El Salitral. The
Cayulef people also participated in the collection of plants for the
specimen vouchers and in the assignation of their local names. To
check the botanical affiliations, in the interviews I used the species
occurring principally near the community (within 2 km walking dis­
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 303

tance), in addition to plant photographs and other herbarium speci­

mens from the different gathering sites utilized by these people. The
following information was recorded (some was categorized: see Ta­
ble 13.1): exclusively edible plants, edible plants with medicinal use,
and exclusively medicinal plants (all these as known and used nowa­
days, per person, and in total for the community); gathering sites;
time taken to travel to the collecting site; amount gathered; and
method of preparation (handling time). This last variable was ob­
tained by totaling the time spent searching, gathering, cleaning, peel­
ing, and cooking edible resources. A nutritional plant classification
was included by considering the energy content of the plants, as was
done in Ladio and Lozada (2000). In addition, the plants were classi­
fied into native and exotic categories. The age and sex of the people
interviewed were also recorded. Eighteen women and 14 men partici­
pated. Only one of the women was a plant specialist, considered to be
a machi by the population.
Plants were pressed and dried at the Ecotono Laboratory at the
Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Botanical nomenclature follows
Correa (1969-1999) and Marticorena and Quezada (1985).
The importance of the species mentioned was estimated from the
number of people who mentioned each plant and the use percentage
per species. This last index (one of the most commonly used in
ethnobotanical literature) considers the proportion of plants men­
tioned by their local names (using the scientific name in the analysis)
with respect to the total number of interviewees. Note that all the spe­
cies mentioned by people in the free listing were always corroborated
by means of the reported gathering behavior.

S ta tis tic a l A n a ly s is

The knowledge and use of edible and medicinal plants were ana­
lyzed through parametric tests and, when the data were not normally
distributed, by nonparametric tests. The Fisher Exact Test was per­
formed to ascertain if the richness of wild edible plants used nowa­
days depends on their medicinal utilization (Agresti, 1996). This test
was also applied to elucidate differences in the botanical families of
plants with or without medicinal use. The number of edible plants
(medicinal and nonmedicinal) and the exclusively medicinal plants
mentioned per person was compared by using the Kruskal-Wallis test
304 EATING AND HEALING

TABLE 13.1. Ecological variables applied to the analysis of the use of wild edible
plants by the community of Cayulef.

E colo gical
v a ria b le C a te g o ry D e s c rip tio n

Energy 1 Leaves and shoots (5.8 g carbohydrates and

content 2.8 g protein / 100 g)
2 Roots (11.4 g carbohydrates and 3.18 g protein /
100 g)
3 Fruits and legumes (30.7 g carbohydrates and
2.3 g protein /1 0 0 g)
4 Seeds (38 g carbohydrates and 4.5 g protein /
100 g)
Handling 1 Leaves and raw fruit (< 1/2 h /1 00 g)
time
2 Leaves and cooked fruit (> 1/2 h < 1 h /1 00 g)
3 Roots and small raw fruit (>1 h < 1 1/2 h /1 0 0 g)
4 Roots and small cooked fruit (>1 1/2 h < 2 h /
100 g)
5 Raw or cooked seeds (> 2 h /1 00 g)
Distance to 1 Less than 100 m
gathering site
2 Between 100 m and 5 km
3 More than 5 km
Quantity col- 1 Nothing
lected per trip
2 Less than 5 kg
3 Between 5 and 50 kg
4 More than 50 kg
Traveling 1 Less than 1h
time to the
gathering site 2 Between 1 and 2 h
3 Between 2 h and 1 day
4 More than 1 day

Note: All categories of variables were obtained from interviewees. Energy

content was estimated by averaging the known values of carbohydrates and
proteins of several plant species from: Duke (2001), Sundriyal and Sundriyal
(2001), Schmeda-Hirschmann, Razmilic, Gutierrez, et al. (1999), Schmeda-
Hirschmann, Razmilic, Reyes, et al. (1999). Elias and Dykeman (1990), and
Schmidt-Hebbel and Pennacchiotti Monti (1985). Distances and travel time to
the gathering site were obtained from interviews and refer solely to the outward
journey.
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 305

with a significance level of 0.05 (Agresti, 1996). The relationship be­

tween age and the number of plants mentioned per person was inves­
tigated by using simple linear regression analysis. Moreover, given
the categories of data (see Table 13.1), I used the Mann Whitney test
for the comparison of: people’s age, gender, distance to gathering
site, traveling time, quantity of plants collected, and nutritional con­
tent, in relation to the medicinal value of plants.

RESULTS

U se o f E d ib le P la n ts w ith A d d itio n a l M e d ic in a l A p p lic a tio n s

The Cayulef interviewees mentioned a total of 36 wild edible re­

sources, comprising 33 edible wild plants, three types of edible fungi,
and two plants that I was unable to taxonomically identify. Twenty-
five of these plants are still consumed today (see Table 13.2). Many of
the edible plants were mentioned only once by a person; of these, 13
species are known, but are not consumed nowadays. Of the total of
38 plants mentioned, 24 (63 percent) are also used as medicine by
the population. They include both native and exotic resources (the lat­
ter principally of European origin): see Table 13.2. Nevertheless, the
proportion of edible plants with medicinal use that people know (24
species) and consume (17 species) is not significantly different from
the edible plants without medicinal properties known (12 species)
and utilized (8 species) (Fisher Test, p > 0.05).
The exotic herb menta (Mentha piperita) and the native fruit plant
michay (Berberis heterophylla) were the plants used most frequently
in the local diets: 75 percent of the interviewees used them. The re­
maining most frequently used wild products are leafy plants. They in­
clude the native culle Colorado (Oxalis adenophylla) (44 percent),
and also the exotic watercress locally known as berro (Nasturtium
officinale), the exotic achicoria (Taraxacum officinale), and the na­
tive nalca (Gunnera tinctoria) (Table 13.2). Most of these species are
eaten raw in salads or boiled in water with other vegetables.
A great number of these edible plants are used for illness associ­
ated with fever and pains; gastrointestinal problems (diarrhea, stom­
achache, and hepatic disorders); respiratory diseases (colds, lung
pains); and urinary diseases (kidney pains) (Table 13.2). Hot infu-
 TABLE 13.2. Edible and medicinal plants mentioned by families from the Mapuche community of Cayulef ( N = 32
interviewees).

306
Local n am e (* in N u m b er P ercen t Part M ed icin al Part
S p e c ie s M apudungum ) 0 in fo rm an ts -ag e Food use used use used
B erberis Michai* N 24 75 Snack, jam, juice F — —
heterophylla Juss.
M entha piperita L. Menta, hierba E 24 75 Seasoning in mate, L Stomachache, L
buena a herb infusion from fever, nausea,
northeastern Argen­ digestive
tina
O xalis adenophylla Culle* Colorado N 14 44 Snack, juice as L, R Fever, colds L, R
Gill. Ex Hook Am. lemon substitute
N asturtium Huentrai,* berro E 13 41 Salads L Hepatic L
officinale R. Brown troubles
Taraxacum Huentrai,* E 12 37.5 Salads L Hepatic trou­ L
officinale Weber Achicoria bles, depur-
ative
G unnera tinctoria Pangue,* nalca* N 8 25 Salads, jam L Lung prob­ R
(Mol.) Mirbel lems, bone
problems
E phedra ochreata Cuparra,* sulupe N 7 22 Snack F Sweaty feet L
Miers. rojo, caman*
A p iu m australe Nolquin,* apio N 6 19 Seasoning in L Cough, fever, L, R
Thouars silvestre puchero, a native kidney pain
dish with other vege­
tables and meat
D iposis patagonica Yocon-llocum* N 6 19 Roasted on hot R Fever R
Skottsberg rocks, boiled or
mashed as a potato
substitute
 Schinus o’donelli Molle, michi* N 6 19 Snack, beverages F Toothaches L
Barkey
Muehlenbeckia Quilo,* quineo,* N 4 12.5 Snack F Rheuma L
hastulata (Sm.) zarparrilla
Johnst.
Oxalis valdiviensis Culle* amarillo N 4 12.5 Snack, juices as L Fever L
Berneoud in Gay lemon substitute
Araucaria araucana Pehuen,* araucaria N 3 9 Cooked, toasted, S — —

(Mol.) C. Koch boiled, or roasted on

hot rocks to make
cakes, soups, or
empanadas, tradi­
tional pastries
Eryngium Chupalla* N 3 9 Snack R Hepatic and R
paniculatum renal prob­
Cavanilles et Dom. lems
Rumex acetosel- Cascacheu,* alca- E 3 9 Snack, salads L Wounds, L
la L. cheu,* romaza vulnerary
Arjona tuberosa Papita de los N 2 6 Snack, boiled or R
Cavanilles arenales, mashed as potato ■ ■
macachin substitute
Chenopodium Trel-trum,* E 2 6 Cooked in pucheros L — —
album L. quinhuilla
Tristagma Chaleo* N 2 6 Cooked in puchero R Childbirth R
patagonicum (Bak.) as onions
Traub.
? Chaquira ? 1 3 Snack R _ _

307
 TABLE 13.2. (continued)

308
Local n am e (* in N u m b er P ercen t Part M ed icin al P art
S p ecies M apudungum ) 0 in fo rm a n ts -ag e Food use used use used
E rodium cicutarium Cachu loica,* loica- E 1 3 Snack, cooked in L Hepatic and L
(L.) L'Herit. cachu,* alfilerillo pucheros kidney disor­
ders
A ustrocactus Chupasangre, fruto N 1 3 Snack L
p a tagonicus (Web.) de la barda
Backeberg
M alus sylvestris Manzana silvestre E 1 3 Jam, cakes, juices, F — —
Mill. raw as fruit
M atricaria Manzanilla E 1 3 Seasoning in cakes L Stomachache L
m atricarioides or in m ate
(Less.) Porter
*Sanicula Cilantro silvestre N 1 3 Seasoning in soups, L
graveolens Poepp. salads, or puchero
ex D.C.
Stellaria m edia (L.) Quiroi, quilloi* E 1 3 Salads L Fever L
Villars.
A ristotelia chilensis Maqui,* cion* N 1 0 Snack, jam, not used F Diarrhea L
(Mol.) Stuntz nowadays
A zorella m onanthos Lena de piedra N 1 0 Cooked on hot rocks R Lung prob­ L, R
Clos in Gay like potato, not used lems, pul-
nowadays monia
C aiophora Ortiga blanca N 1 0 Boiled as potato, not R Kidney prob­ R
patagonica (Speg.) used nowadays lems, infec­
Urban et Gilg. tions, hepatitis
 ? Cochilo ? 1 0 Snack, not used R — —
nowadays
C yttaria h ookeri Fruto del hire* N 1 0 Snack, cooked in F — —
Berk.# p u chero
C yttaria hariotti Llao-llao* N 1 0 Snack, salads with F
Lisch.# sliced apples, not
used nowadays
B rassica rapa L. Napor,* repollo E 1 0 Salads, cooked in L
del campo pucheros or fritters,
not used nowadays
P hragm ites a ustra­ Carrizo E 1 0 Boiled or roasted as R Childbirth R
lis (Cav.) Trin. Ex potato, not used
Steud. nowadays
M aihueniopsis Chupasangre N 1 0 Snack, not used R Bone F
darw inii var. hickenii nowadays problems
(Brit.) Kiesling
M aytenus boaria Maiten* N 1 0 Salads, not used L Internal pain L
Wlol. nowadays
M im ulus glabratus Placa* N 1 0 Salads, not used L — —
H.B.K. nowadays
Lycoperdon spp.* Polvera N 1 0 Cooked in pucheros, F — —
not used nowadays
R ibes cucullatum Parrillita N 1 0 Snack, jelly, not used F Liver, blood L
Hook, et Am. nowadays disorders

N ote: 0: plant origin (N: native, E: exotic). Number of informants who mentioned the species as useful. Percentage (number
of mentions of each species/total number of interviewees): Part used, F: fruit or fruit bodies of fungus; L: leaves, flowers, or
stems; R: roots, rhizomes, or bulbs; S: seeds. ? = plant taxonomically unidentified; # = fungi species.

309
310 EATING AND HEALING

sions are the preferred method of administering these medicines. All

these plants have only familiar use: people of the community do not
sell wild plants.
The Cayulef people collect these wild plants in three distinctive
gathering sites or ecological environments:

1. Andean forest: This highland corresponds to the Andean val­

leys, which include small forests of Araucaria araucana
(pehuen) located in ranches (of non-Mapuche property) more
than 50 km away from their dwellings.
2. Steppe: These lands constitute their present territory, where the
Cayulef community has settled.
3. Around dwellings: These anthropogenic environments include
trails, roads, and corrals, where exotic weeds are very common.
More details about these gathering sites are in Ladio (2001,
2002).

B o ta n ic a l F a m ilie s o f E d ib le M e d ic in a l
a n d N o n m e d ic in a l W ild P la n ts

The edible wild species mentioned by the Cayulef people belong

to 26 different plant families: 12 are edible species without medicinal
use and 18 correspond to food plants with medicinal applications
(Figure 13.1, a and b). A significant difference (Fisher Test, p > 0.05,
Figure 13.1, a and b) exists between the botanical families in the pro­
portions of edible medicinal and nonmedicinal species. The most im­
portant families of edible medicinal plants are Umbelliferae (with
four species), Compositae (with two species), and Oxalidaceae (also
with two species). In contrast, the most important families of edible
nonmedicinal plants are Cyttariaceae (fungi, with two species) and
other representative families such as Araucariaceae, Berberidaceae,
and Rosaceae. The majority of families include only one medicinal or
nonmedicinal species.

U se o f E x c lu s iv e ly M e d ic in a l P la n ts

The Cayulef people use a relatively large variety of medicinal

plants, comprising 77 wild species. The ten most mentioned plants
are carqueja [Baccharis linearis (R.'et Pav.) Pers.], mentioned by 8
percent of the interviewees; cachanlahue [Centaurium cachanlahuen
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 311

(b)
Umbelliferae ____ Araucariaceae

Scrophulariaceae \ / Berberidaceae

Santalaceae / \ \ / \ Cactaceae

Rosaceae I Cruciferae

Polygonaceae \ / /
Cyttariales
Lycoperdiales \ /
Chenopodiaceae

FIGURE 13.1. Botanical families of wild food plants and fungus mentioned by
Cayulef people, (a) with medicinal use and (b) without medicinal use. Shaded
segments indicate the most important families (with more than one species for
these uses).
312 EATING AND HEALING

(Mol.) Rob.], mentioned by 5 percent; panil (Buddleja globosa

Hope) and paico (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.), both mentioned
by 3 percent; hanculahuen (Valeriana carnosa Sm.), limpia plata
(Equisetum bogotense H.B.K.), and cola da caballo (Equisetum
giganteum L.), all mentioned by 2 percent; and siete venas (Plantago
lanceolata L.), Quinchamalium chilense Brong., and malvarrubia
(.Marrubium vulgare L.), all mentioned by 1 percent. As was found
for wild edible plants, these resources included both native and exotic
species. These results will not be described in detail here, because the
main focus of this chapter is the dichotomy between the use of wild
food plants and those with additional medicinal applications.

C o m p a r is o n o f P a tte r n s o f G a th e r in g
M e d ic in a l a n d N o n m e d ic in a l P la n ts

No significant difference was found between distance and travel

time spent gathering wild edible plants with medicinal use and
nonmedicinal plants (Mann Whitney test,/? > 0.05, Figure 13.2, a and
b) . Therefore, the collection of plant foods with or without medicinal
use shares the same gathering sites. However, edible wild plants with
medicinal use are collected in smaller quantities than plants without
additional medicinal use (Mann Whitney test, p < 0.05, Figure 13.2
c) . Moreover, the handling time spent by the Cayulef people in
searching and processing wild plants with medicinal use was signifi­
cantly less than the time spent in searching and processing exclu­
sively food plants (Mann Whitney test,/? < 0.05, Figure 13.2 d). Com­
pared with nonmedicinal plants, the plants with medicinal use have
a significantly lower nutritional value in terms of energy content
(Mann Whitney test, p < 0.05, Figure 13.2 e). No significant differ­
ences were found between the mean age of the Cayulef people who
knew the additional medicinal use of wild plants and those who did
not (Mann Whitney test, p > 0.005, Fig. 13.2 f).

G e n d e r a n d th e U se o f W ild P la n ts

In general, the people of Cayulef mentioned a similar richness of

total edible and medicinal species per person, demonstrating a wide
knowledge of plant properties (Mann Whitney Test, p = 0.76, Figure
13.3). However, knowledge of medicinal plants varied more per per­
son than knowledge of edible plants (women 13 ± 10 and men 12 ± 9,
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 313

0
c0O
GO
Q

~
> 3

C
0 4
§O 3
>2
E>
g 1
LU

MED NONMED MED NONMED

F IG U R E 13.2. C o m parison betw een edible m edicinal (M ED ) plant and edible

n o nm edicinal (N O N M E D ) plant use in th e C a yu le f co m m u n ity in relation to (a)
d ista n ce to gathering site; (b) tra ve lin g tim e; (c) q u a n tity collected; (d) handling
tim e; (e) ene rg y content; and (f) p e o p le ’s age. M edian and m ean ± SE va lu e s are
depicted. W hen a line is depicte d in the graph, this m eans th a t o nly one ca te g o ry
of the va ria b le w as m entioned. C ate g o rie s and d e scrip tio n s of ecolo gica l
va ria b le s are show n in T a b le 13.1. D iffe re n t letters co rre sp o nd to sig n ifica n t
d iffe re n ce s (p < 0.005).

see Figure 13.3). It is important to note that edible plants, whether

medicinal or not, were mentioned in a similar proportion by both
sexes (Figure 13.3). No significant differences were found between
sexes in the total number (i.e., medicinal plus nonmedicinal) of wild
edible plants known per person (Kruskal-Wallis test, p = 0.492),
the edible nonmedicinal plants (Kruskal-Wallis test, p = 0.139), or the
edible plants with medicinal use (KruskaFWallis test, p = 0.716, Fig­
ure 13.3). In addition, no significant difference was found between
314 EATING AND HEALING

| Edible but
I nonmedicinal plants

I Edible plants with

medicinal use

□ Medicinal but
nonfood plants

F IG U R E 13.3. W ild p la n t kn o w le d g e p e r p erson betw een se xe s in C a yu le f

co m m u n ity (N = 32 in te rvie w e e s). M ean ± SE va lu e s are depicte d .

sexes in the number of medicinal plants (i.e., nonfood) known per

person (Kruskal-Wallis test, p = 0.261, Figure 13.3).

Age and the Use o f Wild Plants

The mean age of the interviewees was 50 years (range 24 to 80

years). The total number of wild edible plants known increased sig­
nificantly with the age of the interviewee (simple linear regression, F
= 15.4,p < 0.05, see Figure 13.4). Moreover, age was found to be sig­
nificantly related both to the number of exclusively food plants men­
tioned (simple linear regression, F = 10.3, p < 0.05, Figure 13.4) and
to the plants mentioned that are both edible and medicinal (simple
linear regression, F = 6.5, p < 0.05, Figure 13.4). No significant rela­
tionship was found between the total number of nonedible medicinal
plants known per person and intervie'Wee’s age (simple linear regres­
sion, F = 2.8, p = 0.107).
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 315

F IG U R E 13.4. R egression betw e e n age and th e n u m b e r of w ild edib le plants

know n by the C a yu le f p eople (N = 32), d istin g u ish e d into (— ) nu m b e r of edible
but nonm e d icin a l pla n ts m en tio n e d p e r person (R 2 = 0.23); ( " ^ n u m b e r of edible
plants w ith m edicinal use m e n tio n e d p e r p erson (R 2 = 0.19); and (— ) th e to ta l
sum of edib le m edicinal and n o n m e d icin a l pla n ts m en tio n e d p e r person (R 2 =
0.30).

D IS C U S S IO N

The present study on wild plant use shows that in the Cayulef com­
munity the selection of edible and medicinal plants is influenced by
botanical, ecological, and sociocultural aspects that lead to distinct
patterns of species use and to a different risk of losing knowledge in
future generations.
The first hypothesis was confirmed; Cayulef people know and use
a variety of wild edible plants, some of which are also utilized as
medicine. This indicates a substantial overlap of edible and medicinal
species (63 percent). Moerman (1998) also found this pattern for
food and medicinal plants used by natives' of North America, though
there the overlap was only 30 percent. These medicinal foods amplify
316 EATING AND HEALING

the opportunities to cure illness and improve the well-being of fami­

lies at the same time. This fact indicates that there is an ample exploi­
tation of wild resources that does not result in people generating
unconnected categories of uses; on the contrary, it results in an advan­
tageous amalgamation of knowledge.
The second hypothesis was also upheld. The wild food species
with medicinal and nonmedicinal utilization belong to diverse botan­
ical families that are distinct from the botanical families of the exclu­
sively edible species. In light of the results obtained by Gottlieb et al.
(2002), chemiotaxonomical differences can be proposed: the plants
utilized as food by the Cayulef people belong to primitive families of
angiosperms such as Rosaceae, Celastraceae, Myrtaceae, and Saxi-
fragaceae, or to less-advanced families of nonangiosperms (Arau-
cariaceae and Ephedraceae). In contrast, the families of edible plants
utilized as medicine (both native and exotic species) correspond prin­
cipally to Compositae, Labiatae, Caryophyllaceae, and so on, which
are more advanced in evolutionary terms. These findings suggest the
existence of a systematic and evolutionary pattern in wild plant use,
but more investigations might be conducted in the future in order to
further explore this.
As was found ill other studies (Prance and Plana, 1998; Moerman,
1996), a great proportion of the wild edible plants collected by the
Cayulef people are exotic greens that also have medicinal properties.
This might be related to the fact that the acquired knowledge of native
plants has blended with knowledge from Spanish colonists (Citarella,
1995). This has led to exotic plants being included in the Mapuche
diet as well as in their medicines. For example, the frequently used
exotic leafy plants such as mint (M. piperita), watercress (Nasturtium
officinale), and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) are an important
source of vitamins and minerals as well as essential remedies for
digestive problems.
The results also confirm the third hypothesis, which was that
plants that are both edible and medicinal have different gathering pat­
terns. The gathering of these plants with medicinal usage is associ­
ated with shorter distances travelled and a shorter handling time.
Moreover, shrubs and herbs with both usages have a low nutritional
content in terms of energy and are gathered in small quantities. This
pattern of use seems to be related to minimizing time and energy and
 Gathering Wild Plant Foods with Medicinal Use in Northwest Patagonia 317

to reducing the intake of large quantities of the antinutritional sub­

stances present in many medicinal plants.
Notwithstanding, the energy cost-benefit consideration should be
treated with care, given that factors other than protein and calories
have significant importance in human diets, as indicated previously.
The need to incorporate vitamins and minerals is also essential, and
these are usually provided by edible greens (Laferriere, 1995; Nor-
deide et al., 1996). In this chapter, the nonenergy nutritional contribu­
tion has been ignored. Future research would be needed to analyze
this aspect of the use of edible resources.
The analysis done from an ecological point of view provides an­
other perspective that confirms that the use of wild edible plants by
the Cayulef people is declining. Most at risk is the gathering of edible
forest plants with low nutritional content in terms of energy and with­
out medicinal use. In their current environment, denied access to tra­
ditional gathering sites, the people might forget some plants, result­
ing in an unrecoverable loss of plant lore.
The fourth hypothesis was rejected: no differences were found be­
tween the sexes in knowledge of edible and medicinal plants. The ex­
planation could be that both men and women share the same activity
and they go to the same gathering environments. Both sexes know a
similar number of wild plants. As was found by Begossi and col­
leagues (2002), the use of medicinal wild plants does not seem to be
concentrated among women, though some women have a very wide
knowledge of medicinal plants and are key elements in retaining this
wisdom in the community.
In the past, whole families travelled to the Andean forests to move
their livestock and gather wild plants (Ladio, 2002). Nowadays they
stay near their dwellings and the steppe year-round. The Cayulef peo­
ple said they did so as a consequence of territorial conflicts with ad­
joining non-Mapuche property owners who impede them from tres­
passing and gaining access to the Araucaria araucana forests. It
seems likely that this reduces the opportunities both sexes have to
learn about wild edible plants, because without these transhumance
circuits (far from any urbanization) families are in less contact with
their traditional environments (Ladio and Lozada, 2003b).
In addition, as found in other studies (Caniago and Siebert, 1998;
Benz et al., 2000), knowledge of edible plants (medicinal and non-
medicinal use) increased with age in the Cayulef community, but the
318 EATING AND HEAUNG

number of medicinal plants per person did not vary with age. This
confirms the fifth hypothesis. Manufactured products may be largely
replacing traditional wild food, but the indigenous health system is
less at risk. The community is located in an isolated region where the
difficult communication with urban and medicinal centers might fa­
vor the persistence of indigenous medicines. Most indigenous popu­
lations of the region have machis (female shamans) who are at the top
of their hierarchy in the whole community (San Martin, 1983; Hough­
ton and Manby, 1985; Citarella, 1995). Hence, alterations in the
small-scale dynamics of the population, such as the death of these
knowledgeable people, might cause changes or losses in the use of
medicinal wild plants.
The results of this study have implications for the conservation of
Mapuche plant lore. Edible and medicinal plants have distinct attrib­
utes in terms of taxonomic affiliations, which lead to a distinct pattern
of use. These attributes are specific and strongly depend on the con­
servation of the plant diversity in the area, especially in the protection
of shared gathering sites, where both edible and medicinal plants are
collected. In addition, it is urgent that free access to these sites should
also be provided by the government. Finally, elders and knowledge­
able women should be considered and included in local projects of
cultural revival, because they serve as an important vehicle for the
transmission and maintenance of these valuable resources for youn­
ger generations.

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 Chapter 14

Dietary and Medicinal Use

of Traditional Herbs Among
the Luo of Western Kenya
Charles Ogoye-Ndegwa
Jens Aagaard-Hansen

IN T R O D U C T IO N

The use of herbs both as food and medicine is widespread among

African communities. Long ago, Price (1939) emphasized the signifi­
cance of traditional food items in the context of changing conceptions
of food and food habits and underscored the fact that the changing of
food habits is accompanied by new infections and deficiencies. Etkin
and Ross made similar observations about a West African commu­
nity. They write:

The Hausa of Africa eat many kinds of leafy vegetables at the

end of the rainy season, the time of greatest risk of malaria in­
fection. These are food plants, but they also may treat malaria,
for laboratory investigation shows that they increase red blood
cell oxidation. (Etkin and Ross, 1983, p. 188)

As well as being used as food, most traditional vegetables may

have medicinal potential. Plants and plant material gathered from the
This study was conducted within the framework of the Nyang’oma Research Train­
ing Site (NRTS) with funding from the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory (DBL). We ac­
knowledge the support from Mbeka Primary School, particularly Mr. Domnic Abudho
and the 1998-2001 grade six pupils; the local community; the area educational authori­
ties; the National Museum of Kenya; and the local nongovernmental organization “Care
for the Earth” for their support of this study.

323
324 EATING AND HEALING

wild (including weeds) have received little attention in terms of their

potential value as high-nutrient foods in rural communities. To
achieve enhanced food and nutrition security, especially among vul­
nerable, rural communities, emphasis has been placed on the estab­
lishment of kitchen gardens and campaigns to promote the consump­
tion of traditional food items (Ogoye-Ndegwa et al., 2002). In rural
settings, traditional vegetables often double as food and medicine,
but the dual functions have received little attention.
It has been observed that the application of a food-based-systems
approach is useful as a measure to help increase the number of foods
rich in micronutrients. This approach involves “the development of a
community garden and small household plots, containing many in­
digenous plant species, as a practical and a sustainable solution”
(Leemon and Samman, 1998, p. 24). Ferguson and colleagues (1993)
employed a food-based systems approach in Ghana and Malawi in an
intervention program aimed at increased zinc bioavailability. The
strategy involved encouraging more consumption of locally available
indigenous foods and changing the local food-processing techniques
by introducing fermentation. Similar studies, for example, in rural
Bangladesh (Bloem et al., 1996), have shown that an increase in the
volume of fruits and vegetables grown in home gardens led to an in­
creased intake of vitamin A among women. Solon and colleagues
(1979) state that there is a correlation between home gardens and in­
creased vitamin A intake and weight for height among malnourished
Philippine children. Kumar (1978) reported a positive relationship
between a garden project in southern India and the nutritional status
of children of weaning age.
The decline in the consumption of traditional vegetables in rural
areas has negative implications for the food and nutrition security of
the populace. Some of the traditional vegetables from rural settings
find a market in towns, where they are sold rather expensively in big
hotels and restaurants. The decline in their consumption in the rural
areas is not just a matter of accessibility and affordability, but also re­
flects their familiarity and the related perception that they are not pal­
atably enticing (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003). Famil­
iarity does not imply abundance over long periods, but rather having
been in the people’s diet for a long time, and hence lacking appeal to
curious consumers with changing food habits.
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 325

Decline in the use of traditional plant foods is attributed to chang­

ing food preferences, agricultural development, and increasing popu­
lation pressure on land, which are inevitably leading to the decreased
diversity and abundance of wild vegetables and other foodstuffs
(Lepofsky et al., 1985). As some families consume the traditional
vegetables because they have no alternative due to their extremely
low purchasing power, the vegetables are consumed in large volumes,
when in season (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
Food and culture are interwoven. In almost all societies, changing
food habits has had a close relationship with changes in cultural prac­
tices. Thus, among the Luo, the consumption of traditional food items
is declining with the introduction of new food items. This has nutri­
tional implications, especially if the traditional food items could be
major sources of micronutrients to most families. Traditional food
items have been reported to have a high nutrient content (Behar,
1976; FAO, 1968) and, therefore, encouraging them in the people’s
diet would be a good measure to achieve food and nutrition security.
Food has been studied from a biocultural perspective that com­
bines both nutritional and anthropological approaches in the under­
standing of food use and consumption. From a nutritional point of
view, this perspective relates people’s food preferences and habits to
the functioning of the physical body. Eating practices are viewed in
terms of how good or bad they are for the development of the human
body. Beneficial practices are to be encouraged, while the adverse
ones are to be discouraged. The approach views food as “emerging
from a natural basis for the human diet which is guided by both ge­
netic predispositions and culturally structured preferences” (Lupton,
1996). Fieldhouse (1998, p. 19) goes beyond the scope of nutritional
anthropology, and maintains that a comprehensive food-habit re­
search “invites the curious eyes of historians, geographers, sociolo­
gists and folklorists among others.” A comprehensive study of nutri­
tion, therefore, calls for cross-disciplinary cooperation, focusing not
only on the health aspects of food but also paying equal attention to
the cultural elements regarding food (Cattle, 1977; Fieldhouse, 1998;
Freedman, 1977; Krondl and Boxen, 1975).
Culture comprises value systems (or sets of value systems), and
the dominant values will influence how particular foods and feeding
habits are viewed. This creates a common and shared understanding
of preferences; for example, by classifying food as good or bad. Food
326 EATING AND HEAUNG

depicts status and is a marker of social difference. Usually, the type of

food eaten or the way it is prepared indicates the social status. New
food items have often been associated with affluence and prestige
(Barthes, 1997). The way food is distributed and shared is guided by
customs and rules that underlie social values and structure (Meigs,
1997) as well as power differentials (Sen, 1992). However, in addi­
tion to these structural factors, personal variations may be found
based on different individual positions.
In pluralistic African medical systems, herbs play a major role in
treating illnesses. Geissler and colleagues have made extensive stud­
ies on this subject among the Luo, and they conclude that “it is aston­
ishing how well the healers’ and the mothers’ plant knowledge is in
agreement with each other” (2002, p. 47). By this statement they refer
to the different categories of herb users: the “professional” healers
and the mothers who mainly treat members of their own family. Inter­
estingly, it seems that Luo children themselves have significant
knowledge of medicinal plants (Prince et al., 2001) and that they fre­
quently treat themselves for various ailments without consulting
adults (Geissler et al., 2000). Their knowledge about medicinal plants
was often acquired in informal and experiential ways (Prince et al.,
2001; Prince and Geissler, 2001). Hedberg and Staugard (1989) have
studied similar pharmacopoeia of medicinal herbs in Botswana.
The present chapter aims at describing how plants are and have
been used for dietary as well as for medicinal purposes among the
Luo in western Kenya.

M A T E R IA L S A N D M E T H O D S

S tu d y A r e a

The study was conducted among the Luo in Bondo District,

Nyanza Province, in western Kenya in a community along the shores
of Lake Victoria. The main rainy season is between January and May
when the land is cultivated; usually, a shorter period of rain occurs in
October and November. The Lake Victoria basin receives an average
annual rainfall of 750 to 1,000 mm. The area varies in altitude from
1,140 to 1,300 m and experiences temperatures varying between a
minimum of 14 and 16°C and a maximum of 26 to 30°C (Survey of
Kenya cited in Geissler, 1998, pp. 27-28). The landscape is character­
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 32 7

ized by homesteads dispersed through the bush. The soil is mostly

black cotton soil with rock outcrops.

S tu d y P o p u la tio n

The Luo—estimated to number about 3 million— are one of the

largest ethnic groups in Kenya. Their main occupation is subsistence
farming, with maize, sorghum, millet, and cassava the main staple
food crops. The Luo, who were originally predominantly pastoralists,
still keep a substantial number of goats, cows, and poultry. Sheep and
donkeys are also quite common. In addition, petty trade, fishing, and
migratory work supplement the household economy. All in all, the
population is impoverished and consequently vulnerable to drought
periods and a decline in agricultural produce and cash income. The
majority of the population is affiliated with the Anglican Church of
Kenya, the Roman Catholic Church, or the Seventh-Day Adventists,
though there are several smaller syncretic sects as well.
The study population comprised about 3,000 people, from whom
key informants were purposively sampled. The key informants cho­
sen were elderly males and females that were knowledgeable about
traditional modes of subsistence. The main local primary school of
the area, with about 500 pupils, formed a central element of the study.
A teacher from the school joined the team as coresearcher and other
collaborators were selected from the pupils in grade six, based on
their outspokenness, inquisitiveness, willingness to participate, and
ability to neatly record research data.

S tu d y D e s ig n a n d D a ta -C o lle c tio n M e th o d s

The study was conceptualized as action research, in which the re­

searchers, the teacher, and grade six pupils in a local primary school
simultaneously engaged in different horticultural and research activi­
ties. By action research, we mean an endeavor that uses research as a
tool to improve the living conditions of a given population in a con­
crete way, with their active involvement in at least some stages of the
process. Grade six was selected as the “research class,” as this group
would already have been taught most of the relevant material on hor­
ticulture according to the Kenyan national curriculum.
328 EATING AND HEALING

The first phase, the findings of which are presented here, was com­
prised of three different activities. The main part was a cross-sec­
tional survey done by the researchers as well as the pupils. It was an
exploration of traditional food items (in particular, vegetables) in or­
der to make a complete inventory for the community. Second, field
walks were conducted with key informants, in order to sample plants.
Third, the botanical names of 29 of the plants were identified. Many
of the data on dietary use have previously been reported (Ogoye-
Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003). A botanical study is presently
exploring the botanical taxonomy, toxicology, and micronutrient
content of the vegetables (Orech, personal communication).
Phase two of the project, which is ongoing, focuses on the integra­
tion of selected traditional vegetables in the agricultural teaching and
school gardening of a local primary school and the dissemination of
the study findings to relevant groups in the surrounding community
(Ogoye-Ndegwa et al., 2002). However, this falls outside the scope of
the present chapter.
The first section of the study described here was carried out with
27 key informants, who were elderly people knowledgeable of tradi­
tional modes of subsistence, particularly regarding traditional vegeta­
bles. Using semistructured interviews, data were collected on the
physical characteristics of the herbs, their ecological distribution,
procurement, preparation or cooking, seasonality, medicinal uses,
and underlying perceptions and practices. As a supplement, the re­
search pupils wrote down all the names of traditional vegetables they
knew in their area and compared the information with that of the key
informants. Follow-up verification was then done among some key in­
formants by means of visits to the relevant habitats, collecting sam­
ples of traditional vegetables, and cross-checking for identical plants
with different names. Subsequently, a final list was made. The exact
botanical nomenclature of 29 of the 72 plants was then ascertained.

RESULTS

E th n ic T a x o n o m y , D is tr ib u tio n , a n d P r o c u r e m e n t

Although most of the plants were identified by common Luo

names, some terms are specific to the region or even to a household.
Some of the plants have two or three names, and usually the infor-
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 329

raants were not aware that others use different terms for the same spe­
cies.1
The most complex answers were responses to the question, “What
does it look like?” A description of the physical appearance of a plant
entails a comparison with another plant. Typical is a comparison of
three very similar vegetables: “kabich samba resembles kandhira, but
has smaller leaves than sukuma wiki.”2 Thus, reliable identification
had to be based on samples of the various plants (Ogoye-Ndegwa and
Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
Initial interviews with the 27 key informants produced 112 names
of traditional vegetables. On cross-checking, it appeared that there
were several cases of duplication (i.e., different names for the same
plant). For example, amotidi (Talinumportulacifolium) had also been
mentioned as alonde. A collection of samples revealed that the two
are actually the same, except that the two names are area-specific:
alonde being the name in a neighboring division and amondi the
name in the study area. The informant was a woman from the neigh­
boring area who married in the study area. After complete cross­
checking by collecting samples, the list comprised 72 traditional veg­
etables (annuals, biennials, and perennials); subsequently, 29 of these
were taxonomically identified.
The plants studied thrive in four distinct habitats: in kitchen gar­
dens, in the bush, along the lakeshores or riverbanks, and on fallow
farmlands. The bulk of the traditional vegetables, about 58, are be­
lieved to be undomesticable and thrive in the wild. Fifteen of the
plants on the list have been domesticated and are cultivated in kitchen
gardens. These are vegetables such as akeyo (Gynandropsis gynan-
dra), osuga (Solanum nigrum), mito madongo (Crotalaria brevi-
dens), and boo ( Vigna unguiculata, cowpea). The rest, although do­
mesticated, are rarely consumed as vegetables but are cultivated for
their seeds, fruits, or roots rather than for the leaves. They include it
pilu pilu (leaves of the chile plant), it nyanya (tomato leaves), it
rabuon (potato leaves), it omuogo (cassava leaves), susa (pumpkin
leaves), it kipoyo (papaya leaves), it nyim (simsim leaves), and it
nduma (arrowroot leaves). Three of the vegetables can be cultivated
or are collected from the wild: apoth (Corchorus trilocularis), osuga
(Solanum nigrum), and onyulo (Sesamu'm angustifolium) (Ogoye-
Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
330 EATING AND HEALING

Sixteen of the vegetables on the list thrive in the bush; most are
climbers or creepers. They include nyamit kuru (Coccinia adoensis),
oriadho (Erythrococca bongensis), bwombwe matindo (Cyphostemma
orondo), bwombwe madongo (Cyphosyemma nierense), and ndemra
(Basella alba). Plants that thrive along the shores of the lake or river-
banks number eleven, and include it nduma (arrowroot leaves), atek
min angasa (Dyschoriste radicans), dindi (Acalphya volkensii), nyas-
gumba (Ludwigia sioloniferia), oyombe (Otlelia ulvifolia), ndemra
(Basella alba), nyaketh mwanda, owich, obera, aurao, and obwanda
(Portulaca quadrifida). Most of the plants grow on fallow farmlands
and include atipa (Asystasia mysorensis), nyatonglo (Physalis angu-
lata), achak (Sonchus schweinjurthii), and nyayado (Senna occiden­
t a l ) (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
Furthermore, there are two species of edible mushrooms: obuolo
madongo (literally, “large mushrooms”) and obuolo matindo (liter­
ally, “small mushrooms”). Obuolo madongo (Termitomyces schim-
peri [Agaricaceae]) (Kokwaro and Johns, 1998) is the most dominant
one in the study area, growing wild on old termite mounds.3 Accord­
ing to some of the key informants, many of the traditional vegetables
are much less common nowadays. Previously, they could easily be
obtained, whereas they now have to be looked for in places far away
that have not yet been cleared for human settlement or cultivation.
The high population pressure on farmland means that fewer stretches
of land are left uncultivated. During the rainy season, plants that grow
along with cultivated crops (e.g., maize, tomatoes, or sorghum) are
considered to be weeds and so are uprooted. They are usually thrown
away instead of being eaten or sold, partly due to limited knowledge
about traditional vegetables (Kokwaro and Johns, 1998).
Seasonality strongly determines the availability of traditional veg­
etables. All 72 vegetables are available during the wet season,
whereas only 38 are available during the dry season. The wet season
gives a wide range of choices, though only about 34 traditional vege­
tables are actually consumed, with the dominant ones being apoth
(Corchorus trilocularis), boo (Vigna unguiculata), atips (Asystasia
mysorensis), akeyo (Gynandropsis gynandra), and osuga (Solanium
nigrum). During the wet season there are many traditional vegetables
to choose from, which means that the less-preferred ones are not con­
sumed, even though they may be abundant (Kokwaro and Johns,
1998).
 Dietary and Medicinal Use of Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 331

The plants grow in different ecological zones, and their existence

is strongly influenced by the long and short rains from February to
May and October to December, respectively. Their availability is
therefore limited by seasonality (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Han-
sen, 2003). All the 38 available traditional vegetables that are con­
sumed during the lean days of the dry season may be useful for most
poor, rural families. They even include some vegetables that are not
regarded as “genuine” foodstuffs. Examples include nyayado (Senna
occidentalis), it nduma (pumpkin leaves), and it kipoyo (papaya
leaves). The few vegetables available during the dry season are con­
sumed indiscriminately and usually in mixtures. During the dry sea­
son, women procure vegetables along the lakeshores and in the bush,
where it is relatively green. However, during the wet season, many
varieties of traditional vegetables are available to choose from, and
they can also be procured from the kitchen gardens and the fallow
farmlands next to the homes (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen,
2003).
Culturally, it is frowned upon for a man to pick vegetables, and
therefore procurement is predominantly the domain of women and
girls. The availability of certain vegetables in specific procurement
sites is a secret treasured by the women. In most cases, procurement
takes into consideration what is enough for a meal, except for the veg­
etables that are cooked aboka (see p. 332). Except for the kitchen-
garden vegetables, those that thrive in other sites can be gathered by
everyone, and do not belong to any particular individual. Vegetables
that grow in kitchen gardens are grown from seeds that are purposely
sown there (e.g., boo) or from the seeds that were shed during the pre­
vious season (e.g., akeyo). Kitchen-garden vegetables have avoid­
ance regulations attached to them. For example, it is believed that
menstruating women, culturally considered unclean, should not enter
the kitchen garden to procure them, lest the vegetables wither. At
these times a woman will therefore stand at the gate, pointing out to a
younger girl which vegetables to pick (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-
Hansen, 2003).
Traditionally, it was prohibited to feed on what one used as medi­
cine, although this restriction is not strictly observed nowadays.
However, the same plants are dealt with in completely different ways,
depending on their intended use. Collecting them for use as vegeta­
bles can be done publicly, by groups of girls or women. Collecting
332 EATING AND HEALING

them for medicinal use is an event whereby one or two leaves are
picked, often in secrecy. Preparation is very different as well. Hence,
women prepare the food, and the medicine must be prepared by the
herbalist himself or herself, or an apprentice under his or her instruc­
tions. Medicinal plants are usually collected in very small quantities.
In contrast to vegetables for food, both men and women (herbalists)
can collect medicinal plants (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen,
2003).

D ie ta r y U se

As with procurement, it is culturally unacceptable for a man to

cook. Men who cook are often referred to as “women.” After the veg­
etables have been sorted for cooking, it is believed that they should be
torn by hand, as cutting with a knife “makes them bitter.” Two main
methods of cooking are used: aruda (literally, “stirred”) and aboka
(literally, “fermented”). Vegetables that are cooked aruda have salt
and soda (sodium carbonate) added to them and are in most cases in­
tended for immediate consumption. Soda ash is bought from the shop
or is prepared from wood ash taken from the fireplace. Water is mixed
with the ash and left to settle for some time until a suspension is
formed and the water “tastes like soda.” This water is then used to
cook the vegetable. Soda ash is meant to soften and detoxify the vege­
tables. However, it should be added in minimal amounts, as otherwise
the dish is unpalatable. Milk may be added as well, in order to initiate
fermentation. Examples of vegetables cooked this way include apoth
(Corchorus trilocularis), boo (Vigna unguiculata), atipa (Asystasia
mysorensis), mito madongo (Crotalaria b rev ideas), and onyulo
(Sesamum angustifolium) (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen,
2003).
Vegetables that are cooked aboka have no salt added. Instead, during
an average of two days, milk is added and they are put on the fire and
cooked several times. It usually takes some days before they become
soft and the bitter taste disappears and they are ready for consumption.
About 28 traditional vegetables are cooked aboka. Examples include
akeyo (Gynandropsis gynandra), osuga (Solarium nigrum), and alika
(Amaranthus spp.) (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
However, some traditional vegetables may be cooked either aruda
or aboka, and they are often cooked in mixtures. There are about
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 333

eleven such vegetables, including nyayado (Senna occidentalis), it

rabuon (potato leaves), okuuro, and Hindi (Acalypha volkensii). A
vegetable that is cooked aboka may be mixed with the ones cooked
aruda, and if an aruda vegetable is the predominant one, the dish is
stirred and becomes aruda and vice versa. For example, it achak,
which is aruda when mixed with akeyo, may be cooked aboka, and
when mixed with apoth it may be cooked aruda (Ogoye-Ndegwa and
Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
Whether vegetables are mixed during cooking depends on their
abundance and taste. During periods of drought, traditional vegeta­
bles are usually cooked in mixtures, since they are very scarce. Some
vegetables are so bitter that they have to be cooked together with oth­
ers in order to reduce the bitterness and make them more palatable.
Examples include nyamand dhiang’, achak (Sonchus schweinfur-
thii), mito madongo (Crotalaria brevidens), and atek min angasa
(Dyschoriste radicans) (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
However, other than taste and abundance, some vegetables such as
it kipoyo (papaya leaves) and bwombwe matindo (Cyphostemma
orondo) are feared to be “poisonous” and should be very minimal in
the mixture. For example, goats die soon after eating large quantities
of it omuogo (cassava leaves), and it is believed that the leaves are
equally dangerous for human beings, if not taken minimally. Other
species of omuogo4 are known to be so poisonous that those who have
eaten them, usually during famine, have been reported to have died
from poisoning. Some traditional vegetables, for example nyasgum-
ba (Ludwigia stoloniferia), have to be boiled, followed by more than
two rinses with water, with a final amount of water being added for
cooking (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
According to the local perceptions, vegetables compare very unfa­
vorably with other food items such as meat or fish. Among the Luo, it
is usually considered undignified to serve vegetables to a visitor. Veg­
etables are referred to as “the caterpillars’ bed,”5 and it is said that
“the hyena cries and still leaves it untouched,”6 (i.e., the hyena, the
animal the Luo perceive as the greediest, doesn’t feed on vegeta­
bles!). Though most people do not like the rather bitter taste of some
traditional vegetables such as osuga (Solanum nigrum), akeyo (Gyn-
andropsis gynandra), and mito madongo (Crotalaria brevidens),
some people relish their mild bitterness (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-
Hansen, 2003).
334 EATING AND HEALING

M e d ic in a l U se

Besides being used as food, most of the many traditional vegeta­

bles among the Luo of western Kenya are considered to be of medici­
nal value. Most plants are used to treat different kinds of ailments,
ranging from simple wounds affecting various parts of the body to
treating the more complex ailments such as chira, spirit possession,
and the evil eye. They can also be used for love potions and protective
charms.
According to the typology of Foster (1976), some are used to deal
with “naturalistic” physical ailments or alleviate bodily pain such as
stomachache and labor pain (see Table 14.1). Others are seen to pro­
tect against “personalistic” conditions in which harm is inflicted by
others using witchcraft (see Table 14.2). Foster (1976) states that “A
naturalistic system explains illness in impersonal, systemic terms . . .
from such natural forces or conditions,” whereas “A personalistic
medical system is one in which disease is explained as due to the ac­
tive, purposeful intervention of an agent, who may be human, . . .
nonhuman, . . . or supernatural” (p. 775). Though simplistic, this
typology will be used in this chapter to categorize the illnesses for
which herbal treatment is used.
The “naturalistic” illnesses are many and varied. Okulbat is an ill­
ness of infants, characterized by acute swellings of the armpits and
accompanied by fever. The disease is not easily diagnosed by the
younger mothers during its initial stages, and the diagnostic experi­
ence of the elderly mothers is often sought. Mbaha is a skin condi­
tion, often accompanied by fever in infants. The condition can be
spread throughout the whole body, making the infant restless and in
severe pain.
“Milk teeth” is a condition suspected to be caused by human or su­
pernatural intervention, especially in cases of numerous growths. The
infant does not feed well, neither does it suckle, and it is believed that
traditional treatment is the only option. The fact that an infant devel­
ops “teeth” is seen as highly abnormal, explicable only in terms of the
supernatural.
Possession by spirits is accompanied by abnormal behavior; some
patients even talk in tongues. Spirits can be good or bad. The good
spirits are nurtured and “developed,” since they eventually help in
healing the possessed person. The bad spirits, however, bring suffer-
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 335

TABLE 14.1. “Naturalistic” uses of medicinal plants according to the terminology

of Foster (1976). The table gives an overview of the herbs used for various disor­
ders and in some cases mentions other herbs and substances with which they
are mixed.

Herb D isorder M ixture

Achak Stomachache Nyaydo
Ang’iew
Adongo nyar yuora Abscess/boils without an “eye” -
Akeyo Mgongo in babies -
Anyim Mbaha -
Anyulo Constipation/cracking anus -
Cough
Apoth Measles Other herbs
Atek min angasa Bunda (edema) in pregnancy -
Atipa Reduces labor pain Ombok alika
Aurao Tapeworms
Akuodi (kwashiorkor)
■
Mbaha
Awayo matindo To ripen boils Awayo madongo
Ayucha Mbaha Other herbs
Boo Mbuda (edema) Kikuyu grass
Stomach fullness in pregnancy
Dindi Mbaha -
Eases labor pain
It nduma Boils, other airborne diseases -

Ndemra Mbaha Water

Removal of placenta
Measles
Nyadeg dani Leprosy Oil
Baby rashes
Nyaketh mwanda Mbaha -
Nyalak dede Stomachache
Worms
Removal of placenta
Mbaha
Nyamit kuru Okulbat (swollen lymph nodes Oil
of the armpit)
Nyarag achogo Stomachache Yago leaves
Edema in pregnancy Cow’s fat
Difficulty in breathing Oil, other herbs
336 EATING AND HEAUNG

TABLE 14.1. (continued)

Herb D isorder M ixture

Nyatigatiga Orienyancha in infants —

Clean an infant’s tongue

for better suckling
Nyayado Stomachache -
Worms
Obudo Stomachache -
Obuolo madongo Worms -
Ododo Hima or Orip Ombok alika, oil
Okuro Orienyancha in infants;
Delayed delivery with persistent
labor pain
Oriadho Stomachache -

Boils
Owich Pulls thorns from body Kat sero (kind of salt)
Cough
Radier remo Worms Oriadho, Osuga
Leprosy Minya, pork fat
Tungu Removal of placenta -

ing and diseases such as madness, ang’iew in children, and epilepsy.

Chira is a state of weakness, slow wastage of the body, and maybe
eventual death. It is often associated with transgression of taboos in
relation to cultivation, marriage and sexuality, or disrespect for the
“living dead,” including disrespect for seniority. A man’s disrespect
for the taboos may result in chira affecting him, his wife, and children
thereafter. Nowadays the manifestations of HIV/AIDS are often
equated with chira.
About 65 out of the 72 plants identified in the study are used for
medicinal purposes. The medicinal herbs used by the Luo are col­
lected in various ways. Some medicinal plants are openly and widely
used by ordinary people and some are secretively used and the pre­
serve of the professional healers.
The medicinal plants are not only eaten but also quite often used to
prepare solutions for bathing and massaging. The preparation of
medicines is illness-specific. Some “medicines are diluted to drink,
some are applied on the body, and some are hidden in folds of cloth,
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 33 7

TABLE 14.2. “Personalistic” uses of medicinal herbs according to the terminol­

ogy of Foster (1976). The table gives an overview of the herbs used for various
disorders and in some cases mentions other herbs and substances with which
they are mixed.

Herb Illness M ixture

Atek min angasa Spirits Ndemra leaves
Angayo Spirits (from the lake) -
Atipa Spirits (sepe) -
Buombwe matindo Spirits -
Dindi Spirits -
It onyiego Evil eye (an infant) -
Nyamand dhiang’ Spirits Other herbs
Nyarag achogo Chira -
Nyatigatiga Chira -
Nyasgumba Spirits (from the lake) -
Nyawend agwata Sunken, “breathing” head -
Ododo Chira Ombok alika, oil
Oyombe Spirits -
Radier remo Chira Other herbs

as protective charms. The preparation of certain medicines remains a

treasured secret, and only a few ingredients may be revealed by the
healer. Sometimes the procedure is complex and may involve slaugh­
tering an animal (usually a lamb), whose blood forms an important
ingredient. The harvesting and preparation of the medicines is often
done by an apprentice under the instructions of the healer, but this is
practiced under privatized and publicized professional treatment. In
certain cases, the medicines are given to the sick with instructions on
how to prepare and use them (dosage). Even so, in most cases the
medicines are given to the sick when mashed. This is a safeguard to
ensure that it is impossible to identify an ingredient. Even so, the abil­
ity to identify medicinal ingredients does not qualify a person to use
them in treatment. This explains why even the apprentices cannot
treat until they receive the blessings of the healer. Some medicines are
considered “useless” unless and until blessed by the “owner.” Bless­
338 EA TING AND HEALING

ing entails acknowledging the source of knowledge ownership and

paying for that service.
Often, the patient pays a fee, which depends on the severity and se­
riousness of the disease. Often a fee is charged to initiate the treat­
ment process before the medicine is dispensed. This is called gir
bungu, literally, “the property of the forest.” Other payments follow
later, depending on the improvement of the sick person.

D ISCUSSION

The Luo of western Kenya live in a transitional period in which

food preference undermines food and nutrition security. Presently,
food consumption practices are rapidly changing, and many tradi­
tional Luo food items are considered to have low status.7 Recently in­
troduced vegetables such as sukuma wiki have assumed a superior
status and are more popular and abundantly consumed by most peo­
ple. Paradoxically, some Luo traditional vegetables such as osuga
(Solanium nigrum), akeyo (Gynandropsis gynandra), mito madongo
(Crotalaria brevidens), and ododo (Amaranthus hybridus) can be
found in big hotels in urban areas.
Most of the traditional vegetables exist as weeds of agriculture and
are procured from the bushland and previously cultivated farmlands,
where they are gathered communally. A few grow in kitchen gardens
and along the lakeshores. The fact that most of these traditional vege­
tables are not cultivated increases their scarcity, as many of the natu­
ral habitats are vanishing. Far fewer traditional vegetables are re­
ported to be abundant, compared to a decade ago. Furthermore, as
this knowledge is rarely passed on to the younger generation, there is
a risk that it will eventually be lost.
Previous studies have shown that some of these traditional vegeta­
bles are highly nutritious (FAO, 1968). An analysis comparing some
of the traditional vegetables with the recently introduced and pre­
ferred “cabbages” (which semantically includes sukuma wiki) shows,
for example, that ododo (Amaranthus hybridus) is almost twice as
high in calories and eight times as high in iron content. Akeyo
(Gynandropsis gynandra) is three times as high in protein and six
times as high in iron content. In addition, the comparisons of beta-
carotene reveal that the traditional' herbs have a clear advantage
(FAO, 1968). The present study has not analyzed the vegetables’ con­
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Luo o f Western Kenya 339

tent of micronutrients or toxins in the raw form. Neither has it looked

into the modifications of content that are likely to take place during
the various traditional processes of preparation. However, these re­
search questions are now being addressed (Orech, personal commu­
nication). One critical area of consideration is the determination of
the toxicity as well as the nutritional content of specific plants. Al­
though it is contended that some of these plants are highly nutritious
(FAO, 1968), some of them are potentially highly toxic. This last
point suggests that some of the traditional vegetables are considered
poisonous if not “properly cooked” (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-
Hansen, 2003).
In sub-Saharan Africa, the bioavailability of dietary iron has been
considered the most important determinant of anemia in every age
group except pregnant women (Sub-Committee on Nutrition, 1997,
p. 35). Horticultural approaches are increasingly recognized for their
effectiveness and potential sustainability in improving not only vita­
min A but also general micronutrient status (p. 33).8 Home garden­
ing, however, has the added advantage of contributing to women’s in­
come (p. 31). Wild plants and other wild food sources are widespread
in most human societies. However, the extent to which such plants
and other wild food items are consumed has not been systematically
documented; neither has their nutritional significance been fully
ascertained (Fleuret, 1979; Nordeide et al., 1996).
Our study has shown that a substantial number of traditional herbs
(65 of the 72 on our list) are used as medicine as well as vegetables.
The plants are used for a great variety of illnesses which, according to
the typology of Foster (1976), fall both into the “naturalistic” and
“personalistic” categories. The widespread use of medicinal herbs is
in accordance with the findings of other scholars who have studied
Luo medicine (Prince et ah, 2001; Geissler et al., 2002). Though
widely used for medicinal purposes, their chemical content and clini­
cal effects have only been sparsely examined. Furthermore, some of
the plants may have toxic effects, which should be looked into before
recommendations can be made. The use of herbal medicine in Kenya
is gaining wider application (for example, people are increasingly re­
sorting to Chinese herbal treatment). A debate is currently taking
place in Kenya about whether herbal medicine should be included in
the mainstream national health program.
340 EATING AND HEALING

CONCLUSION

We have described how plants that mostly grow wild are used by
the Luo of western Kenya partly as food items (vegetables) and partly
for medicinal purposes. Most of the plants in the study are used for
both dietary and medicinal purposes. Indications are strong that many
of the wild herbs used as vegetables have high contents of important
micronutrients such as iron and vitamin A. However, uncritical advo­
cacy of traditional vegetables as a means of counteracting food inse­
curity should be cautioned, as many of them are toxic.
Many of the herbs are also used for medicinal purposes. The sig­
nificance of modern medicine notwithstanding, the potential use of
medicinal herbs could be further explored and those that prove to be
effective could be exploited.

NOTES
1. For example, most of the pupils had named boo (Vigna unguiculata), hamba,
ajur, and manyonyo as four separate vegetables. On validation, it was discovered
that the four names refer to the growth and storage stages of a single vegetable spe­
cies, boo . Hamba are the hard, old leaves of boo, whereas ajur refers to boo that has
sprouted from a stump after rain has ended a dry spell. Manyonyo is the boo dried
and preserved for later use. Key informants later confirmed that the four names refer
to one and the same species (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen, 2003).
2. Dholuo terms (the local language) are indicated in italics. However, some of
the terms are borrowed from other languages, e.g., sukuma wiki comes from
Kiswahili.
3. Mushrooms are clearly not vegetables in the strict, botanical sense.
4. Omuogo can generally be divided into the edible marieba (Manihot escu-
lenta), which is a shrub, and the generally inedible omuok nawi, which grows to the
size of a tree (Capen, 1998). However, during periods of food scarcity, some people
harvest the tubers of omuok nawi, which need to be processed carefully in order to
detoxify them before eating. We noted several reports of cases where people had
died because of inappropriate detoxification (Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen,
2003).
5. Otanda oyuo.
6. Ondiek ywak to pod weye aweya oko.
7. It is beyond the scope of the present chapter to analyze the dynamics of the
changes in the Luo culture in general and those regarding food practices in particu­
lar. See, however, Cohen and Odhiambo (1989, pp. 64-65) on the shift from millet
and sorghum to white maize.
8. Though vegetables supply the nonhemoglobin type of iron, it is still the most
important source of dietary iron, especially in developing countries (Sub-Commit­
tee on Nutrition, 1997, p. 39).
 Dietary and Medicinal Use o f Herbs Among the Lao o f Western Kenya 34 I

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 Chapter 15

Ethnomycology in Africa,
with Particular Reference to the Rain
Forest Zone of South Cameroon
Thomas W. Kuyper

INTRODUCTION

Several years ago, the Africa Museum in Berg en Dal (the Nether­
lands) organized a special exhibition, “Herbs, Health, Healers” (De
Smet, 1999), which was devoted to ethnopharmacology—the pro­
duction and use of substances with medicinal properties that are de­
rived from local flora and fauna—in Africa. In the catalog that ac­
companied the exhibition only incidental mention of mushrooms was
made. Only one species was dealt with in detail: Coprinus africanus.
The vernacular name of that species among the Yoruba in Nigeria is
ajeimutin, which translates as “eat, without drinking alcohol.” The
same fungal species also occurs in the Central African Republic, and
the Lissongo (a group of Pygmies) call this mushroom itongomokolo:
“the mushroom that spins your head and heart when simultaneously
drinking palm wine” (Heim, 1963). From both vernacular names it is
clear that several African cultures know that consuming this mush­
room in combination with alcohol can result in very disagreeable
physical symptoms. In the northern hemisphere, it is medically
known that consuming the related mushroom species Coprinus
atramentarius in combination with alcohol gives rise to similar dis­
agreeable symptoms. It has been suggested that the substances re-

The fieldwork in Cameroon was done jointly with Han van Dijk and Neree Awana
Onguene. Their help is greatly appreciated. I also thank the Bantu and Bagyeli infor­
mants for their willingness to share information.

345
346 EATING AND HEAUNG

sponsible for this physical reaction could be used to treat alcoholism,

but the fact that regular consumption of this species was found to de­
crease the fertility of male rats prevented its subsequent clinical trials
and commercial use.
The scant attention paid to mushrooms in the Africa Museum exhi­
bition is at first sight somewhat curious and therefore in need of an
explanation. Could it be that indigenous knowledge about medicinal
and other mushrooms is grossly underdeveloped compared to knowl­
edge about plants? The African continent is in fact very rich in plant
species that have been used in traditional medicine, and several of
these (such as Primus africana, which is used for healing prostate
cancer) are already regularly used in modern medicine or appear to
have great promise (such as Ancistrocladus korupensis, a potential
drug against human immunodeficiency virus and malaria). Or, could
it be that despite ample knowledge of indigenous mushrooms, their
use is still restricted because mushrooms decay rapidly and cannot
easily be dried and preserved in a humid climate? Or, is there exten­
sive knowledge and use, but much of this utilization takes place in rit­
ual and secret sessions that are not accessible to Western scientists?
On a very different level, could it be possible that mushroom knowl­
edge and utilization is extensive, but that European (and eurocentric)
anthropologists have a blind spot for it?

M Y C O P H 1L IA V E R S U S M Y C O P H O B IA

The possibility of research bias deserves attention. Since the work

of the Wasson couple (he of American, she of Russian provenance) it
has been customary and fashionable to classify cultures as myco-
phobic (mushroom avoiding) and mycophilic (mushroom loving). An
anecdote suggests that mycophobia exists among anthropologists.
During a dinner at an anthropology conference, the French anthropol­
ogist Levi-Strauss, who had been impressed by the work of Wasson
(1968), had an animated discussion with a British colleague about the
issue of mycophobia and mycophilia. The British anthropologist
showed his usual skepticism, being unconvinced that this classifica­
tion reflects a fundamental distinction and claiming that if the British
do indeed show little interest in mushrooms, it is for no other reason
than that there are hardly any mushrooms in Great Britain (Levi-
Strauss, 1970).
 Elhnomycology in Africa 347

According to Wasson (1968), mycophobia is widespread among

the Anglo-Saxon linguistic group. As many nineteenth and early
twentieth century anthropologists were of English or German prove­
nance it is not surprising that these scientists had a blind spot for
mushrooms. Mycophilic cultures are found among the Slavonic lin­
guistic group, and furthermore among the Sami (Laps) and the Indi­
ans in northwestern North America and in Mexico. It is not clear
whether this distinction between mycophobic and mycophilic cul­
tures also applies to Africa. To my knowledge, the issue has never
been systematically studied on that continent. However, a curious
pattern has been noted among the population of African descent on
the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. In francophone Haiti the Afro
population is predominantly mycophilic, while in the neighboring
hispanophone Dominican Republic it is predominantly mycophobic
(Nieves-Rivera, 2001). This distinction may be a consequence of the
different attitudes of the French and Spanish colonists and, in particu­
lar, the possible mycophobic attitude of the Roman Catholic Church.
Mycophilic cultures possess an extensive folk taxonomic knowl­
edge in which many different mushrooms are recognized and named.
They also have a wide variety of mushroom uses, including dietary,
culinary, medicinal, and ritual and religious.

O VERVIEW OF MUSHROOM USE IN AFRICA

It has been proposed that the oldest traces of mushroom use in Af­
rica date back about 9,000 to 7,000 years BP (Samorini, 1992). Rock
paintings in Tassili (Algeria), and also to a lesser extent in Lybia,
Egypt, and Chad, have been interpreted as showing anthropomorphic
beings or masked dancing figures holding mushrooms in their right
hands. Emanating from the mushroom object are two parallel lines
that reach the central part of the dancer’s head. These lines have been
interpreted as a representation of the effect that psychotropic mush­
rooms have on the human mind. However, alternative interpretations
of the mushroomlike symbol have also been proposed, such as an ar­
rowhead, oar, plant, or flower. Sometimes the symbol has been unde­
fined. In this regard it is curious that there'are very few reports on the
use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Africa, even though the halluci­
348 EATING AND HEAUNG

nogenic species Panaeolus cyanescens and several Psilocybe species

are not uncommon on dung in eastern and southern Africa.
The first report on hallucinogenic mushrooms in Africa is rather
suspect. The famous explorer Livingstone mentioned mushrooms be­
ing used in a local meal; after eating the meal he experienced intense
dreams of roast beef (Piearce, 1985). To date, the identity of the
mushroom has remained speculative, and the possibility that halluci­
nogenic plants had been added to the meal cannot be excluded. It is
also conceivable that Livingstone’s dreams were induced by home­
sickness.
The report by Soubrillard (cited in Samorini, 1995) is question­
able. Soubrillard maintains that somewhere on the Ivory Coast two
mushroom species with psychotropic properties are used. One of
these, tamu, the mushroom of knowledge, is apparently a recent dis­
covery by the local population, while the other species, called the
mushroom of action, has been known for a substantial period, even
though the fungus does not have a vernacular name. Soubrillard’s ac­
count of his encounter with the local healer also seems to be too un­
usual to believe this report at face value.
Finally there is Terence McKenna’s (1992) “stoned ape” theory of
human evolution, which claims that during the evolution that led to
the species Homo sapiens, the ancestral species shifted its habitat to
savanna as a consequence of climatic change; this resulted in a di­
etary shift. The new diet included psilocybin-containing mushrooms
growing on the dung of herbivores that roamed the savanna. Consum­
ing these fungi jumbled the experiences from the various senses and,
according to McKenna, led to language. The empirical basis for this
theory is extremely weak, and McKenna’s theory has been dismissed
by evolutionary biologists.
The almost complete absence of reports on hallucinogenic mush­
room use in Africa does not indicate that Africans are not interested
in natural products with psychotropic activities. Africa is well en­
dowed with hallucinogenic plants, such as Catha edulis (the source of
qat), Areca catechu (betel nut), and Tabernanthe iboga (De Smet,
1999). Neither should we fall into the error of assuming that a simple
relation exists between mycophilic cultures and the use of hallucino­
genic mushrooms.
In recent decades, interest in ethnomycology (the study of the in­
digenous knowledge and use of mushrooms) in Africa has increased
 Ethnomycology in Africa 349

substantially. Research, driven by curiosity, has been based on the as­

sumption that such knowledge could contribute to food security and
to better protection of Africa’s wildlife resources. Mushrooms are an
important source of protein; in some African cultures they are known
as the meat of the poor. The nitrogen content of mushrooms usually
varies from 1 to 2 percent in wood-decomposing fungi to 4 to 5 per­
cent in ectomycorrhizal fungi. Values are even higher in species of
Termitomyces. Not all the nitrogen is in the protein, but because the
fungal cell walls contain the nitrogenous polymer chitin, the protein
content can reach values of up to 20 percent of dry weight in
ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and more than 30 percent in Termito­
myces microcarpus (Parent and Thoen, 1977; Degreef et al., 1997).
Often, mushrooms are considered to be a substitute for animal pro­
tein. However, mushroom proteins are somewhat more difficult to di­
gest than animal protein, making mushrooms only a partial substitute
for meat. Nevertheless, a shift toward a diet in which mushrooms play
a large role could simultaneously protect wild animals that are now
illegally hunted and trapped to provide bush meat for local residents
and urban populations.
In eastern Africa, mushroom consumption is common and wide­
spread (Buyck, 1994; Malaisse, 1997). It is especially important in
the miombo, a savanna or open woodland vegetation dominated by
trees of the Caesalpiniaceae that form ectomycorrhizas: mutually
beneficial associations between tree roots and certain mushrooms. In
this landscape, termitaria (termite mounds) are also prominent fea­
tures, and mushrooms of the genus Termitomyces, which are culti­
vated by certain termites, are also a very important food. The largest
representative of that genus, T. titanicus, has caps with a diameter of
up to 100 cm. Annual mushroom consumption in these areas can vary
between 15 and 30 kg fresh weight per capita. Given the strong sea­
sonality of mushrooms, this is a very substantial amount.

MUSHROOM KNOWLEDGE AND UTILIZATION

B Y BANTU AND BAG YELI IN SOUTH CAMEROON

The relatively good information on mushroom knowledge and uti­

lization in central and eastern Africa contrasts sharply with our lim­
ited knowledge about western Africa. Very little work has been done
350 EATING AND HEAUNG

on the knowledge and utilization of mushrooms in the rain forests of

this area (Heim, 1963; Oso, 1975, 1977). As part of the Tropenbos
Cameroon Program, which was aimed at the protection and sustain­
able management of Cameroon’s rain forests, studies were conducted
on nontimber forest products (Van Dijk, 1999) and on the role of
mycorrhizal associations for forest management (Onguene, 2000).
Both studies focused on mushrooms growing in pristine and dis­
turbed rain forests. The results of these combined studies that in­
cluded questionnaires on mycological knowledge, a socioeconomic
household survey, and an extensive mushroom collection and preser­
vation effort have recently been published (Van Dijk, Onguene, and
Kuyper, 2003). They are summarized following.
The fieldwork area was in southwest Cameroon, in the Congo-
Guinea forest refuge, about 80 km east of the coastal town of Kribi.
The area is sparsely populated (less than ten inhabitants per square ki­
lometer), implying that as yet very little human pressure has been put
on the land. No strong signs of declining soil fertility due to agricul­
tural intensification were noted. Most of the area is covered by forest,
which has been and still is being logged by domestic and foreign
companies. A large part of the forest is therefore degraded. Two ma­
jor groups of people co-occur in the area. The large majority (around
90 percent) of the population consists of Bantu farmers (mainly Bulu,
but also Fang, Bassa, and Ngumba) who practice shifting cultivation;
cocoa cash-cropping; and hunting, fishing, and gathering. Around 10
percent of the population are Bagyeli (Pygmy) hunter-gatherers, who
mainly live in small settlements in the forest, although some of them
have recently adopted shifting cultivation and, to a lesser extent, co­
coa farming. The Bagyeli spend almost all of their lives in the forest,
and mushroom collection can easily be combined with their other
hunting and gathering activities. The Bantu visit the rain forest much
less frequently, so are more likely to be less time efficient at searching
for mushrooms in the forest. However, mushroom collection in the
immediate vicinity of their agricultural plots can easily be combined
with other agricultural activities. Property rights also have an impact
on collecting sites. Bantus usually have property rights over the
mushrooms in the immediate vicinity of their fields and plantations.
The property rights on secondary forests and old fallows are more
variable and depend on how far back the collective memory about
land ownership extends. Mushroom collection in the pristine rain
 Ethnomycology in Africa 351

forest is essentially free (Van den Berg and Biesbrouck, 2000). The
different lifestyles of the Bantu and Bagyeli result in differences in
habitats in which mushrooms are collected (see Table 15.1).
Consequently, both tribes have a different mushroom diet, as dif­
ferent mushroom species grow in the different habitats. The Bantu
diet consists mainly of saprotrophic (litter- and wood-decomposing)
mushrooms, the most important being Volvariella volvacea and Len-
tinus squarrosulus. The Bagyeli collect mainly in undisturbed rain
forest where patches dominated by ectomycorrhizal Caesalpiniaceae
occur. Their diet contains a large amount of ectomycorrhiza-forming
mushrooms such as Cantharellus rufopunctatus and several other
Cantharellus species and Lactarius gymnocarpus. Species of the ge­
nus Termitomyces also form a major part of their mushroom diet. Ta­
ble 15.2 gives an overview of the habitats of the six mushroom spe­
cies that are consumed in the largest quantities.
Despite the differences in mushroom diets, mushroom consump­
tion is very comparable: on average 1.4 kg fresh weight per person
per year for Bantu, and 1.1 kg for Bagyeli. The ethnomycological
survey showed extensive knowledge of mushrooms that were eaten,
used for medicinal purposes, or both. During the interviews, more
than 50 vernacular names for mushrooms were mentioned. To date,
some 35 species have been identified (for the complete list, see Van
Dijk et al., 2003), a level of mushroom knowledge comparable to that
in eastern Africa, where the number of mushrooms with vernacular
names usually ranges between 20 and 60. In south Cameroon, women
have a much more extensive mushroom knowledge than men, at least
among Bantu, although Bantu men regularly engaged in hunting also

TABLE 15.1. Habitats in the Congo-Guinea Forest Refuge where mushrooms

are collected (in percent of total mushroom harvest).

V e g e ta tio n ty p e B agyeli Bantu

Primary forest 21 54
Secondary forest 32 17
Cocoa plantations 6 6
Home gardens 10 3
Young fallow, agricultural 31 20
plots

Source: Data from Van Dijk et al., 2003.

352 EATING AND HEAUNG

TABLE 15.2. Habitats of the six most important edible mushrooms harvested in
south Cameroon.

Am ount
h a rvested
S c ie n tific nam e (kg) PF SF CP (% ) HG FA
Volvariella volvacea 69 6 21 16 23 34
Term itom yces sp. 1 36 81 19 - - -
Lentinus squarrosulus 34 15 39 2 - 44
M arasm ius 15 33 67 - - -
katangensis
C antharellus 10 87 13 - — —
rufopunctatus
Term itom yces sp. 2 6 79 13 - 8 -

S o u rce : Data from Van Dijk et al., 2003.

N o te : Amount of mushrooms harvested includes harvests by both Bantu and
Bagyeli.
PF = primary forest; SF = secondary forest; CP = cocoa plantations; HG = home
gardens; FA = young fallow and agricultural plots.

have good knowledge of mushrooms. Among the Bagyeli, men and

women contribute equally to mushroom collection. Mushroom
knowledge is transmitted orally from mother to child. Edible mush­
rooms are considered an alternative for and supplement to animal
protein. Mushrooms are often added to soups of peanut (Arachis
hypogaea), bush mango almonds (Irvingia gabonensis), and oil palm
fruits (Elaeis guineensis). Most mushrooms are cooked fresh; they
are rarely preserved (sun-drying, smoke-drying, or salting).
Although toxic mushrooms such as Amanita bingensis do occa­
sionally occur in the forest (Heim, 1940), they were not mentioned
during the interviews. The local people do, however, use various cri­
teria to judge whether mushrooms are edible or not. Mushrooms that
show signs of having been eaten by rodents or snails are considered
edible, whereas mushrooms with a bitter or sharp taste and mush­
rooms that when rubbed on the breast nipple or elbow generate irrita­
tion or itching are considered poisonous. In other parts of Africa,
mushrooms are fed to chickens to assess their toxicity, and mush­
rooms observed to have been eaten by apes and monkeys are also
 Ethnomycology in Africa 353

considered edible. Both the Bantu and the Bagyeli consider boletes
whose flesh turns blue on exposure to air as poisonous—a criterion
often also encountered in popular European beliefs on mushroom
toxicity. However, other boletes are also rarely eaten by the indige­
nous populations, but figure more prominently in the diet of myco-
philous Europeans living in Africa. The apparent lack of knowledge
about poisonous mushrooms not only reflects the rarity of these spe­
cies, but may also be related to people’s extensive knowledge of plant
species containing rapidly working toxins. In Africa more than 250
plant species with very rapidly acting toxins are used on arrowheads
(De Smet, 1999).
Various mushrooms in south Cameroon are used not only as food
but also for medicinal purposes—but only by the .Bantu farmers.
Lentinus squarrosulus may help to heal a newborn baby’s navel.
Pleurotus tuber-regium may improve the lactation of breast-feeding
women, and its sclerotium may heal heart palpitations. The cup fungi
Cookeina sulcipes and C. tricholoma are used against ear inflamma­
tion, and a species of Termitomyces is reported to be used for the same
purposes. The medicinal and ritual use of mushrooms among the
Yoruba in Nigeria has been described by Oso (1975, 1977). It has
been reported that species of Termitomyces increase sexual activity in
those who take it. Consumption of Termitomyces microcarpus, a
small white mushroom that can occur in large numbers on termitaria,
is reported to bring good luck to parents wanting many children,
while merchants eat it to attract more customers to their shops. Fi­
nally, in combination with several herbs, the species is used to treat
gonorrhea. A much larger species of the same genus, Termitomyces
robustus, is also reputed to increase parents’ fecundity and mer­
chants’ clientele. The local population believes that in combination
with alcohol and certain herbs it is used to treat maagun, a disease
that women unknowingly attract. As a consequence of the disease,
any man with whom the woman commits adultery will die.

M U SH RO O M S: M E A T OF TH E PO O R

The Tropenbos research in south Cameroon has shown an exten­

sive knowledge of mushrooms (over 50 species are used for food and
medicine) among the local people, though the annual per capita con­
354 EATING AND HEALING

sumption of mushrooms was quite low: 1.1 kg fresh weight for the
Bagyeli and 1.4 kg for the Bantu. In contrast, in eastern Africa mush­
room consumption is over ten times higher (15 to 30 kg), though
mushroom knowledge is at a comparable level. How can this differ­
ence be explained? At least three factors play a role:

• In the tropical rain forest the mushrooms are often small, thin-
fleshed, and prone to rapid decay. In contrast, in the miombo
big, fleshy mushrooms of the genera Amanita, Cantharellus,
and Termitomyces occur.
• In the rain forest, mushrooms are far less seasonal than in the
miombo, where mushrooms appear in huge quantities at the on­
set of the rainy season. This phenological pattern affects not
only when mushrooms appear but also food availability in gen­
eral. In the rain forest, alternative food sources are always avail­
able to a large extent, while in the miombo, mushrooms peak at
the time when other food sources such as cereals and legumes
are very scarce or absent.
• In the rain forest, wildlife is still an abundant source of protein.
Though the Bagyeli and Bantu consume less than 1.5 kg mush­
rooms per capita annually, their annual per capita consumption
of meat and fish can easily amount to 100 kg. These amounts in­
clude skin, hair, bone, and other parts that we consider inedible,
but it is nonetheless clear that mushroom diets can be under­
stood only in the context of the diversity of other sources of pro­
tein and the societal value attached to these sources.

In south Cameroon, mushrooms are literally the meat of the poor.

This has two implications: the first is that extensive mushroom con­
sumption is viewed negatively, as evidence of poverty; the second is
that alternative protein sources cannot be procured. One example il­
lustrates this situation forcefully. In one of the fieldwork villages a
woman living alone with her daughter, without any males, could not
go hunting. What meat she and her daughter consumed consisted of
rats caught around the house, meat bought or received as a gift, and
mushrooms. Consequently, they ate large amounts of mushrooms
(almost 20 kg per person).
This type of social prejudice against mushrooms could hamper at­
tempts to promote the cultivation of edible mushrooms being sup­
 Ethrwmycology in Africa 355

ported by governments, foreign aid agencies, and nongovernmental

organizations in various parts of Africa to make women more finan­
cially independent and empower female farmers. The data from south
Cameroon suggest that such a strategy may not be successful every­
where. When mushrooms are considered to be the meat of the poor, a
social stigma may be attached to their consumption, and conse­
quently mushroom consumption will not become important as long
as sufficient supply of bush meat and fish is available. This situation
might not apply around the major towns of south Cameroon (Douala,
Yaounde, Limbe). Here, the price of bush meat is rising as supply be­
gins to lag behind the demand from the ever-growing population.
This creates a market niche for mushrooms. Some mushrooms are al­
ready being sold in markets, and in Limbe a small mushroom farm
cultivating nonindigenous mushrooms has been set up.
Although this general conclusion on the value society attaches to
mushrooms is based on only one case study and must therefore be
considered as provisional, it is clear that subsequent ethnomyco-
logical studies will gain from closer integration of the natural and
social sciences.

REFERENCES

Buyck, B. (1994). Ubwoba: Les champignons comestibles de Vouest du Burundi.

Brussels: AGCD.
De Smet, P.A.G.M. (1999). Herbs, health and healer—Africa as ethnopharmaco-
logical treasury. Berg en Dal: Afrika Museum.
Degreef, J., F. Malaisse, J. Rammeloo, and E. Baudart (1997). Edible mushrooms of
the Zambezian woodland area; a nutritional and ecological approach. Biotech­
nology, Agronomy, Society and Environment 1: 221 -231.
Heim, R. (1940). Une amanite mortelle de l’Afrique centrale. Revue de Mycologie
5: 22-28.
Heim, R. (1963). La nomenclature mycologique des Lissongos. Cahiers de Maboke
1: 77-85.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1970), Les champignons dans la culture— A propos d’un livre de
M. R.-G. Wasson, L’Homme. Revue Frangaise de VAnthropologie 10: 5-16
Malaisse, F. (1997). Se nourrir en Foret Claire Africaine. Approche ecologique et
nutritionelle. Gembloux, Belgium: Les presses agronomiques de Gembloux.
McKenna, T. (1992). Food of the gods—The search for the original tree of knowl­
edge. New York: Bantam New Age Books.
356 EA TING AND HEALING

Nieves-Rivera, A.M. (2001). Origin of mycophagy in the West Indies. Inoculum 52

(2): 1-3.
Onguene, N.A. (2000). Diversity and dynamics of mycorrhizal associations in trop­
ical rain forests with different disturbance regimes in South Cameroon. Tropen-
bos Cameroon Series 3: 1-167.
Oso, B.A. (1975). Mushrooms and the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Mycologia 67:
271-279.
Oso, B.A. (1977). Mushrooms in Yoruba mythology and medicinal practices. Eco­
nomic Botany 31: 367-371.
Parent, G. and D. Thoen (1977). Food value of edible mushrooms from Upper
Shaba region. Economic Botany 31: 436-445.
Piearce, G.D. (1985). Livingstone and fungi in tropical Africa. Bulletin of the Brit­
ish Mycological Society 19: 39-50.
Samorini, G. (1992). The oldest representations of hallucinogenic mushrooms in
the world (Sahara Desert, 9,000-7,000 BP). Integration 2/3: 69-78.
Samorini, G. (1995). Traditional use of psychoactive mushrooms in Ivory Coast?
Eleusis 1: 22-21.
Van den Berg, J. and K. Biesbrouck (2000). The social dimension of rain forest
management in Cameroon: Issues for co-management. Tropenbos Cameroon
Series 4: 1-99.
Van Dijk, J.F.W. (1999). Non-timber forest products in the Bipindi-Akom II Re­
gion, Cameroon. A socio-economic and ecological assessment. Tropenbos Cam­
eroon Series 1: 1-197.
Van Dijk, J.F.W., N.A. Onguene, and T.W. Kuyper (2003). Knowledge and utiliza­
tion of edible mushrooms by local populations of the rain forest of south Camer­
oon. Ambio 32: 19-23.
Wasson, R.G. (1968). Soma: Divine mushroom of immortality . New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
 Chapter 16

Aspects of Food Medicine

and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco
Mohamed Eddouks

INTRODUCTION

The late King Hassan II of Morocco likened his country to a desert

palm “rooted in Africa, watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of
Europe.” Morocco’s location and resources have shaped its history.
The foods of Morocco take great advantage of the natural bounty
of a country in which eating is a practical and social ritual. The strong
Arab influence contributed greatly to Moroccan cuisine, as did the
Andalusian sensitivities of the city of Tetouan and the Jewish tradi­
tions of the coastal city of Essaouira. The influence of these various
cultures can be experienced in the best-loved Moroccan dishes: cous­
cous (plump semolina grains), bisteeya, mechoui, and djej emsherml
(Kadiri and Raiss, 1997). The cooks in the kitchens of the four royal
cities (Fez, Meknes, Marrakesh, and Rabat) helped to define Moroc­
can cuisine, seasoned with spices and focused on fresh ingredients,
and created the basis for what is known today as Moroccan cuisine.
Moroccans are quick to point out that the best meals are not found in
the restaurants but in the homes. Women do virtually all the cooking
in this very traditional country. The meal usually begins with a series
of hot and cold salads that are followed by a tagine, or stew (Kadiri
and Raiss, 1997). The midday meal is the main meal, except during
the holy month of Ramadan, and abundant servings are the norm. A
soothing cup of sweet mint tea is the grace note to this repast.
Whereas spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of
years, many commonly used raw ingredients are home-grown. Mo­
roccan cuisine is rich in spices that are used to enhance, not mask, the

357
358 EATING AND HEALING

flavor of food (Kadiri and Raiss, 1997). The key spices in Moroccan
cuisine are cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, ginger, cayenne, paprika, an­
ise seed, sesame seed, black pepper, caraway, cloves, coriander seeds,
and Ras el hanout (a mixture of twenty to thirty spices). The chief
herbs are parsley, green coriander, marjoram, gray verbena, mint, and
basil; also used to add flavor are fragrant waters, onions, garlic, and
lemons (Kadiri and Raiss, 1997). Moroccan favorites are salads,
bisteeya, couscous, fish, poultry, meat, desserts, and tea that has been
steeped and then laced with sugar and fresh spearmint (Kadiri and
Raiss, 1997).
Food retailing in Morocco can be broken down as follows:
1. Wet markets: These open-air markets are very common in urban
and rural areas. In the cities, they typically sell fresh fruit and
vegetables and are open daily, but in rural areas they sell all
kinds of cheap local food and nonfood products and are held
weekly. In most cities, wet-market retailers buy directly from
the central city wholesale market. In the rural area, they often
buy directly from farmers.
2. Central markets: Every major city in Morocco has at least one
central market that contains a plethora of small shops.
3. Traditional outlets: These outlets are where food products are
typically sold in Morocco. They offer several advantages to the
Moroccan consumers, including credit and proximity.
4. Supermarkets: These are proliferating, particularly in major
metropolitan areas (Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Marrakech, Oujda,
Mohammedia, El Jadia, and Agadir). They handle a signifi­
cantly larger share of imported and more expensive products
than any other type of outlet.

FOOD M EDICINE
It was Hippocrates who said, “Let food be your medicine, and
medicine your food.” Food medicine, the science and art of using
food as an essential part of medicine, has been established for over
4,000 years. This medical resource is a major determinant of health
that is directly under our control. Food is crucial to human existence,
and because it is utilized many times each day, it has a major effect on
the body. The twenty-first century fs a turning point; the focus of
medicine is returning to natural medicine because prescribed drug
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 359

medications kill many thousands of people a year due to adverse

effects and medical negligence.
The administration of foods to heal the body requires a mastery of
natural medicine and food medicine coupled with knowledge of the
physics, biology, and chemistry of individual foods. Food offers valu­
able insights into societies past and present and is perhaps the most
distinctive expression of a culture, nation, or historical period.
One of the most respected conceptions by Moroccan people about
natural medicine is “holistic” medicine. In the holy Qu’ran, food
plants are often viewed as the gracious provision of God (Salman et
al., 1999; Musselman, 1999). Islam also has extensive writings (ex-
traqu’ranic literature or hadith) about food that are widely respected
and used. Much more than providing food, fiber, and shelter, plants
may also have religious significance. A good example is the use of
trees as symbols of righteousness and stability. One of the scenes in
Paradise in the Qur’an is a place where there are choice fruits and
fowl to eat and the only greeting is “Peace! Peace.” It is a place where
the righteous will recline under the shade of thornless sidr (Ziziphus
sp.) trees (Duwiejua et al., 1993).
The holy Qu’ran and Hadith include plants that have long been
used for medicine. About twenty of the edible plants mentioned in the
Qu’ran appear in the context of medicines. They include garlic
(Allium sativum), rock rose (Cistus creticus), colocynth (Citrullus
colocynthis), tamarisk or tamarix (Tamarix aphylla), myrrh (Commi­
phora spp.), mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), black cummin
(Nigella sativa), and pomegranate (Punica granatum). In the Qu’ran,
the olive fruit is mentioned as a condiment (Danne et al., 1993). Gin­
ger’s present-day use is as a flavoring for drinks, which is also men­
tioned (Faraj, 1995).
Not all the plants mentioned in the Qu’ran are beneficial: zaqqm
(arborescent Euphorbia abyssinca) is a terrible tree associated with
hell (Baumann, 1996). It has fruits like devils’ heads and a burning
sap. This tree is the antithesis of the trees in the Garden of Paradise
(Musselman, 1999). Like all species of Euphorbia, its milky latex is
toxic and causes skin irritation in some people.
The domestic food sector supplies most of Morocco’s needs for
food products. Moroccans are conscious of the fact that what we in­
gest and how we treat our bodies on a daily basis have a very powerful
effect on our health and quality of life. For many decades they have
360 EATING AND HEALING

used food in the health care system, but until recently there had been
no survey of the repertory of foods used as medicine. Drawing on the
relevant published studies (Bellakhdar et al., 1991; Hmamouchi,
1999; Jouad, Haloui, et ah, 2001; Eddouks et ah, 2002), I propose to
discuss the main plants used as food medicine in Morocco. Table 16.1
lists these plants, together with their scientific and vernacular names,
the part of the plant used, and the medicinal use.
Most of the pharmacological effects related to food medicine in
Morocco have not yet been studied. Those that have been reported, or
have been demonstrated experimentally, are summarized below:
• Antidiabetic: Brassica oleracea (Roman-Ramos et ah, 1995),
Eruca saliva (El Missiry and El Gindy, 2000), Opuntiaficus-in-
dica (Grover et ah, 2002), Artemisia herba-alba (Marrif et ah,
1995), Sesanum indicum (Takeuchi et ah, 2001), Olea europea
(Bennani-Kabchi et ah, 2000), Allium sativum (Kasuga et ah,
1999) , Allium cepa, Trigonella foenum graecum (Grover et ah,
2002), Lupinus albus (Sheweita et ah, 2002), Medicago sativa
(Gray and Flatt, 1997), Lavendula dentata (Gamez et ah, 1988),
Citrullus collocynthis (Abdel-Hassan et ah, 2000), Ammi vis-
naga (Jouad et ah, 2002a), Lactuca sativa (Roman-Ramos et ah,
1995), and Mangifera indica (Aderibigbe et ah, 1999)
• Cardiovascular disorders: Daucus carota (Gilani et ah, 2000),
Lepidium sativum (Vohora and Kahn, 1977), Vitis vinifera (Fa-
cino et ah, 1999), Allium sativum (Orekhov and Grunwald,
1997), Apium graveolens (Ko et ah, 1991), and Mangifera in­
dica (Martinez Sanchez et ah, 2001)
• Anti-inflammatory: Apium graveolens (Atta and Alkofahi, 1998)
and Mangifera indica (Garcia et ah, 2002)
• Gastrointestinal: Cuminum cyminum (Vasudevan et ah, 2000;
Nalini et ah, 1998), Foeniculum vulgare (Vasudevan et ah,
2000) , Berberis vulgaris (Shamsa et ah, 1999), and Carum carvi
• Antioxidant: Opuntia ficus-indica (Lee et ah, 2002), Apium
graveolens (Momin and Nair, 2002), and Mangifera indica
(Scartezzini and Speroni, 2000).
• Anthelmintic: Trigonellafoenum-graecum (Zia et ah, 2001) and
Juglans regia (Guarrera, 1999)
• Antimicrobial: Foeniculum vulgare and Coriandrum sativum
• Gynecologic: Cuminum cyminhm (Malini and Vanithakumari,
1987)
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and EthnopharmacoLogy in Morocco 361

TABLE 16.1. Main foods used as medicine in Morocco (nonexhaustive list).

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e o f plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco ences
A nacardiaceae
M angifera indica Anbaj, Anbaa FR Antidiarrheal 5
A piaceae
A m m i visnaga Bachnikha FR D, dental hygiene, 1,2,4
Lam. against headache,
against vertigo, for
nephritic colic
A m m odaucus Kamoun sooufi FR CD 2
leucotrichus Coss.
Et Dur.
A p iu m graveo- Kraffess FR CT, RD 2
lens L.
C arum ca rvi L. Karwiya FR RD 1 ,2
C oriandrum Qezbour FR RD, magic, against 1,2,3
sativum L. scurvy, tonic, sto­
machic, aphrodisiac,
anti-inflammatory
C um inum cym i- Kamoun FR CD 2
num L.
D aucus carota L. Khizzou FR RD, antidiarrheal 1,2,5
Foeniculum duice Bessbass FR H, CD 1
Mill.
Foeniculum vulgare Nafaa FR D, RD 1,2
Gaertn.
P etroseiinum Maadanous AP H, RD, diuretic, tonic 1 , 2 , 5
sativum Hoffm.
B erberidaceae
Berberis vulgaris Hamida SD, H, CD 1
FR,
LE
C ruciferae
Brassica oleracea L. Kroumb AP CD, D 2
Brassica nigra (L.) Khardal lakhal SD magic, calefacient 3
Koch
Eruca sativa Mill. Fjel D 1 ,2
Lepidium sativum L. Hebb rchad SD D, H, RD 1 ,2
362 EATING AND HEALING

TABLE 16.1. (continued)

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e of plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco ences

C actaceae
O puntia ficus indica Hendiya, Kermous FL D, antidiarrheal, anti- 2 ,5
Mill. spasmodic, diuretic
C app araceae
Capparis sp in o saL . Kebbar FR D, appetite stimulant, 1,2, 5
diuretic, against
painful menstruation
C om po sitae
A rte m isia Chiba AP D, antiseptic, em- 1,2, 5
absinthium L. menagogue, vermi­
fuge, febrifuge, di­
gestive
A rte m isia herba Chih AP D, antimicrobial, 1, 2, 4
alba Asso. anthelmintic, poison
antidote
Artem isia vulgaris L. Chih - - -
A rte m isia Chih - - —
m esatlantica Mai re
C artham us Zaafran FL RD, against skin in­ 2 ,5
tinctorium L. fections
C erasus vulgaris Hab lamlouk FR Depurgative, insecti­ 5
Mill. cide, hair care
C ynara Khorchouf RT D, CT, for digestive 2 ,3
cardunculus L. disorders
Cynara scolym us L. Khorchouf LE, RT Depurative, hypogly- 5
cemiant, diuretic
H elianthus annu- Nouar Chems SD RD 1,2
us L.
Lactuca sativa L. Khouss AP D, CD 1,2
C ucu rb itaceae
C itrullus vulgaris Dellah FR Antispasmodic, di­ 5
Schrad. gestive, tonic
C ucurbita lagenaria Slaoui SD Antiasthmatic, for 3
Forsk bronchopulmonary
infections
C ucurbita p e p o L. Gueraa SD RD, antiasthmatic, 2, 3 ,5
for intestinal disor­
ders
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 363

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e of plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco ences

C ucum is sativus L. Khiyar FR D, RD 2

C ucum is sp. Faqqous FR RD 2
C ucum is m elo L. Battikh FR RD 2
C upuliferae
Q uercus lusitanica El bailout FR Antidiarrheal 5
Lam.
Fum ariaceae
Fumaria officinalis L. El Bakoula AP H, CD 1
G ram inae
H ordeum vulgare L. Chaair FR Hypo 2
and H. distichon L.
Z e a m ays L. Dra SM RD 2
Triticum durum Zraa FR Against digestive 5
Desf. disorders
Iridaceae
C rocus sativus L. Zaafran Ihor SM RD, stimulant, cos­ 2 ,5
metic
Ju glan daceae
Juglans regia L. Guergae FR D, tonic, astringent, 2 ,4
depurative, cica-
trizant, vermifuge,
stomachic
Lam iaceae
A juga reptans L. Chendgora AP D 2
C alam intha Menta AP D 2
officinalis Moench.
Lavandula denta- Khzama FL D, H, carminative, 1,2, 4
ta L. sudorific, against
bronchopulmonary
infections
M edicago sativa L. Fessae AP Antispasmodic 5
M entha pulegium L. Fliou AP D, against broncho­ 1,2, 4
pulmonary infections,
antitussive, mouth hy­
giene, antispasmodic
M entha viridis L. Liqama, Naanaa LE H, antispasmodic, 1,2, 5
analgesic, antiseptic,
aphrodisiac, tonic,
stimulant
364 EATING AND HEALING

TABLE 16.1. (continued)

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e of plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco en ces
Ocimum basilicum L. Lehbaq FL Stomachic, anti- 5
spasmodic, against
pulmonary diseases
O riganum najora- Hbeq AP H 2
na L.
R osm arinus Merdedduch LE Against chill, 3
officinalis L. antipyretic
Salvia officinalis L. Salmia LE D, for throat dis­ 1 , 2, 4
eases, refreshing,
choleretic and sto­
machic, vulnerary,
emmenagogue
Lauraceae
C inam om um L-Qrfa AP D, tonic, stimulant 1,5
cassia (L.) Presl.
Laurus nobilis L. Asat sidna mousa LE Dental hygiene, for 3
liver disorders
L egum inosae
Ceratonia siliqua L. Kharoub FR, Antidiarrheal, 5
GU antipyretic, laxative,
against pulmonary
infections
C icer arietium L. Ihommss FR Tonic, reconstituant, 3 ,5
aphrodisiac, cos­
metic, dental hy­
giene
G lycyrrhiza g la b ­ Arq souss RT RD, antispasmodic, 2 ,5
ra L. aphrodisiac
G lycine hispida Soja FR D 2
Maxim, soja sich e t
Zucc.
Lupinus albus L. Foul mesri SD D 1,2
(sensu Lato)
Trigonella foenum - Halba SD D, H, antiasthmatic, 1,2, 4,
graecum L. anthelmintic, aphrodi­ 5
siac, appetite stimu­
lant, emollient,
against aortic palpita­
tions, blood cleansing
V ida faba L. Foul FR Fortifying 5
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 365

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e of plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco en ces

Viana sinensis Foul gnawa SE Hair care, pulmonary 3

End. infections
Liliaceae

A llium sativum L. Touma BU D, H, CD, antispas- 1 , 2, 4

modic, cholagogue,
against alopecia, uri­
nary antiseptic
A llium cepa L. Basla BU D, CD 1,2
Linaceae

Linum Kattan FR Against pulmonary 1,5

usitatissim um L. diseases, antidia­
betic, laxative
M alvaceae

H ibiscus Lmloukhiya SE Antiacid, calefacient 3

esculentus L.
M alva sylvestris L. Bakoula RT Laxative, emolient 3
M o raceae

Ficus carica L. Kermous FR D, antivitiligo, laxa­ 2, 4 ,5

tive, anti-inflamma­
tory, antitussive,
resolvent
M orus nigra L. Tout FR Diuretic, hypoglyce- 5
miant, antidiarrheal
M yrtaceae

Eugenia Qronfel FL D, H 1,2

caryophyllata
Thumb.
O leaceae

Olea europea L. Zitoun, Zebbouj LE, 01 D, H, CD, purgative, 1, 2, 5

laxative
Palm ae

P hoenix dactyli- Tmar FR Aphrodisiac, laxative 5

fera L.

Pedaliaceae

S esam um indicum Jenjlan SD D 1,2

DC.
366 E AT IN G A N D H EA LIN G

TABLE 16.1. (continued)

Part of M edicinal use Refer-

N am e of plants V ern acular n am e plant in M orocco_________ ences

P unicaceae
P unica granatum L. Roumman PE RD, antiasthmatic, 1 ,2, 5
abortive

R anu n culaceae
M alus com m unis Teffah AP H 1
Borkh.

R ham naceae
Z iziphus lotus L. Sedra, Nbeg LE, FR D, RD 2

R osaceae
C ydonia vulgaris Sferjel FR D 2
Pers.
E riobotrya ja p o n ica Mzah LE Antidiarrheal for chil­ 3 ,5
Lindl. dren, for digestive
disorders, against
hypertension
Fragaria vesca L. Fraiz berri FR D, RD, dental hy­ 2 ,5
giene, antidiarrheal
P yrus com m unis L. Bouaouied, Ngass FR RD 2
P runus arm enia- Aik Imchmach GU Aphrodisiac 3
ca L.
Prunus carasus L. Hob el molouk FR RD 2
P runus am ygdalus Louz Har SD D 2 ,4
Stokes var. amara
CD.
Prunus domestica L. Berkouk FR Laxative, 5
antidiarrheal
Prunus cerasus L. Habelmlouk FR Antispasmodic 5
R osa dam ascem a Lward FL Laxative, against 3
Mill. headache, hair care,
cosmetic
R ubus idaeus L. Toute berri FR D, RD, cosmetic, 2
tonic
R ubus fructicosis L. Toute chaouki LE D, RD 2

R ubiaceae
R uta m ontana L. Fijel AP D, RD 1,2
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 367

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e of plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco ences

Rutaceae
Citrus bigaradia Riss. Ronge FR, FL D 1,2
C itrus aurantium L. Zhar limoun FR H, CD, against pulmo­ 1 ,5
nary infections, anti-
spasmodic, sedative
C itrus lem on (L.) Laymoun lahlou FR Tonic, skin hygiene 5
Borm.
S apo taceae
Argania spinosa (L.) Argan 01 Uterus diseases, 3
cosmetic, stimulant
S olan aceae
A tropa belladona L. Zbib leydur FR D 2
A tropa baetica Zbib leydur FR D 2
Willk.
Capsicum annum L. Felfla hamra FR Stimulant, aperitive 3 ,5
S olanum tubero- Al-batates FR Antacid, 5
sus L. antispasmodic
Ternstroem iaceae
Thea sinensis Sims Atay FL Diuretic, cardiotonic, 5
astringent
U m belliferae
C um inum cym in- kamoun FR Against digestive 5
urn L. disorders
U sneae
Evernia p ru n a stri Lahyat shikh AP Cosmetic, liver com­ 3
Ach. plaints, making red
blood corpuscles
V erbenaceae
Lippia citriodora Louiza LE H, diuretic, soporific, 1, 2, 4,
H.B.K. nervous diseases, 5
against asthenia
V iticeae
Vitis vinifera L. Inab LE, FR H, CD, diuretic, 1 ,5
antiobesity
Zin g eberaceae
A fram om um Guza sahrawiya SD . Stimulant, aphrodi­ 3
granum -paradisi K. siac
Schum
368 EATING AND HEALING

TABLE 16.1. (continued)

Part of M edicinal use R efer­

N am e of plants V ern acular nam e plant in M orocco ences

Curcuma longa L. Kharkoum RH Digestive stimulant, 3

for blood diseases,
against amnesia
Zingiber officinale Skingebir RH Analgesic, D 2 ,5
Not determined Elwarguia AP D, against digestive 1
diseases

1: Eddouks et al., 2002; 2: Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001; 3: Bellakhdaret al., 1991;
4: Ziyyat et al., 1997; 5: Hmamouchi, 1999.
AP: aerial parts, EX: extract, FL: flowers, FR: fruits, GU: gum, LA: latex, LE:
leaves, Ol: oil, PE: pericarp, RH: rhizome, RT: roots, SD: seeds, SM: stigma,
CD: cardiac disease, CT: cardiotonic, D: diabetes, H: hypertension, Hypo:
hypotension, RD: renal disease.

Food safety is an essential public health priority throughout the

world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to
one-third of the population in developing countries suffers from
food-borne disease every year. Generally, though, the adverse effects
of foods and of interactions between food and drugs are not taken se­
riously. Instead, researchers have paid attention to various food char­
acteristics: biological (age, nature, shape and environmental require­
ments, physical values such as relationship of internal organs and
organ systems, fluid mechanics, electrostatics, high energy physics,
internal temperature, and vibrating bodies) chemical (water content,
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and vitamins and minerals), and trade
elements.

PH YTOTHERAPY

In many developing countries the lack of resources has led the

health system to depend heavily on traditional medicine and medici­
nal plants. In Africa, more than 80 percent of the population depends
upon medicinal plants for health care. African medical systems vary
between different cultural groups and regions.
The research on traditional medicines in Morocco dates from the
colonial period. Studies have focused primarily on ethnobotanical
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Elhnopharmacology in Morocco 369

and phytochemical aspects, but more recent research has examined

how traditional health practices and herbal medicines can be inte­
grated into modern medical systems. Although the flora and vegeta­
tion of Morocco are now well-known, only a few recent field studies
have been done on traditional medicine (Eddouks et al., 2002; Jouad,
Haloui, et al., 2001; Ziyyat et al., 1997; Bellakhdar et al., 1991;
Bellakhdar, 1997). The diversity of biotopes has allowed a rich flora
to develop, including 4,200 endemic species and about 1,500 intro­
duced species (industrial, alimentary, ornamental, and so on). The
strategic geographical location of Morocco, at the crossroads of Eu­
rope and Africa, has favored meetings between people and cultures.
In Morocco there are three main medical traditions: classical Arab
medicine, based largely on the humoral theories; local popular medi­
cine, which is the standard throughout the country; and magico-reli-
gious practices, based on indigenous beliefs about the spiritual causes
of diseases (Bellakhdar, 1997).
The art of healing is a part of the Muslim tradition of this country
(Bellakhdar, 1997). Many authors have studied the traditional phar­
macopoeia in different areas of Morocco: Bellakhdar and colleagues
(1991), Claisse (1990), Sijelmassi (1993), Ziyyat and colleagues
(1997), Jouad, Haloui, and colleagues (2001), and Eddouks and col­
leagues (2002). Numerous medicinal plants are described for treat­
ment of many diseases.
All Moroccans keep stocks of some traditional home remedies
(Weniger, 1991). The main ingredients of these remedies are plants.
Even today, plant medicines are freely available to Moroccans, with­
out prescription.

R e s e a r c h o n th e M e d ic in a l P la n ts
U s e d in th e T a fila le t a n d F e z R e g io n s

The Tafilalet region in southeastern Morocco has played an impor­

tant role historically, as it is crossed by the desert caravans travelling
between the south and north of Africa. It is considered to be one of the
regions of Morocco in which knowledge of phytotherapy is very de­
veloped. Its climate is arid, so many of the plant species have high
concentrations of active substances.
In the Fez region (the northern part of central Morocco) traditional
plant medicines have always held a strong position. Here, the Quar-
370 EATING AND HEALING

awiyine University in Fez is renowned for its medical research. Re­

cent studies have described the medicinal plants used in treating dia­
betes (especially type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus), hypertension
and cardiac diseases, and renal diseases in the Tafilalet and Fez re­
gions of Morocco (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001; Eddouks et al., 2002).
The findings are discussed following.
Ethnobotanic enquiries were performed in different areas of the
Tafilalet (Eddouks et al., 2002) and Fez-Boulemane regions (Jouad,
Haloui, et al., 2001). In the Tafilalet region 700 patients were ques­
tioned: 320 were diabetics and 380 had hypertension and/or cardiac
disorders (Eddouks et al., 2002). In the Fez-Boulemane region, 1,527
patients were questioned: 1,095 (72 percent) of them were diabetics,
274 (18 percent) had renal diseases, and 158 (10 percent) had cardiac
disorders (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001). The reported use of phyto­
therapy was 80 percent in Tafilalet and 76 percent in Fez-Boulemane.
These percentages, which are high compared with other regions of
Morocco (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001), show clearly that phytotherapy
has always been practiced in these areas.
In previous studies in Morocco, many authors found that the per­
centage of the population using phytotherapy ranged from 55 percent
to 90 percent, depending on the region (Bellakhdar, 1997; El Begh-
dadi, 1991; Jaouad, 1992;Magoua, 1991;Nabih, 1992; Sekkat, 1987;
Ziyyat et al., 1997). The long-standing use of medicinal plants testi­
fies to their medicinal efficacy and safety. In many regions of Mo­
rocco (and also in other countries), as well as in Tafilalet and Fez-
Boulemane, medicinal plants are freely available to the public with­
out prescription: 65 percent of the informants reported having ob­
tained such remedies. Nearly half (49 percent) of the informants
consulted a traditional herbal healer; only 1 percent consulted a
pharmacist (Eddouks et al., 2002).
Both regions showed a clear gender difference, with women using
medicinal plants more: the percentages were 63 and 69 percent of the
female informants in Tafilalet and Fez-Boulemane, respectively, and
the comparable figures for male informants were 37 and 31 percent
(Eddouks et al., 2002; Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001). Some previous
studies have also shown this trend in other Moroccan populations,
with percentages ranging from 61 to 65 percent for females and 35 to
39 percent for males (El Beghdadi, 1991; Jaouad, 1992;Nabih, 1992;
Ziyyat et al., 1997). Reasons for the high percentage of women users
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Elhnopharmacology in Morocco 371

include the high illiteracy rate among women in this society, the ease
of transmission of information between women, and the great store
attached by women to traditional knowledge (Jaouad, 1992; Nabih,
1992). Also, women were most often at home during the hours of the
survey (Jouad, Lacaille-Dubois, and Eddouks, 2001).
The studies (Eddouks et ah, 2002; Jouad, Haloui, et ah, 2001) re­
ported that the interviewed patients used medicinal plants to treat dia­
betes mellitus and hypertension and cardiac diseases because phyto­
therapy is cheaper (53 to 58 percent), more efficient (40 percent), and
better (65 percent) than modem medicine. About 72 percent of all in­
formants said they were satisfied with the treatment and the use of
phytotherapy and preferred using medicinal plants rather than syn­
thetic dmgs. The patients included in the studies were generally illit­
erate (63 percent) and professionally inactive (52 percent). In all
groups, the number of plant users was very important and did not de­
pend on sex, age, or sociocultural level (Eddouks et ah, 2002; Jouad,
Haloui, et ah, 2001).
Seventy percent of the patients respected neither the precision of
doses when using medicinal plants nor the duration of the treatment.
Furthermore, the patients did not take into account that the prolonged
use of plants could lead to some constituents accumulating in the
body, which could provoke severe side effects and could also aggra­
vate the disorder. These findings might explain why there are acci­
dental poisonings by medicinal plants (Eddouks et ah, 2002).
In almost all the studies that have inventoried medicinal plants, the
authors have reported only the therapeutic plants, not the toxic plants
known by the traditional herbal healers. Yet the recording of the latter
plants can provide useful information and should be taken into con­
sideration by researchers. In our study we found that 12 to 25 percent
of the total users of medicinal plants have a little information about
toxic plants (Jouad, Haloui, et ah, 2001; Eddouks et ah, 2002). Four­
teen plants were known to be toxic: Atractylis gummifera, Neriutn
oleander, Citrullus colocynthis, Cannabis sativa, Peganum harmala,
Colchicum autumnale, Lycium vulgare, Datum stramonium, Atropa
belladona, Ferula assa-foetida, Papaver somniferum, Mandragora
autumnalis, Zygophyllum geatulum, and Ricinus communis.
In general, indigenous tribal plant medicines that are not prescrip­
tion medicines are mostly used for autome'dication and are frequently
dispensed by ignorant people (Keller, 1991). When this is the case, it
372 EATING AND HEAUNG

is necessary to inform the public and raise awareness about toxic

plants, in order to prevent at least some cases of accidental poisoning
caused by ignorance. In our study we found that medical knowledge
was passed on orally; this had led to some impoverishment of tradi­
tional knowledge (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001). At present, the trans­
mission of traditional medical knowledge from generation to genera­
tion is currently in danger, because transmission between old people
and the younger generation is not always assured (Weniger, 1991):
the traditional practitioners of today are less instructed and organized
than their predecessors.
As regards diabetes pathology, the majority (75 percent) of the in­
terviewees with diabetes mellitus suffered from type 2 (Eddouks et
al., 2002). Of these, 25 percent relied solely on medicinal plants and
75 percent used phytotherapy in conjunction with modern drugs. By
comparison, only 10 percent of the type 1 diabetic patients frequently
used medicinal plants, in addition to insulin treatment (Eddouks et
al., 2002). Generally, it is very dangerous to use hypoglycemic plants
to treat diabetes mellitus, especially type 1 diabetes mellitus. It seems
that some of the medicinal plants had induced hypoglycemic acci­
dents in type 1 diabetic patients and also in poorly controlled type 2
diabetic patients (Eddouks et al., 2002).
Our inventory of medicinal plants included over 150 that were
used to treat diabetes mellitus, hypertension, renal disease, and car­
diac disease (Eddouks et al., 2002; Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001).
Ninety plants were used to treat diabetes mellitus. Those most
frequently mentioned were Ammi visnaga, Artemisia herba-alba, Trig-
onella foeniculum-granum, Marrubium vulgare, Nigella sativa, Globu-
laria alypum, Allium sativum, Olea europaea, Citrullus colocynthis,
Aloe succotrina, Artimisia absinthium, Rosmarinus officinalis, Thy­
mus vulgaris, Eucalyptus globulus, Mentha pulegium, Myrtus
communis, Linun usitatissimum, Carum carvi (El warguia), Zygo-
phyllum gaetulum, Centaurium erythraea, Allium cepa, Spergularia
purpurea, Urtica dioica, Cynara cardunculus, Opuntia ficus-indica,
and Rubus fructicosus (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001; Eddouks et al.,
2002). Some of these plants have been experimentally studied and their
hypoglycemic activity demonstrated; they include Allium sativum
(Chang and Johnson, 1980), Allium cepa (Alaoui et al., 1992), Artemi­
sia herba-alba (Khazraji et al., 1993), Ammi visnaga (Jouad et al,
2004), Centaurium erythraea (Alaoui et al., 1992), Nigella sativa
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 373

(Labhal et al., 1999), Trigonella foenum- graecum (Raghuram et al.,

1994), Zygophyllum gaetulum (Jaouhari et al., 1999), Rosmarinus
officinalis (Erenmemisoglu et al., 1997), Eucalyptus globulus (Jouad et
al., 2004), Crataegus oxyacantha (Jouad et al., 2002a), Globularia
alypum (Jouad et al., 2002b), Rubus fructicosus (Jouad et al., 2002b),
Opuntia ficus-indica, and Spergularia purpurea (Jouad et al., 2000;
Eddouks et al., 2003).
One hundred plants were reported for treating hypertension and
cardiac diseases (Eddouks et al., 2002; Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001).
Those most often used were Allium sativum, Olea europaea, Pim-
pinella anusum, Artemisia herba-alba, Globularia alypum, Artemisia
absinthium, Citrullus colocynthis, Fumaria officinalis, Marrubium
vulgare, Mentha pulegium, Thymus serphyllum, Satureia montana,
Glycyrrhiza glabra, Nigella sativa, Origanum vulgare, Rosmarinus
officinalis, Carum carvi, Lippia citriodora, Foeniculum dulce, Myrtus
communis, Rubia tinctorum, Peganum harmala, Urtica dioica, Petro-
selinum sativum, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Lippia citriodora,
Herniaria glabra, and Spergularia purpurea (Jouad, Haloui, et al.,
2001; Eddouks et al., 2002).The antihypertensive activity of some of
these plants has previously been demonstrated: Peganum harmala
(Aarons et al., 1977), Allium sativum (Pantoja et al., 1991), Olea
europaea (Circosta et al., 1986), Rosmarinus officinalis (Aqel, 1991),
Herniaria glabra (Rhiouani et al., 1999), Nigella sativa (Labhal et
al., 1994), Spergularia purpurea (Jouad, Lacaille-Dubois, Lyoussi, et
al., 2001; Jouad, Lacaille-Dubois, and Eddouks, 2001), and Arbutus
unedo (Abdalla et al., 1994).
Thirty-three plants were mentioned for treating renal disease
(Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001). Those most used were Herniaria glabra,
Coriandrum sativum, Carum carvi, Daucus carota, Pimpinella ani-
sum, Lepidium sativum, Silene sp., Cucurbita pepo, Cucumis melo,
Zea mays, Crocus sativus, Ziziphus lotus, Petroselinum sativum, Puni-
ca granatum, Foeniculum vulgare, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Linum usitatis-
sinum, Pyrus communis, Prunus carasus, Rubia tinctorium, Ruta mon­
tana, and Spergularia purpurea. Scientific studies have demonstrated
the renal effect of some of these plants, such as Herniaria glabra
(Rhiouani et al., 1999), Foeniculum vulgare (Tanira et al., 1996), Zea
mays (Dat et al., 1992), Centaurium erythraea, Rosmarinus officinalis,
and Spergularia purpurea (Jouad, Lacaille-Dubois, and Eddouks,
2001).
374 EATING AND HEALING

Eleven plants were mentioned for treating cardiac diseases (Jouad,

Haloui, et al., 2001). The most used were Arbutus unedo, Ammo-
daucus leucotrichus, Apium graveolens, Cuminum cyminum, Bras-
sica oleracea, Cynara cardunculus, Lactuca sativa, and Thymus
vulgaris. The only one to have been scientifically studied is Arbutus
unedo (Ziyyat and Boussairi, 1998).
The mechanism of action of the pharmacological activity of the
plants mentioned in the preceding paragraphs remains to be identi­
fied. Though the therapeutic properties of the other plants mentioned
in Table 16.1 have not been scientifically investigated, they are well-
known in traditional folk medicine in the Tafilalet and Fez-Boule-
mane regions.
Sixteen of the 19 species used to relieve hypertension were also used
to treat diabetes (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001). These were Petroselinum
sativum, Herniaria glabra, Spergularia purpurea, Juniperus commu­
nis, Lepidium sativum, Arbutus unedo, Lavandula dentata, Origanum
compactum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Al­
lium sativum, Eucalyptus globulus, Eugenia caryophyllata, Olea euro-
paea, Urtica dioica, and Peganum harmala.
Six of the 11 plants used for cardiac diseases were used for diabe­
tes treatment (Jouad, Haloui, et al., 2001). These were: Brassica
oleracea, Cynara cardunculus, Lactuca sativa, Allium sativum, Al­
lium cepa, and Olea europaea.
Another remarkable feature in the ethnopharmacopoeia of many
African populations is the use of food substances as medicinal agents.
Our survey revealed 20 such edible plants, such as Daucus carota,
Brassica oleracea, Eruca sativa, Opuntia ficus-indica, Cynara car­
dunculus, Lactuca sativa, Cucumis sativus, Cucumis melo, Arbutus
unedo, Zea mays, Cucurbita pepo, Lupinus albus, Allium sativum,
Allium cepa, Ficus carica, Olea europaea, Punica granatum, Cydo-
nia vulgaris, Pyrus communis, and Prunus cerasus. Many patients
used more than one plant in order to treat the same disease.
Further systematic investigations into the chemical constituents,
pharmacological actions, and toxicity of the plant materials will be
needed to prove their medicinal worth. In addition, the cellular and
molecular mechanisms of the recorded plants still need to be deter­
mined in animal models, and detailed information on their usage, du­
ration, and dosage must be investigated before they can be prescribed
in human health care.
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in Morocco 375

The comparative analysis of the ethnobotanical surveys in Tafilalet

and Fez-Boulemane regions (Eddouks et al., 2002; Jouad, Haloui, et
al., 2001) shows that the plants most frequently used to treat diabetes
mellitus and cardiac disorders are similar. However, over 45 medici­
nal plants used in the Tafilalet region were not used in the Fez region
(Eddouks et al., 2002). This indicates that despite the fact that some
plants are widely used for the treatment of some pathologies across
Morocco, each region also has very specific knowledge of phyto­
therapy. This can be explained by such factors as local climate,
culture, and ethnology.
Our study confirms that in the Tafilalet and Fez-Boulemane re­
gions phytotherapy is highly developed. It represents a part of the lo­
cal heritage (Eddouks et al., 2002). We can thus confirm that in Mo­
rocco phytotherapy is an integral part of the human health care
system. One of many reasons for the development of phytotherapy is
the low socioeconomic level of some regions. Furthermore, many of
the plant species used are region-specific. Empirical and clinical tests
will show whether the medicinal plants identified have therapeutic
value. Meanwhile, serious efforts must be made to alert the local pop­
ulation to the dangers of anarchic usage of phytotherapy, especially
the use of toxic plants and hypoglycemic medicinal herbs in the treat­
ment of type 1 and poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

O th e r R e s e a r c h o n M e d ic in a l P la n ts in M o r o c c o

When traditional healers in the six main provinces of Morocco

were surveyed (Bellakhdar et al., 1991) in order to obtain the reper­
tory of the main phytotherapeutic plants, 231 medicinal plants were
identified. Of these, 27 percent were cultivated species, 15.5 percent
were imported species and 6.5 percent were endemic species from
the Maghreb or Sahara. Most (51 percent) were wild species from the
Mediterranean flora (Bellakhdar et al., 1991). The study reported that
the major diseases cured by Moroccan traditional medicine relate to
digestive pathology (mainly intestinal, antiseptic, and anthelmintic):
62 plants. Other disorders treated had to do with the skin (54 plants);
hair (30 plants); bronchopulmonary system (28 plants); urinary sys­
tem (27 plants); and liver (28 plants). Twenty-six plants were used in
emmenagogic and other gynaecologic cures (Bellakhdar et al., 1991).
376 EATING AND HEAUNG

In addition, laxative (23 plants), depurative (5 plants), analgesic, and

anti-inflammatory (30 species) uses were also reported.
Another enquiry across Morocco reported that more than 800
spontaneous, cultivated, or imported species (Hmamouchi, 1999)
were used for the treatment of 27 diseases. The main disorders were
digestive, pulmonary, cardio-vascular, and skin diseases (Hmam­
ouchi, 1999).
An earlier survey in different areas of oriental Morocco (Ziyyat et
al., 1997) aimed to determine the main medicinal plants used in folk
medicine to treat arterial hypertension and/or diabetes. The patients
(370 women and 256 men) were divided into three groups: diabetics
(61 percent), hypertensive (23 percent), and hypertensive diabetic
persons (16 percent). On average, 67 percent of the patients regularly
used medicinal plants. The proportion was the same in all groups and
did not depend on sex, age, or sociocultural level. This result shows
how widespread phytotherapy is in northeastern Morocco. Eighteen
species were reported as being used in hypertension therapy, com­
pared with 38 species being used to treat diabetes. The problems of
phytotherapy in oriental Morocco reported by the authors included
medical diagnosis by the herbal healers, the bad packaging of the
plants on the herbalists’ stalls, and damage to the plants caused by
permanent exposure to the sun. The authors concluded that phyto­
therapy continues to be the means of primary health care in this re­
gion due to the high cost of medicaments and the fact that the efficacy
of folk pharmacopoeia is well proven (Ziyyat et al., 1997).

CONCLUSIONS

Food medicine represents an integral part of the health care system

in Morocco. Many pathologies have been treated naturally, for a long
time, using foods. However, much remains to be done in order to edu­
cate the local population about the rational scientific use of this valu­
able resource. If we are to conserve these resources, decision makers
must rationalize their efforts and promote the exchange of informa­
tion between the many actors such as research institutions, the phar­
maceutical industry, NGOs, small businesses, and governments.
Thanks to the diversity of the environment and flora of Morocco,
the traditional pharmacopoeia comprises a wide arsenal of plant rem­
edies. In all the regions surveyed, most of the interviewees had few
 Aspects o f Food Medicine and Elhnopharmacology in Morocco 377

resources and could not afford modern health care. Phytotherapy

should not be the medicine of the poor; it should be a real tool for all.
We should study these drugs in order to identify the real therapeutic
uses and to prevent charlatanism, which could affect public confi­
dence (Eddouks et al., 2002). Increased awareness of the need for
biodiversity conservation, of intellectual property rights issues, and
of the value of indigenous knowledge have also contributed to the
development of new research activities.
The safety, effectiveness, and accessibility of natural medicine to
local populations must be guaranteed, and the equitable and sustain­
able use of these plants must be enhanced. We must develop pro­
grams supporting strategic research; foster partnerships between the
key stakeholders, including donors; and encourage regional and
international networking.

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 Index

Page numbers ollowed by he le er “ ” indica e igures; hose ollowed by he le er

“ ” indica e ables.

Aagaard–Hansen, Jens, 7, 323 Albanians in I aly. See also I aly

Abelmoschus esculen us, 223 Albanian paradox, 102
Acacia, in lokweng, 14 an ioxidan research s udy, 122
Acorns, as hospi al ood, 21–22 e hnographic background, 103–105
Acorus gramineus, 29 liakra, 118–121
Adansonia digi a a, 26 overview, 4, 123
Adelmann, Je , 5, 179 pharmacology, 121–123
A rica rejec ion o cul ural radi ions,
Bagyeli. See Bagyeli 117–118
Bangladesh, 324 Alcohol. See also Liquors
Ban u. See Ban u in Bolivia, 288
Bo swana. See Bo swana in Campoo, 142–144, 148–149
Cameroon. See Cameroon in Ca alonia, 293
e hnomycology, 348–349 Dominican consump ion, 202, 203
e hnopharmacology, 345–346 mushrooms and, 345–346
Ghana, 324
mushrooms o rea alcoholism,
Kenya. See Kenya
345–346
Morocco. See Morocco
rading o , 148
mushroom consump ion, 349
wine, 142–144
mushroom use, 347–349
Alcorn, J., 251
Nigeria. See Nigeria
noncul iva ed bo anical Algae. See Seaweed
consump ion, 101 Alpina malaccensis, 82
origin o Cuban viandas, 222–225 Alpine plan species in ibe an
risks o es consump ion o new medicine, 44
species, 71 Al erna ion o genera ions, 161
anzania, 67 Al i ude sickness, 41
lokweng. See lokweng Amaral, B. D„ 239
Age Amaran hus hybridus, 284
aging–rela ed disease (ARD), Amaran hus spinosus, 82, 88
121– 122 Amazon. See Brazil
plan knowledge and, 299 America. See Uni ed S a es
use o wild plan s and, 314, 315 AME RAC (Asociacion de Medicos
Agricul ure. See arms ■ radi ionales), 276
383
384 EA ING AND HEALING

Analysis levels An isep ic, seaweed, 172

ecological, 298 Apiaceae species, 274
e hnobo anical research, 297–298. Apillapampa, Cochabamba
See also E hnobo any Depar men . See Bolivia
sociocul ural, 298 Apolipopro eins, 48
Ancis rocladus korupensis or HIV and Appe i e s imulan s, 16–17
malaria, 346 Apples, or diarrhea, 141
Andersen, A., 326 Araucariaceae species, 310, 311
Anderson, Edgar, 12, 34 Arbereshe in Lucania
Andes. See also Bolivia e hnographic background, 103–105
ores or wild plan ga hering, 3 10 ield me hods, 106
oxida ive s ress, 43–44 oods as medicine, 110, 1111–116
Anemia liakra, 118–119
Cuban co ee, 228 wild ood plan s, 107, 117
Cuban medicinal oods, 227 ARD (aging–rela ed disease), 121–122
in Kenya, 338, 339 Argen ina
Animal–derived ood. See also Mea s age and use o wild plan s, 314, 315
animal blood as healing ingredien , Cayule communi y, 7, 301
337 discussion o research, 315–318
dairy produc s. See Dairy produc s ecological variables, 304
in Dominica, 202 edible medicinal plan s, 305,
ish. See ish
306 –309 , 310
as medicines, 238
edible wild species, 310, 31 I
Anise e, 142
ga hering plan s, 312, 313
Anju, B., 44
gender and use o wild plan s,
An helmin ic, Moroccan ood
medicine, 360, 361 –368 312–314, 314
An imicrobial, Moroccan ood Mapuche communi y in Pa agonia,
medicine, 360, 36 l –368 7, 300–301
An imu agenic proper ies o Oroxylum medicinal plan s, 310, 312
indicum, 89, 92 overview, 7
An ioxidan s plan ash wi h coca, 290–291
aging–rela ed disease managemen , 4 s udy area, 301 –302
barley, 46 s udy me hods, 302–303, 305
bene i s o combina ions, 53 s udy s a is ical analysis, 303–304
brick lea, 46–47 Aris olochia angchi, 187
or disease preven ion, 4, 121–122 Aris olochic acid recall, 187
in high al i ude plan s, 42–44 Arrazola, S., 275
Moroccan ood medicine, 360, Ar hri is, Basella alba, 29
361 –368l Asia
research s udy in I aly, 122 India, 237–238
hailand unc ional/medicinal Japan, 156–157
oods, 88 Kazaks an die ary s udy, 28
in ibe an oods, 39–40 noncul iva ed bo anical
oco rienol, 46 ' consump ion, 101–102
vi amins C and E, 43 Philippines, 20–21
 Index 385

Asia (con inued) Ban u (con inued)

Sou h Korea, wild ood plan poisonous mushrooms, 352–353
marke ing, 73–78 proper y righ s, 350
hailand. See hailand s udy area, 350–351
ibe . See ibe an oods and Barley, cardiovascular bene i s, 46
medicines Barring onea acu angula, 83–84, 88
Vie nam. See Vie nam Basella alba, ar hri is and back pain, 29
Askew, E. W„ 43 Basilica a region. See Lucania, I aly
Asociacion de Medicos radi ionales Basque ribes, 136
(AME RAC), 276 Ba lokwa. See lokweng
As eraceae species, 274, 277, 283, 283 , Beer or lac a ing mo hers, 141
285 Begonia baumannii, 289, 290
As hma, ish recommenda ions, 246 Begossi, Alpina, 6, 237, 239, 251, 262,
A henaeus, 29–30 317
A lan ic ores . See Brazil Bellakhdar, J„ 369
Au och honous I alians Benjelloun, W., 369
e hnographic background, 105 Benne , B. C., 252, 257
ield me hods, 106 Berberidaceae species, 310, 31 I
oods as medicine, 110, 11 l –116 Berberis he erophylla, 305
wild ood plan s, 117 Be a–caro ene
Ayni in Bolivia, 275–276 an ioxidan , 43
Azadirach a indica, 83, 88 in edible wild plan s, 28
Beverages
alcoholic. See Alcohol; Liquors
in Bolivia, 288–289, 289
Back pain, Basella alba, 29 co ee. See Co ee
Bagawa , S„ 44 diges ive. See Diges ive beverages;
Bagyeli Diges ive spiri s
mushroom collec ion, 352 pru, Cuban drink, 228
mushroom die , 351 wine, 142–144
mushroom habi a s, 351, 35I , 352 Bidens aurea ea, 146
mushrooms as mea o he poor, Biomedical perspec ive on medicinal
353–355 herb quali y
overview, 7–8 Chinese medicine versus, 187–189
poisonous mushrooms, 352–353 in he Uni ed S ales, 179–182
s udy area, 350–351 Bir hweigh o ibe ans, 42
Bangladesh, ood–based–sys ems Black bryony, 140
approach, 324 Blanco, E„ 140–141
Ban u Bledo, 223 .
mushroom collec ion, 352 Blessing o medicines, 337–338
mushroom die , 351 Blood
mushroom habi a s, 351, 3511, 352 animal blood as healing ingredien ,
mushrooms as mea o he poor, 337
353–355 cold^blood, 208–209
mushrooms as medicine, 353 Cuban medicinal oods, 223
overview, 7–8 ho blood, 209–210
386 EA ING AND HEALING

Blood <con inued) Brazil (con inued)

quali y, humoral cri eria, 208–209 oods as medicine, 256–257,
relieving pressure, 210 263–268
wa ercress as puri ier, 141 managed plan s, 255
Bolivia map, 240
agreemen s and permi s or research, overview, 237–239
276 overview o die ary ish, 6, 247–248
beverages, 288–289, 289 overview o elhnobo any, 6,
cheese–making, 289–290 251–253
consump ion modes, 285 plan medicines, 238
e hnographic background, 275–276 research in erviews, 256, 256
ieldwork or research, 276–277 research me hods, 239
ood–medicine con inuum, 291–293 research s udy si e and me hods,
oods as medicine, 278 –282 , 253–255
283–284, 283 superna ural ac ors in disease, 238
rui s, 286–287 wild versus in roduced species,
jam, 288 257–262, 258 , 259
medicinal species, 274 Brick ea, 46–47
medicines as ood, 284–293 Bridelia erruginea or malaria, 25
Mimulus glabra us, 285, 286 Bri ish Columbia. See Canada
overview, 7, 273–274, 294 Bronchi is, ish recommenda ions, 246,
plan ash wi h coca, 290–291 247
plan par s used or ood and/or Brown, M., 205
medicine, 291, 292 Briicher, H., 255
roo s and ubers, 287–288 Buddha, ibe an medicine, 52
s udy area, 274–275 Budge s and research oppor uni ies,
swee rea s, 288, 293 23–29
eas, 288 Burkina aso research, 24–25, 27–28
radi ional healers, 276, 277 Bush medicine, 199, 200
weeds, 284–285
Bones, parsley or calci ica ion, 141
Bone , M. A., 132, 144
Boris, R. M., 316 Caboclos o Brazil
Bo anical–die ary paradox, 69–70 background, 239–240, 254
Bo swana die ary ish, 241
drough , 12–16 edible or medicinal plan s, 263
impac o rains, 34 plan cul iva ion, 261
plan research, 22–23 Cacao, e hnobo anical research, 32
s udy o plan s, 14–16 Caiqaras o Brazil
Brassica rapa, 284 background, 239–240, 254
Brazil. See also Elhnobo any die ary ish, 241
Caboclos. See Caboclos o Brazil edible or medicinal plan s, 263
Caicaras. See Caigaras o Brazil medicinal plan s, 262
cul iva ed plan s, 255 plan cul iva ion, 261
ish recommenda ions, 241–242, Calien ura, 230
243 , 244 –245 , 246 Calvello, Giuseppe, 105
 Index 387

Cameroon Canella win erana, 230

mushroom collec ion, 352 Can abria. See Campoo, Can abria
mushroom die , 351 Can abros, 136
mushroom habi a s, 351, 3511, 352l Capparis lennera, 83
mushrooms as meal o he poor, Carbohydra es, as high–al i ude energy
353–355 source, 48
overview, 7–8 Cardellina, J. H., 182
poisonous mushrooms, 352–353 Cardiovascular disease (CVD)
proper y righ s, 350 barley or preven ion, 46
s udy area, 350–351 causes, 39–40, 49
Campoo, Can abria. See also Spain clove, 52
black bryony, 140 high al i ude impac , 42
diges ive beverages, 141–149 long pepper, 52–53
during wars, 137, 139 medicinal plan use in Morocco,
ennel, 140–141 371, 373–374
oods as medicine, 147–148, 148 Moroccan ood medicine, 360,
rui s, 136 361 –368
gardens, 136 nu meg, 52
geographic background, 132–133 plan –based die and, 47
homemade jams, 148–149 sa ron, 53
legumes, 135, 136 ibe an medicines, 50–52, 5 I
lives ock, 133–134, 133 ypes, 50–51
map, 132 Caribbean. See Cuban medicinal oods;
mushrooms, 140 Dominica
nu ri ional diversi y o wild plan s, Carica papaya, 225, 226
139 Carro s, or vision, 141
overview, 4–5, 149–150 Cashew, ood as medicine, 257
rural depopula ion, 134–135 Cassava, 260
snack oods, 139 Cassia siamea, 79, 84, 88
spiri s, 142–144, 148–149 Ca alonia liquors, 293
swee s and con ec ionary oods, 139 Ca le– arming in Campoo, Can abria,
eas, 144–146, 145 , 146 I aly, 133–134, 133
radi ional oods, 135–136, 136 Cayule communi y, 7, 301. See also
wa ercress, 140 Argen ina
wild ood ga hering, 136–137, 140 Celery or in es inal parasi es, 141
Canada Cen aurea, 122
overview, 5 Chamomiles, in Spain, 144–145, 146
seaweed consump ion, 157 Champola, 227
seaweed harves ing, 156 Chapman, L., 2
Canasan a (Cymbopogon ci ra us), 230 Cheese–making in Bolivia, 289–290
Cancer Chemical de enses o plan s, 298
plan –based die and, 47 Chenopodiaceae species, 274
Primus a ricana or pros a e cancer, Chhalang, 45
346 Chili peppers, plan dispersals, 31 –32
hailand unc ional/medicinal Chinese medicine (CM). Sec radi ional
oods, 88–89 Chinese medicine ( CM)
388 EA ING AND HEAUNG

Chira, 336 Cuban medicinal oods (con inued)

Choles erol champola, 221
apolipopro eins, 48 co ee, 228–229
clove, LDL pro ec ion, 52 economic crisis, 213–214
low–densi y, 40 rui s, 225–227
saphins or binding, 2 unc ional viandas, 222–225
sa ura ed a s, 40 humoral medicine, 230
sa ura ed a y acids, 48 in usions, 227
Chondrilla juncea, 122 Momordica charan ia (cundeamor),
Chronic moun ain sickness, 41 229
Cichorium in ybus, 122 mul ie hnic legacy, 213
Cinnamon as laxa ive, 141 overview, 6, 213–214, 230–231
Claisse, R., 369 palms, 224
Clemen , C„ 68–69, 255 plan ga hering places, 214, 222
Cli on, Helen, 5, 153, 159–170, 172, plan lis ing, 215 –221
173–175 pru, 228
Cli on, Johnny, 159–160, 172, 174 or religious ri uals, 225
Clove, 52, 54 eas, 227, 228
CM (Chinese medicine). See Cul iva ed plan
radi ional Chinese medicine in Brazil, 255
Coca and plan ash, 290–291 de ined, 69, 255
Coccinia wigh iana, 84 in home gardens, 136, 324
Cochabamba Depar men . See Bolivia Cul ure
Co ee ood habi s and, 325
in Bolivia, 288–289 research considera ion, 22–23
Cuban drink, 228–229 value sys ems, 325–326
unc ions, 131 Cundeamor (Momordica charan ia),
Cold blood, 208–209. 226, 229
Cold humoral sys em. See Humoral Cunningham, A. B., 89, 90
medicine CVD. See Cardiovascular disease
Cold illnesses, 5–6 Cymbopogon ci ra us (cahasan a), 230
Colds; igs or, 141 Cyperaceae species, 274
Composi ae species, 310, 311 Cy ariaceae species, 310, 31 I
Condimen s. See Spices
Coprinus a ricanus, 345
Corle , Jan, 28–29
Com dolls, 34 Dairy produc s
Coronary hear disease. See in high al i udes, 45, 47–49
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) lac ose in olerance, 49
Cos s, research and budge s, 23–29 milk ee h, 334
Cough relie Dalsin, Mary, 28
Dendran hema indicum, 29 Dandelion, 148
ish recommenda ions, 246 Dao, H. . A., 76
Cuban medicinal oods Dassouli, A., 369
A rican origins, 222–225 de'Bri o, N. N., 316
calien ura, 230 De Kimpe, N., 275
 Index 389

De Mar ino, ., 105 Diges ive rac issues (con inued)

he Deipnosophis s, 29–30 Mosokala sebeng and
Dendran hema indicum or cough mogwongwolo, 16–17
relie , 29 mosunyana, 17
Dererium microcarpum rui , amine Oxalis eriolepis, 288
ood, 25 seaweed, 172
Diabe es Veronia colora e or parasi es, 26
medicinal plan use in Morocco, Dip i, P., 44
371, 372–373, 374, 376 Disharmony be ween yin and yang,
Moroccan ood medicine, 360, 183–186
361 –368l Disin ec an , walnu s, 141
plan –based die and, 47 Dispersal o plan s, 31–32
Diarrhea Diure ic
apples, 141 Cuban co ee, 228
rui s, 226 Cuban medicinal oods, 227
rice, 141 maize, 141
ree rui s, 141 Diversi y o die , 74–76, 139
Die ary diversi y, 74–76, 139
Dixon, A. R., 261
Die ary Supplemen and Heal h
Dolomi e Lucane
Educa ion Ac (DSHEA)
au och honous I alians, 105, 106.
ill–de ined plan quali y s andards,
179–180 See also Au och honous
purpose, 179, 182 I alians
regula ions on impor s, 190 ield me hods, 106
Diges ive beverages oglie, 118–121
in Campoo, Can abria, 141–149 liakra, 118–121
in Dominica, 202–203 magic, 105
min , 147 map, 104
eas, 144, 145 wild ood plan s, 107
Diges ive spiri s Domes ica ed ield crops
Cuban pru drink, 228 cul iva ed plan s, 69, 255, 324
in usions, 4, 132, 144, 145 decline in nu ri ional quali y, 26–27
pacharan, 4 domes ica ed plan , de ined, 68
wine and liquors, 142–144 evolu ion, 261–262
Diges ive rac issues ransi ion rom wild plan s, 68
aroma ic plan s or ood Dominica. See also Humoral medicine
diges ibili y, 292–293 background, 199–200
Cuban co ee, 228–229 blood quali y, 208–209
rui s, 226 bush medicine, 199, 200
rui s as laxa ive, 226 daily die , 202–204
in lamma ion, in humoral illness, demographics, 199–200
210–211 e hnomedical sys em, 206, 207–208
Medicago sa iva, 292 ieldwork me hods, 200–201
Mimulus glabra us, 285, 286 righ illness, 208–209
Moroccan ood medicine, 360, ho and cold oods, 198–199
3611–3681 ho or cold de ermina ion, 205–206
390 EA ING AND HEALING

Dominica (con inued) Edible weeds o agricul ure (con inued)

humans as immorally neu ral, ood medicines, 284–285
206–207 ulani die s, 25–26
humoral illness, 207–211 Hausa radi ions, 24
humoral quali y o ood, 204–207 his orical ex s, 29–30
in lamma ion, 210–211 in Kenya, 338
mea as neu ral ood, 204 magic and my hology, 33–34
organolep ic indica ors, 205 nu ri ion, 32–33
overview, 5–6, 211 nu ri ionally ex inc , 27–28
pressure illness, 209–210 plan dispersals, 31–32
sensory e ec o ood, 205 research, 19–21
s archy oods, 203–204 sa e y, 31
dos San os, G. M., 239 unusual plan hemes, 33
Dough y, Joyce, 27 EGCG (epigalloca echin galla e), 46–47
Drill me hod o make ire, 15 Eicosapen aenoic acid (EPA), 49
Drough El Hilaly, J„ 369
available oods. See amine oods Environmen , seaweed and pollu ion,
in Bo swana, 12–16 173
Dererium microcarpum rui , 25 EPA (eicosapen aenoic acid), 49
in lokweng, 13–14 Epigalloca echin galla e (EGCG), 46–47
Druehl, Louis, 156, 170 Ericaceae species, 274
DSHEA. See Die ary Supplemen and Erodium cicu arium, 285, 292
Heal h Educa ion Ac Er ug, ., 72
Du our, D. L., 67, 68 Espig, G., 255
Dulse (Palmaria palma a), 17I E hnobo anical research
Dung, N. N. X., 78 acorns as hospi al ood, 21–22
Duye , H. N„ 78 analysis levels, 297–298
Dwelling surroundings or wild plan budge s, 23–29
ga hering, 310 cul ural ac ors, 22–23
during mili ary con lic , 30–31
in Spain, 131–132
weeds o agricul ure, 19–21
Ea ing as social ac ivi y, 131 E hnobo any
Eclip a pros ra a, 84–85 analysis level, 297–298
Ecological analysis levels, 298 Brazilian oods as medicine,
Ecuador, wild plan oods consumed by 256–257, 263–268
Siona–Secoya, 67 Brazilian s udy si e and me hods,
Eddouks, Mohamed, 8, 357, 369 253–255
Edibili y o new species, risks o es de ined, 251
consump ion, 71 domes ica ion o plan s, 261–262
Edible weeds o agricul ure environmen s o medicinal plan s,
in Argen ina, 305, 306 –309 , 310, 260
31 I managemen in ensi y o medicinal
be a–caro ene con en , 28 – plan s, 259
Burkina aso research, 24–25 prede ined ca egories o use,
during mili ary con lic , 30–31 251–252, 253
 Index 391

E hnobo any (con inued) arms (con inued)

quan i ica ion, 251–252 ield boundaries, 67
research. See E hnobo anical gardens, 136, 324
research goal arming in Campoo, 134
research in erviews, 256, 256 good agricul ural prac ices, 180
wild versus in roduced species, orchards, 259, 261
257–262, 258 , 259 Organic Herb Producers
E hnomycology, 348–349 Coopera ive, 190–191
E hnopharmacology, 345–346 sheep arming in Campoo, 134
E kin, N„ 1–2, 67, 77, 132, 237, 253, swidden plo s, 258–259
323 wild plan oods in arming
Euphorbia abyssinca, 359 environmen s, 66–71
Europe as
I aly. See I aly in mea s, 47–48
Medi erranean. See Medi erranean omega–3 a y acids, 39
Spain. See Spain saphins or binding choles erol, 2
urkey. See urkey sa ura ed, 40
Evans, M. J., 89 DA ( ood and Drug Adminis ra ion),
Evolu ion aris olochic acid recall, 187
diversi y increase, 297–298 ennel, 140–141
domes ica ed ield crops, 261–262 erguson, E. L., 324
“s oned ape” heory, 348 ernandez, . L., 324
Exercise in high al i udes, 43 erramosca, Mago, 105
Ex inc ion, nu ri ionally, 27–28 erreira, J. G., 239
ez region o Morocco, 369–375
ieldhouse, P., 325
igs or pneumonia or cold remedy, 141
abaceae species, 274, 277, 283 igueiredo, J. L., 239
amine oods ile ish, medicinal uses, 246–247
bi erness, 333 ire–making in lokweng, 15
Brassica rapa, 284 ish
Burkina aso research, 25 or ill persons or mens rua ing
in Cuba, 223, 224–225 women, 241–242, 243 ,
Hausa in Nigeria, 24 244 –245 , 246
iden i ica ion o , 20 medicinal uses, 238–239, 246–247
poisonous, 333 nonpisciverous ish, 242, 247–248
Polygonum, 29 omega–3 a y acids, 39
scarci y, 333 overview o use, 6
in lokweng, 18–19 rays, 246
arms. See also Domes ica ed ield research me hods, 239, 240
crops oxin accumula ions, 242, 246
ca le– arming in Campoo, 133–134, isher Exac es , 303
133 lavor (wei), sensory a ribu e
cul iva ed plan s, 69, 255, 324 overview, 184–187
decline in nu ri ional quali y, 26–27 quali y assessmen using Chinese
allow ields, 67 medicine, 191, 192
392 EA ING AND HEAUNG

leuren in, J., 369 ree–lis in erviews, 201

lin /s eel me hod o make ire, 15 reire, L., 242
luoride oxici y, 47 righ illness, 208–209
ogiie, 118–121 rui s
olk unc ional oods in Bolivia, 286–287
po en ial or pharmacology, 123 in Campoo, 136
in hailand, 81 Cuban medicinal oods, 225–227
weeds rom dis urbed environmen s, or diarrhea, 141, 226
79 during drough , 25
olk medicine in Morocco, 376 ulani die s, 25–26
on Quer, P., 146 unc ional oods
ood and Drug Adminis ra ion ( DA), de ined, 1
aris olochic acid recall, 187 olk unc ional oods, 79, 81, 123
ood as medicine
in Bolivia, 278 –282 , 283–284, 283 ,
284–293
in Brazil, 256–257, 258 , 263–268 Gal , A. H„ 67
in Campoo, Can abria, 147–148, Gal , J. W„ 67
148 GAPs (good agricul ural prac ices), 180
oods, de ined, 273–274 Garavello, J. C„ 239
by lausa in Nigeria, 26 Garbage dump, 12
in I aly, 11 l –116 Gardens, 136, 324
in Kenya, 323–324, 334, 335 –336 , Garlic
336–338, 337 Brazilian medicine, 257
in Morocco, 358–360, 361 –368 , in es inal worms, 141
368 ibe an medicine, 49–50
in hailand, 77–78, 79–88, 80 Gas roin es inal disorders. See
in ibe , 49–53 Diges ive rac issues
ood medicine, de ined, 358 Geissler, P. W., 326
ood aboos, 238 Gender
ood–based–sys ems approach, 324 division o labor and knowledge in
os er, G. M. hailand, 71–72
humoral medicine, 198 knowledge o plan s, 299
medicinal ood, 334, 339 medicinal plan use by women,
na uralis ic uses o medicinal plan s, 370–371
335 –336 men in hailand, 71–72
personalis ic uses o medicinal wild plan use in Argen ina,
herbs, 337 312–314, 314
our na ures, in Chinese medicine, women. See Women
184–186 Ghana, ood–based–sys ems approach,
our an ras, 50 324
razer, James George, 34 Gibson, R. S., 324
ree radicals Gilliland, Linda, 21
cause o disease, 39–40 Gingivi is rea men , Oxalis eriolepis,
in high al i udes, 43 ' 288
ibe an medicines, 50–52, 51 Giovannina, Zia, 119
 Index 393

Gi ga’a seaweed. See also Seaweed Harves (con inued)

background, 154–155, 157–159 in Cuba, 214, 222
harves ing, 156, 161–166, 172–175 seaweed, 156, 161–166, 172–175
map, 158 Hassel, Craig A., 5, 179
overview, 5 Hausa in Nigeria. See also Nigeria
Porphyra abbo ae, 160–166, 160 edible wild plan research, 24
seaweed camp, 159–160, 159 oods as medicine, 26
wea her changes, 173–175 overview, 1–2
Goa arming in Campoo, Can abria, Pseudoedrela ko shyi or vigor and
I aly, 134 s reng h, 26
Godinez, Daimy, 6, 213 wild plan ood ga hering, 67
Golden Bough, 34 Headaches
Good agricul ural prac ices (GAPs), mmake ilie i, 17
180 Parkia biglobosa, 26
Go lieb, O., 316 Heal h care in Dominica, 199–200
Grands a , S., 79 Heal h surveys, 200–201
Grands a , . B., 79 Hear disease. See Cardiovascular
Grive i, Louis E., 2–3, 11, 26 disease (CVD)
bo anical–die ary paradox, 69–70 Hedberg, I., 326
consump ion and nu ri ion, 75, 77 Hedeoma c . mandoniana, 286, 287
wild ood plan s, 67 Heinrich, M., 79
Guava, ood as medicine, 257 Hema ocri o ibe ans, 41–42
Gynecologic, Moroccan ood medicine, Hemoglobin concen ra ion o ibe ans,
360, 361 –368 41–42
Gypsies in I aly, 118, 119–120 Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, 277
Herbario Nacional ores al Mar in
Cardenas, 276
Herbicides, impac on plan
Habi a s o plan s, human impac , communi ies, 68
252–253 High al i ude
Hadi h, view on ood plan s, 359 ood sys ems, 45–49
Ha ner, Chris opher A., 5, 179, 183 impac on human unc ion, 41–42
Hails orms, 17 oxida ive s ress, 39–40
Hallucinogenic mushrooms, 348–349 Hippocra es, 358
Halmo, D. B., 89 HIV/AIDS
Haloui, M., 369 Ancis rocladus korupensis, 346
Hambraeus, L., 76 as chira, 336
Hanazaki, Na alia, 6, 237, 239, 251, Hmong die s, 28–29
262, 3 17 Holis ic medicine, 359
Handa, S. S„ 237–238 Hospi al anorexia, 21–22
Harmony be ween yin and yang, Hospi al ood, acorns, 21–22
183–186 Ho blood, 209–210
Harris, S. A.. 326 Ho humoral sys em. See Humoral
Harves _ medicine
in Argen ina, 312, 313 Ho illnesses, 6
in Campoo, 136–137, 140 Humoral disposi ion, 50
394 EA ING AND HEALING

Humoral medicine In usions

Cuban medicinal oods, 230 Cuban drinks, 227
de ined, 197 diges ive beverages in Campoo, 144,
Dominican daily die , 202–204 145
e hnomedical sys em, 206, 207–208 diges ive spiri s, 4, 132
ieldwork me hods in Dominica, ish, 247
200–201 In erviews, in ormal, 200
righ illness, 208–209 In es inal problems. See Diges ive rac
ho and cold ca egories, 198 issues
ho or cold de ermina ion, 205–206 In roduced species versus wild plan s,
humans as humorally neu ral, 257–262, 25 8 , 259
206–207 Inui die , 39, 40
illness in Dominica, 207–211 Ipomoena aqua ica, 85
in lamma ion, 210–211 Islam
mea as neu ral ood, 204 ar o healing, 369
organolep ic indica ors, 205 holis ic medicine, 359
overview, 5–6, 211 I aly
pressure illness, 209–210 an ioxidan research s udy, 122
quali y o ood, 204–207 Arbereshe in Lucania. See
sensory e ec o ood, 205 Arbereshe in Lucania
unheal hy ea ing habi s and, 197–198 au och honous. See Au och honous
Humphry, Carol, 24 I alians
Hungry mon hs be ore harves , 20 Dolomi e Lucane. See Dolomi e
Huss–Ashmore, R., 225 Lucane
HVR (hypoxic ven ila ory response), 41 ield me hods, 106
Hyena’s die , 333 olk unc ional oods, 79
Hyper ension oods as medicine, 110, 1111–116
Cuban medicinal oods, 227 gypsies, 118, 119–120
medicinal plan use in Morocco, Lucania. See Lucania, I aly
371, 373, 374, 376 medicinal plan s as ood, 293
Hypoxia, 41, 43 overview, 4, 123
Hypoxic ven ila ory response (HVR), wild ood plan s, 117
41 wild plan ood ga hering, 67

Jams in Campoo, 148–149

II Maggio, 105 Japan
Ilavazhagan, G., 44 seaweed consump ion, 156
India, spices or illness preven ion, seaweed produc ion, 156–157
237–238 Jasonia glu inosa, 146
In an s and wild oods, 25 Ja oba, ood as medicine, 257
In lamma ion Jegu, M., 239
Dominican humoral illness, 210–211 Johns, ., 2
Moroccan ood medicine, 360, ' ish, 237
361 –368 unc ional oods, 78
 Index 395

Johns, . (con inued) Kidneys

medicinal ood, 225 Erodium cicu arium, 285, 292
plan s in Brazil, 261 kgomo ya burn, 17
Johnson, Noelle, 27–28 Melilo us indicus, 285, 292
Johns on, S. L., 225 King Hassan II o Morocco, 357
Jouad, H., 369 K'i a anis, 286
Juice Kokwaro, J. O., 2
Cuban medicinal oods, 227 K ’owa in Bolivia, 276
Dominican consump ion, 202–203 Kruskal–Wallis es , 303–304, 313–314,
314
Kumar, D„ 44
Kain, A. K„ 44 Kumar, S. K., 324
Karen popula ion in hailand, 27–28, Kuyper, homas W„ 7–8, 345
78
Kashaya Porno hospi al ood, 21–22
Kashin–Beck disease (KBD), 44 La’ask
Kazaks an die ary s udy, 28 diploid phase, 161
KBD (Kashin–Beck disease), 44 haploid phase, 161
Kelp. See Seaweed harves ing, 156, 161–166, 172–175
Kenya li e cycle, 161–162
anemia and iron con en o ood, medicinal proper ies, 172
338, 339 nu ri ional value, 170, 17I , 172
cabbages, 338–339 pho o, 160
cooking o ood, 332–333 Porphyra abbo ae, 160–166, 160
da a–collecdon me hods, 327–328 processing and drying, 163–164,
design o s udy, 327–328 167–170
die ary use o vege ables, 332–333 s orage, 164, 167
dis ribu ion o vege ables, 330–331 Labor o childbir h
e hnic axonomy, 328–330 ish recommenda ions, 241–242,
ood as medicine, 323–324 243 , 244 –245 , 246
mea or ish pre erence, 333 moomane bark, 17
medicinal ood, 323–324, 334, Lac a ion
335 –336 , 336–338, 337 beer, 141
na uralis ic uses o medicinal plan s, wild plan s as ood, 25–26
334, 335 –336 , 339 Lac ose in olerance, 49
overview, 7, 340 Ladio, Ana H„ 7, 297, 303, 310
personalis ic uses o medicinal Lamba, C., 324
herbs. 334, 337 , 339 Lamb’s le uce, 148
popula ion background, 327 Lamiaceae species, 277, 283 , 285
procuremen o vege ables, 331 –332 Language, Arbereshe Albanian, 104
s a us o ood, 338 La ham, M. C„ 324
s udy area, 326–327 Laxa ive, cinnamon, 141
weeds o agricul ure, 338 Leda–Ma alas, An onia, 30–31
Key–in orman in erviews, 201 Lee, N .S., 73–74
Kgomo ya burn, or kidney pain, 17 Legssyer, A., 369
396 EA ING AND HEALING

Legumes in Campoo, 135, I36 Maasai paradox, 2

Lei ao– ilho, Hermogenes ., 255 Madiega, P. A., 326
Lekoko, Mphoeng, 34 Magabala, 18–19
Lemhadri, A., 369 Maghrani, M., 369
Lemon, ood as medicine, 257 Magic in Dolomi i Lucane, 105
Leopoldia, 122 Magical plan s
Levi–S rauss, 346 my hology, 33–34
Liakra, 118–121 in lokweng, 16–18
Liebana ea, 144 Mahunnah, R. L. A., 2
Liliaceae species, 274 Maize
Limnophila aroma ica, 85–86 diure ic, 141
Lindernia Crus acea, 86 plan dispersals, 31–32
Linds rom, Sandra, 160 rade hesis, 12
Linoleic acid, 48–49 Malanga, 223
Malaria
Liquors. See also Alcohol
Ancis rocladus korupensis, 346
in Ca alonia, 293
Bridelia erruginea, 25
in Spain, 142–144, 148–149
vege ables o A rica, 323
Lives ock arms in Campoo, Can abria,
Malawi, ood–based–sys ems approach,
I aly, 133–134, 133 324
Livings one, use o mushrooms, 348 Malaza, M., 77
Locke , Cassius, 25–26 Managed plan
Logan, M. H., 261 in Brazil, 255
Long pepper de ined, 69, 255
or cardiovascular disease, 52–53 Mango, ood as medicine, 256–257,
ibe an medicines, 54 258
Lozada, M., 303 Mann Whi ney es , 305, 312, 3 13
Lucania, I aly Maps
an ioxidan research s udy, 122 Brazilian research projec , 240
Arbereshe. See Arbereshe in Campoo, Spain, 132
Lucania Gi ga’a , 158
emigra ion, 110, 117 Lucania, I aly, 104
ield me hods, 106 Mapuche communi y in Pa agonia, 7,
oglie, 118–121 300–301. See also Argen ina
oods as medicine, 108, 109 , 110 Marjoram, or respira ory disorders, 147
oods as medicine, di erences in Mar icorena, C., 303
Maues, R. H., 238
percep ion, 110 Mbaha illness, 334
liakra, 118–121 McKenna, erence, 348
rejec ion o cul ural radi ions, Meals. See also Animal–derived ood
117–118 in high al i udes, 45, 47–49
socioeconomics o women, 107–108 mea s o he poor, 353–355
assel hyacin h bulbs, 121 neu ral ood, 204
wild ood plan s, 107–108 yak, 45, 48
Luo. See Kenya Mechaniza ion, 68
Lupinus mu abilis, 283 Medicago sa iva, 283, 285, 292
 Index 397

Medicinal oods. See also ood as Mexico (con inued)

medicine Schinus molle, 288
in Bolivia, 284–293 social s igma o wild plan ood
in hailand, 77–78, 79–88, 80 consump ion, 76–77
in ibe , 49–53 wild plan ood ga hering, 67
Medicinal Herb Ne work, 189–193 MGO (Minneso a Grown
Medicinal herb quali y in he Uni ed Oppor uni ies) Projec , 190
S a es Mhoro, E. B., 2
biomedical perspec ive, 179–182 Middleveld bo anical–die ary paradox,
biomedical perspec ive versus 70
Chinese medicine, 188–189 Mili ary con lic
Chinese medicine heory, 182–188 in Campoo, Can abria, 137, 139
in erac ions wi h o her compounds, use o edible wild plan s, 30–31
181 Milk. See Dairy produc s
Medicinal Herb Ne work, 189–193 “Milk ee h,” 334
ne work ini ia ives, 190–191 Mimulus glabra us, 285, 286
Organic Herb Producers Minerals, in high al i ude plan s, 43
Coopera ive, 190–191 Minneso a Grown Oppor uni ies
overview, 5 (MGO) Projec , 190
pharmacology, 181–182 Min
quali y assessmen using Chinese Bolivian condimen s, 285–286
medicine, 191–193 diges ive in usion, 147
quali y discrimina ion, 186–188 Min hos achys andina, 286
s andardiza ion o produc , 180–181 Mmake ike i or headache relie , 17
Medicine, de ined, 273–274 Moerman, D. E„ 273–274, 315
Medi erranean Mogonono ( erminalia sericea), 16
die and disease preven ion, 102, 121 Mogwongwolo as appe i e s imulan , 16
olk unc ional oods, 123 Mokapana, 18–19
wild plan consump ion, 138 Mplgaard, P., 326
wild plan s, 137 Momordica charan ia (cundeamor),
Mekh i, H„ 369 226, 229
Melilo us indicus, 285, 292 Monge’s disease, 41
Memory, walnu s or, 141 Monochoria has a a, 86
Men in hailand, ishing and hun ing, Moologa, 18
71–72 Morales, Ramon, 4, 131
Mens rua ing women, ish Moreno–Black, G., 67
recommenda ions, 241–242, More lwa, 18
243 , 244l–245 , 246 Morocco
Men ha piperi a, 305 cen ral marke s, 358
Merona, B„ 239 cuisine, 357–358
Merriam, C. Har , 21 ez region, 369–375
Messer, E., 205 olk medicine, 376
Mexico ood medicine, 358–360, 361 –368 ,
medicinal plan s as ood, 293 . 368
Nahua l Indians, humoral quali y o ood re ailing, 358
ood, 204 holis ic medicine, 359
398 EA ING AND HEALING

Morocco (con inued) Na uralis ic uses o medicinal plan s,

medicinal plan research, 369–376 334, 335 –336l, 339
overview, 8, 376–377 Nebel, S„ 79
phy o herapy, 368–376 Nesamvuni, C., 75
s udy area, 370 Nevada, mul iple–use value, 89
supermarke s, 358 Ngarmsak, ., 76
a ilale region, 369–375 Nigeria
radi ional ou le s, 358 edible wild plan research, 24
we marke s, 358 oods as medicine, 1–2
Morula or pregnan women, 33 Hausa. See Hausa in Nigeria
Mosokala sebeng (Sansevieria medicinal ood, 77
ae hiopica), 16 wild plan ood ga hering, 67
Mosunyana or vomi ing, 17 Nor h America
Mo lopi, 18 Canada. See Canada
Mulokozi, G., 76 Mexico. See Mexico
Muna, 286 Uni ed S a es. See Uni ed S a es
Munz, H., 79 N ige, 16
Mushrooms Nu meg
A rican use o , 347–349 or hear and cardiovascular sys em,
alcohol and, 345–346 52
collec ion o , 352 ibe an medicines, 54
consump ion by A ricans, 349 Nu ri ion
Coprinus a ricanus, 345 cul ural ac ors, 325
habi a s, 351, 35I , 352 da abases, 32–33
hallucinogenic, 348–349 die ary diversi y, 74–76
mea o he poor, 353–355 edible wild plan s versus agricul ural
as medicine in Ban u, 353 developmen , 26–27
mycophilia versus mycophobia, ex inc ion, 27–28
346–347 ood medicines in Bolivia, 284–285
nu ri ional value, 349 ood–based–sys ems approach, 324
overview, 7–8 hospi al ood, 21–22
poisonous, 352–353 mushrooms, 349
social prejudice, 354–355 research, 32–33
ermi omyces, 349, 353 seaweed, 156, 170, 1711, 172
Muslim selenium de iciency, 44
ar o healing, 369 Nymphaea pubescens, 87
holis ic medicine, 359
Mycophilia versus mycophobia, 346–347
Myrobalan in ibe an medicines, 52, 54
Odhiambo, R. A., 326
My hology o plan s, 33–34
Ogle, B„ 2–3, 23, 26, 31
bo anical–die ary paradox, 69–70
consump ion and nu ri ion, 75, 76, 77
Nahua l Indians, humoral quali y o medicinal ood, 78
ood, 204 wild plan oods in arming
Nakahara, K.., 89, 92 environmen s, 67
 Index 399

Ogoye–Ndegwa, Charles, 7, 323 Parasi es (con inued)

Oke ch–Rabah, H., 326 Pou eria sapo a, 226
Okulba illness, 334 Veronia colora e, 26
Olms ed, J. E., 89 Pardo de San ayana, Manuel, 4, 131
Olsen, A., 326 Parkia biglobosa or headache relie ,
Omega–3 a y acids or hear disease 26
preven ion, 39 Parsley or bone calci ica ion, 141
Onions o ripen boils, 141 Passi lora mollissima, 292
Onishi–Kameyama, M., 89, 92 Pa agonia. See Argen ina
Ono, H„ 89, 92 Pauline, ., 44
Opare–Obisau, C., 324 Pauling, Lawrence, 20–21
Orange, ood as medicine, 257 Peace Corps
Orchards in Brazil, 259, 261 Burkina aso, 24, 27
Organic Herb Producers Coopera ive, research oppor uni ies, 23–24
190–191 Pearsall, D. M., 255
Organolep ic indica ors in oods, 205 Peixe porco, medicinal uses, 246
Origanum, 122 Pember on, R. W., 73–74
Oroxylum indicum, 87, 88–89, 92 Peroni, Nivaldo, 6, 239, 251
Osei–Opare, ., 324 Personalis ic uses o medicinal herbs,
Oso, B. A., 353 334, 337 , 339
Ouahidi, M. L., 369 Peru
Ounpuu, S., 324 Oxalis (chupo), 290
Owen, Pa rick L., 2, 3, 39 Schinus molle, 288
Oxalidaceae species, 310, 31 I Solanum acaule, 293
Oxalis adenophylla, 289–290 Pharmacology
Oxalis eriolepis, 288, 291–292 in Albania, 121–123
Oxalis pinguiculacea, 289, 291–292 e hnopharmacology, 345–346
Oxida ive s ress plan lis ing, 54 –55
aging–rela ed disease, 121–122 in he Uni ed S a es, 181–182
in high al i udes, 42–44 Philippines, wild plan s in rice paddies,
Oyakawa, O., 239 20–21
Phy o herapy
in Morocco, 8, 368–376
as ool o medicine, 8, 377
Pacharan diges ive spiri s, 4 Pieroni, Andrea, 132, 147
Paiu e in Nevada, mul iple–use value, 89 unc ional oods, 78–79, 81
Paleo–Balkans, 104 I alian s udy, 4
Palmaria palma a (dulse), 1711 overview o oods as medicine, 1
Palms, Cuban medicinal oods, 224 wild plan s in Lucania, 101
Palynology, 32 Piperno, D. R., 255
Parasi es Piso, G„ 241–242
celery, 141 Plan ash wi h coca, 290–291
rui s, 226 Plan dispersals
garlic, 141 chilijreppers, 31–32
Momordica eharan ia (eundeamor), maize, 31–32
226, 229 seed. See Seed dispersals
400 EA ING AND HEALING

Pneumonia, igs or rea men , 141 Pseudoedrela ko shyi or vigor and

Poaceae species, 274 s reng h, 26
Poisonous plan s Puerperal women, ish
or arrowheads, 353 recommenda ions, 241 –242,
cabbage o Kenya, 339 243 , 2441–2451, 246
amine oods, 333
in Morocco, 371–372
mushrooms, 352–353 Qi, 185–186
overdoses, 371
Quali y o herbs. See Medicinal herb
es consump ion o new species, 71 quali y in he Uni ed S a es
oxic analogs, 31 Quan i ica ion in e hnobo any, 251–252
Polygonum as amine ood, 29 Quave, Cassandra L., 4, 78–79, 81, 101
Popkin, B. M., 324
Quezada, M., 303
Porphyra abbo ae
Quimbombo, 223
diploid phase, 161
Quinlan, Marsha B., 5–6, 197
haploid phase, 161
Quinlan, Rober J., 5–6, 197
harves ing, 161–166
Qu’ran, view on ood plan s, 359
li e cycle, 161–162
medicinal proper ies, 172
nu ri ional value, 156, 170, 171 , 172
pho o, 160 Radia ion rom a mospheric es ing, 28
processing and drying, 163–164 Ramos, Rossano M., 6, 237
s orage, 164 Randomized con rolled rial (RC ),
Pos par um 181–182
Acorns gramineus, 29 Ranunculaceae species, 274
die s o ulani women, 26 Ra a ia, 144
Po gie er, M. J., 75 Ra hake e, P., 79
Prance, G. „ 252, 257 Rays, medicinal uses, 246
Pregnancy RC (randomized con rolled rial),
morula, 33 181–182
wild plan s as ood, 25–26 Reac ive oxygen species (ROS)
Preserva ion o s ored plan s, 74, 75 aging–rela ed disease, 121–122
Pressure illness, 209–210 cause o disease, 39–40
Price, Lisa Leimar, 1, 3, 65, 67 in high al i udes, 43, 44
Price, W. A., 323 Redbook o Endangered Languages,
Prince, R. J., 326 104
Proper y (si xing), sensory a ribu e Rehm, S., 255
overview, 184–185 Religion
quali y assessmen using Chinese Cuban ri uals, 225
medicine, 186–187, 191, 192 Islam, 359, 369
Pros a e cancer, Prunus a ricana Renal disease, medicinal plan use in
rea men , 346 Morocco, 373
Pro ein i ems, women ga herers in Research
hailand, 65, 72–73, 75 an ioxidan s udy in I aly, 122
Pru, Cuban drink, 228 ' Bolivia. See Bolivia
Prunus a ricana or pros a e cancer, 346 Brazilian e hnobo any, 253–262
 Index 401

Research (con inued) Sa e y

Brazilian projec , 239 Chinese medicine, 188
budge s, 23–29 o plan s. See Poisonous plan s
Burkina aso, 24–25, 27–28 poisonous mushrooms, 352–353
e hnobo anical research. See oxic analogs, 31
E hnobo anical research oxins in ish, 242, 246
ieldwork me hods in Dominica, Sa ron or cardiovascular disease, 53,
200–201 54
ree–lis in erviews, 201 Sahel drough , 12–13, 15
heal h surveys, 200–201 Sairam, M., 44
his orical ex s, 29–30 Salvia haenkei, 288, 289
human, animal, and plan Sambaa people in anzania, wild plan
rela ionships, 33 oods, 67
in ormal in erviews, 200 San Miguel, Elia, 4, 131
Kenya. See Kenya Sanaya, P., 2
key–in orman in erviews, 201 Sanca, Sabino, 7, 273
magic and my hology, 33–34 Sansevieria ae hiopica
Medicinal Herb Ne work survey, (Mosokala sebeng), 16
190–191 San os, G. M., 239
Morocco. See Morocco Saphins or binding choles erol, 2
Nigeria, 24 Sarada, S. K. S„ 44
nu ri ion, 32–33 Sa ureja boliviano, 286
Peace Corps oppor uni ies, 23–24 Sauer, Carl, 12
plan dispersals, 31–32 Schinus molle, 288
plan research, 22–23 Schul es, R. E„ 297
sa e y, 31 Scrophulariaceae species, 274
hailand unc ional/medicinal Scudder, ., 71, 91
oods, 88–89 Sea horse, medicinal uses, 246
wild plan s. See Wild plan s as ood Seaweed
and medicine background, 154–155
Respira ory disorders, marjoram, 147 diploid phase, 161
Rheuma ism, ish recommenda ions, 246 environmen al indica or, 157
Rhiouani, H., 369 Gi ga'a camp, 159–160, I59
Rice haploid phase, 161
or diarrhea, 141 harves ing, 161–166, 172–175
wild plan s in rice paddies, 20–21 indus rial uses, 156
Ricinus communis, 226 li e cycle, 161–162
Risks o es consump ion o new medicinal proper ies, 172
species, 71 nu ri ional value, 156, 170, 17I , 172
Robinson, Anne a, 164 overview, 5
ROS. See Reac ive oxygen species pollu ion impac , 173
Rosaceae species, 274, 310, 311 Porphyra abbo ae, 160–166, 160
Roseroo , ibe an medicine, 50 processing and drying, 163–164,
Ross, P„ 1–2, 67, 77, 323 . 167–170
Rubiaceae species, 274 seaweed camp, 159–160, 159
Ru a graveolens, 283, 285–286 s orage, 164, 167
402 EA ING AND HEAUNG

Seaweed (con inued) Solon, „ 324

wea her impac , 173–175 Somnasang, P., 67
worldwide use, 156–157 Soubrillard, 348
Seed dispersals Sou h America
by animals, 33 Argen ina. See Argen ina
chili peppers, 31–32 Bolivia. See Bolivia
maize, 31 –32 Brazil. See Brazil
Sekgokgo, Gaborone, 34 Ecuador, 67
Selenium deiciency in ibe , 44 Peru. See Peru
Semidomes ica ed plan , deined, 69 Sou h Korea, wild ood plan
Sensory a ribu es in Chinese medicine, marke ing, 73–74
184–187, 191, 192 Sovie Union, Kazaks an die ary s udy,
Serhrouchni, M., 369 28
Sharma, S. K., 44 Spain
Sheep– arming in Campoo, Can abria, Campoo. See Campoo, Can abria
I aly, 134 chamomiles, 144–145, 146
Shoshone in Nevada, mul iple–use e hnobo anical research, 131–132
value, 89 map, 132
Si xing (proper y), sensory a ribu e wild plan consump ion, 137, 138
overview, 184–185 Spices
quali y assessmen using Chinese Bolivian condimen s, 285–286, 287
medicine, 186–187, 191, 192 Brazilian medicine, 261
Sideri is hyssopi olia ea, 145–146, 146 cinnamon, 141
Sijelmassi, A., 369 clove, 52, 54
Silvano, R. A. M., 239 cul iva ed versus na ive, 261
Simoons, rederick, 12 or illness preven ion, 237–238
Siona–Secoya o Ecuador, wild plan marjoram, 147
ood consump ion, 67 in Morocco, 357–358
Skin burns and wounds, ish nu meg, 52, 54
recommenda ions, 246 Ru a graveolens L., 283
Smi h, Garre , 24–25 age es, in Bolivia and Peru, 284
Soberg, Renne, 5, 179 ibe an medicines, 51, 51
Social oods Spiri possession, 334, 336
cul ural di erences, 325–326 Spiri s. See Alcohol; Diges ive spiri s
Medi erranean area, 131–132 S augard, ., 326
social prejudice o mushrooms, S ellaria media, 122
354–355 S ephania e randa, 187
Social s igma o wild plan ood S eppes or wild plan ga hering, 3 10
consump ion, 76–77 S eyn, N. P., 75
Sociocul ural level o analysis, 298 S inging ne les and seaweed harves ,
Socra es, 29 164
Soda ash or cooking, 332 S o le, R. W„ 89
Solanaceae species, 277, 283, 283 S omach problems. See Diges ive rac
Solanum acaule, 293 ' issues
Solanum incanum ( hola e ona), 16 “S oned ape” heory o evolu ion, 348
 Index 403

S orage o plan s, 74, 75 es s

S reng h and vigor, Pseudoedrela isher Exac es , 303
ko sliyi or, 26 Kruskal–Wallis es , 303–304,
Superna ural ac ors in disease, 238 313–314, 3l4
Swaziland Mann Whi ney es , 305, 312, 313
agricul ural ields, 67 hailand
bo anical–die ary paradox, 69–70 Alpina malaccensis, 82
die ary diversi y. 75 Amaran hus spinosus, 82, 88
plan research, 23 Azadirach a indica, 83, 88
Barring onea acu angula, 83–84, 88
sociai s igma o wild plan ood
consump ion, 77 bo anical–die ary paradox, 69–70
Capparis ennera, 83
Swee rea s, 288, 293
Cassia siamea, 79, 84, 88
Swidden plo s, 258–259
Coccinia wigh iana, 84
consump ion and nu ri ion, 74–77
Eclip a pros ra a, 84–85
a ilale region o Morocco, 369–375 ishing and hun ing by men, 71–72
age es minu a, 284, 286 orbidden species, 90–91
age es mul i lora, 284, 286 unc ional oods, 78–79, 80 , 81
age es pusilla, 284, 286 ga hered ood plan s wi h medicinal
amashiro, J., 255, 262, 317 value, 81–88
annins in ibe an medicines, 52 gender division o labor and
knowledge, 71–72
anzania, wild plan oods consumed
Ipomoena aqua ica, 85
by Sambaa, 67 Karen edible wild plan s, 27–28
assel hyacin h bulbs, 121 Limnophila aroma ica, 85–86
CM. See radi ional Chinese Lindernia Crus acea, 86
medicine marke ing o oods by women,
eas 72–74
Bidens aurea, 146 medicinal ood, 77–78, 79–88, 80
in Bolivia, 288 Monochoria has a a, 86
brick ea, 46–47 mul iple–use value, 89–90
in Campoo, 144–146, 145 , 146 Nymphaea pubescens, 87
chamomiles, 144–145, 146 Oroxylum indicum, 87, 88–89, 92
Cuban drinks, 227, 228 overview, 3, 91–94
Dominican consump ion, 202, 203 plan research, 88–89
Jasonia glu inosa, 146 priva iza ion o plan s, 89–90
in Liebana, 144 rari y o plan s, 89–90
Sideri is hyssopi olia, 145–146, 146 social s igma o wild plan ood
hymus pulegioides, 146 consump ion, 76–77
EKW ( radi ional Ecological iliacora riandra, 88
ransplan ing o plan s, 73
Knowledge and Wisdom), wild plan oods in arming
153–154, 154 environmen s, 66–71
erminalia sericea (Mogonono), 16 women as owners, 90–91
ermi omyces mushrooms, 349, 353 women ga hering ood, 65, 71–72
404 EA ING AND HEAUNG

hama hawan, S., 67 radi ional Chinese medicine ( CM)

heobroma cacao, e hnobo anical (con inued)
research, 32 quali y discrimina ion, 186–188
hola e ona (Solanum incanum), 16 heory overview, 183–186
homas, D. E., 79 radi ional Ecological Knowledge and
homas, J. K., 79 Wisdom ( EKW), 153–154,
hymus pulegioides, 146 I54
ibe an oods and medicines rakoon ivakorn, G., 89, 92
al i ude adap a ions, 4 1–42 ranshumance o ca le– arming
barley, 46 sys ems, 134
brick ea, 46–47 ransplan ing o plan s, 73
chha ang, 45 ree rui s or diarrhea, 141
dairy produc s, 45, 47–49 rees as religious symbols, 359
high–al i ude ood sys ems, 45–49 ripodan hus acu i olius, 288
mea s, 45, 47–49 samba, 45
medicine, 49–53 urkey
overview, 3, 39–40 marke ing o oods by women, 73
oxida ive s ress, 42–44 wild plan ood ga hering, 67–68
plan pharmacology lis ing, 54 –55 urner, Nancy J., 5, 153
samba, 45 ur le, medicinal uses, 246
ick in, ., 2 uye , H. „ 78
iliacora riandra, 88
lokweng
drough , 13–14
Uiso, „ 2
amine oods, 18–19
Umbelli erae species, 310, 31 I
hails orm belie s, 17
UNESCO Redbook o Endangered
magical plan s, 16–18
Languages, 104
moral lessons, 18
Uni ed S a es
morula or pregnan women, 33
ood and Drug Adminis ra ion,
n ige, 16
aris olochic acid recall, 187
plan research, 22–23
lmong die s in Cali ornia, 28–29
repuri ica ion ceremony, 16
medicinal herbs. See Medicinal herb
s udy o plan s, 14–16
ha ching and cons ruc ion, 17 quali y in he Uni ed S a es
hreshing s icks, 17–18 noncul iva ed bo anical
oco rienol, 46 consump ion, 101
ordylium, 122 USAID, 19
oxic analogues, 31
oxins in ish, 242, 246
radi ional, de ined, 103 Vainio–Ma dla, K., 67
radi ional Chinese medicine ( CM) Valles, J., 132
biomedical perspec ive versus, 188­ Value sys ems, 325–326
189 Van Damme, P., 275
medicinal herb quali y, 182–188 Van Puyvelde, L., 275
overview, 5 Vandebroek, Ina, 7, 273, 275
quali y assessmen , 191–193 Vascones, 136
 Index 405

Verbena hispida, 285 Wild plan s as ood and medicine

Veronia colora e, or in es inal (con inued)
parasi es, 26 wild plan , de ined, 69
Viandas, 222–225 wild versus in roduced species,
Vickers, W. „ 67 257–262, 258 , 259
Vie nam Wilken, G„ 67, lb –11
medicinal ood, 78 Wilson, W. M„ 67, 68
wild plan ood ga hering by Wine, 142–144
women, lb Winnowing, 68
Vigor and s reng h, Pseudoedrela Women. See also Gender
ko shyi, 26 ish recommenda ions, 241 –242,
Vision and carro s, 141 243 , 244 –245 , 246
Vi amin C as an ioxidan , 43
ood cooling by Kenyan women,
Vi amin E as an ioxidan , 43
332
Volpa o, Gabriele, 6, 213
ga hering o ood in Kenya, 331
von Reis, S., 297
gynecologic medicines in Morocco,
Vul ure area o I aly. See also
Arbereshe in Lucania 360, 361 –368
an ioxidan research s udy, 122 knowledge o plan s, 299
emigra ion, 110, 117 marke ing o oods by urkish
e hnographic background, 104, 107 women, 73
liakra, 119, 121 medicinal plan use in Morocco,
map, 104 370–371
Moroccan cuisine, 357
mushroom knowledge in Cameroon,
351–352
Walnu s mushrooms as mea o he poor,
disin ec an , 141
354–355
or memory, 141
processing seaweed, 170
Wars. See Mili ary con lic
seaweed harves ing, 165–166
Washing on, G., 30
socioeconomics in I aly, 107–108
Wasson, R. G„ 346–347
Wa ercress or puri ying blood, 141 hailand. See Women in hailand
Weeding, 68 wild ood plan marke ing by
Weeds o agricul ure. See Edible weeds Koreans, 73–74
o agricul ure wild plan ood ga hering in
Wei ( lavor), sensory a ribu e Vie nam, 76
overview, 184–187 Women in hailand
quali y assessmen using Chinese consump ion and nu ri ion o plan s,
medicine, 191, 192 74–77
Weigh gain, Adansonia digi a a, 26 ood ga hering, 65
WHO (World Heal h Organiza ion), marke ing o oods, 72–74
368 owners o resources, 90–91
Wild plan s as ood and medicine plankga hering, 71–72
genesis, 11–19 World Heal h Organiza ion (WHO),
overview, 2–3 368
406 EA ING AND HEAUNG

Yak, as ibe an mea source, 45, 48 Zhong Yao Da Ci Dian, 186

Yano, Olga, 255 Zinc, ood–based–sys ems approach, 324
Yin and yang heory, 183–186 Zingiber oic in a le , 230
Yoshida, M„ 89, 92 Ziyya , A., 369
Younos, C., 369 Zuanon, J. A. S., 239