Volume 154, Issue 3, 3 July 2014, Pages 847–857
Ethnopharmacological communication
A quantitative ethnozoological assessment of traditionally used animal-based therapies in the tropical island of Mauritius
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
There
is currently a dearth of documentation on the use of animal-based
therapies (ABT) in Mauritius. This study was therefore designed to
gather primary folk knowledge on the different ABT used by Mauritians.
Failure to document such knowledge can results in losses in both the use
of such remedies and in the scientific documentation of the cultural
traditions of animals used in the treatment and/or management of human
diseases. The aim of the study is to collect, analyze, document and
disseminate ABT from the tropical island of Mauritius used against
common human ailments.
Methods
Data was collected following interviews from key informants (n=126)
and reported diseases and health complications were classified in 14
categories. Eight quantitative indexes such as informant consensus
factor (FIC), fidelity level (FL), relative frequency of citation (RFC),
relative importance (RI), cultural importance index (CII), index of
agreement on remedies (IAR), cultural agreement index (CAI) and
ethnofaunistic index (EFI) were used to analyze the reported animal
species.
Results
A total of 31
animal species belonging to 12 taxonomic groups were documented to be
used in traditional medicine by Mauritians. ABT were prepared from whole
animals or their body parts or products extracted from them such as:
butter, meat, milk, bones, horn, musk, skin, fin, honey, mucus, eggs and
legs. The most encountered taxonomic group was Actinopterygii (7
species). According to EFI, 3.34% of the indigenous fauna in Mauritius
were used in the treatment and/or management of different ailments. The
highest FIC value (0.98) was cited for endocrine, nutritional and
metabolic disorders which included diabetes and gangrene. Rattus rattus scored the highest FL (100%) for the ailment category injury and poisons of external cause; Bos taurus
had the highest RI value (2.00) due to its versatility, had the highest
frequency of citation (RFC=0.49), the highest cultural importance
(CII=0.84) and the highest CAI value (0.77). According to IAR, Salmo salar
(IAR=1.00) had the highest agreement among the informants for being
used for the same medicinal purpose. Furthermore, no side effects have
been reported from the use of ABT.
Conclusions
Our
study revealed that Mauritians possesses valuable knowledge on a
plethora of ABT. It is believed that the present documentation will
serve to record this vanishing knowledge before it is eroded completely
from the island and to the scientific community. It is also anticipated
that the present documentation will be fundamental to protect
traditional knowledge, for the conservation and sustainable use of the
rich biodiversity of Mauritius for future generations and to ensure
Mauritius׳s sovereign rights over its genetic resources and utilization
by first documenting them. In addition, further experimental
investigations are required to elucidate the pharmacological properties
of the reported medicinal fauna of Mauritius
Graphical abstract
Abbreviations
- CEN, Common English name;
- VN, Vernacular name;
- SN, scientific name;
- RFC, Relative Frequency of Citation;
- RI, relative importance;
- CII, Cultural Importance Index;
- IAR, Index of Agreement on Remedies;
- CAI, Cultural Agreement Index.
Keywords
- Ethnozoological;
- Zootherapy;
- Animal-based therapies;
- Ethnofaunistic index;
- Mauritius
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
