Volume 153, Issue 3, 14 May 2014, Pages 624–634
Research Paper
Ethnomedicine of menstruation in rural Dominica, West Indies
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
In
Dominica, women offer dysmenorrhea, delayed menses, and menorrhagia as
prevalent menstrual troubles. Dominican humoral theory considers
menstruation to be “hot” such that menstrual problems are caused by the
introduction of too much “cold” in the body. These conditions can be
painful and may require herbal medicine. Our method finds the most
culturally salient plants for these conditions—those which are of common
knowledge across the population. We hypothesize that cultural agreement
on ethnobotanical treatments (1) reflects their perceived
ethnophysiological efficacy, and that (2) salient plants contain
bioactive compounds appropriate for the menstrual conditions for which
Dominicans employ the plants.
Materials and Methods
Qualitative
data on local explanatory models and treatment of menstrual conditions
were collected using participant-observation, focus groups, and informal
key informant interviews. Quantitative ethnobotanical data come from
freelist (or “free-list”) tasks, conducted with 54 adults.
Results
Mean salience values calculated from freelisted data reveal that the same four plants, Cinnamomum verum (synonym Cinnamomum zeylanicum) (Lauraceae), Mentha suaveolens (Lamiaceae), Pimenta racemosa (Myrtaceae) and Sphagneticola trilobata (synonym Wedelia trilobata) (Asteraceae) are used to treat dysmenorrhea and delayed menses. The only remedy reported for menorrhagia, Sphagneticola trilobata
(Asteraceae), is also a treatment for dysmenorrhea and delayed menses.
The Dominican humoral system views menstruation as a "hot" condition,
yet these "bush medicines" are also "hot." Dominicans do not view
menstruation as a problem, rather, they reckon that excess "cold" in a
woman׳s menstruating body impedes menstrual function to cause problems
thus requiring "hot" plants to alleviate their symptoms. A literature
review revealed that all four plants contain analgesic,
anti-nociceptive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, Mentha suaveolens is muscle-relaxing and anti-spasmodic, Cinnamomum verum has a mild anti-coagulant, and Sphagneticola trilobata has wound healing, anti-stress, and sedative properties.
Conclusions
In
Dominican menstrual problems there is correspondence between cultural
consensus, bioactivity, and humoral theory. Examining the
ethnophysiology of menstruation and its complications provides evidence
for the expectations of actions and effectiveness of locally culturally
salient medicinal plants.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Analgesic;
- Antinociceptive;
- Botany;
- Inflammation;
- Pain;
- Theories of illness
- Corresponding author. Tel.:
+1 509 335 5405.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
