Volume 24, Issue 2, March–April 2014, Pages 197–205
Open Access
Original article
Ethnopharmacology in Ireland: an overview
- Open Access funded by Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacognosia
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
The aim of this review was to extract information of the book Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain & Ireland
published in 2004 by Allen and Hatfield, to give an overview of plants
with medicinal potential and their applications. This study attempts to
attest, observe and comment on the diversity of plants, as well as the
accompanying information which inevitably is vital for the future
development of herbal medicines for human therapy. Initially, the
information in relation to medicinal plants in Ireland only was
extracted from the above-mentioned book and organised in tables.
Afterwards, it was analysed through the construction of maps and the
positioning of each piece of information in specific geographical
regions of the country. Its division into provinces was taken into
consideration as well as into counties within the provinces. These maps
and graphs illustrate the most predominantly reported botanical families
identified and utilised (Asteraceae, Scrophulariaceae and Lamiaceae),
and to the most frequently cited medicinal uses were attributed to
topical applications. As a result we can see that the uses of
traditional medicines vary among these different geographical areas of
the country. Not only different uses were reported but also different
plants used to treat the same condition, or different conditions treated
with the same plant depending on the county. Various
phytopharmaceuticals date back several decades and despite the existing
evolving technology, without a doubt herbal medicines can and still do
provide exceptional and efficacious outcomes like many of the
conventional remedies available today.
Keywords
- Ethnopharmacology;
- Ireland;
- Asteraceae;
- Scrophulariaceae;
- Lamiaceae
Introduction
Ethnopharmacology
is the study of indigenous medical systems that connects the
ethnography of health and healing with the physiologic relevance of its
medicinal practices. The scientific rigor of ethnobotanical research has
increased dramatically in the past two decades with the aim of
understanding how and why people of a particular culture make use of
indigenous plants in their local environment (Weldegerima, 2009).
Irish
folk medicine has a rich and vibrant history, enriched with the various
documented uses of plants, which are often unique to a particular
geographical region or cultural area. Roughly half the worlds’
pharmaceutical products in use today are plant-derived (Allen and Hatfield, 2004).
Although
contemporary medicine may be available in most countries today, herbal
medicines have often kept popularity due to historical and cultural
reasons. Furthermore, as the mass of underdeveloped countries inevitably
do not have access to the more up-to-date medicines available,
traditional medicine is largely relied on for the treatment of diseases
and injuries. According to the WHO, ‘about 4000 million people in
developing countries believe in the efficiency of plant remedies and use
them regularly’ (Alzweiri et al., 2011).
The book, Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain & Ireland,
not only provided us with vital foundation from which expansion and
further development can be made, but also enables the comparison between
modern medicine culture and its traditional uses recorded decades ago,
by means of comparison between which plant was used in the past and what
is the current drug of choice to treat similar conditions.
The
historical dimension of the ethnobotany studied by Allen and Hatfield
is of great importance in contemporary approaches to traditional plant
knowledge. In this study we aimed to elucidate the remarkable range of
ailments treated with folk medicine and the counties where the most
medicinal preparations and types of presentations are commonly employed.
With further investigation of the most relevant pharmacological
activities of various phytochemicals present, we hope to shed light on
the reason behind their use and whether there is undiscovered potential
worthy of future research. Assessing several references to various
medicinal plants in Ireland can often highlight the differences in
cultural and ethnic backgrounds, the types of medicinal plants and
reasons of use.
This study
was carried out as an attempt to preserve ancestral knowledge regarding
ethnobotany, despite the loss of traditional knowledge between
generations since folk medicine has proved to be invaluable in certain
countries.
Materials and methods
The information, regarding Ireland from the book Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain & Ireland
was collected and organised in tables and presented on graphs, figures
and maps. The purpose was to compare distribution patterns of folk
medicine treatments throughout the counties of Ireland to garner a rough
view of the therapeutic applications comparable to current herbal
medicine. The information acquired from this book was used as the basis
from which the results could be generated. The information relating
exclusively to Ireland was extracted and the results presented in Chart 1. The information gathered was put to individual maps of Ireland representing:
- 1)
- The counties/provinces where cited plants were located. For the purpose of this study, a particular plant species was only recorded once for a cited county regardless of the number of different uses mentioned.
- 2)
- The mentioned uses were sorted according to target body system. The six body systems considered were digestive system, respiratory system, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, urinary system, and others for the cases in which a particular ailment didn’t apply for any of the above mentioned body systems.
- 3)
- The form of presentation used. As it is virtually impossible to gather all types of presentations of every medicinal plant used in traditional medicine due to lack of available knowledge, they could not be accurately represented on a county map.
- Chart 1.Relevant information collected for Wild Rose from the book.
A
review of the existing literature was then preformed using Science
Direct, EMBASE and PubMed online scientific databases which provided
relevant information. From these searches, the main plant species as
their current applications were observed.
Results
Ireland
can be considered a small country compared to the majority of European
and other countries worldwide; however it has a remarkable plant
diversity. Despite Allen and Hatfield's attempt to encompass all the
plants used in folk medicine, it most certainly is possible that more
are yet to be discovered for their potential pharmacological activity. A
total of 200 medicinal species belonging to 78 different families were
documented in this book for Ireland alone.
