Volume 105, Issues 1–2, 21 April 2006, Pages 55–63
Plants used by the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee (Quebec, Canada) for the treatment of diabetes: A novel approach in quantitative ethnobotany
Abstract
In
the last decade, the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee has witnessed a 150%
increase in the prevalence of Type II Diabetes (T2D) for people aged
over 20 years. Clinical intervention using conventional therapeutic
methods has yielded only a limited success within this population. An
ethnobotanical survey was carried out to identify potentially
antidiabetic plant species used within the traditional pharmacopoeia of
the Cree. Interviews were held with 34 Cree Elders using a list of 15
symptoms ranked according to their association to T2D. A total of 18
species were cited during the survey, spanning 9 plant families. Species
were prioritized for pharmacological analysis according to a Syndromic
Importance Value, based on their frequency of citation by informants and
the number and specificity of symptoms for which they were used.
Correspondence and clustering analyses were also performed to determine
the specificity of association between species and symptoms and the
symptom-based correlation between species. A data matrix and species
ranking order generated from Cree-specific literature demonstrates
significant similarity and correlation to our original matrix and
ranking, respectively. This article demonstrates the applicability of
various underutilized quantitative tools in ethnobotany, while taking a
convincing preliminary step towards a therapy more in harmony with Cree
culture and lifestyle.
Abbreviations
- CEI, Cree of Eeyou Istchee;
- SIV, Syndromic Importance Value;
- T2D, Type II Diabetes
Keywords
- Diabetes;
- Antidiabetic;
- Cree;
- Ethnobotany;
- Quantitative analysis;
- Medicinal plants
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
