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Yes / Studies have shown that a significant proportion of people with epilepsy use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM use is known to vary between different ethnic groups and cultural contexts; however, little attention has been devoted to inter-ethnic differences within the UK population. We studied the use of biomedicine, complementary and alternative medicine, and ethnomedicine in a sample of people with epilepsy of South Asian origin living in the north of England. Interviews were conducted with 30 people of South Asian origin and 16 carers drawn from a sampling frame of patients over 18 years old with epilepsy, compiled from epilepsy registers and hospital databases. All interviews were tape-recorded, translated if required and transcribed. A framework approach was adopted to analyse the data. All those interviewed were taking conventional anti-epileptic drugs. Most had also sought help from traditional South Asian practitioners, but only two people had tried conventional CAM. Decisions to consult a traditional healer were taken by families rather than by individuals with epilepsy. Those who made the decision to consult a traditional healer were usually older family members and their motivations and perceptions of safety and efficacy often differed from those of the recipients of the treatment. No-one had discussed the use of traditional therapies with their doctor. The patterns observed in the UK mirrored those reported among people with epilepsy in India and Pakistan. The health care-seeking behaviour of study participants, although mainly confined within the ethnomedicine sector, shared much in common with that of people who use global CAM. The appeal of traditional therapies lay in their religious and moral legitimacy within the South Asian community, especially to the older generation who were disproportionately influential in the determination of treatment choices. As a second generation made up of people of Pakistani origin born in the UK reach the age when they are the influential decision makers in their families, resort to traditional therapies may decline. People had long experience of navigating plural systems of health care and avoided potential conflict by maintaining strict separation between different sectors. Health care practitioners need to approach these issues with sensitivity and to regard traditional healers as potential allies, rather than competitors or quacks.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:59:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3459199 bytes, checksum: ea24760008f9bcd3a0a4a612ab8f61e6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Ficus L., with about 750 species, is the richest of the family Moraceae, widely distributed in tropical regions of the world. The genus is characterized by lactescentes plants, woody, shrubs and lianas, often hemiepiphytes growing on tree branches or in the leaf axils of palms. In Brazil, there are about 100 species of Ficus, popularly known as "figueiras" and/or "gameleiras", many of which are exploited as sources of textiles, food and used in folk medicine. This study aimed to conduct an analysis of leaf morpho-anatomy of three species of Ficus sugb. Urostigma (Gasp.) Miq. Found in Paraíba: Ficus cyclophylla (Miq.) Miq., Ficus elliotiana S. Moore and Ficus caatingae R. M. Castro, and a review of the ethnomedicine of the species of the genus. Cross sections of leaves (blade and petiole) were performed in microtome in material embedded in methacrylate, stained with toluidine blue. The study of venation, epidermal cells, histochemical analysis and SEM were carried out using standard methods for each analysis. A review of the ethnomedicine of Ficus was performed, through literature search and various databases. The three species share the following characters: dorsiventral mesophyll, collateral vascularization, the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions of druses and prismatic crystals type (distributed in all tissues of the leaf), angular collenchyma, epidermis with straight polygonal anticlinal walls, hypostomatic and anomocytic stomata. They have characters that distinguish them from their related species, particularly with respect to the structural organization of the mesophyll, board, border and vascularization of the petiole. With respect to etnomedicinal revision, 27 species were reported (23.3%) used in traditional medicine in Brazil. Among the most common therapeutic indications, the most important were those reported for the digestive system and against intestinal worms (29%). The plant parts are used more sheets (63%), followed by the use of latex (51.8%). The oral use was the main route of administration (72.7%). Leaf anatomy was more relevant than the external morphology and can be used for the characterization of the three species and to support quality control of his herbal drugs, as it provided for the same distinctive characters. In addition, the survey provided the record etnomedicinal plants with popular uses that can serve as a basis for the election of species that can be employed as a source of biologically active compounds. / Ficus L., com cerca de 750 espécies, é o mais rico da família Moraceae, com ampla distribuição nas regiões tropicais do mundo. O gênero caracteriza-se por possuir plantas lactescentes, hábito arbóreo, arbustivo e lianas, muitas vezes hemiepífitas crescendo em ramos de árvores ou nas axilas das folhas de palmeiras. No Brasil, ocorrem cerca de 100 espécies de Ficus, popularmente conhecidas como figueiras e/ou gameleiras , muitas das quais aproveitadas como fontes de produtos têxteis, alimentícios e de uso na medicina popular. Este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar um estudo da morfoanatomia foliar de três espécies de Ficus sugb. Urostigma (Gasp.) Miq. encontradas na Paraíba: Ficus cyclophylla (Miq.) Miq., Ficus elliotiana S. Moore e Ficus caatingae R.M. Castro, e uma revisão da etnomedicina das espécies brasileiras do gênero. Secções transversais de folhas (lâmina e pecíolo) foram realizadas em micrótomo, em material incluído em metacrilato, posteriormente coradas com azul de toluidina. O estudo da venação, das células epidérmicas, testes histoquímicos e MEV foram realizados seguindo os métodos usuais para cada análise. Foi realizada uma revisão da etnomedicina de Ficus, mediante uma pesquisa na bibliografia e em vários bancos de dados. As três espécies estudadas compartilham os seguintes caracteres: mesofilo dorsiventral, feixes vasculares colaterais, presença de inclusões citoplasmáticas do tipo drusas e cristais prismáticos (distribuídas em todos os tecidos da folha), colênquima do tipo angular, epiderme com paredes anticlinais poligonais retas, anfígena, hipoestomática e estômatos anomocíticos. Possuem caracteres diferencias que as distinguem de suas espécies afins, principalmente com relação à organização estrutural do mesofilo, bordo, contorno e vascularização do pecíolo. Com relação à revisão etnomedicinal, foram registradas 27 espécies (23,3%) utilizadas como medicinais no Brasil. Dentre as indicações terapêuticas mais comuns, destacaram-se aquelas referidas para o sistema digestório e contra verminoses intestinais (29%). As partes da planta mais utilizadas foram folhas (63%), seguidas do uso do látex (51,8%). O uso oral foi a principal via de administração (72,7%). A anatomia foliar foi mais relevante que a morfologia externa e pode ser usada para a caracterização das três espécies e para subsidiar o controle de qualidade de suas drogas vegetais, uma vez que forneceu caracteres distintivos para as mesmas. Além disso, o levantamento etnomedicinal forneceu o registro de plantas com usos populares que podem servir de base para a eleição de espécies que poderão ser empregadas como fonte de compostos biologicamente ativos.

abstract: The worldviews and associated healing traditions of West and West Central sub-Saharan Africans and their Afro-Mexican descendants influenced the development of curanderismo, the traditional healing system of Mexico and the Southwest United States. Previous research on curanderismo, e.g. Colson (1976), Foster (1987), Ortiz de Montellano (1990), and Treviño (2001), generally emphasizes the cultural contributions of Spanish and Mesoamerican peoples to curanderismo; however, little research focuses on the cultural contributions of blacks in colonial Mexico. Mexico had the second-largest enslaved African population and the largest free black population in the Western Hemisphere until the early nineteenth century (Bennett 2003:1). Afro-Mexican curanderos were regularly consulted by members of every level of Spanish colonial society (ibid:150, 165, 254–55; Restall 2009:144–45, 275), often more commonly than indigenous healers (Bristol and Restall 2009:174), placing Afro-Mexican curanderos “squarely in the mainstream of colonial curing practices” (Bristol 2007:168). Through analysis of literature on African medicine, enslaved Africans in colonial Mexico, and Afro-Mexican healing practices, I suggest that the ideas and practices of colonial blacks played a more important role in the formation and practice of curanderismo than previously acknowledged. The black population plummeted after Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821 CE; however, through analysis of African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latino religious and healing traditions, La Santa Muerte, and yerberías and their products in twentieth and twenty first century Mexico, I suggest that black healing traditions continued to influence curanderismo throughout Mexico’s history. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Religious Studies 2016

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of non-infectious diseases that cause hyperglycemia. DM symptoms were first clinically described by ancient Greek physicians whose prescriptions included plant-based remedies. Today, DM affects >400 million people globally and prevalence rates are rapidly increasing in developing countries where basic healthcare relies on local knowledge of botanical remedies. Many developing countries are home to diverse peoples and plants—providing fodder for varied plant-selection strategies and unique botanical pharmacopoeias. I addressed the plant-selection strategies used in a multi-ethnic, developing country, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), to ascertain their role in shaping the local antidiabetic pharmacopoeia and to assess their benefits and risks in identifying safe and useful remedies. Using literature reviews, field surveys, and laboratory bioassays, I completed three categories of analysis. Ethnobotanical analyses showed that T&T’s antidiabetic pharmacopoeia is primarily of recent origin as >50% of the 48 historical DM remedies were Neotropical natives, including congenerics of well-known medicinal Paleotropical genera. Nevertheless, conservative knowledge transmission was also evident as several Paleotropical species of T&T’s pharmacopoeia, including Momordica charantia and Catharanthus roseus were also used in Africa, India and across the Caribbean. Paleotropical natives with a long history of use are likely to be safer remedies. Ethno-medicinal analyses of the pre- and post-2000 DM remedies of T&T, totaling 99 species, suggest that the centuries-old hot/cold folk disease-model was the model predominantly used in plant-selection. Parallels found between T&T folk concepts and biomedical mechanisms of DM provide probable bases for efficacy but the chronic use of purgatives and bitter-tasting plants is likely to be risky. Phytochemical analyses revealed that 69% of the tested plant extracts contained phenolic compounds, with more than half producing >80% alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Phenolic content and alpha-glucosidase inhibition were strongly correlated among food plants used as medicines, suggesting higher probability of selection as a result of non-target effects. The medicinal use of food plants may provide the best margins of safety and efficacy in identifying antidiabetic remedies. Together, these analyses showed how culture-specific plant-selection strategies can identify safe, useful remedies for developing countries to address their increasing DM prevalence in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

In this Master's of Public Issues Anthropology thesis I examine the perceptions of health and healthcare services within a small rural subsistence farming community in South-Western Paraguay from a political ecology of health perspective. Qualitative research data was collected from May to September of 2010 in Lindo Manantial, a subsistence farming village, and Piribebuy, the closest town to Lindo Manantial and the location of the nearest health centre, the Piribebuy Centro de Salud. The primary goals of this research project were to gain an ethnographic understanding of current local health perspectives and concerns, as well as the local frameworks for health provision in Piribebuy. I argue that the introduction of culturally competent healthcare services could greatly improve individual and community health statuses and outcomes in Lindo Manantial and other similar rural subsistence farming communities in Paraguay. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

No description available.

Alstonia scholaris is an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia and Australia. It is commonly used as a medicinal plant throughout these regions. In the present study, an endophyte of the genus Xylaria was isolated from a stem of Alstonia scholaris, its mycelia and exudate extracted, and the extract assayed for growth inhibition of HeLa cancer cells in vitro. Several known compounds were isolated and identified based on NMR, infrared, and mass spectral data. The compounds identified are 19,20-epoxycytochalasin C; 19,20epoxycytochalasin D; and xylobovide. Two other compounds, fusaric acid and dehydrofusaric acid, were discovered in an endophyte of the Hypocreales family inhabiting the plant Acmena Graveolens.

No description available.