An ethnopharmacological survey of natural remedies used by the Chinese community in Mauritius

An ethnopharmacological survey of natural remedies used by the Chinese community in

Mauritius

Mohamad Fawzi Mahomoodally;Luviksha Drushilla Muthoorah

【期刊名称】《亚太热带生物医学杂志（英文版）》 【年(卷),期】2014(000)0z1

【摘要】Objective: To collect, preserve and document primary ethnopharmacological information on common natural remedies (NRs) used by the Chinese community to treat and/or manage common diseases in Mauritius, a tropical multicultural island in the Indian Ocean. Methods: Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 52 key Chinese informants using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, namely, the informant consensus factor (FIC), the use value, the fidelity level, the index of agreement on remedies and the relative importance were calculated.Results:constituted the exploited flora and fauna by the Chinese community. Based on the FIC the main categories of plants used were employed against injury and poisons due to external causes (FIC=0.97), diseases of the respiratory system (FIC=0.96), diseases of the eye and adnexa (FIC=0.95), undefined pains or illness (FIC=0.95), diseases during the postpartum period, diseases of the digestive system and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (FIC=0.94 each). For zootherapy, diseases of the