Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal dietary plants used by the Naxi People in Lijiang Area, Northwest Yunnan, China

BACKGROUND: Food and herbal medicinal therapy is an important aspect of Chinese traditional culture and traditional Chinese medicine. The Naxi are indigenous residents of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, and the medicine of the Naxi integrates traditional Chinese, Tibetan, and Shamanic medicinal systems, however, little is known about the medicinal dietary plants used by the Naxi people, or their ethnobotanical knowledge. This is the first study to document the plant species used as medicinal dietary plants by the Naxi of the Lijiang area. METHODS: Ethnobotancial surveys were conducted with 89 informants (35 key informants) from 2012 to 2013. Three different Naxi villages were selected as the study sites. Literature research, participatory investigation, key informant interviews, and group discussions were conducted to document medicinal dietary plants and the parts used, habitat, preparation methods, and function of these plants. The fidelity level (FL) was used to determine the acceptance of these medicinal dietary plants. Voucher specimens were collected for taxonomic identification. RESULTS: Surveys at the study sites found that 41 ethnotaxa corresponded to 55 botanical taxa (species, varieties, or subspecies) belonging to 24 families and 41 genera. Overall, 60 % of documented plants belonged to seven botanical families. The most common families were Compositae (16.4 %) and Rosaceae (10.9 %). Roots (34.1 %) were the most common part used. Wild-gathered (68.3 %), semi-domesticated (17.1 %), and cultivated (14.6 %) were the most common habitats of medicinal dietary plants. Stewing plants with meat was the most common preparation and consumption method. The plants were used to treat 21 major health conditions; alleviating fatigue (42.8 %) was the most common. The maximum FL of 100 was found for 68.3 % of the medicinal dietary plants CONCLUSIONS: The medicinal dietary plants used by the Naxi people are diverse and are used to treat a wide spectrum of body disorders. Further studies focusing on safety, detoxification, and nutritional value of the plants should be conducted to allow them to be used to improve health and prevent diseases in modern society.