Search results for "ethnobotany"
showing 7 items of 47 documents
The ethnobotany, phytochemistry and biological properties of genus Ferulago – A review
2020
Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance The genus Ferulago, belonging to the Apiaceae family, is found mainly in the Mediterranean area, Southwest and Middle Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa. Since ancient times, species of this genus have been largely employed in traditional medicine for their biological properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, insecticidal, and anti-malaria, cholinesterase inhibition effects, etc. Aims The scope of this paper is to present a comprehensive respect review of this interesting genus including traditional uses, chemical composition of volatile and non-volatile metabolites, and in vitro and in vivo biological properties either util…
Historical Ecology, Archaeology and Biocultural Landscapes: Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to the Long Anthropocene
2022
From the local to the global scale, human impact is the real protagonist of the Anthro- pocene. It is impossible to understand ecosystems and the landscape without considering the long-term processes of anthropic activities. The driving forces in landscape change are strongly related to historical dynamics. Changes in political regimes, social structures, eco- nomic modes of production, cultural and religious influences—which all traditionally fall within the domain of the humanities—are phenomena entangled with many ecological and environmental factors. Thus, understanding landscapes in the Anthropocene is impossible without a cross-disciplinary approach.
From common and used to rare and forgotten: Past and present distribution of the archaeophyte Euphorbia lathyris L. (Euphorbiaceae) in southern Italy…
2019
Our study aimed at clarifying the current and previous occurrence, distribution and status (native vs. introduced) of Euphorbia lathyris L., the caper spurge, in S Italy and Sicily: most of the recent Italian floras and checklists, in fact, do not report this species for this area. To do this, a multi-disciplinary research was carried out taking into account not only botanical but also ethnobotanical and dialectological sources and a survey of the main herbaria of central and southern Italy. Our results point out that E. lathyris was much more frequent, well-known and commonly used in the whole southern Italy and in Sicily until 2-3 centuries ago, and that it probably experienced isolated c…
Ethnobotanical knowledge in some rural communities of northern Sicily (Palermo, Italy)
2018
An ethnobotanical study was carried out to document the uses of wild plants among some local communities of Sicily (southern Italy). We recorded 48 taxa belonging to 45 genera included in 32 families. 30 taxa are used as medicinal plants, 22 taxa as food and 9 for handicraft use. In comparison with other ethnobotanical studies carried out in Sicily and other Italian territories, some uses of the plants reported by the local population in the study area are peculiarities. The analysis of data shows that the level of traditional knowledge on use of plants in province of Palermo is poor, highlighting a considerably advanced state of cultural erosion. The results of our investigation confirm th…
Xanthium strumarium - a potential cheap resource of plant substances for medicinal use
2019
Xanthium strumarium L. (Asteraceae) is an annual herb which reproduces solely by seed. So far its centre of origin was considered Central or South America. Recent archeological research revealed that the burs of X. strumarium were used in Yuergou site (400-200 cal BC) in the Turpan Basin of northwestern China. This plant adventive to Europe reduces germination of various crops and behaves like and aggressive invasive species. X. strumarium is the most frequently recorded plant in the field borders between the crop land and adjacent territories the agricultural areas in Bulgaria. We aim of this study is to reveal the potential of X. strumarium as a cheap source of compounds with valuable pha…
Mid-Holocene forests from Eastern Hungary: New anthracological data
2013
Charcoal remains found in five archaeological sites provided an important source of information about the woody vegetation that developed during the Atlantic period in eastern Hungary. The results are presented jointly since all sites are located in very similar habitats, they reflect Neolithic cultures and present comparable floral compositions. The reconstruction of past forest communities from the Great Hungarian Plain in the Atlantic period is based on pollen analysis and new anthracological data offer significant complementary information to the established pollen sequences. These data were obtained from more than 5000 charcoal fragments in which 28 taxa were identified. The main contr…
Medicinal and aromatic plants in agricultural research, when considering criteria of multifunctionality and sustainability
2022
Over the last twenty years, agriculture has witnessed significant changes in terms of energy requirements, advanced technologies and practices. This is in response to the impacts of crop production on the climate and environment and increasing awareness of the importance of agricultural sustainability through organic farming. Agriculture encompasses complex production systems and certain aspects of multifunctionality and sustainability have become fundamental for these systems. Agricultural activity can provide various functions in agro-ecosystems, such as producing food, managing natural resources, and conserving landscape and plant biodiversity; contributing to the cultural, historical an…