Egyptian Journal of Botany http://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/ 25 T HIS IS the first quantitative ethnobotanical study conducted in the Rashad district, Southern Kordofan, Sudan. The objective was to collect and identify trees and shrubs used by local people for medicinal purposes and summarize local knowledge about traditional herbal medicine. Ethnobotanical data were obtained by conducting several ethnobotanical surveys, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, field observations, inquiries, and Group gatherings from September 2018 to January 2019. Quantitatively, ethnobotanical data were analyzed in terms of use value (UV) and relative frequency of citation (RFC). A total of 56 trees and shrubs used in medicine and belonging to 22 families were listed in this study. The most common families were Fabaceae (14%), Combretaceae (8%), and Malvaceae (5%). In terms of growth form, 35 species (61%) were trees and 21 (39%) were shrubs. Fruits were the most common structures used to prepare herbal medicine (23%) and were usually administered as a powder (13%). The most commonly used species based on UV by the local community in the Rashad area were as follows: Adansonia digitata L. for dysentery diseases, followed by Tamarindus indica L. for treating malaria and fever, Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile for treating enteric worms, Vangueria madagascariensis J. F. Gmel and Guiera senegalensis J. F. Gmel for kidney problems, and Ximenia americana L. for toothaches. This study revealed significant local ethnobotanical knowledge and direct human-plant interactions. Recording indigenous use of woody plants is crucial for identifying potential species for future domestication.

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Mythimna separata Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of the major pests that can cause severe damage to grain crops. The development of low‐toxicity and high‐performance botanical insecticides is becoming the focus of new pesticide research to control M. separata. Tutin, a sesquiterpene lactone compound obtained from Coriaria sinica Maxim, a native Chinese poisonous plant, has antifeedant, absorption, and stomach poisoning against a variety of pests. To understand the toxic effect of tutin on M. separata larvae, we set out to determine their antifeedant, mortality, paralysis, weight change, and to examine the spreading of M. separata hemocytes under different concentrations of tutin treatment. Tissue distribution of the immune‐associated gene growth‐blocking peptide (GBP) and neuroglian peptide (Nrg) was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Furthermore, real‐time quantitative PCR was carried out to determine the expression profiles of GBP and Nrg after different concentrations of tutin stimulation. Our results revealed that tutin exhibited significant antifeedant and insecticidal activities, paralysis, weight loss to M. separata. Besides, tutin significantly influenced on the morphology of hemocytes and enhanced the expression of GBP and Nrg in M. separata.

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