Ethnobotanical study of Hakka traditional medicine in Ganzhou, China and their antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic assessments

Abstract

Background Traditional herbs played a crucial role in the health care of the Hakka people. However, studies to identify these traditional herbs are few. Here we document and assess the potential of these plants for treating microbial infections. Many herbs used by the Hakka people could potentially be a novel medicinal resource. Methods Local herb markets were surveyed via semi-structured interviews, complemented by direct observations to obtain information on herbal usage. For each herb selected for this study, extracts in four different solvents were prepared, and tested for activity against 20 microorganisms, as well as cancerous and noncancerous cells. All data were subjected to cluster analysis to discover relationships among herbs, plant types, administration forms, solvents, microorganisms, cells, etc., with the aim to discern promising herbs for medicine. Results Ninety-seven Hakka herbs in Ganzhou were documented from 93 plants in 62 families; most are used for bathing (97%), or as food, such as tea (32%), soup (12%), etc. Compared with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and Chinese Materia Medica, 24 Hakka medicines use different plant parts, and 5 plants are recorded here for the first time as traditional medicines. The plant parts used were closely related with the life cycle: annual and perennial herbs were normally used as a whole plant, and woody plants as (tender) stem and leaf, indicating a trend to use the parts that are easily collected. Encouragingly, 311 extracts (94%) were active against one or more microorganisms. Most herbs were active against Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus (67%), Listeria innocua (64%), etc. Cytotoxicity was often observed against a tumor cell, but rarely against normal cells. Considering both antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity, many herbs reported in this study show promise as medicine. Conclusion Hakka people commonly use easily-collected plant parts (aerial parts or entire herb) as medicine. External use of decoctions dominated, and may help combating microbial infections. The results offer promising perspectives for further research since little phytopharmacology and phytochemistry has been published to date. Graphical Abstract

Utilization of the Shensheng-Piwen changed medicinal powder extracts combines metal-organic frameworks as an antibacterial agent

“…Medicinal plants are one of the potential sources of natural compounds, and the use of TCM, which is a comprehensive exploration of the functions of a large number of medicinal plants, is well established in the treatment of infectious diseases. Therefore, the in-depth study of TCM prescriptions is a new direction in the search for novel antimicrobial drugs ( Hu et al., 2022 ).…”

Metabolic profiling of Chimonanthus grammatus via UHPLC-HRMS-MS with computer-assisted structure elucidation and its antimicrobial activity

“…Liu (ChG) is from the Calycanthaceae family and only distributed in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China. The local Hakka people have cultivated it for decades and utilized it as a traditional herb with effects on cold, flu, cough, and rheumatic arthritis ( Jiang et al., 2015 ; Hu et al., 2022 ). There is a tradition to put the tender stem and leaves inside fishpond for protecting fish against infections ( Liu et al., 2011 ), indicating the plant should have antimicrobial activities and related active compounds.…”

Fissistigma oldhamii (Hemsl.) Merr.: Ethnomedicinal, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacological Aspects

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