Macrofungi as Medicinal Resources in Uzbekistan: Biodiversity, Ethnomycology, and Ethnomedicinal Practices

Abstract

Interest in edible and medicinal macrofungi is millennial in terms of their uses in health and food products in Central Asia, while interest in inedible and medicinal macrofungi has grown in popularity in recent years. Edible and inedible medicinal basidiomycetes were collected during field surveys from different regions of Uzbekistan. The morphological characters and similarity assessment of rDNA-Internal Transcribed Spacer sequence data were used to measure diversity and habitat associations. A number of 17 species of medicinal macrofungi of ethnomycological and medicinal interest was found associated with 23 species of trees and shrubs belonging to 11 families and 14 genera. Polyporaceae and Hymenochaetaceae were represented by the highest number of species followed by Ganodermataceae, Fomitopsidaceae, Auriculariaceae, Cerrenaceae, Grifolaceae, Phanerochaetaceae, Laetiporaceae, Schizophyllaceae, and Stereaceae. The highest number of medicinal basidiomycete species was reported in the following host genera: Acer, Betula, Celtis, Crataegus, Juglans, Juniperus, Lonicera, Malus, Morus, Platanus, Populus, Prunus, Quercus, and Salix. An updated list of edible and inedible medicinal mushrooms identified in Uzbekistan, their morphological characteristics, and phylogenetic placement are given for the first time. Information is provided on their uses in traditional and modern medicine. Their bioactive compounds and extracts can be applied as medicines, as well as food and cosmetic ingredients.

Exploring biodiversity and ethnobotanical significance of Solanum species in Uzbekistan: unveiling the cultural wealth and ethnopharmacological uses

“…Although traditional medicine in Central Asia has a vast history that dates back many centuries, its most notable era was between the 10th and 11th centuries ( Tayjanov et al, 2021 ; Gafforov et al, 2023 ). Abū-ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn Ibn-ʿAbdallāh Ibn-Sīnā ( Avicenna, 1930 ) (arab.…”

“…Factors that may be anthropogenic, ethnographic, and environmental have been implicated in herb underutilization and under-exploration of plants, algae, and fungi, including animals in Central Asia. Ethnobiological literature on Central Asia is scant, random, limited in scope and fraught with taxonomic inconsistencies ( Khojimatov et al, 2023a ; Gafforov et al, 2023 ). Hence, this study is based on an extant ethnobotanical treatise and aims to represent an integrative knowledge of the beneficial Solanum species of Uzbekistan, their uses in indigent cultures, encompassing a brief phytochemical overview.…”