Guangxi Zhiwu (Oct 2023)
Ethnobotanical study on Prinsepia utilis and related traditional knowledge with skin care
Abstract
Prinsepia utilis is a perennial deciduous shrub of an edible medicine in the ethnic communities of Northwest Yunnan. It is widely applied in traditional culture, medicine and food in that area. With the development of modern society, P. utilis and its related traditional knowledge face the danger of disappearing. The purpose of this study was to explore the protection and inheritance of resources and related traditional knowledge of P. utilis in native area. Based on ethnobotanical field investigation, the substance basis of the main traditional functions of P. utilis and skin-caring activities were preliminarily studied by using the methods of chemical and pharmacological activity testing of natural drugs. The results were as follows: (1) P. utilis was widely used for fencing protection, wind prevention, soil fixation, the treatment of skin injury, food and other traditional usages in ethnic communities of Northwest Yunnan. (2) Ten individual compounds with skin-caring activities were detected from the extracts of different parts of P. utilis, such as gallic acid, quercetin. (3) The total flavonoid content of the extracts from the leaves of P. utilis was higher than that of the fermentation products and the extracts from the fruit of P. utilis. (4) The fruit oil of P. utilis with the highest frequency of traditional utilization showed great DPPH radical scavenging activity, and the antioxidant activity was different among different producing areas and processes. The results of this study preliminarily confirm the correlation between the substence basis and the related activities of the traditional skin-caring efficacy of P. utilis, and provide a reference for the further research and development of the protection and traditional inheritance of resources and related traditional knowledge of P. utilis.
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