Study On Traditional Knowledge Associated With Gaultheria In Yunnan,China

The genus Gaultheria belongs to Ericaceae,a group of shrubs producing berry-like capsules,similar to the blueberry(Vaccinium).Gaultheria plants are used worldwide,and they possess significant values in food,medicine,industry,ecology,and horticulture.According to previous studies,Gaultheria plants contained a large amount of wintergreen oil,which possesses high industrial value.They also contain many compounds with bioactivities,like anti-oxidant,anti-inflammatory,and antibacterial activities.Many Gaultheria species are native to China,and they are widely used in folk societies.Based on ethnobotanical and ethnoecological approaches,we have studied the Gaultheria occurring in Yunnan and their associated traditional knowledge through multiple scientific methods.We used bibliometrics methods to investigate the publications about Gaultheria.The result revealed that the publications about Gaultheria is increasing,and the US and Canada are in the lead.Their Gaultheria studies covered different areas,including pharmacology,botany,ecology,micrology,and agriculture.Gaultheria studies in China are still relatively narrowed and basic mainly focused on botanical taxonomy and chemistry.To China,grasping the advantage of rich plant resources,further study,and enhancing achievement transformation are necessarily needed in the future.We selected Yunnan Province for ethnobotanical and ethnoecological investigation.The result showed rich traditional knowledge of Gaultheria plant's application,including food,medicine,gardening,and religion.About the folk taxonomy,local ethnic people have their unique knowledge about Gaultheria classification.This ethnobotanical investigation helped record different traditional uses of Chinese Gaultheria and provided references for Chinese Gaultheria's future application.Fruits from 5 Gaultheria species,including Gaultheria longibracteolata,Gaultheria semi-infera,Gaultheria hookeri,Gaultheria griffithiana,and Gaultheria yunnanensis,have been evaluated by methods of nutrition and metabolomics.G.semi-infera and G.longibracteolata have the best flavor and nutrition value.On the other hand,the G.semi-infera and G.longibracteolata have similar chemical constituents and conclude some promising anti-oxidant compounds,which indicates that these two kinds of fruits could be helpful as a new nutritional food supplement.The whole plants of 9 Gaultheria species occurring in Yunnan have been studied by the metabolomic method.We tentatively identified 11 compounds in the samples.They have all been proved to have good anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.This material basis has partially supported the medicinal property and edible value(like making tea).Based on the semi-quantification of Gaultherin,we found:a)The root of G.yunnanensis has the highest content of Gaultherin,fruit,and the stem are the second and the third,respectively.The leaf has the lowest Gaultherin content.b)By comparing different Gaultheria species,G.yunnanensis has the most Gaultherin,suggesting it has the best anti-inflammatory property.In addition,G.semi-infera,Gaultheria fragrantissima,and G.griffithiana also have high Gaultherin value,especially the G.semi-infera.Further quantification tests are still needed.The PCA analysis showed that Gaultheria praticola has similar chemical constituents to other medicinal species,suggesting it may have similar medicinal properties.However,G.semi-infera' chemicals are quite different,suggesting that its medicinal property needs to be scientifically verified.Based on the OPLS-DA result,we have tentatively identified seven marker compounds,which have all been reported to possess good anti-oxidant andanti-bacterial compounds,and might also support their ethnobotanical information.Both GC-MS and anti-bacterial bioassays are used to study the essential oil extracted from different parts of G.longibracteolata.The GC-MS study showed that oil from different parts of G.longibracteolata was similar,and more than 90%of it was methyl salicylate.The bioassay indicated that the essential has inhibition activity on Escherichia coli,Klebsiella pneumoniae,and Staphylococcus aureus,yet has no inhibition activity on Pseudomonas aeruginosa.As the dominant constituent,methyl salicylate might be the one that contributed the most anti-bacterial activity.This study tells that G.longibracteolata could be an excellent natural wintergreen oil resource and substitute for other wintergreen species.Additionally,this study is the first time on this species.This study is another practice of modern ethnobotanical research,which indicates that Chinese Gaultheria in Southwest China has significant medicinal value,edible value,ornamental value,and religious value.G.longibracteolata can be used as medicine and food and be used in religious activity and has ornamental potential.Local ethnic people have their knowledge of Gaultheria plants,and it has its scientificity.Based on the investigation,Chinese Gaultheria mostly grows wildly and has a rich natural resource.We suggest that more scientific studies on Gaultheria can be practiced to better protect its traditional knowledge and contribute more to local communities.