First ethnobotanical inventory and phytochemical analysis of plant species used by indigenous people living in the Maromizaha forest, Madagascar
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Madagascar is characterized by one of the highest levels of endemism and biodiversity in the world (Ganzhorn et al., 2001), and more than 90% of its fauna and flora is endemic (Schatz, 2000). This biodiversity hotspot is thought by many to be the world's top conservation priority due to its remarkable species diversity (Mittermeier et al., 2011) and its unique endemism, most of which survives exclusively in forest habitat (Schwitzer et al., 2013, Dufils, 2003).
The country is classified among the “Low Human Development” nations by the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2016), and it is also included in the least 10 developed nations with a Gross Domestic Product of 415.80 USD per capita (www.tradingeconomics.com; 01/03/2018). More than 60% of the population lives in extreme poverty (UNDP, 2016), their subsistence mainly depends on the direct exploitation of natural resources.
The poverty contributes, together with inadequate health facilities and poor sanitary infrastructures, to increase the importance of medicinal plants use as alternative to conventional medicines.
Furthermore, the dependence on natural remedies derived from medicinal plants is extremely important in emerging countries (Novy, 1997), and medicinal plants represent the principal source for primary health care (Razafindraibe et al., 2013). WHO estimated that nearly 80% of the population in these countries depends mainly on traditional medicine for the treatment of ailments (Akerele, 1984).
With a potential represented by more than 12,000 species of vascular plant currently described (Schatz, 2000), it is not surprising that Malagasy flora provides a wide variety of medicinal plants (Rasoanaivo, 1990). Nevertheless, the available information on pharmaceutical properties of Malagasy flora is far from being exhaustive.
Even if previous ethnobotanical surveys on medicinal plants were conducted in Madagascar, few studies focused on the characteristics of an entire area (Randrianarivony et al., 2017, Rabearivony et al., 2015, Rakotoarivelo et al., 2015, Andriamparany et al., 2014, Razafindraibe et al., 2013, Lyon and Hardesty, 2012, Norscia and Borgognini-Tarli, 2006, Novy, 1997, Quansah, 1988), and several regions of Madagascar are still not investigated.
In addition, a limited number of research combined the ethnobotanical characterization together with phytochemical and pharmaceutical properties of the medicinal plant used by a local community (Razafintsalama et al., 2017, Randrianarivelojosia et al., 2003, Rasoanaivo et al., 1993).
This is the case of the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (CAZ), one of the last chains of humid forests, part of the primary rainforests located in the eastern Madagascar which are considered one of the most threatened habitats in the world (Dufils, 2003). In particular, the Maromizaha forest has a pivotal role in the CAZ, due to its key position, the area is a fundamental ecological link among different forest segments (Whitman, 2017).
In order to preserve biodiversity, the Maromizaha New Protected Area (NAP) was established in 2015 (MEEMF Ministry, Contract 2015-783, April 28, 2015) and it is actually included in the Malagasy Protected Area Network (Système des Aires Protégées de Madagascar, SAPM). The area hosts more than 400 plant species (77% are endemics) and more than 170 vertebrate species, among which the lemurs surviving in the primary forest (Bonadonna et al., 2017) are the most characteristic.
Despite its rich ecological heritage, the area is characterized by a widespread poverty, and the access to basic social services such as education and health centers is limited (Ratsimbazafy et al., 2008). Local population comprised six different ethnic groups (Merina, Antandroy, Betsimisaraka, Bezanozano, Betsileo, and Sihanaka), living in the nine villages surrounding the NAP. Their economy is mainly based on traditional agriculture (Randrianarison et al., 2015), and the forest represents the most important source of resources, as firewood, construction material, and medicinal plants collection (Ratsimbazafy et al., 2008).
Starting from these considerations, the main aim of this study was to provide the first ethnobotanical catalogue and phytochemical characterization of the medicinal plants of the Maromizaha forest. Through an interview survey, information on plant use in traditional treatments were reported together with taxonomical and distribution data, in order to highlight the importance of both endemic species and agrobiodiversity for local communities. Moreover, a pool of endemic medicinal species was analyzed, using spectrophotometric, chromatographic and antimicrobial methods, to identify and quantify the phytochemical profile of each species. Finally, the ethnobotanical information was discussed in the light of the phytochemical results, in order to show the potential pharmacological role of traditional treatments.
Section snippets
Study site
The New Protected Area of Maromizaha (18°56′49″ S; 48°27′55″ E; altitudinal variation from 700 m to 1213 m above the sea level; Randrianarison et al., 2015) is located in the Alaotra Mangoro region (Moramanga district), Eastern Madagascar (Fig. 1). The Maromizaha NAP comprises 1880 ha of moist evergreen forest, characterized by a tropical/subtropical climate with an average annual temperature of 18 °C. The average annual rainfall is 51.3 mm, with a maximum of 342.8 mm during the rainy season.
Demographic data of informants
Demographic data (gender, occupation, and age categories) of the informants sampled in the study were reported in Table 2 together with the number of cited species, the number of use-reports, and their frequency. In total, 103 informants were interviewed and divided into three occupation categories: farmers, forest rangers (comprising rangers and field guides), and workers (artisan, retailer, and labourer whose occupation was not directly related with the forest). Five different age categories
Conclusions
In the first ethnobotanical investigation conducted in the Maromizaha forest, 118 plant species (more than 60% of them are endemic to Madagascar) belonging to 57 families were recorded; actually 243 families were described in Madagascar (Callmander et al., 2011), this means that a quarter (23.5%) of the Malagasy botanical families were cited in this study, confirming the high biodiversity of the New Protected Area of Maromizaha, and consequently, the necessity to preserve it.
Moreover, the
Acknowledgements
The present study is the result of a long term joint cooperation between the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science, and the Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (University of Torino), together with other Malagasy and Italian research partners.
The authors thank the local communities and villagers who agreed to participate in this research, the field guides and the field assistants helping during the ethnobotanical survey and the samples collection. We are also grateful
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest.
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