Hindawi Publishing CorporationEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineVolume 2013 Article ID 869176 11 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552013869176

Research ArticleEthnomedicinal Practices for Treating Liver Disorders ofLocal Communities in the Southern Regions of Korea

Hyun Kim and Mi-Jang Song

School of AlternativeMedicine andHealth Science Jeonju University 303 Cheonjam-roWansan-gu Jeonju 560-759 Republic of Korea

Correspondence should be addressed to Hyun Kim hyunkjjackr

Received 6 July 2013 Accepted 30 July 2013

Academic Editor Qing He

Copyright copy 2013 H Kim and M-J Song This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

This study aims to analyze and record ethnomedicinal practices for treating liver disorders of residents living in local communitiesin the southern regions of Korea Data was collected using participant observations and in-depth interviews as the informants alsobecome investigators themselves through attending informal meetings open and group discussions and overt observations withsemistructured questionnaires In this study ethnomedicinal practices for liver ailments were recorded by 1543 informants (362men 1181 women) at 160 sites The kinds of liver disorders treated by ethnomedicinal practices were liver cancer liver cirrhosisjaundice hepatitis fatigue recovery hangovers and liver-related ailments The category with the highest degree of consensus fromthe informants was jaundice (095) and the lowest degree of consensus was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) Accordingto fidelity levels 28 species resulted in fidelity levels of 100 The internetwork analysis was first applied for the interpretation ofethnomedicinal knowledge of a community although it has been strictly used until now for social science in the analysis of socialtrends and phenomena through the interrelationship of specific components

1 Introduction

After the agreement of the Nagoya Protocol a strongerinterest for sharing the ethnomedicinal knowledge of geneticresources and their benefits to the world has occurred [1]Theethnomedicinal practices hold significant value among thetraditional knowledge of the local communities [2] Also eth-nomedicinal practices hold an important position in caringfor health issues in developing countries [3 4] Particularlythe ethnomedicinal practices of regions known for traditionalmedicine include China Tibet and India nations which haveactively utilized these treatments for health concerns

The ethnomedicinal practices of Korea have been contin-uously successful for over 3000 years Korean ethnomedic-inal practices contain not only medicinal practice whichinclude single-medicine proscription herb fomentation herbfumigation and herb ablution but also nonmedicinal prac-tices like acupuncture moxibustion Korean traditional ther-apeutic touch Korean traditional saunas and Korean tradi-tional divination practice These days Korean ethnomedic-inal practices have been restricted to oral transmission

because government policy after theKoreanWar centered onconventional medicine and the Japanese imperialism whichKorea endured from 1919 to 1945 attempted to annihilate itsculture [5]

A scientific investigation of liver disease the first of itskind was conducted on indigenous communities in Uttarak-hand (India) and was related to jaundice research [6] InKorea studies on disease within local communities have beenconducted on three separate occasions by the authors respi-ratory diseases [7] diseases related to digestion [8] and painrelief [9] however this research is the first one to focus strictlyon liver disorders

Our research on liver disorders contains an importantmeaning to first record and analyze the ethnomedicinal pra-ctices of local communities in East Asia including KoreaAdditionally our research newly included the quantitativeanalysis method known as internetwork analysis (INA)which has allowed more information to be attained in regardto ethnomedicinal knowledge

Generally quantitative analysis for ethnomedicinalknowledge of local communities has solely relied on the

2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

KoreaJapan

China

Jeju Island

North Jeolla Province

Jirisan National Park

Gayasan National Park

125∘58

998400E 128∘18

998400E

36∘09

998400E

33∘06

998400E

E

N

W

S

Figure 1 Investigation sites

consensus of the informants and the recorded fidelity levelstherefore a need exists to utilize the internetwork anal-ysis method to consider the traditional ethnographical prop-erties

Particularly a deeper analysis of ethnomedicinal prac-tices in treating specific diseases within the local communi-ties is necessary for obtaining more specific details regardingthe internetwork of the components within ethnomedicinalknowledge

Our research suggests that the applications gained fromutilizing the internetwork analysis (INA) for ethnomedicinalpractices on liver disorders within communities in Korea willresult in further research incorporating INA

2 The Research Area and Method

21 Natural and Social Environment of Research Area Thestudy area consists of the southern region of the Koreanpeninsula and its many islands which lie between 33∘061015840Nto 36∘091015840N latitude and 125∘581015840E to 128∘181015840E (Figure 1) Thetotal population in 2012 of the study area was 5914270The area measures approximately 485 km2 and includes three

provinces 15 cities and 27 counties in its administrative dis-trict [10]The annual precipitation is around 1000sim1850mminwhich the coastal area generally receivesmore rainfall thanthe inland regions The annual average temperature of theinland regions is 138∘C while Jeju Island records 162∘C [11]

22 Research Methods Field investigations were conductedfrom March 2009 to November 2012 Proper data wascollected using participant observations and in-depth inter-views as the informants also become investigators them-selves through attending informal meetings open and groupdiscussions and overt observations with semistructuredquestionnaires [12 13]

The content of the semi-structured questionnaires wascomposed of diverse information regardingmedicinal speciesused to treat liver disorders including local names usedparts ailments methods of preparation manufacturing andadministration dosage and the usable duration regardingeach curable formula [13ndash15]

All specimens were collected during their flowering orfruiting seasons and were organized utilizing the normalspecimen manufacturing method [15 16] The voucher

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3

specimens were deposited for preservation in the herbariumof Jeonju University The precise identification of speciesmentioned by the informants was performed in accordancewith Lee [17] Lee [18] Ahn [19] Lee [20] and Park [21]Scientific names were confirmed by the National Knowledgeand Information System for Biological Species [22] of Korea

23 Quantitative Analysis

231 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The ICFwas used toanalyze the agreement degree of the informantsrsquo knowledgeabout each category of ailments [23 24] The ICF wascalculated using the following formula

ICF =(119899ur minus 119899119905)

(119899ur minus 1) (1)

where 119899ur is the number of use reports of informants for aparticular liver disorder and 119899

119905is the number of species used

by all informants for a particular liver disorder

232 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL was employed to determinethe most important species used for treating certain liverdisorders by the local practitioners and the elderly peopleliving in the study area [13 16 25] The FL was calculatedusing the following formula

FL () = 119873119901times

100

119873

(2)

where 119873119901is the number of informants that mentioned the

specific species used to treat certain disorders and 119873 is thetotal number of the informants who utilized the species asmedicine for treating any given disorder

233 Internetwork Analysis (INA) Internetwork analysisdoes not focus on the independent characteristics of an indi-vidual within the community but it considers the results ofthe interrelationship among each individual of a communityInternetwork analysis has been applied within communitiesto various ethnographical problems including ethnogenesis[26] and obesity [27ndash29] however prior to this research theinternetwork analysis had yet to be applied to ethnomedicinalknowledge includedwith its ethnographical properties in theresults

Our research newly applied this method in order to attainmore internetwork information from the treatment of eth-nomedicinal practices on liver disorders within communitiesin KoreaThe results of the internetwork analysis of disordersand medicinal species were analyzed using UCINET (Ver6460) and NetDraw (Ver 2125) software [30 31]

3 Results and Discussion

31 Demographic Characteristics of the Region All 2069informants were randomly selected at the community hallsthe senior welfare centers and the traditional markets at305 sites Among them ethnomedicinal practices for liverdisorders were recorded by 1543 informants (362 men

Table 1 Demographic characteristics

GenderMale 362 (235)Female 1181 (765)

Age30ndash39 9 (06)40ndash49 4 (03)50ndash59 73 (47)60ndash69 250 (162)70ndash79 707 (458)80ndash89 460 (298)90ndash99 40 (26)

Educational attainmentNever attended school 1127 (730)Attended school for less than 6 years 125 (81)Attended school for 6 years 133 (86)Finished middle school 101 (65)Finished high school 57 (37)

1181 women) at 160 sites (Figure 1) The average age of theinformants was 75 years old with a range in age from 36to 94 with residents living more than 40 years in the studyarea The ethnographical characteristics of the communitiesare summarized in Table 1

Linguistically the inland communities represented vary-ing properties between the eastern andwestern communitiesthe Jirisan axis (1915m) The pronunciation of the two localcommunities depicts dissimilar intonations while the lan-guages of the communities on Jeju Island possess numerousdialects different from the inland communities

In regard to foods the local communities in the east-ern region widely used the seed powder of Zanthoxylumpiperitum (L) DC and the leaves of the Isodon japonicus(Burm) Hara while local communities in the western regiondid not consume these foods Also the food traditions incommunities on Jeju Island are quite diverse from foods of theinland communities in regard to the recipe and ingredients

The local communities in the east are politically conser-vative while local inland communities in the west are moreprogressive However the communities on Jeju Island displayextreme exclusiveness because of their historical experiences

In homes within the inland communities men usuallysupport their families financially while women traditionallysupport their families on Jeju Island

32 Analysis of Ethnomedicinal Practices The kinds of liverdisorders treated by ethnomedicinal practices were livercancer liver cirrhosis jaundice hepatitis fatigue recoveryhangovers and liver-related ailments (Table 2) Also thisstudy area is three times larger than previous research whilethe seven types of liver disorders recorded in this studywere less than previous research which classified 14 typesof respiratory system diseases 29 types of digestive systemdiseases and 23 types of pain relief treatment [7ndash9] Webelieve that the communities of this study area possess

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Inform

ationabou

tethno

medicinalpractic

esrecorded

from

resid

entsin

ther

esearcharea

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Fatig

uerecovery

Plecoglossu

saltivelis

Temminck

etSchlegel

Euneo

1Animal

Who

lepart

Sashim

iOral

1000

Vespamandarin

ia(C

ameron

)Jang

sumalbeol

12Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Vespulaflaviceps

lewisii(Ca

meron

)Ttangbeol

18Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Hangover

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

4Plant

Fruitleaf

Decoctio

nOral

32

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Maceration

Oral

103

Hepatitis

Gan

odermalucid

um(LeyssFr)Ka

rst

Yeon

gjibeoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

10Animal

Larva

Decoctio

nOral

217

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

18Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

225

SophoraflavescensS

olandere

xAito

nGosam

7Plant

Root

Pill

Oral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Jaun

dice

Actin

idiaarguta

(Siebo

ldampZu

cc)

PlanchexMiq

Darae

3Plant

Sap

Raw

Oral

1000

Akebiaquinata(H

outt)D

ecne

Eureum

deon

ggul

4Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

344

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stemw

holepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

decoction

driedgrainsyrup

infusio

njuicepillsim

mer

Oral

756

Artemisiagm

eliniiW

eber

exStechm

Deowijigi

1Plant

Who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

infusio

nOral

1000

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

10Plant

Leaf

Rubbing

Topical

833

AsterscaberTh

unb

Cham

chwi

8Plant

Leaf

Parboiled

Oral

1000

Bombyxmori(Linn

e)Nuenabang

1Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Caragana

sinica

(Bucrsquohoz)R

ehder

Goldamcho

8Plant

Root

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

CatalpaovataGD

onGaeod

ong

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cucumismelo

varmakuw

aMakino

Cham

oe19

Plant

Fruitpedu

ncle

Drie

dpo

wder

Topical

1000

Equu

scaballusL

inn

Mal

8Animal

Hidemeat

Infusio

nraw

Oral

1000

Fallopiajaponica

(Hou

tt)R

onseDecr

Hojanggeun

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Gloydius

blom

hoffiibrevicaud

usStejneger

Salm

osa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Jaun

dice

Gloydius

saxatilisEm

eliano

vKkachisa

lmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Gloydius

ussurie

nsisEm

eliano

vSo

esalmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

31Plant

Maltseed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

etea

Oral

660

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i3

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

ddissolution

maceration

roast

Oral

750

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

16Plant

Aeria

lpart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

einfusio

njuice

pilltea

Oral

800

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

8Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stem

Season

edcooked

vegetables

juice

Oral

205

Oryza

sativaL

Byeo

10Plant

Seed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

Pelodiscus

sinensis

Wiegm

ann

Jara

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

3Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

Oral

65

Sasa

borealis(H

ack)M

akino

Joritdae

3Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Liverc

ancer

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i3

Animal

Larva

Drie

dinfusio

npillpo

wder

steam

Oral

200

Breeasegeta

(Willd)K

itamfsegeta

Jobaengi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Bupleurum

falca

tum

var

scorzoneraefo

lium

(Willd)L

edeb

Cham

siho

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

pillpo

wdersim

mer

Oral

385

Cirsium

japonicum

varmaackii

(Maxim

)Matsum

Eong

geon

gkwi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

200

Form

icayesse

nsisWheeler

Bulgaemi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

1000

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

111

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erDrie

dmixed

inliq

uor

Oral

500

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

109

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

385

Rhododendron

mucronu

latum

Turcz

varmucronu

latum

Jindallae

2Plant

Flow

erFerm

entatio

nOral

1000

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilanL

Koch

Jine

2Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

333

Liverc

irrho

sis

Bupleurum

falca

tum

LSiho

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Cryptotympana

dubia(H

aupt)

Malmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

200

Graptopsaltrianigrofuscata

(Motschu

lsky)

Yujim

aemi

3Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Leptosem

iatakanonis(Matsumura)

Soyosanm

aemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Meim

unaopalifera

(Walker)

Aemaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

2Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juice

Oral

51

Oncotym

pana

fuscata(D

istant)

Cham

maemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Platypleu

rakaem

pferi(Fabricius)

Teolmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

87

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

333

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Acertegm

entosum

Maxim

Sang

yeoreumnamu

3Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

Adenocau

lonhimalaicum

Edgew

Myeolgachi

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i12

Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Diss

olution

driedextractio

ninfusio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

roastsim

mer

Oral

800

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

111Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

grain

syrupinfusio

njuicepill

simmer

Oral

244

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

167

Canislupus

familiarisLinn

Gae

1Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

1000

Capsellabursapastoris

(L)

LWM

edicus

Naeng

i24

Plant

Who

lepart

Juiceseason

edcooked

vegetablessou

pOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Citru

sjun

osSieboldex

Tanaka

Yujanamu

6Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Citru

snatsudaidaiHayata

Hagyul

6Plant

Fruit

Maceration

Oral

1000

Citru

stenuissimaTanaka

Dangyujanam

u10

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

KoreaJapan

China

Jeju Island

North Jeolla Province

Jirisan National Park

Gayasan National Park

125∘58

998400E 128∘18

998400E

36∘09

998400E

33∘06

998400E

E

N

W

S

Figure 1 Investigation sites

consensus of the informants and the recorded fidelity levelstherefore a need exists to utilize the internetwork anal-ysis method to consider the traditional ethnographical prop-erties

Particularly a deeper analysis of ethnomedicinal prac-tices in treating specific diseases within the local communi-ties is necessary for obtaining more specific details regardingthe internetwork of the components within ethnomedicinalknowledge

Our research suggests that the applications gained fromutilizing the internetwork analysis (INA) for ethnomedicinalpractices on liver disorders within communities in Korea willresult in further research incorporating INA

2 The Research Area and Method

21 Natural and Social Environment of Research Area Thestudy area consists of the southern region of the Koreanpeninsula and its many islands which lie between 33∘061015840Nto 36∘091015840N latitude and 125∘581015840E to 128∘181015840E (Figure 1) Thetotal population in 2012 of the study area was 5914270The area measures approximately 485 km2 and includes three

provinces 15 cities and 27 counties in its administrative dis-trict [10]The annual precipitation is around 1000sim1850mminwhich the coastal area generally receivesmore rainfall thanthe inland regions The annual average temperature of theinland regions is 138∘C while Jeju Island records 162∘C [11]

22 Research Methods Field investigations were conductedfrom March 2009 to November 2012 Proper data wascollected using participant observations and in-depth inter-views as the informants also become investigators them-selves through attending informal meetings open and groupdiscussions and overt observations with semistructuredquestionnaires [12 13]

The content of the semi-structured questionnaires wascomposed of diverse information regardingmedicinal speciesused to treat liver disorders including local names usedparts ailments methods of preparation manufacturing andadministration dosage and the usable duration regardingeach curable formula [13ndash15]

All specimens were collected during their flowering orfruiting seasons and were organized utilizing the normalspecimen manufacturing method [15 16] The voucher

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3

specimens were deposited for preservation in the herbariumof Jeonju University The precise identification of speciesmentioned by the informants was performed in accordancewith Lee [17] Lee [18] Ahn [19] Lee [20] and Park [21]Scientific names were confirmed by the National Knowledgeand Information System for Biological Species [22] of Korea

23 Quantitative Analysis

231 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The ICFwas used toanalyze the agreement degree of the informantsrsquo knowledgeabout each category of ailments [23 24] The ICF wascalculated using the following formula

ICF =(119899ur minus 119899119905)

(119899ur minus 1) (1)

where 119899ur is the number of use reports of informants for aparticular liver disorder and 119899

119905is the number of species used

by all informants for a particular liver disorder

232 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL was employed to determinethe most important species used for treating certain liverdisorders by the local practitioners and the elderly peopleliving in the study area [13 16 25] The FL was calculatedusing the following formula

FL () = 119873119901times

100

119873

(2)

where 119873119901is the number of informants that mentioned the

specific species used to treat certain disorders and 119873 is thetotal number of the informants who utilized the species asmedicine for treating any given disorder

233 Internetwork Analysis (INA) Internetwork analysisdoes not focus on the independent characteristics of an indi-vidual within the community but it considers the results ofthe interrelationship among each individual of a communityInternetwork analysis has been applied within communitiesto various ethnographical problems including ethnogenesis[26] and obesity [27ndash29] however prior to this research theinternetwork analysis had yet to be applied to ethnomedicinalknowledge includedwith its ethnographical properties in theresults

Our research newly applied this method in order to attainmore internetwork information from the treatment of eth-nomedicinal practices on liver disorders within communitiesin KoreaThe results of the internetwork analysis of disordersand medicinal species were analyzed using UCINET (Ver6460) and NetDraw (Ver 2125) software [30 31]

3 Results and Discussion

31 Demographic Characteristics of the Region All 2069informants were randomly selected at the community hallsthe senior welfare centers and the traditional markets at305 sites Among them ethnomedicinal practices for liverdisorders were recorded by 1543 informants (362 men

Table 1 Demographic characteristics

GenderMale 362 (235)Female 1181 (765)

Age30ndash39 9 (06)40ndash49 4 (03)50ndash59 73 (47)60ndash69 250 (162)70ndash79 707 (458)80ndash89 460 (298)90ndash99 40 (26)

Educational attainmentNever attended school 1127 (730)Attended school for less than 6 years 125 (81)Attended school for 6 years 133 (86)Finished middle school 101 (65)Finished high school 57 (37)

1181 women) at 160 sites (Figure 1) The average age of theinformants was 75 years old with a range in age from 36to 94 with residents living more than 40 years in the studyarea The ethnographical characteristics of the communitiesare summarized in Table 1

Linguistically the inland communities represented vary-ing properties between the eastern andwestern communitiesthe Jirisan axis (1915m) The pronunciation of the two localcommunities depicts dissimilar intonations while the lan-guages of the communities on Jeju Island possess numerousdialects different from the inland communities

In regard to foods the local communities in the east-ern region widely used the seed powder of Zanthoxylumpiperitum (L) DC and the leaves of the Isodon japonicus(Burm) Hara while local communities in the western regiondid not consume these foods Also the food traditions incommunities on Jeju Island are quite diverse from foods of theinland communities in regard to the recipe and ingredients

The local communities in the east are politically conser-vative while local inland communities in the west are moreprogressive However the communities on Jeju Island displayextreme exclusiveness because of their historical experiences

In homes within the inland communities men usuallysupport their families financially while women traditionallysupport their families on Jeju Island

32 Analysis of Ethnomedicinal Practices The kinds of liverdisorders treated by ethnomedicinal practices were livercancer liver cirrhosis jaundice hepatitis fatigue recoveryhangovers and liver-related ailments (Table 2) Also thisstudy area is three times larger than previous research whilethe seven types of liver disorders recorded in this studywere less than previous research which classified 14 typesof respiratory system diseases 29 types of digestive systemdiseases and 23 types of pain relief treatment [7ndash9] Webelieve that the communities of this study area possess

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Inform

ationabou

tethno

medicinalpractic

esrecorded

from

resid

entsin

ther

esearcharea

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Fatig

uerecovery

Plecoglossu

saltivelis

Temminck

etSchlegel

Euneo

1Animal

Who

lepart

Sashim

iOral

1000

Vespamandarin

ia(C

ameron

)Jang

sumalbeol

12Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Vespulaflaviceps

lewisii(Ca

meron

)Ttangbeol

18Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Hangover

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

4Plant

Fruitleaf

Decoctio

nOral

32

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Maceration

Oral

103

Hepatitis

Gan

odermalucid

um(LeyssFr)Ka

rst

Yeon

gjibeoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

10Animal

Larva

Decoctio

nOral

217

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

18Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

225

SophoraflavescensS

olandere

xAito

nGosam

7Plant

Root

Pill

Oral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Jaun

dice

Actin

idiaarguta

(Siebo

ldampZu

cc)

PlanchexMiq

Darae

3Plant

Sap

Raw

Oral

1000

Akebiaquinata(H

outt)D

ecne

Eureum

deon

ggul

4Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

344

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stemw

holepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

decoction

driedgrainsyrup

infusio

njuicepillsim

mer

Oral

756

Artemisiagm

eliniiW

eber

exStechm

Deowijigi

1Plant

Who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

infusio

nOral

1000

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

10Plant

Leaf

Rubbing

Topical

833

AsterscaberTh

unb

Cham

chwi

8Plant

Leaf

Parboiled

Oral

1000

Bombyxmori(Linn

e)Nuenabang

1Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Caragana

sinica

(Bucrsquohoz)R

ehder

Goldamcho

8Plant

Root

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

CatalpaovataGD

onGaeod

ong

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cucumismelo

varmakuw

aMakino

Cham

oe19

Plant

Fruitpedu

ncle

Drie

dpo

wder

Topical

1000

Equu

scaballusL

inn

Mal

8Animal

Hidemeat

Infusio

nraw

Oral

1000

Fallopiajaponica

(Hou

tt)R

onseDecr

Hojanggeun

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Gloydius

blom

hoffiibrevicaud

usStejneger

Salm

osa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Jaun

dice

Gloydius

saxatilisEm

eliano

vKkachisa

lmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Gloydius

ussurie

nsisEm

eliano

vSo

esalmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

31Plant

Maltseed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

etea

Oral

660

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i3

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

ddissolution

maceration

roast

Oral

750

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

16Plant

Aeria

lpart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

einfusio

njuice

pilltea

Oral

800

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

8Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stem

Season

edcooked

vegetables

juice

Oral

205

Oryza

sativaL

Byeo

10Plant

Seed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

Pelodiscus

sinensis

Wiegm

ann

Jara

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

3Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

Oral

65

Sasa

borealis(H

ack)M

akino

Joritdae

3Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Liverc

ancer

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i3

Animal

Larva

Drie

dinfusio

npillpo

wder

steam

Oral

200

Breeasegeta

(Willd)K

itamfsegeta

Jobaengi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Bupleurum

falca

tum

var

scorzoneraefo

lium

(Willd)L

edeb

Cham

siho

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

pillpo

wdersim

mer

Oral

385

Cirsium

japonicum

varmaackii

(Maxim

)Matsum

Eong

geon

gkwi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

200

Form

icayesse

nsisWheeler

Bulgaemi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

1000

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

111

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erDrie

dmixed

inliq

uor

Oral

500

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

109

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

385

Rhododendron

mucronu

latum

Turcz

varmucronu

latum

Jindallae

2Plant

Flow

erFerm

entatio

nOral

1000

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilanL

Koch

Jine

2Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

333

Liverc

irrho

sis

Bupleurum

falca

tum

LSiho

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Cryptotympana

dubia(H

aupt)

Malmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

200

Graptopsaltrianigrofuscata

(Motschu

lsky)

Yujim

aemi

3Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Leptosem

iatakanonis(Matsumura)

Soyosanm

aemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Meim

unaopalifera

(Walker)

Aemaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

2Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juice

Oral

51

Oncotym

pana

fuscata(D

istant)

Cham

maemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Platypleu

rakaem

pferi(Fabricius)

Teolmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

87

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

333

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Acertegm

entosum

Maxim

Sang

yeoreumnamu

3Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

Adenocau

lonhimalaicum

Edgew

Myeolgachi

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i12

Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Diss

olution

driedextractio

ninfusio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

roastsim

mer

Oral

800

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

111Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

grain

syrupinfusio

njuicepill

simmer

Oral

244

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

167

Canislupus

familiarisLinn

Gae

1Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

1000

Capsellabursapastoris

(L)

LWM

edicus

Naeng

i24

Plant

Who

lepart

Juiceseason

edcooked

vegetablessou

pOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Citru

sjun

osSieboldex

Tanaka

Yujanamu

6Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Citru

snatsudaidaiHayata

Hagyul

6Plant

Fruit

Maceration

Oral

1000

Citru

stenuissimaTanaka

Dangyujanam

u10

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3

specimens were deposited for preservation in the herbariumof Jeonju University The precise identification of speciesmentioned by the informants was performed in accordancewith Lee [17] Lee [18] Ahn [19] Lee [20] and Park [21]Scientific names were confirmed by the National Knowledgeand Information System for Biological Species [22] of Korea

23 Quantitative Analysis

231 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The ICFwas used toanalyze the agreement degree of the informantsrsquo knowledgeabout each category of ailments [23 24] The ICF wascalculated using the following formula

ICF =(119899ur minus 119899119905)

(119899ur minus 1) (1)

where 119899ur is the number of use reports of informants for aparticular liver disorder and 119899

119905is the number of species used

by all informants for a particular liver disorder

232 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL was employed to determinethe most important species used for treating certain liverdisorders by the local practitioners and the elderly peopleliving in the study area [13 16 25] The FL was calculatedusing the following formula

FL () = 119873119901times

100

119873

(2)

where 119873119901is the number of informants that mentioned the

specific species used to treat certain disorders and 119873 is thetotal number of the informants who utilized the species asmedicine for treating any given disorder

233 Internetwork Analysis (INA) Internetwork analysisdoes not focus on the independent characteristics of an indi-vidual within the community but it considers the results ofthe interrelationship among each individual of a communityInternetwork analysis has been applied within communitiesto various ethnographical problems including ethnogenesis[26] and obesity [27ndash29] however prior to this research theinternetwork analysis had yet to be applied to ethnomedicinalknowledge includedwith its ethnographical properties in theresults

Our research newly applied this method in order to attainmore internetwork information from the treatment of eth-nomedicinal practices on liver disorders within communitiesin KoreaThe results of the internetwork analysis of disordersand medicinal species were analyzed using UCINET (Ver6460) and NetDraw (Ver 2125) software [30 31]

3 Results and Discussion

31 Demographic Characteristics of the Region All 2069informants were randomly selected at the community hallsthe senior welfare centers and the traditional markets at305 sites Among them ethnomedicinal practices for liverdisorders were recorded by 1543 informants (362 men

Table 1 Demographic characteristics

GenderMale 362 (235)Female 1181 (765)

Age30ndash39 9 (06)40ndash49 4 (03)50ndash59 73 (47)60ndash69 250 (162)70ndash79 707 (458)80ndash89 460 (298)90ndash99 40 (26)

Educational attainmentNever attended school 1127 (730)Attended school for less than 6 years 125 (81)Attended school for 6 years 133 (86)Finished middle school 101 (65)Finished high school 57 (37)

1181 women) at 160 sites (Figure 1) The average age of theinformants was 75 years old with a range in age from 36to 94 with residents living more than 40 years in the studyarea The ethnographical characteristics of the communitiesare summarized in Table 1

Linguistically the inland communities represented vary-ing properties between the eastern andwestern communitiesthe Jirisan axis (1915m) The pronunciation of the two localcommunities depicts dissimilar intonations while the lan-guages of the communities on Jeju Island possess numerousdialects different from the inland communities

In regard to foods the local communities in the east-ern region widely used the seed powder of Zanthoxylumpiperitum (L) DC and the leaves of the Isodon japonicus(Burm) Hara while local communities in the western regiondid not consume these foods Also the food traditions incommunities on Jeju Island are quite diverse from foods of theinland communities in regard to the recipe and ingredients

The local communities in the east are politically conser-vative while local inland communities in the west are moreprogressive However the communities on Jeju Island displayextreme exclusiveness because of their historical experiences

In homes within the inland communities men usuallysupport their families financially while women traditionallysupport their families on Jeju Island

32 Analysis of Ethnomedicinal Practices The kinds of liverdisorders treated by ethnomedicinal practices were livercancer liver cirrhosis jaundice hepatitis fatigue recoveryhangovers and liver-related ailments (Table 2) Also thisstudy area is three times larger than previous research whilethe seven types of liver disorders recorded in this studywere less than previous research which classified 14 typesof respiratory system diseases 29 types of digestive systemdiseases and 23 types of pain relief treatment [7ndash9] Webelieve that the communities of this study area possess

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Inform

ationabou

tethno

medicinalpractic

esrecorded

from

resid

entsin

ther

esearcharea

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Fatig

uerecovery

Plecoglossu

saltivelis

Temminck

etSchlegel

Euneo

1Animal

Who

lepart

Sashim

iOral

1000

Vespamandarin

ia(C

ameron

)Jang

sumalbeol

12Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Vespulaflaviceps

lewisii(Ca

meron

)Ttangbeol

18Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Hangover

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

4Plant

Fruitleaf

Decoctio

nOral

32

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Maceration

Oral

103

Hepatitis

Gan

odermalucid

um(LeyssFr)Ka

rst

Yeon

gjibeoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

10Animal

Larva

Decoctio

nOral

217

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

18Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

225

SophoraflavescensS

olandere

xAito

nGosam

7Plant

Root

Pill

Oral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Jaun

dice

Actin

idiaarguta

(Siebo

ldampZu

cc)

PlanchexMiq

Darae

3Plant

Sap

Raw

Oral

1000

Akebiaquinata(H

outt)D

ecne

Eureum

deon

ggul

4Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

344

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stemw

holepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

decoction

driedgrainsyrup

infusio

njuicepillsim

mer

Oral

756

Artemisiagm

eliniiW

eber

exStechm

Deowijigi

1Plant

Who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

infusio

nOral

1000

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

10Plant

Leaf

Rubbing

Topical

833

AsterscaberTh

unb

Cham

chwi

8Plant

Leaf

Parboiled

Oral

1000

Bombyxmori(Linn

e)Nuenabang

1Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Caragana

sinica

(Bucrsquohoz)R

ehder

Goldamcho

8Plant

Root

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

CatalpaovataGD

onGaeod

ong

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cucumismelo

varmakuw

aMakino

Cham

oe19

Plant

Fruitpedu

ncle

Drie

dpo

wder

Topical

1000

Equu

scaballusL

inn

Mal

8Animal

Hidemeat

Infusio

nraw

Oral

1000

Fallopiajaponica

(Hou

tt)R

onseDecr

Hojanggeun

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Gloydius

blom

hoffiibrevicaud

usStejneger

Salm

osa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Jaun

dice

Gloydius

saxatilisEm

eliano

vKkachisa

lmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Gloydius

ussurie

nsisEm

eliano

vSo

esalmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

31Plant

Maltseed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

etea

Oral

660

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i3

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

ddissolution

maceration

roast

Oral

750

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

16Plant

Aeria

lpart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

einfusio

njuice

pilltea

Oral

800

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

8Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stem

Season

edcooked

vegetables

juice

Oral

205

Oryza

sativaL

Byeo

10Plant

Seed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

Pelodiscus

sinensis

Wiegm

ann

Jara

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

3Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

Oral

65

Sasa

borealis(H

ack)M

akino

Joritdae

3Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Liverc

ancer

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i3

Animal

Larva

Drie

dinfusio

npillpo

wder

steam

Oral

200

Breeasegeta

(Willd)K

itamfsegeta

Jobaengi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Bupleurum

falca

tum

var

scorzoneraefo

lium

(Willd)L

edeb

Cham

siho

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

pillpo

wdersim

mer

Oral

385

Cirsium

japonicum

varmaackii

(Maxim

)Matsum

Eong

geon

gkwi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

200

Form

icayesse

nsisWheeler

Bulgaemi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

1000

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

111

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erDrie

dmixed

inliq

uor

Oral

500

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

109

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

385

Rhododendron

mucronu

latum

Turcz

varmucronu

latum

Jindallae

2Plant

Flow

erFerm

entatio

nOral

1000

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilanL

Koch

Jine

2Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

333

Liverc

irrho

sis

Bupleurum

falca

tum

LSiho

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Cryptotympana

dubia(H

aupt)

Malmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

200

Graptopsaltrianigrofuscata

(Motschu

lsky)

Yujim

aemi

3Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Leptosem

iatakanonis(Matsumura)

Soyosanm

aemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Meim

unaopalifera

(Walker)

Aemaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

2Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juice

Oral

51

Oncotym

pana

fuscata(D

istant)

Cham

maemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Platypleu

rakaem

pferi(Fabricius)

Teolmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

87

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

333

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Acertegm

entosum

Maxim

Sang

yeoreumnamu

3Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

Adenocau

lonhimalaicum

Edgew

Myeolgachi

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i12

Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Diss

olution

driedextractio

ninfusio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

roastsim

mer

Oral

800

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

111Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

grain

syrupinfusio

njuicepill

simmer

Oral

244

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

167

Canislupus

familiarisLinn

Gae

1Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

1000

Capsellabursapastoris

(L)

LWM

edicus

Naeng

i24

Plant

Who

lepart

Juiceseason

edcooked

vegetablessou

pOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Citru

sjun

osSieboldex

Tanaka

Yujanamu

6Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Citru

snatsudaidaiHayata

Hagyul

6Plant

Fruit

Maceration

Oral

1000

Citru

stenuissimaTanaka

Dangyujanam

u10

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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OncologyJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

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PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

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Diabetes ResearchJournal of

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Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Inform

ationabou

tethno

medicinalpractic

esrecorded

from

resid

entsin

ther

esearcharea

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Fatig

uerecovery

Plecoglossu

saltivelis

Temminck

etSchlegel

Euneo

1Animal

Who

lepart

Sashim

iOral

1000

Vespamandarin

ia(C

ameron

)Jang

sumalbeol

12Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Vespulaflaviceps

lewisii(Ca

meron

)Ttangbeol

18Animal

Hiveim

ago

larva

Diss

olution

Oral

1000

Hangover

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

4Plant

Fruitleaf

Decoctio

nOral

32

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Maceration

Oral

103

Hepatitis

Gan

odermalucid

um(LeyssFr)Ka

rst

Yeon

gjibeoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

10Animal

Larva

Decoctio

nOral

217

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

18Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

225

SophoraflavescensS

olandere

xAito

nGosam

7Plant

Root

Pill

Oral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Jaun

dice

Actin

idiaarguta

(Siebo

ldampZu

cc)

PlanchexMiq

Darae

3Plant

Sap

Raw

Oral

1000

Akebiaquinata(H

outt)D

ecne

Eureum

deon

ggul

4Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

344

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stemw

holepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

decoction

driedgrainsyrup

infusio

njuicepillsim

mer

Oral

756

Artemisiagm

eliniiW

eber

exStechm

Deowijigi

1Plant

Who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

ebrew

ing

infusio

nOral

1000

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

10Plant

Leaf

Rubbing

Topical

833

AsterscaberTh

unb

Cham

chwi

8Plant

Leaf

Parboiled

Oral

1000

Bombyxmori(Linn

e)Nuenabang

1Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Caragana

sinica

(Bucrsquohoz)R

ehder

Goldamcho

8Plant

Root

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

CatalpaovataGD

onGaeod

ong

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cucumismelo

varmakuw

aMakino

Cham

oe19

Plant

Fruitpedu

ncle

Drie

dpo

wder

Topical

1000

Equu

scaballusL

inn

Mal

8Animal

Hidemeat

Infusio

nraw

Oral

1000

Fallopiajaponica

(Hou

tt)R

onseDecr

Hojanggeun

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Gloydius

blom

hoffiibrevicaud

usStejneger

Salm

osa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Jaun

dice

Gloydius

saxatilisEm

eliano

vKkachisa

lmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Gloydius

ussurie

nsisEm

eliano

vSo

esalmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

31Plant

Maltseed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

etea

Oral

660

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i3

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

ddissolution

maceration

roast

Oral

750

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

16Plant

Aeria

lpart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

einfusio

njuice

pilltea

Oral

800

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

8Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stem

Season

edcooked

vegetables

juice

Oral

205

Oryza

sativaL

Byeo

10Plant

Seed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

Pelodiscus

sinensis

Wiegm

ann

Jara

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

3Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

Oral

65

Sasa

borealis(H

ack)M

akino

Joritdae

3Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Liverc

ancer

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i3

Animal

Larva

Drie

dinfusio

npillpo

wder

steam

Oral

200

Breeasegeta

(Willd)K

itamfsegeta

Jobaengi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Bupleurum

falca

tum

var

scorzoneraefo

lium

(Willd)L

edeb

Cham

siho

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

pillpo

wdersim

mer

Oral

385

Cirsium

japonicum

varmaackii

(Maxim

)Matsum

Eong

geon

gkwi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

200

Form

icayesse

nsisWheeler

Bulgaemi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

1000

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

111

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erDrie

dmixed

inliq

uor

Oral

500

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

109

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

385

Rhododendron

mucronu

latum

Turcz

varmucronu

latum

Jindallae

2Plant

Flow

erFerm

entatio

nOral

1000

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilanL

Koch

Jine

2Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

333

Liverc

irrho

sis

Bupleurum

falca

tum

LSiho

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Cryptotympana

dubia(H

aupt)

Malmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

200

Graptopsaltrianigrofuscata

(Motschu

lsky)

Yujim

aemi

3Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Leptosem

iatakanonis(Matsumura)

Soyosanm

aemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Meim

unaopalifera

(Walker)

Aemaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

2Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juice

Oral

51

Oncotym

pana

fuscata(D

istant)

Cham

maemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Platypleu

rakaem

pferi(Fabricius)

Teolmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

87

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

333

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Acertegm

entosum

Maxim

Sang

yeoreumnamu

3Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

Adenocau

lonhimalaicum

Edgew

Myeolgachi

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i12

Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Diss

olution

driedextractio

ninfusio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

roastsim

mer

Oral

800

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

111Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

grain

syrupinfusio

njuicepill

simmer

Oral

244

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

167

Canislupus

familiarisLinn

Gae

1Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

1000

Capsellabursapastoris

(L)

LWM

edicus

Naeng

i24

Plant

Who

lepart

Juiceseason

edcooked

vegetablessou

pOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Citru

sjun

osSieboldex

Tanaka

Yujanamu

6Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Citru

snatsudaidaiHayata

Hagyul

6Plant

Fruit

Maceration

Oral

1000

Citru

stenuissimaTanaka

Dangyujanam

u10

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Jaun

dice

Gloydius

saxatilisEm

eliano

vKkachisa

lmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Gloydius

ussurie

nsisEm

eliano

vSo

esalmosa

1Animal

Who

lepart

Raw

Oral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

31Plant

Maltseed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

etea

Oral

660

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i3

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

ddissolution

maceration

roast

Oral

750

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

16Plant

Aeria

lpart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

einfusio

njuice

pilltea

Oral

800

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

8Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

stem

Season

edcooked

vegetables

juice

Oral

205

Oryza

sativaL

Byeo

10Plant

Seed

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

eOral

1000

Pelodiscus

sinensis

Wiegm

ann

Jara

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Plantago

asiaticaL

Jilgyeong

i2

Plant

Leaf

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

3Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

Oral

65

Sasa

borealis(H

ack)M

akino

Joritdae

3Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Violamandshu

ricaWB

ecker

Jebikkot

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

500

Liverc

ancer

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i3

Animal

Larva

Drie

dinfusio

npillpo

wder

steam

Oral

200

Breeasegeta

(Willd)K

itamfsegeta

Jobaengi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Bupleurum

falca

tum

var

scorzoneraefo

lium

(Willd)L

edeb

Cham

siho

2Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

pillpo

wdersim

mer

Oral

385

Cirsium

japonicum

varmaackii

(Maxim

)Matsum

Eong

geon

gkwi

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

200

Form

icayesse

nsisWheeler

Bulgaemi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

1000

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

1Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

111

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erDrie

dmixed

inliq

uor

Oral

500

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

109

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

5Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dinfusio

npanb

roiled

powderpillsim

mer

Oral

385

Rhododendron

mucronu

latum

Turcz

varmucronu

latum

Jindallae

2Plant

Flow

erFerm

entatio

nOral

1000

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilanL

Koch

Jine

2Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

333

Liverc

irrho

sis

Bupleurum

falca

tum

LSiho

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Cryptotympana

dubia(H

aupt)

Malmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

200

Graptopsaltrianigrofuscata

(Motschu

lsky)

Yujim

aemi

3Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Leptosem

iatakanonis(Matsumura)

Soyosanm

aemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Meim

unaopalifera

(Walker)

Aemaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

2Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juice

Oral

51

Oncotym

pana

fuscata(D

istant)

Cham

maemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Platypleu

rakaem

pferi(Fabricius)

Teolmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

87

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

333

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Acertegm

entosum

Maxim

Sang

yeoreumnamu

3Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

Adenocau

lonhimalaicum

Edgew

Myeolgachi

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i12

Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Diss

olution

driedextractio

ninfusio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

roastsim

mer

Oral

800

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

111Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

grain

syrupinfusio

njuicepill

simmer

Oral

244

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

167

Canislupus

familiarisLinn

Gae

1Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

1000

Capsellabursapastoris

(L)

LWM

edicus

Naeng

i24

Plant

Who

lepart

Juiceseason

edcooked

vegetablessou

pOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Citru

sjun

osSieboldex

Tanaka

Yujanamu

6Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Citru

snatsudaidaiHayata

Hagyul

6Plant

Fruit

Maceration

Oral

1000

Citru

stenuissimaTanaka

Dangyujanam

u10

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilanL

Koch

Jine

2Animal

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nsim

mer

Oral

333

Liverc

irrho

sis

Bupleurum

falca

tum

LSiho

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Cryptotympana

dubia(H

aupt)

Malmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

1Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

200

Graptopsaltrianigrofuscata

(Motschu

lsky)

Yujim

aemi

3Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Leptosem

iatakanonis(Matsumura)

Soyosanm

aemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Meim

unaopalifera

(Walker)

Aemaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

2Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juice

Oral

51

Oncotym

pana

fuscata(D

istant)

Cham

maemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Platypleu

rakaem

pferi(Fabricius)

Teolmaemi

2Animal

Larva

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

87

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Drie

dpo

wderpill

Oral

333

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Acertegm

entosum

Maxim

Sang

yeoreumnamu

3Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

Adenocau

lonhimalaicum

Edgew

Myeolgachi

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Allomyrinadichotom

a(Linne)

Jang

supu

ngdeng

i12

Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Diss

olution

driedextractio

ninfusio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

roastsim

mer

Oral

800

Artemisiacapillaris

Thun

bSacheolssuk

111Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

grain

syrupinfusio

njuicepill

simmer

Oral

244

Artemisiaprinceps

Pamp

Ssuk

2Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

167

Canislupus

familiarisLinn

Gae

1Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

1000

Capsellabursapastoris

(L)

LWM

edicus

Naeng

i24

Plant

Who

lepart

Juiceseason

edcooked

vegetablessou

pOral

1000

Cetoniapilifera(M

otschu

lsky)

Kkonm

uji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Citru

sjun

osSieboldex

Tanaka

Yujanamu

6Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Citru

snatsudaidaiHayata

Hagyul

6Plant

Fruit

Maceration

Oral

1000

Citru

stenuissimaTanaka

Dangyujanam

u10

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Corbicu

la(Corbicula)japonica

Prim

eIlb

onjaecheop

8Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Cudraniatricuspidata(C

arr)

Bureau

exLavallee

Kku

jippo

ngnamu

43Plant

Barkstem

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

infusio

nOral

1000

Dendranthem

aindicum

(L)DesMou

lGam

guk

3Plant

Flow

erDecoctio

nOral

1000

Dendropanax

morbifer

usHL

ev

Hwangchillamu

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Duchesnea

indica

(And

r)Fo

cke

Baem

ttalgi

2Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Eleutherococcussessiliflorus

(Rup

ramp

Maxim

)SYHu

Ogalpinam

u19

Plant

Fruitste

mEx

tractio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Equisetum

hyem

aleL

Soksae

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

EucommiaulmoidesO

liv

Duchu

ng2

Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Felis

catusL

inn

Goyangi

1Animal

Who

lepart

Simmer

Oral

1000

Fomesfomentariu

s(LFr)

Fr

Malgupb

eoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

600

Gallusgallusd

omesticus

Linn

Dak

8Animal

Who

lepart

Infusio

nOral

889

Glycinem

ax(L)Merr

Kong

2Plant

Seed

Steepedin

vinegar

Oral

1000

Hederarhom

bea(M

iq)Be

anSong

ak2

Plant

Fruit

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Hordeum

vulga

revarhexastichon

(L)

Asch

Bori

16Plant

Malt

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

epill

Oral

340

Houttu

yniacordataTh

unb

Yang

mom

il5

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Hoveniadu

lcisTh

unb

Heotgaenamu

121

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ninfusio

ntea

Oral

968

Incilariabilin

eata

(Benson)

Mindalpaeng

i1

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

250

Ixeridium

dentatum

(Thun

bex

Mori)

Tzvelev

Sseumbagw

i5

Plant

Who

lepart

youn

gleaf

Juice

Oral

1000

Kalopana

xseptem

lobu

s(Th

unb)

Koidz

Eumnamu

9Plant

Stem

Decoctio

ninfusio

nOral

1000

Leonurus

japonicusH

outt

Ingm

ocho

4Plant

Aeria

lpart

Infusio

npill

Oral

200

Lyciu

mchinenseMill

Gug

ijanamu

8Plant

Fruit

Infusio

nOral

1000

Mele

smele

smela

nogenysA

llenamp

And

rew

Osori

1Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

500

Nyctereutesp

rocyonoidesK

oreensis

Mori

Neogu

ri2

Animal

Gallbladd

erBrew

ing

Oral

1000

Oenanthejavanica

(Blume)DC

Minari

25Plant

Aeria

lpart

stemw

holepart

Juice

Oral

641

Orosta

chys

japonica

(Maxim

)ABerger

Bawiso

l2

Plant

Who

lepart

Decoctio

njuice

Oral

1000

PaeonialactifloraPall

Jagyak

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nroast

Oral

1000

Phasianu

scolchicu

sLinn

Kkw

ong

1Animal

Who

lepart

Soup

Oral

1000

Phellinus

linteus

(BerketCu

rt)Teng

Mokjiljin

heuk

beoseot

3Fu

ngi

Who

lepart

Decoctio

nOral

1000

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Liverd

isorders

Scientificn

ame

Korean

name

Num

bero

fmentio

nsKind

Usedpart

Preparation

Application

FL

Liver-related

ailm

ents

Pinu

sdensifl

oraSieboldampZu

cc

Sonamu

4Plant

Leaf

Drie

dpo

wderste

amOral

1000

Protaetia

brevita

rsisseulensis

(Kolbe)

Huinjeombagikkon

muji

24Animal

Larvawho

lepart

Decoctio

ndissolution

dried

extractio

npanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

522

Protaetia

mandschurien

sis(Schurho

ff)Manjujeom

bagikkon

muji

4Animal

Larva

Drie

dpanb

roiledpo

wder

simmer

Oral

308

Prun

uspadu

sLforpadus

Gwiru

ngnamu

2Plant

Stem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Puerarialobata

(Willd)O

hwi

Chik

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sanguisorbaoffi

cinalisL

Oipul

2Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Schisand

rachinensis

(Turcz)Ba

ill

Omija

6Plant

Fruitrootstem

Brew

ing

Oral

1000

Scolopendrasubspinipesm

utilans

LKo

chJin

e2

Animal

Who

lepart

Diss

olution

driedpo

wder

Oral

333

Scutellariabaica

lensis

Georgi

Hwanggeum

1Plant

Root

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Sedu

msarm

entosum

Bunge

Dollamul

62Plant

Aeria

lpart

Juicemaceration

powderraw

season

edcooked

vegetables

wateryplainkimchi

Oral

775

Semisu

lcospira

coreana(M

artens)

Cham

daseulgi

11Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

fortico

sta(M

artens)

Jureum

daseulgi

23Animal

Who

lepart

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

simmer

Oral

1000

Semisu

lcospira

libertin

a(G

ould)

Daseulgi

30Animal

Bodyw

hole

part

Clearsou

pwith

flour

dumplingsinfusion

juice

soup

sim

mer

Oral

1000

Sorbus

commixta

Hedl

Magam

ok10

Plant

Fruitleafstem

Decoctio

ntea

Oral

1000

SusscrofaLinn

Metdw

aeji

6Animal

Gallbladd

erDiss

olution

juice

Oral

1000

Taraxacum

platycarpum

Dahlst

Mindeulle

192

Plant

Aeria

lpartleaf

who

lepart

Asw

eetd

rinkmadefrom

ferm

entedric

edecoction

driedextractio

ninfusio

njuicekimchiraw

season

edcooked

vegetablessim

mertea

Oral

1000

Trachelospermum

asiaticum

(Siebo

ldamp

Zucc)Nakaivarasiaticum

Masakjul

4Plant

Leafstem

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ulm

usdavidian

avarjaponica

(Rehder)Nakai

Neureum

namu

8Plant

Bark

Decoctio

nOral

1000

Ursusthibetanu

sussu

ricus

Heude

Band

algaseum

gom

1Animal

Flesh

Infusio

nOral

1000

Zingibermioga

(Thun

b)R

oscoe

Yang

ha2

Plant

Who

lepart

Juice

Oral

1000

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

relative health issues related to liver conditions compared toother health concerns

The 254 ethnomedicinal practices recorded from thecommunities were classified into 55 families 85 genera and94 species that included plants animals and fungi (Table 2)Among these species plants totaled 150 ethnomedicinalpractices based on 31 families 52 genera and 57 specieswhile animals included 99 ethnomedicinal practices basedon 21 families 30 genera and 34 species Fungi recordedfive ethnomedicinal practices based on three families threegenera and three speciesThese usage patterns were differentfrom Korean traditional medicine in which plants are usedrelatively much more than animals Research confirms thatthe communities have focused on direct nutritional supple-ments from the traditional medicine rather than seek after anactual cure for their liver disorders

This supposition was confirmed by the fact that liver-related ailments and jaundice require a greater necessity fornutritional supplements than other diseases which are con-tained within many medicinal species and various ethnome-dicinal practices

Namely the number of medicinal species and ethnome-dicinal practices for liver-related ailments consisted of 59species (627 of the total species) and 143 ethnomedicinalpractices (563 of the total practices) Jaundice used 25species (266 of the total species) and 50 ethnomedicinalpractices (197 of the total practices)

Also the number of informants who mentioned liver-related ailments and cases of jaundice occupied 58 whichtotaled 32 of the whole respectively (Table 2) As a resultthe communities tended to use ethnomedicinal practices tocare for their overall health instead of as a cure for a long-term condition

For plants 13 used parts were used in practice while 9used parts of animals and one used part of fungi were used intreatment Preparations of the plants consisted of 24 kindswith 19 preparations for animals and two preparations forfungi (Table 2) The usage recorded is similar to previousresearch for other diseases [7ndash9]

Among the medicinal species the most often mentionedplants were Artemisia capillaris Thunb Taraxacum platy-carpum Dahlst and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (5099 men-tioned) while the common animals were Protaetia brevi-tarsis seulensis (Kolbe) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) andSemisulcospira forticosta (Martens) (690 mentioned) Thenumber of mentioned plants focused more on minor speciesthan animal species Through continued research thesespecies can certainly be developed into functional foods forparticular liver disorders

33 Quantitative Analysis

331 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) The informant con-sensus factor ranges from 0 to 1 where the increasing valuesindicate a higher rate of informant consensus among theillness category The category with the highest degree ofconsensus from the informants was jaundice (095) followedby liver-related ailments and fatigue recovery (093) hepatitis(087) and a hangover (086)The lowest degree of consensus

was for liver cancer and liver cirrhosis (061) These resultsinform that ethnomedicinal practices have been appliedmoreoften to minor health issues related to the liver

More often people suffering from serious liver disordershave been treated in the hospital using conventionalmedicineor Korean traditional medicine However ethnomedicinalpractices have been used to cure jaundice liver-relatedailments and fatigue recovery

332 Fidelity Level (FL) The FL is useful for identifying theinformantsrsquo most preferred species in use for treating certainliver disorders

This information reveals that the informants had a ten-dency to rely on one specific species for treating one specificailment rather than for several different ailments The FLvalues in this study varied from 10 to 100

Generally a FL of 100 for a specific species indicates thatall of the usereports mentioned the same species for a specifictreatment [32] This study determined 28 species of plantswith a FL of 100 even without considering species that werementioned above five times (Table 2) Diseases containinga higher number of species assessed to a FL of 100 wereliver-related ailments (43 species) and cases of jaundice (16species)

Special attention was given to important species (119873119873

119901) with a FL above 100 regarding the viewpoint of the

number of times mentioned and the consensus level forthe specific ailment like Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst(192 192) Cudrania tricuspidata (Carr) Bureau ex Lavallee(43 43) Semisulcospira libertina (Gould) (30 30) Capsellabursapastoris (L) L W Medicus (24 24) and Semisulcospiraforticosta (Martens) (10 10) (Table 2) Through further clin-ical study these species possess a much higher potentialin being used in the development of new drugs for liverdisorders

333 Internetwork between Liver Disorders and MedicinalSpecies INA has originally analyzed social phenomenonand trends through the internetwork of components [33]We attempted to analyze the interrelationship between liverdisorders and the medicinal species recorded in the commu-nities

Considering Figure 2 the people in the communitiesused only animals to care for fatigue recovery and livercirrhosis except for the use of Bupleurum falcatum L (plant)and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fr (fungus) while usingplants and fungi as a cure for hepatitis and hangovers Alsopeople used plants animals and fungi to treat jaundice livercancer and other liver-related ailments

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (Kolbe) used as amedicinalanimal was applied as treatment for five liver disorderswhich included liver cancer liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hepatitis Oenanthe javanica (Blume)DC used as a medicinal plant was applied as treatment forthe four liver disorders of liver cirrhosis jaundice liver-related ailments and hangovers Protaetia mandschuriensis(Schurhoff) and Cetonia pilifera (Motschulsky) were usedas medicinal animals and Fomes fomentarius (L Fr) Fras a medicinal fungus in the treatment of three disorders

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 2 Internetwork analysis between medicinal species and diseases

which included liver cancer liver cirrhosis and liver-relatedailments As further research is conducted these species willcertainly be developed as pharma foods used in treatment ofliver disorders

4 Conclusion

This research stands as the first study to record and analyzeethnomedicinal practices used as treatment for liver disorderswithin the communities in East Asia After the 1950s theNational Health Care System legally admitted conventionalmedicine and Korean traditional medicine which resultedin the near extinction of ethnomedicinal practice in KoreaAlso the fast westernization of local communities in Koreahas accelerated the loss of ethnomedicinal practices

From this research recording 254 ethnomedicinal prac-tices as being used to treat seven liver disorders wasvery inspiring Particularly the present usage of variousbioorganisms displays evidence as to which ethnomedicinalpractices are continuously transmitted in the communitiesHowever this present situation is not sustainable because thecommunities of these study areas consist of an aging societyIt has become necessary for appropriate measures to be takento conserve these ethnomedicinal practices

Optimistically the INA was first applied for the inter-pretation of ethnomedicinal knowledge of a communityalthough it has been strictly used until now for social sciencein the analysis of social trends and phenomena through theinterrelationship of specific components

The results of the INA application in this study providevarious interpretations between liver disorders andmedicinalspecies Our research suggests an internetwork analysis asa new tool for various interpretations to ethnomedicinalknowledge within a local communityThrough this study weare confident that the useful value of INAhas beenproven andthe three dimensional relationships of these components willextend beyond the existing understanding of ethnomedicinalknowledge within local communities around the world

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the informants forsharing their oral traditional knowledge during the fieldworksurveys They acknowledge the English review of ProfessorHeldenbrand Brian at Jeonju University

References

[1] T Bubela and E R Gold Genetic Resources and TraditionalKnowledge Edward Elgar Northampton Mass USA 2012

[2] V Reyes-Garcıa ldquoThe relevance of traditional knowledgesystems for ethnopharmacological research theoretical andmethodological contributionsrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 6 no 32 pp 1ndash32 2010

[3] R Anderson ldquoThe efficacy of ethnomedicine researchmethodsin troublerdquoMedical anthropology vol 13 no 1-2 pp 1ndash17 1991

[4] P M Unikrishnan and M S Suneetha Biodiversity TraditionalKnowledge and Community Health Strengthening LinkagesXpress Pte Singapore 2012

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

[5] D J Kim The Medicinal History of Korea Tamgudang SeoulKorea 1981

[6] J Sharma S Gairola R D Gaur and R M Painuli ldquoThetreatment of jaundice with medicinal plants in indigenouscommunities of the Sub-Himalayan region of UttarakhandIndiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 143 no 1 pp 262ndash291 2012

[7] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoTraditional plant-based therapies forrespiratory diseases found in North Jeolla Province KoreardquoJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 18 no3 pp 287ndash293 2012

[8] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoOral traditional knowledge for thetreatment of digestive system diseases investigated in northjeolla province Koreardquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol5 no 24 pp 5730ndash5740 2011

[9] H Kim andM J Song ldquoOral traditional plant-based therapeu-tic applications for pain relief recorded inNorth Jeolla provinceKoreardquo Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge In press

[10] Ministry of Security and Public Administration 2013 httpwwwmospagokr

[11] Korea Meteorological Administration 2013 httpwwwkmagokr

[12] H Kim andM J Song Benefit-Sharing and Industrialization forTraditional Knowledge of Biological Genetic Resources Preven-tion of Nagoya Protocol World science Seoul Korea 2011

[13] H Kim and M-J Song ldquoAnalysis and recordings of orallytransmitted knowledge about medicinal plants in the southernmountainous region of Koreardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 134 no 3 pp 676ndash696 2011

[14] M-J Song and H Kim ldquoEthnomedicinal application of plantsin the western plain region of North Jeolla Province in KoreardquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 137 no 1 pp 167ndash175 2011

[15] G J Martin Ethnobotany A ConservationManual Champmanamp Hall London UK 1995

[16] H Kim and M J Song Ethnobotany World Science SeoulKorea 2008

[17] T B Lee Illustrated Flora of Korea Hyangmunsa Seoul Korea1979

[18] J Y Lee Coloured Korean Mushroom vol 1 Academy Publish-ing Seoul Korea 1993

[19] D G Ahn Illustrated Book of Korean Medicinal Herbs KyohakSeoul Korea 2002

[20] Y N Lee Flora of Korea Kyohak Seoul Korea 2002[21] J H Park Korean Folk Medicine With Color Pictures Shinil

books Seoul Korea 2005[22] ldquoNational Knowledge and Information System for Biological

Species (NKISBS)rdquo 2013 httpwwwnaturegokr[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O Sticher

ldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Heinrich S Edwards D E Moerman and M LeontildquoEthnopharmacological field studies a critical assessment oftheir conceptual basis and methodsrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 124 no 1 pp 1ndash17 2009

[25] M N Alexiades Selected Guidelines for EthnobotanicalResearchmdasha Field Manual vol 10 of Advances in EconomicBotany The New York Botanical Garden Bronx NY USA1996

[26] R W Douglas and U Johansen Network Analysis and Ethno-graphic Problems Process Models of a Turkish Nomad ClanLexington Books Idaho Falls Idaho USA 2006

[27] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoThe spread of obesity in alarge social network over 32 yearsrdquoThe New England Journal ofMedicine vol 357 no 4 pp 370ndash379 2007

[28] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoSocial contagion theoryexamining dynamic social networks and human behaviorrdquoStatistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4 pp 556ndash577 2013

[29] N A Christakis and J H Fowler ldquoRejoinder to commentarieson social contagion theoryrdquo Statistics in Medicine vol 32 no 4pp 597ndash599 2013

[30] S P Borgatti NetDraw Software for Network VisualizationAnalytic Technologies Lexington KY USA 2002

[31] S P Borgatti M G Everett and L C Freeman Ucinetfor Windows Software for Social Network Analysis AnalyticTechnologies Harvard Mass USA 2002

[32] K Srithi H Balslev P Wangpakapattanawong P Srisanga andC Trisonthi ldquoMedicinal plant knowledge and its erosion amongthe Mien (Yao) in northernThailandrdquo Journal of Ethnopharma-cology vol 123 no 2 pp 335ndash342 2009

[33] Y H Kim Social Inter-Network Analysis Parkyongsa SeoulKorea 2013

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom