This research paper was created by Alfredo Sambù, a practicing pharmacist in Vicenza, Italy and he is originally from Guinea Bissau as apart of his studies of Medical Ethnobotany and natural medicines. Please, read the full paper in the follwoing link: The Paper
Abstract from the paper
This study compares the knowledge of medicinal plants of Bissau-Guinean migrants now established in Italy with the ethnopharmacology still present in their country of origin. We also investigated how traditional ethnobotanical knowledge is changing following the phenomenon of migration from Africa to Europe. The ethnobotanical data were collected during 2017–2018, by interviewing 49 informants belonging to 8 ethnic groups, living in 8 provinces of northern Italy.
The final inventory of botanical taxa included 81 species belonging to 34 families, with Fabaceae and Malvaceae the most represented, followed by Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae, Combretaceae, and Solanaceae. Plant remedies were used to treat 21 ailment categories, such as fever, internal infections, intestinal and respiratory problems, and pains.
The traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of Bissau-Guinean migrants in Italy was associated with gender, with women showing the highest knowledge. In addition, a negative relationship was observed between the maintenance of this knowledge and the number of years migrants have spent in Italy.
Overall, a loss of knowledge was observed in the less numerous ethnic groups. However, traditional preparations based on plants from the country of origin are in general well preserved to maintain a good state of health.
Our work could help in transferring to the next generation the cultural heritage of Bissau-Guinean people permanently moved to European Countries.
Introduction
The migrant community of Guinea-Bissau established in Italy includes 2326 persons (2123 male, 203 female), mainly living in northern Italy [4], and belonging to different ethnic groups (Balanta, Bijagos, Felupe, Fula, Mancanha, Mandinga, Mandjaco, and Pepel).
These migrants have been progressively involved in the social context of Italian cities but, at the same time, they have brought with them their customs and traditions, and the remains of this wealth of knowledge have not yet been considered.
To date, only a few ethnobotanical studies have evaluated the effects on the cultural heritage of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of migrants living in Italy, following the encounter with a culture very different from that of origin [5–8]. In addition, the socio-cultural context and the conceptualization of the processes of health/illness of migrants has been poorly considered.
In general, for a high percentage of the population of Guinea-Bissau a holistic and systemic vision of the universe persists, where animals and plants are seen as elements of the world at the same level as humans. In the migrant community, specific botanicals that are culturally important in their African country are considered identity-bound and used also in the host countries.
Ethnobotanical investigation can be an effective tool to evaluate how much of the wealth of folk medicine remains in a migrant people following their displacement to a new country. This kind of study must take into account the occurrence of transnational social and trade networks between the migrants and their home country.
The poor availability of herbs and food plant items in food shops in the host country, due to strict importation laws [10], often causes improper importation of these products by migrants and their relatives/friends from the country of origin to Italy. In the literature, scientific works about the traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of the Bissau-Guinean community in Italy are not available, while recent works on medicinal plants of Guinea-Bissau have been published [11,12].
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the knowledge of medicinal plants of Bissau-Guinean migrants now established in northern Italy with the ethnopharmacology still present in Guinea-Bissau. In addition, we investigate if and how this knowledge is changing following the phenomenon of migration from Africa to Europe. These data are of crucial importance to keep the focus on the integration of African migrants into host European countries.
