%0 Journal Article
%T Traditional use of medicinal plants in the boreal forest of Canada: review and perspectives
%A Yadav Uprety
%A Hugo Asselin
%A Archana Dhakal
%A Nancy Julien
%J Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1746-4269-8-7
%X A review of the literature published in scientific journals, books, theses and reports.A total of 546 medicinal plant taxa used by the Aboriginal people of the Canadian boreal forest were reported in the reviewed literature. These plants were used to treat 28 disease and disorder categories, with the highest number of species being used for gastro-intestinal disorders, followed by musculoskeletal disorders. Herbs were the primary source of medicinal plants, followed by shrubs. The medicinal knowledge of Aboriginal peoples of the western Canadian boreal forest has been given considerably less attention by researchers. Canada is lacking comprehensive policy on harvesting, conservation and use of medicinal plants. This could be explained by the illusion of an infinite boreal forest, or by the fact that many boreal medicinal plant species are widely distributed.To our knowledge, this review is the most comprehensive to date to reveal the rich traditional medicinal knowledge of Aboriginal peoples of the Canadian boreal forest. Future ethnobotanical research endeavours should focus on documenting the knowledge held by Aboriginal groups that have so far received less attention, particularly those of the western boreal forest. In addition, several critical issues need to be addressed regarding the legal, ethical and cultural aspects of the conservation of medicinal plant species and the protection of the associated traditional knowledge.Medicinal plants have been used in traditional health care systems since prehistoric times and are still the most important health care source for the vast majority of the population around the world [e.g. [1-6]]. It is estimated that 70-80% of people worldwide rely on traditional herbal medicine to meet their primary health care needs [7,8]. Globally, millions of people rely on medicinal plants not only for primary health care, but also for income generation and livelihood improvement [8]. Annual sales of herbal-based medicines range betwee
%K Medicinal plants
%K traditional knowledge
%K boreal forest
%K Aboriginal people
%K Algonquian
%K Athapaskan
%K conservation
%K management
%K policy
%U http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/8/1/7