Ethnopharmacologic analysis of medicinal plants used by Laotian Hmong refugees in Minnesota

Abstract

Laotian Hmong refugees in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, cultivate many plants and employ them as a first line of defense against illness and disease. Thirty-seven medicinal plants have been identified, phytochemical components catalogued through literature research, and potential pharmacological activities correlated with Hmong medicinal uses. Using western biomedical criteria of efficacy, 92% of the medicinal plants being cultivated were found to be potentially efficacious. The frequent use of these plants in diet (81%) suggests that they have served to mediate against illness and disease states in the cultural and natural environment in which the practices evolved. A listing of 37 plants with Hmong names, uses and potentially active constituents is provided.