Ways the lukomir highlanders of Bosnia and Herzegovina treat diabetes

Abstract

In a Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Canada postwar development research collaboration, health authorities have identified type 2 diabetes (T2D) as a top health concern for the mountain community of Lukomir, B&H, located in the Bjelašnica of the Dinaric Alps. Lukomir lacks a health-care facility but is home to many traditional healers. A consensus ethnobotanical survey of plants was conducted with Lukomir Highlanders to identify plants used to treat diabetes and highly associated symptoms. Twenty-five people were interviewed, resulting in 41 species from 26 families. Physicians determined diabetes symptom association rank values, which were used to evaluate the syndromic importance value (SIV) function. SIVs were determined for families and species. Caryophyllaceae, Equisetaceae, Asteraceae, Ericaceae were the top-ranked antidiabetic families, and Matricaria matricarioides (Less.) Porter ex Britton, Silene spp., Achillea millefolium L., and Equisetum arvense L. were the top species. Five species were endemic, and Gentiana lutea L. is considered endangered. A cross-cultural comparison with the Cree of James Bay, Canada, revealed that Vaccinium was the only consensus genus. Extracts of Vaccinium myrtillus L. and V. vitis-idaea L. leaves were potent inhibitors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibition, with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50) ranging from 12.43 to 44.09 μg mL -1. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) confirmed the presence of (+)-catechin, chlorogenic acid, para coumaric acid, taxifolin, quercetin-3-O-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, rutin, quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside, and myricetin. Rutin was absent in both species. This work provides a baseline study of available complimentary medicines for the T2D problem in the Lukomir community.