FIFTY-ONE VIETNAMESE TRADITIONAL MEDICINES DERIVED FROM INVERTEBRATE ARTHROPDS (ARTHROPODA) AND ANNELIDS (ANNELIDA)

Tóm tắt

To develop the Bio-pharmacology major at the university level, a comprehensive survey of
invertebrate arthropods (Arthropoda) and annelids (Annelida) utilized as Vietnamese traditional
medicines was conducted. The survey was organized according to six criteria: (1) Vietnamese and
medicinal name, (2) classification and scientific name, (3) distribution and habitat, (4) medicinal
properties, (5) pharmaceutical effects, (6) discussion and comments.
A total of fifty-one invertebrate species were identified, comprising forty-six arthropod species and
five annelid species used in traditional medicine. Among these, the phylum Arthropoda includes four
classes (Insecta, Arachnida, Chilopoda, Diplopoda), seventeen orders and forty-six species species.
The phylum Annelida comprises four classes (Oligochaeta, Polygochaeta, Hirudinea, Sipunculidae),
five orders, and five species. According to class, the number of species used in traditional medicines
decreases as follows: Insecta is the most numerous, followed by Diplopoda and Oligochaeta, each
represented by two orders and two species. The four classes Chilopoda, Polygochaeta, Hirudinea and
Sipunculidae each have one order and one species.
Insecta is the class with the dominant species number, used in traditional Vietnamese medicines,
with 40/51 species, accounting for 78.43%. The distribution of insect species across increasingly
orders is as follows: Thysanura = Mantoptera = Termites = Isoptera = Diptera = Siphonaptera, all
have 1 species. Then the orders Odonata = Blattoptera = Lepidoptera, all have 2 species, and the
Orthoptera = Hemynoptera, all have 5 species. The Hemiptera and Coleoptera have the most species,
with 9 and 11 species, respectively. Notably, the species giant water bug Lethocerus indicus, has been
listed in the Vietnam Red Data Book since 1992. This highlights the necessity to adhere to Vietnam's
diversity laws when exploiting and using these species.