BACKGROUND Since ancient times, invertebrates have played an important role in the traditional medicine in many parts of the world. In south-eastern Benin, more specifically in the Plateau Department, invertebrates are widely used in folk medicine. However, studies on their therapeutic use has been neglected and their magical-religious purposes are poorly understood. The present study aims to document traditional knowledge related to the use of invertebrates for medicinal and magical-religious purposes by traditional healers and indigenous people of Plateau Department. METHODS An ethno-sociological survey was conducted with 145 informants (80 traditional healers, 12 merchants of medicinal animals and 53 households) belonging to six ethnic groups, in 20 villages located in Plateau of Benin. Data were collected through the participatory rural appraisal method involving individual interviews and direct observations with semi-structured questionnaires. The collected data regarding various medicinal and magical-religious uses of invertebrates were analysed through informant consensus factor (ICF), use value (UV) and, fidelity level (FL). RESULTS A total of 20 families and 38 species of invertebrates, distributed among 6 taxonomic categories, were found to be used to treat 50 different ailments. Insects occupied 64.7% of the total invertebrates listed. The African earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae K. and African giant snail Achatina achatina L. had the highest use values. The highest ICF value (1.0) was cited for diseases of the blood or blood-forming organs. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the influence of ethnic groups in the diseases treated with invertebrates. The highest FL (100%) was recorded for 12 invertebrate species treating various ailments. Most of invertebrate-based remedies were associated with plant species. The mode of administration was mainly oral and topical. Most of the invertebrate drugs were traditionally collected in nature or imported, mainly from Nigeria. In addition, 7 magical-religious practices are documented. CONCLUSIONS Our results reveal that several invertebrate species play an important role in healing practices and magical-religious rituals in the Plateau Department. We suggest further studies to confirm the presence of any bioactive compounds on invertebrate species use in traditional medicine. In addition, this study highlights the need for ecological investigations of these species, in order to develop strategies for their conservation and sustainable use.

中文翻译：

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贝宁共和国高原省的传统治疗师和土著居民用于医药和魔法宗教目的的无脊椎动物的传统知识。

背景技术自古以来，无脊椎动物在世界许多地区的传统医学中发挥着重要作用。在贝宁东南部，更具体地说，在高原省，无脊椎动物被广泛用于民间医学。然而，关于它们的治疗用途的研究被忽视了，它们的魔法宗教目的也知之甚少。本研究旨在记录高原省的传统治疗师和土著人民将无脊椎动物用于药用和魔法宗教目的的传统知识。方法对贝宁高原20个村庄的6个民族145名知情人（80名传统治疗师、12名药材商人和53户）进行民族社会学调查。通过参与式农村评估方法收集数据，包括个人访谈和半结构化问卷的直接观察。通过知情人共识因子 (ICF)、使用价值 (UV) 和保真度 (FL) 分析收集的有关无脊椎动物的各种医学和魔法宗教用途的数据。结果共发现无脊椎动物20科38种，分布在6个分类类别中，用于治疗50种不同的疾病。昆虫占所列无脊椎动物总数的 64.7%。非洲蚯蚓 Eudrilus eugeniae K. 和非洲大蜗牛 Achatina achatina L. 的利用价值最高。最高 ICF 值 (1.0) 被引用用于血液或造血器官疾病。主成分分析 (PCA) 揭示了种族群体对无脊椎动物治疗疾病的影响。12 种无脊椎动物治疗各种疾病的最高 FL (100%) 记录在案。大多数基于无脊椎动物的疗法都与植物物种有关。给药方式主要是口服和外用。大多数无脊椎动物药物传统上是从自然界采集或进口的，主要来自尼日利亚。此外，记录了 7 种魔法宗教习俗。结论 我们的研究结果表明，几种无脊椎动物在高原地区的治疗实践和魔法宗教仪式中发挥着重要作用。我们建议进一步研究以确认在传统医学中使用的无脊椎动物物种中是否存在任何生物活性化合物。此外，