Knowledge and use of medicinal plants in the Semiarid Region of Brazil (original) (raw)
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Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 2016
Knowledge of medicinal plants has accumulated over centuries and often represents the only therapeutic resource of small municipalities in the interior of Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and use of medicinal plants by the population of the municipality of Bom Principio do Piaui, Piaui state, for the treatment of diseases in humans and domestic animals. Interviews were conducted with 38 residents using standardized questionnaire forms, with the "snowball" technique. Fifty nine families, 98 genera and 112 species were recorded. Of these, 22.3% were indicated for the treatment of diseases in animals and 9.8% were said to cause adverse effects. The families with most species were Fabaceae (14), Euphorbiaceae (11) and Lamiaceae (6). The species with greatest use value (UV) were Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemao (0.65), Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin and Clemants (0.63) and Amburana cearensis (Allemao) A.C.Sm. (0.42). The leaves were the part...
Popular Knowledge and Medicinal Plants Use in Natividade City - RJ, Brazil
Biológicas & Saúde, 2011
A utilização de plantas medicinais é bastante difundida por todo mundo, inclusive no Brasil, que é detentor de uma vasta diversidade biológica e rica diversidade cultural. Neste cenário destaca-se o vasto acervo de conhecimentos sobre manejo e uso de plantas medicinais. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar um estudo etnobotânico sobre a utilização de plantas medicinais pela população da cidade de Natividade-RJ. A coleta dos dados consistiu-se na aplicação de um questionário a 240 residências deste município. Além de questões socioeconômicas, indagou-se o nome popular das plantas, partes utilizadas, preparados e vias de administração. A análise dos questionários revelou 77,5% dos entrevistados utilizam plantas com propriedades medicinais. Os entrevistados citaram 23 espécies distribuídas em 16 famílias, dentre estas o Boldo (Vernonia condensata Baker, Asteraceae) e Erva cidreira (Melissa officinalis L., Lamiaceae) foram as espécies mais citadas. O Índice de Relevância para todas as espécies mostrou que: 34,78% das espécies possuem pouco uso pela comunidade local, 47,82% uso intermediário, e 17,40% espécies são amplamente utilizadas pela população deste município. Os dados sugerem que o município de Natividade apresenta uma rica herança cultural em plantas medicinais servindo como fonte de informações a inclusão de novas plantas medicinais na RENISUS.
Survey and Use of Medicinal Plants in an Urban District in the state of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil
Medicinal Plant Research, 2015
The use of plants for the treatment and cure of diseases is as old as the human species and is widely used by most of the world population as a therapeutic resource, mostly among rural populations, though less noticeable in the urban sphere. Existing data on the medicinal use of plants for the urban portion of society is still poor, and lack information that can trace a better ethnobotanical profile. Thus, this study aimed to collect data on the knowledge and use of medicinal plants, in the context in which the inhabitants of an urban district are inserted. Data collection was performed using a semi-structured form in 80 homes in the district Alto Santa Maria, in the urban area of the city of Parnaí ba, northern Piauí . Twelve species were mentioned to be used by residents, such as boldo, eucalipto, malva, mastruz and erva-cidreira, especially the first one, which is the most used plant by residents in the district. In order to identify therapeutic indications of great importance, we used the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). The predominant prescription use was indicated as conditions related to diseases of the genitourinary system and kidney stones, skin and nail diseases, dermatitis, and endocrine, metabolic and nutritional disorders, as indicated by ICF. With the development of this research we found that plants with medicinal potential represent a strong resource for the population studied in the treatment of several diseases, and a great degree of use was noticeable.
Ethnopharmacological importance: The use of medicinal plants for treatment, cure and prevention of diseases has been described by many people since time immemorial. Because of this use, commercial and scientific interests have emerged, making it necessary to realize ethnobotanical surveys of medicinal plants species, which is important for subsequent chemical and pharmacological bioprospections. Aim of the study: This study aimed at surveying, identifying, cataloging and documenting the medicinal plants species used in the Valley of Juruena, Northwestern Mato Grosso, Legal Amazon Brazil for the treatment of various human diseases, as well as assessed the species of interest for bioprospecting potential. Materials and methods: Informants were interviewed using semi-structured form to capture information on socio-demographic and ethnopharmacological data of medicinal plants such as vernacular name, uses, geographic origin, habit, form of preparation and part used. Results were analyzed using descriptive and quantitative means: indices of use-report (Ur) and informant consensus factor (ICF), for the selection of plant species with therapeutic potential. Results: Three hundred and thirty two plants species belonging to 90 families were reported for medicinal purposes and totaling 3973 use-reports were reported by 365 (92.9%) of the people interviewed. Asteraceae (32.2%), Fabaceae (26.7%) and Lamiaceae (24.4%) families were the most represented, with majority being species native (64.45%) to Brazil. Leaves (64.5%) were the part of the plant most used and infusion (45.7%) was the most utilized form. Gastrointestinal disorders followed by respiratory complaints topped the list of use-reports. The native or naturalized plants with the highest use reports in the order of decreasing absolute frequency per each emic-category are Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapfc (104), Mentha pulegium L. (94), Arrabidaea chica (Humb. & Bonpl.) B. Verl. (97), Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) Kuntze (71), Baccharis crispa Spreng (57), Phyllanthus niruri L. (48), Gossypium barbadense L. (44), Solidago microglossa DC. (40) and Bauhinia forficata L. (20). And the most cited exotics are: Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (151), Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f., (89) and Rosmarinus officinalis L. (72). In some cases, high ICF values were found, which reflects high degree of homogeneity of consensus among informants in this region on medicinal plants. Conclusion: The population of Valle of Juruena makes use of a wide array of medicinal plants distributed in all use categories with predominance of those use in the treatments of gastrointestinal and respiratory Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Traditional uses of medicinal plants at Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro
Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacognosy Research, 2017
Context: This work had as outcome to deal with the part of the population of Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro those who use the public health system and use alternative medicinal plants for the treatment of illness. Aims: To evaluate the potential medicinal uses of local plants traditionally used in curing/treatment different diseases and illnesses, and contribute as a therapeutic option in the public health system of municipality. Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to measure independent variables and issues related to the consumption of medicinal plants, based on field surveys and direct face to face communication. It was calculated the relative importance index (RI) of the medicinal plants used in the community as the number of users that mentioned them and the agreement use. Results: Seventy-three plants (44 families) were cited by the population. Species with the highest number of citations (50%) were boldo, lemon grass, gorse, lemon balm, breaks stone and air plant, and the leaves over part used in medicinal preparations; it was the tea as the main form of use from the fresh plant. Conclusions: The data suggest that the use of medicinal plants remains an important therapy and wanted by the population, and this would be integrating the knowledge of the practices of traditional medicine to scientific knowledge of these species, replacing the empirical use to the correct use, ensuring secure access to the population. This study is the first ethnopharmacological report in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro.
The study of local knowledge about natural resources is becoming increasingly important in defining strategies and actions for conservation or recuperation of residual forests. This study therefore sought to: collect information from local populations concerning the use of Atlantic Forest medicinal plants; verify the sources of medicinal plants used; determine the relative importance of the species surveyed, and; calculate the informant consensus factor in relation to medicinal plant use. Data was obtained using semi-structured forms to record the interviewee's personal information and topics related to the medicinal use of specific plants. The material collected represent 125 plants, distributed among 61 botanical families, with little participation of native plants. This study demonstrated that local people tend to agree with each other in terms of the plants used to treat blood-related problems, but cite a much more diverse group of plants to treat problems related to the respiratory and digestive systems -two important categories in studies undertaken in different parts of the world. The local medicinal flora is largely based on plants that are either cultivated or obtained from anthropogenic zones, possibly due to the use and access restrictions of the legally protected neighboring forest. Despite these restrictions, the species with the highest use-value by this community was Pithecellobium cochliocarpum (Gomez) Macb., a native plant of the Atlantic Forest. Place of ethnobotanical data collection of the medicinal plants cited by the population in the municipality of Igarassu (Northeast Brazil) Figure 1 Place of ethnobotanical data collection of the medicinal plants cited by the population in the municipality of Igarassu (Northeast Brazil).
Medicinal plants used by urban and rural inhabitants of Luziânia, Goiás, Brazil
Revista Agrogeoambiental
The Brazilian flora is highly diverse, with the Cerrado biome featuring as the savanna with the highest richness of species in the world. Furthermore, the use of medicinal plants is a common and traditional practice among the Brazilian population. In that regard, it is expected that the populations of historical cities located in the Cerrado should have vast ethnobotanical knowledge. From this perspective, this study aimed to record the medicinal plants used by the inhabitants of Luziânia (GO), Brazil, and evaluate their socio-economic profiles. The inhabitants (18 from the urban area and 20 from the rural area) were selected by the ‘snowball’ technique and underwent semi-structured interviews that addressed socio-economic and ethnobotanical aspects. Among the interviewees, 74.4 % were women, with adults and older adults constituting the main connoisseurs, and 71 % had incomplete primary education. Most interviewees cultivated medicinal plants in their backyards and cited using leav...
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2015
Background: Plants have traditionally been used for treatment of human and livestock ailments in Ethiopia by different ethnic and social groups. However, this valuable source of knowledge is not adequately documented, which impedes their widespread use, evaluation and validation. Here, we recorded indigenous knowledge and standard practices for human and livestock disease control, of three ethnic groups (Aari, Maale and Bena-Tsemay) in South Omo Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire to document knowledge of 50 traditional healers (40 male and 10 female) in medicinal plant use for treatment of human and livestock ailments. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and summarize the ethno-botanical data. Results: Ninety-one plants, with claimed medicinal properties against a total of 34 human and livestock ailments, were reported and botanically identified as belonging to 57 genera and 33 plant families. Most of the plant species reported belonged to one of seven major families: Lamiaceae, Solanaceae, Menispermiaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Plumbaginaceae and Geraniaceae. Woody plants (shrubs 21% and trees 29%) were the major growth form used, whilst roots (40%) and leaves (35%) were the major plant parts used in the study areas. Healers mostly practice oral administration of plant preparations (65%). Multiple medicinal plants were cited against particular ailments, and mixing of two or more different medicinal plants (14.3%) against a single ailment was also commonly reported. Conclusion: This study showed that traditional medicine, mainly involving the use of medicinal plants, is playing a significant role in meeting the primary healthcare needs of the three ethnic groups. Acceptance of traditional medicine and limited access to modern healthcare facilities could be considered as the main factors for the continuation of the practice. Documented knowledge of the traditional healers can be used to support the country's human and livestock health care system and improve lives and livelihoods. Information generated will be used in future studies to validate bioactivity of selected medicinal plants used by traditional healers, so to increase their acceptability in health care systems both nationally and internationally.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2010
Aim: The aim of this research was to understand the importance of native and exotic plants in local medical systems in the Caatinga of the Brazilian northeast, and the influence of socio-economic factors on the acquisition of knowledge about these resources. Methods: A total of 55 people were interviewed in three rural communities using free list and semistructured interviewes. Results: A total of 108 ethnospecies were reported, 99 of which were identified; 43 of these were preferred by informants. Most of the plants cited were exotic (51) but the difference in diversity among these plants and native plants was not considered significant (p > 0.05). The exotic plants were predominantly herbaceous and used to cure diseases that native plants did not seem to treat. There were no differences between men's and women's knowledge of the plants (p > 0.05). However, for some communities, factors such as age and income were correlated with the number of citations and indications for plants, which suggested that older people and those with higher income levels had more knowledge about these properties. Conclusion: The data presented in this study showed the importance of exotic species in the region studied and demonstrated that plant knowledge can be perceived as a way to diversify options for medical treatment in the area.
Medicinal Herbs in Urban Areas of Santa Catarina State, Brazil
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA, 2018
The objective of this study was to verify the occurrence and use of medicinal herbs in families living in urban areas. The research was carried out in five cities in the "Planalto Serrano" region of Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The first family was indicated by the health department of the municipality and the following were indicated by the previous one, according to snowball methodology. Interviewees ranged from 39 to 78 years old, who cited 84 species of plants to treat 205 diseases. The herbs were collected from yard (50%), garden (20.2%), neighbors (14.5%), field (8.9%), or bought (6.4%). The using of medicinal herbs still persists in families living in urban areas of the south plateau of Santa Catarina State, Brazil. There is a predominance of females as maintainers and concentrated on people over 50 years. Palavras-chave: Medicinal Plants. Healing. Disease. Urban Family. RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a ocorrência e uso de plantas medicinais em familias residentes em áreas urbanas. A pesquisa foi conduzida em cinco cidades da região do Planalto Serrano Catarinense, estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. O primeiro entrevistado era indicado pelo serviço de saúde do município e os demais indicados pelo anterior, seguindo metodologia de bola de neve. Os entrevistados tinham de 39 a 78 anos de idade, citaram 84 especies de plantas como medicinais para tratar 205 enfermidades humanas. As plantas medicinais utilizadas eram procedentes de hortas (50%), jardins (20,2%), vizinhos (14,5%), campos (8,9) ou compradas (6,4%). O uso de plantas medicinais persistes em familias residentes em áreas urbanas. Há predominio de mulheres como mantenedoras cuja idade se concentra acima de 50 anos.