Dynamics of medicinal plants knowledge and commerce in an urban ecosystem (Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil) (original) (raw)
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2021
Background: Open and public markets are the main providers of medicinal plants in urban environments. The present study evaluated the medicinal plants sold in public markets in different municipalities in the mesoregions of the state of Paraíba, northeast of Brazil, and the possible variations in the supply of these plants in the markets over the course of a year. Methods: Thirty-five traders of medicinal plants were interviewed in four mesoregions of different climatic and phytophysiognomic characteristics (ranging from Caatinga to Atlantic Forest). The versatility of the species sold was elucidated using the Relative Importance Index (IR), and the set of species sold by each informant in each mesoregion was compared with each other by similarity analysis Anosim-One, and by the analysis of main coordinates. Results: Punica granatum , Zingiber officinale , and Myracrodruon urundeuva were the species with the highest RI. The analysis of similarity showed distinct differences between ...
Local Markets and Medicinal Plant Commerce: A Review with Emphasis on Brazil
Economic Botany, 2010
Local Markets and Medicinal Plant Commerce: A Review with Emphasis on Brazil. Local markets unite, concentrate, maintain, and diffuse empirical knowledge about plant and animal resources and therefore help guarantee the resilience and maintenance of folk knowledge concerning useful species. A critical review is presented here that focuses on the importance of these local markets, emphasizing the diversity of medicinal products offered, the different approaches to this subject, and the evolution of the research approaches taken in studying the medicinal plant products sold. To this end, the scientific literature was examined for research on these markets so as to provide a panoramic view of the different approaches taken, the diversity of plants being sold, the methodological procedures employed in collecting research information, and the specific nature of the studies. From our point of view, it is necessary to intensify the ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological investigation of these markets, especially with comparable methods and techniques. Mercados locais e o comércio de plantas medicinais: Uma revisão com ênfase no Brasil. Os mercados tradicionais são importantes por reunir, concentrar, manter e difundir o saber empírico sobre a diversidade de recursos tanto da fauna como da flora, sendo fontes imprescindíveis para a resiliência e manutenção do conhecimento acerca dessas espécies medicinais. Essa proposta de revisão crítica enfocou a importância desses centros de compras, ressaltando a diversidade de produtos ofertados, os diferentes enfoques das pesquisas realizadas e a evolução das abordagens ao estudar os produtos vegetais comercializados nos mercados. Dessa forma, realizou-se uma busca em periódicos para evidenciar o desenvolvimento das pesquisas com mercados intencionando-se uma visão panorâmica das diferentes abordagens utilizadas. Sobre isso, foram abordados: a diversidade vegetal comercializada, as partes vegetais mais encontradas nos mercados, bem como os procedimentos metodológicos para coleta de informações e a natureza desses estudos. A partir das análises realizadas, recomendações foram sugeridas para futuras pesquisas em mercados tradicionais: a realização de inventários locais sobre espécies úteis associado a comparações com informações já existentes.
Changes in the trade in native medicinal plants in Brazilian public markets
Plants continue to be an important source of new bioactive substances. Brazil is one of the world's mega-diverse countries, with 20 % of the world's flora. However, the accelerated destruction of botanically rich ecosystems has contributed to a gradual loss of native medicinal species. In previous study, we have observed a fast and intensive change in trade of medicinal plants in an area of Amazon, where human occupation took place. In this study, we surveyed 15 public markets in different parts of Brazil in search of samples of 40 plants used in traditional medicine and present in first edition of Brazilian Official Pharmacopoeia (FBRAS), published in 1926. Samples of plants commercialized as the same vernacular name as in Pharmacopoeia were acquired and submitted to analysis for authentication. A total of 252 plant samples were purchased, but the laboratory analyses showed that only onehalf of the samples (126, 50.2 %) were confirmed as the same plant species so named in FBRAS. The high number of unauthenticated samples demonstrates a loss of knowledge of the original native species. The proximity of the market from areas in which the plant occurs does not guarantee that trade of false samples occurs. The impact of the commerce of the substitute species on their conservation and in public health is worrying. Strategies are necessary to promote the better use and conservation of this rich heritage offered by Brazilian biodiversity.
Medicinal and magic plants from a public market in northeastern Brazil
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2007
Markets are public spaces in which many kinds of products are sold, as well as places of cultural information exchange. These spaces are distinctive for each given culture or society as they represent small-scale reproductions of that region's cultural and biological diversity. We carried out ethnobotanical studies in an important traditional market in the city of Recife (Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil) in two distinct years, 1995 and 2002. Our objectives were to compare the taxonomic richness of the plants being sold there in these different years, to investigate differences between the species' relative importance, and to present descriptions of their main uses. Considering the lack of ethnobotanical studies in these markets and the great methodological difficulties in gaining access to this type of information, we discuss the limitations of this kind of study and offer suggestions to deal with specific problems. Semi-structured interviews with the plant vendors were carried out in the market, along with other data-collection and analysis techniques common to ethnobotanical studies. A total of 136 species were recorded -an increase of 58 species between the two study periods -with significant differences among the proportions of families, genera, and species (p < 0.05). Despite differences in the relative importance of species found in both surveys, there was an underlying trend maintaining the same species of greatest importance. Our data suggest that markets conserve their basic repertoire while at the same time act as open and dynamic systems that is enriched by adding new plants and their respective use-indications.
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).
Does the selection of medicinal plants by Brazilian local populations suffer taxonomic influence?
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2013
Ethnopharmacological relevance: Although the relationship between local people and plants may be idiosyncratic, some human behaviors are common to different communities and can be influenced by cultural and environmental factors. Thus, this study drew upon a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate if there are patterns of medicinal plant use in different Brazilian ethnobotanical studies and if these patterns are influenced by the urbanization or ecosystems where the studies were conducted. Materials and methods: The factors evaluated concerned the origin of the species used (native vs. exotic), plant habit (woody vs. non-woody) and plant parts (permanent and non-permanent). Two kinds of analysis were performed: the integrative and the meta-analytical. Results: The factors varied depending on the ecosystems in which the studies were conducted. In the Amazon, Cerrado and Caatinga, native and woody medicinal species dominated; conversely, this pattern was not the case for the Atlantic Forest and Pampas ecosystems. Permanent plant parts were predominant in the Cerrado, and considering only native plants, permanent parts dominated in the Amazon, Cerrado and Caatinga. Urbanization did not significantly affect these patterns. Additionally, the species relative importance (RI) did not change as a function of the ecosystem or the degree of urbanization. Conclusions: The phenomena observed in this study can be explained in light of the chemical ecology and historical and cultural aspects of the species, and the findings have important implications for bioprospecting and conservation.
The quilombola community Manival, is located at the municipality of Alcantara, state of Maranhão, Brazil and has a long tradition of using medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to relate the citations of use of native medicinal plants with their availability in forest fragments of that traditional community. For this study, we used the technique known as “snowball” to identify key informants and ethnobotanical information about the plants used and the type of vegetation where they occur. The second stage of the research consisted of floristic survey in forest fragments belonging to the community aiming to verify species with circumference at breast height 10= cm, for adult specimens and <10 cm for young individuals, beyond their respective absolute and relative frequencies, using parcels identified with PVC plates, containing the name of the collection site, landscape unit, vegetation type, and name of medicinal species that initiates the plot. The plots were set with...
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2020
Ethnopharmacological relevance: Parallelisms between current and historical medicinal practices as described in the seventeenth century treatise Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (HNB) provide us with an overview of traditional plant knowledge transformations. Local markets reflect the actual plant use in urban and rural surroundings, allowing us to trace cross-century similarities of ethnobotanical knowledge. Aims of the study: We aim to verify in how far the HNB, created in seventeenth-century northeastern Brazil, correlates with contemporary plant use in the country by comparing the plant knowledge therein with recent plant market surveys at national level. Materials and methods: We conducted a literature review on ethnobotanical market surveys in Brazil. We used the retrieved data on plant composition and vernacular names, together with our own fieldwork from the Ver-o-Peso market in Belém, to compare each market repertoire with the useful species in the HNB. We analyzed similarities among markets and the HNB with a Detrended Correspondence Analysis and by creating Venn diagrams. We analyzed the methods of the different markets to check whether they influenced our results. Results: Out of the 24 markets reviewed, the greatest similarities with the HNB are seen in northern Brazilian markets, both in plant composition and vernacular names, followed by the northeast. The least overlap is found with markets in the central west and Rio de Janeiro. Most of the shared vernacular names with the HNB belonged to languages of the Tupi linguistic family. Conclusion: The similarity patterns in floristic composition among Brazilian markets and the HNB indicate the current wider distribution and trade of the species that Marcgrave and Piso described in 1648 in the northeast. Migration of indigenous groups, environmental changes, globalized and homogenous plant trade, and different market survey methods played a role in these results. The HNB is a reference point in time that captures a moment of colonial cultural transformations.
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...
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.