Natural Products from Ethnodirected Studies: Revisiting the Ethnobiology of the Zombie Poison

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012; 2012: 202508. Published online 2011 October 2. doi:  10.1155/2012/202508

PMCID: PMC3184504

Copyright © 2012 Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque et al.

 

 

Natural Products from Ethnodirected Studies: Revisiting the Ethnobiology of the Zombie Poison

 

 

http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC3184504/

 

Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque, ^{1 *} Joabe Gomes Melo, ¹ Maria Franco Medeiros, ¹ Irwin Rose Menezes, ² Geraldo Jorge Moura, ³ Ana Carla Asfora El-Deir, ⁴ Rômulo Romeu Alves, ⁵ Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros, ¹ Thiago Antonio de Sousa Araújo, ¹ Marcelo Alves Ramos, ¹ Rafael Ricardo Silva, ¹ Alyson Luiz Almeida, ¹ and Cecília de Fátima Castelo Almeida ¹

¹Laboratory of Applied Ethnobotany, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, 52171-900 Recife, PE, Brazil

²Laboratory of Pharmacology and Molecular Chemistry, Department of Biological Chemistry, Cariri Regional University, Pimenta 63105-000, Crato, CE, Brazil

³Laboratory of Herpetology and Paleoherpetology, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, 52171-900 Recife, PE, Brazil

⁴Laboratory of Ictiology, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, 52171-900 Recife, PE, Brazil

⁵Ethnozoology, Conservation and Biodiversity Research Group, Department of Biology, State University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58429-500, PB, Brazil

*Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque: Email: upa677@hotmail.com

Academic Editor: Ana H. Ladio

Received June 29, 2011; Accepted August 4, 2011.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Abstract

Wade Davis's study of Haitian “zombification” in the 1980s was a landmark in ethnobiological research. His research was an attempt to trace the origins of reports of “undead” Haitians, focusing on the preparation of the zombification poison. Starting with this influential ethnopharmacological research, this study examines advances in the pharmacology of natural products, focusing especially on those of animal-derived products. Ethnopharmacological, pharmacological, and chemical aspects are considered. We also update information on the animal species that reportedly constitute the zombie poison. Several components of the zombie powder are not unique to Haiti and are used as remedies in traditional medicine worldwide. This paper emphasizes the medicinal potential of products from zootherapy. These biological products are promising sources for the development of new drugs.