Volume 161, 23 February 2015, Pages 18–29
Research Paper
Useful Brazilian plants listed in the manuscripts and publications of the Scottish medic and naturalist George Gardner (1812–1849)
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Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Information
regarding the beneficial use of native Brazilian plants was compiled by
a number of European naturalists in the 19th century. The Scottish
surgeon botanist George Gardner (1812–1849) was one such naturalist;
however, the useful plants recorded in his manuscripts have not yet been
studied in depth.
Aim of the study
To present data recorded by Gardner in his manuscript Catalogue of Brazilian Plants regarding the use of native plants by Brazilian people and evaluate the extent to which they have been explored.
Materials and methods
Data on useful plants were obtained from Gardner׳s manuscript Catalogue of Brazilian Plants
deposited in the Archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. The
identification of each plant was determined and/or updated by consulting
the preserved botanical collections of Gardner deposited in the
Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (hereafter K), and expert
determinations in other herbaria where duplicates are held. Correlated
pharmacological studies for each plant were obtained from the PubMed
database. Information recorded in Gardner׳s diary and previously
published elsewhere complemented these data.
Results
A total of 63 useful plants was recorded from the Catalogue and a further 30 from Gardner׳s book Travels in the Interior of Brazil ( Gardner, 1846). Of the recorded names in the Catalogue,
46 (73%) could be identified to species by consulting specimens
collected by Gardner and held at Kew. Thirty-six different traditional
uses were registered for the identified plants, the most common being as
febrifuges, to treat venereal complaints and as purgatives. Fewer than
50% of these species have been the focus of published pharmacological
studies, yet for those which have been thus investigated, the efficacies
reported by Gardner were confirmed.
Conclusion
The
data recorded by Gardner represent a rich, relatively unexplored source
of information regarding the traditional uses of Brazilian plants which
merits further investigation.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Brazil;
- Useful plants;
- George Gardner;
- Manuscripts;
- Historical records
- Corresponding
author at: CEPLAMT, Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31080-010 Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Tel.:
+55 3134096970; fax: +55 3134096935.
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