Volume 24, Issue 2, March–April 2014, Pages 171–184
Open Access
Original article
Species with medicinal and mystical-religious uses in São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, Brazil: a contribution to the selection of species for introduction into the local Unified Health System
- Open Access funded by Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacognosia
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
We
investigated the knowledge and practices of local residents in São
Francisco do Conde, Bahia, regarding the use of medicinal and mystical
plants with the aim of proposing strategies for the incorporation of
phytotherapies into the local Unified Health System through local Basic
Health Clinics. This municipality was founded during the early
colonization of Brazil, introducing the monoculture of sugarcane and
slave labor to the region, resulting in a currently largely
Afro-Brazilian population. Key informants and local specialists were
interviewed and workshops were undertaken at the Basic Health Clinics to
collect data and information. The interviewees made 254 references to
126 plant species distributed among 107 genera and 50 families. Among
the species cited with medicinal or mystical uses, 51.6% were considered
autochtonous, and 42.8% were cited in at least one document of the
Brazilian Health Ministry; of these, 11.1% were mentioned in four to
eight documents, indicating potential for introduction to the local
Unified Health System. The valorization of local knowledge and practices
concerning the use of medicinal plants represents an important approach
to public health efforts.
Keywords
- Ethnobotany;
- Traditional knowledge;
- Phytotherapy;
- Plant conservation
