Volume 24, Issue 4, July–August 2014, Pages 425–432
Open Access
Original article
Synergy in ethnopharmacological data collection methods employed for communities adjacent to urban forest
- Open Access funded by Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacognosia
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
Several
ethnopharmacological techniques used for sampling and data collection
cannot be used as they are for different areas and cultural groups. This
study combined and adapted reported ethnopharmacological research
techniques for sampling and data collection of medicinal plants in
forests adjacent to urban areas, and evaluated their potential
applicability. The areas considered in this study included the
neighborhoods adjacent to the Botanical Garden of the Federal University
of Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. Application of combined
ethnopharmacological research techniques ensured a practical strategy
and reliability in the collected data. Preliminary interviews with 303
questionnaires constituted the general sampling of the population, and
interviews with eleven people knowledgeable of medicinal plants
constituted specific sampling. Using the two techniques, it was possible
to identify sixty species, which are stored in the CESJ Herbarium.
Given the lack of specific ethnopharmacological research tools in the
context of multi-cultural urban communities located adjacent to forest
areas that require preservation, this study shows that the synergistic
use of techniques provides more reliable and reproducible data. The
combined use of these techniques provides safety and simplifies the
tools for future use in similar studies.
Keywords
- Botanical garden;
- Cultural knowledge;
- Medicinal plants;
- Sampling;
- Combination of techniques;
- Urban communities
