Volume 24, Issue 5, September–October 2014, Pages 506–515
Open Access
Original article
What is the role of exotic medicinal plants in local medical systems? A study from the perspective of utilitarian redundancy
- Open Access funded by Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacognosia
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
Medicinal
plants are an important aspect of local medical systems. The
composition of a medicinal plant collection is influenced by cultural
and environmental factors. Additionally, the functionality of a local
medical system can be threatened by the replacement of native species
with exotic ones, as well as by cultural factors such as the erosion of
knowledge. The objectives of this study are: 1) examine the composition
of the medicinal plant collec- tion of two rural communities settled in
the caatinga (savanna-like vegetation) of the state of
Pernambuco (Brazil); 2) observe the role of exotic plants in the local
medical systems; and 3) identify the profile of the species utilized
according to the Utilitarian Redundancy Model. Similarities were
observed between the medicinal floras of the communities studied,
emphasizing the importance of the surrounding biome within the
possibilities of species selection, although exotic species appear to
contribute by increasing the diversity of species considered in the
communities to be medicinal. The native species act broadly among the
body systems recognized in the two communities, whereas exotic species
act in specific body systems, for which there are few associated native
species.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0102695X14000714
Keywords
- Ethnobotany;
- Ethnopharmacology;
- Ethnomedicine;
- Human ecology
