Volume 172, 22 August 2015, Pages 347–355
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Using
the example of Polish migrants living in the subtropics of Argentina,
we attempt to expand knowledge about migrant strategies for retaining
their agency in medicinal plant procurement.
Aim of the study
Is
to state which environments play a pivotal role as a source of
medicinal plants for the study community, and if a gradient of relevance
exists in the exploitation of medicinally useful species between the
most proximate and the most distant habitats. We particularly aim to
answer the following questions: (1) if Polish migrants have changed
their patterns of obtaining medicinal plants during the migratory
process; and (2) if the choice of strategies for medicinal plants
depends on: (a) the degree of floristic and environmental similarity
between the home and host country; (b) the perception and usefulness of
certain environments as a source of medicinal plants; (c) the degree of
contact with the local population in the host country, and/or (d) the
degree of contact between migrants and their homeland.
Material and methods
The
analysis is grounded in data from different types of interviews and a
homegarden inventory addressed to 72 study participants. Voucher
specimens of species mentioned were gathered and identified. Two indices
were used as proxy measures: (1) the number of species obtained from
each habitat, and (2) the number of citations for both modes and places
of obtaining medicinal plants.
Results
Due
to different flora found in Argentina, Polish migrants could
reconstruct only bits and pieces of their native pharmacopoeia. They
could not acquire medicinal plants either from relatives in Poland or
via importation. Therefore they had to develop new strategies for
securing medicinal resources. During the migratory process, Poles in
Misiones changed forms and places of obtaining medicinal plants.
Cultivated species from homegardens play the most important role, while
in the native country homegarden species were used sparsely. The second
most important environment for medicinal plant procurement is the
forest, whose exploitation was increased by contact with local mestizos
and indigenous groups.
Conclusions
This
study clearly shows that traditional knowledge can be adaptive and
resilient. New species have been selected and incorporated from
mestizos, and indigenous people, and at the same time the use of some
legacy plants has been preserved. The importance of home gardens as a
venue for medicinal plants is another facet of this adaptive process.
Traditional knowledge is resilient too, because despite the many changes
that have occurred, Polish people have maintained phytotherapy as their
preferred form of treating ailments, and managed to retain certain
species brought from Europe as the most relevant.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Medical ethnobotany;
- Migrants' phytotherapy;
- Medicinal plants procurement;
- Polish diaspora;
- Atlantic Forest
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