Volume 171, 2 August 2015, Pages 141–153
Plant species as a therapeutic resource in areas of the savanna in the state of Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Ethnobotanical
studies have contributed significantly in research of plants with
therapeutic potential. The aim of the present study was to learn about
the use of native medicinal plants cited by the traditional population
in “cerradão” (savanna woodland) areas in Northeast Brazil, providing
data on therapeutic indications of the species used and their
versatility.
Materials and methods
Semi-structured
interviews were conducted on the basis of a standardized questionnaire
designed for key informants selected using the “snowball” technique. The
selection of plants species with therapeutic potential was performed on
the basis of the relative importance (RI) and informant consensus fator
(ICF).
Results
A total of 78
species were indicated for 87 therapeutic purposes. Of these, 11 species
presented great versatility of use (RI>1), as e.g.including Copaifera langsdorffii Desf., Hybanthus calceolaria (Mart.) Plumel., Heliotropium cf. indicum L., Croton zehntneri, Croton heliotropiifolius, Myracrodruon urundeuva, Stryphnodendro rotundifolium. Medicinal uses could be generalized Pax & K. Hoffm and Hymenaea courbaril
L. The therapeutic indications were grouped into 14 use15 categories
with 594 species–category combinations. The largest number of medicinal
species was indicated for illnesses or undefined pain, followed by
diseases associated with respiratory, digestive and genitourinaryof body
systems. The factor informant consensus highlighted the agreement in
the use of plants and showed that the, of which Diseases of the Nervous
System and, Diseases of the Circulatory System had the greatest
agreement 1.0 and 0.87 repectively, Disorders of the Visual Sensory
System – Eyes and Respiratory System Disorder showed the highest
agreement of use.
Conclusions
Most
of the species cited by the key informants are well known
scientifically, but it is interesting that some have been studied little
or not all with regard to confirming their purported medicinal
properties and can contribute substantially to pharmacological and
phytochemical investigations in the search for new drugs.
Keywords
- Ethnobotany;
- Popular knowledge;
- Medicinal plants;
- Savanna woodland;
- Cerradão;
- Pernambuco
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