An Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Used in Papantla, Veracruz, Mexico.

Reimers Reimers,Del Valle Del Valle,Milella Milella,Russo Russo,Fernández Fernández,Chaloupkova Chaloupkova

doi:10.3390/plants8080246

Abstract

An ethnobotanical study was performed to collect information on the use of medicinal plants in Papantla, Veracruz, Mexico. The area has a high number of endemic species, and the social importance of the medicinal plants in the community is essential for public health and the conservation of traditional knowledge. This study identified the medicinal plants currently used, registered traditional knowledge, and documented the patterns of ailments treated in the indigenous communities of Totonacas. A total of 101 medicinal plants belonging to 51 families were described by 85 local informants. Asteraceae was the family with the highest number of plant species identified by these informants. Plant parts are used to treat several ailments, including venomous bites, gastro-intestinal disorders, infectious diseases and other disorders. Informants reported that the most common plant part used was the leaf tissue (55%), and they also took the herbal remedies orally (72%), and decoctions (38%) as well as infusions (29%) were the forms used to prepare these natural remedies. This study provides documentation of medicinal plants used in the Veracruz area of Mexico. Mexican people are still dependent upon medicinal plants, and in order to avoid their loss, certain measures of conservation for medicinal plants are needed.

Highlights

Traditional medicine is considered the first health care resource to treat ailments in several countries [1,2,3], and about 80% of people in the world depend upon traditional medicine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [4].Traditional medicine studies include ethnomedicine, which involves the practices most used by people that live in rural areas and indigenous communities, and this ethnomedicine is affected by factors such as age, gender, economic activity, socio-economic level, migration, access to new health care systems, new herbal products and urbanisation [5,6,7]
There is a high prevalence in the use of medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in the Veracruz area
The social importance of the medicinal plants in the community is quite important for the public health and the conservation of traditional knowledge, and good management is required

Summary

Introduction

Traditional medicine studies include ethnomedicine, which involves the practices most used by people that live in rural areas and indigenous communities, and this ethnomedicine is affected by factors such as age, gender, economic activity, socio-economic level, migration, access to new health care systems, new herbal products and urbanisation [5,6,7]. Plants are used for ornamental, nutritional (food and fodder), pharmaceutical, aromatic, religious or construction purposes [9]. Aspects such as the richness and diversity of cultures will increase the relative importance and roles (uses) that each plant could have in respective communities. Mexican medicinal plants play an important role in public health among the local communities.

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