ETNOBOTÂNICA DE PLANTAS MEDICINAIS EM MERCADOS PÚBLICOS DA REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DE BELÉM DO PARÁ, BRASIL

Abstract

In the Amazon region, traditional markets have important social and symbolic functions related to the use of medicinal plants. This research examines the diversity of medicinal plants sold at fairs and public markets in the metropolitan area of Belem, as well as understanding the process of commercializing these products. We interviewed 25 merchants in 15 markets, covering four counties. Data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively through the Shannon-Wiener diversity indices, Sorensen similarity and Cultural Salience. One hundred sixty seven ethnospecies were recorded, distributed in 147 genera and 69 families, with Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Lamiaceae being the most representative of the families. The greatest diversity of species occurred in the city of Ananindeua, while most species similarity was found between the cities of Ananindeua and Marituba, both featuring high species richness. The greatest cultural salience indices belong to Dalbergia monetaria L.f. (veronica), Stryphnodendron sp. (barbatimao) and Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemao (aroeira). Among the resources that were sold, leaves and bark predominate, and trees and herbs were the most expressive life forms. The public markets of the Belem Metropolitan Region have one of the richest pharmacopoeias in the Amazon, playing an important role in the chain of commercialization of native and exotic medicinal plants, whose supply base depends on herbalists in Belem, islands around this region, local middleman and of other regions of Brazil. Keywords : Amazon; urban Ethnobotany; fairs and traditional markets; folk medicine.