Abstract
BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the local botanical knowledge of native food plants in three rural communities, located in the semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil, verifying possibilities of differences of knowledge among communities and between men and women.MethodsSemi-structured interviews about native plant knowledge and use were conducted with all householders in each community, totaling 117 informants. The species similarity among the communities of Pau D’Arco, Várzea Alegre, and Barroquinha was compared with Jaccard index, and the use value index (UVgeneral, UVcurrent, UVpotential) was used to determine the most important species. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the use values among communities and genders. The consensus factor among the informants was calculated according to the uses cited, and the Wilcoxon test was used to compare the use values between men and women.ResultsWe recorded 9 species belonging to 8 genera and 8 families in Várzea Alegre; 10 species, 9 genera, and 9 families in Barroquinha; and 7 species, 7 genera and 7 families in Pau D’Arco. Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae) in Várzea Alegre, Spondias sp. (Anacardiaceae) in Barroquinha, and Ximenia americana L. (Olacaceae) in Pau D’Arco were the most prominent species. Preparation methods are slightly different in the three communities, and there is low similarity about species use among the communities. Regarding gender, the analysis of use value among the communities evidenced significant differences only for UVgeneral among women, specifically between Barroquinha and Pau D’Arco. For men and women within each community, there is a difference only for UVpotential in Barroquinha.ConclusionThis study showed that the residents of the three rural communities have limited knowledge of native food plants found in their communities, but they know where to find them, which parts they may use and how to consume them. The fact is that men know plants that are more distant from the residences and women know those that are next to them.
Highlights
This study aimed to investigate the local botanical knowledge of native food plants in three rural communities, located in the semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil, verifying possibilities of differences of knowledge among communities and between men and women
We investigated three rural communities in the municipalities of São Mamede, Lagoa, and Itaporanga, in Paraíba State (Northeast Brazil), recording and analyzing the local botanical knowledge and the use of native food plants in the semiarid region
Study area This study conducted in the rural communities of Várzea Alegre, Barroquinha (Lagoa), and Pau D’Arco (Itaporanga), Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil (Fig. 1)
Summary
This study aimed to investigate the local botanical knowledge of native food plants in three rural communities, located in the semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil, verifying possibilities of differences of knowledge among communities and between men and women. Food plants currently found in the Americas are from Eurasia, such as pea (Pisum sativum L.), fava bean (Vicia faba L.) [3], and rice (Oryza sativa L.) [4], and they were brought to the American continent in the early stages of the Spanish colonization, complementing the food diversity available to people Until today, all these native or non-native species are part of the food diversity, and their use is influenced by many factors, including sociocultural, ecological, environmental and scientific factors; the cultural inertia associated with the traditions is a determining factor for the consumption of these plants in various communities [5, 6]. In each one of these societies (urban, rural, indigenous), native food plants are important from a socio-economic point of view, because these resources are an additional nutritional value and are linked to the adaptive processes that led the inhabitants to eat them, and a change in these eating habits may cause socioeconomic stress, mainly driven by a loss of cultural identity [7, 8]
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