Medicinal intercultural plant garden: homeopathy and phyto-nutritional care

Abstract

The present article describes historic evolution conception process of an intercultural medicinal plant garden as a tool to construct social ecoperception about environmental health and cultural diversity, to improve environmental ethics. Through case study methodology it reports the process along five years. Hybrid Learning of Homeopathy, Phytotherapy, Bioethic were successful to scientific basic research initiation and novel biological research will be done using pathogenetic chemical markers to discuss biologic results. Results also show multi, inter and transdisciplinary effective activities and communications about primary care attention. Empirically, it has been developped a positive perception among patients, students and professionals about Homeopathy, as a qualitative humanized approach. Phytotherapy was mainly preconized by its nutraceutical, functional and adaptogenic effects. Indeed, intercultural medicinal plant garden construction process provided integrality of applied intercultural, interethnical and indigenous knowledge expressed from their affective memories and registered like an “open-air” intercultural plant collection (“plant library”), improving humanities as respect, ethic, kindness and integrated citizenship, besides the learning to coexist with complexity, singularity and self-direction without lost of professional ethic. So, as qualitative evaluation, it was considered that a mandate of equity, social justice and welfare to mental health promotion to this urban ethnic members and indigenous, as recommended in health promotion by the Ottawa Charter, has been fulfilled in this period (2018 – 2023) at this intersectoral ambulatory (which necessary includes medical anthropology and clinical bioethics studies) at Homeopathy Service, 7a Yard of General Hospital Santa Casa da Misericordia - Rio de Janeiro/Brazil.