Medicinal Plants: versatility and concordance of use in the caatinga area, Northeastern Brazil.

Maria O Santos,Julimery G.F Macedo,Daiany A Ribeiro,Maria Natália S De Lacerda,Marta Maria A Souza,Delmacia G De Macêdo,Maria Soraya Macêdo,Márcia J.F Macêdo

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201820170594

Maria O Santos, Julimery G.F Macedo + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201820170594

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Abstract

This study aims to investigate the diversity of native medicinal plants in a caatinga area, verifying the versatility of species and concordance of use among the informants, in the Angico de Cima community, in the city of Aurora, Ceará, Brazil. Ethnobotanical data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with key informants, adopting the snowball technique. The Relative Importance (RI) and Consensus Factor among Informants (ICF) were analyzed to indicate the most versatile species with the highest agreement of use, respectively. Within the 35 registered native species, eight presented great versatility, with a RI> 1, standing out Ziziphus joazeiro Mart. (1.86) and Heliotropium indicum (L.) Lehm (1.67). The 60 therapeutic indications were grouped into 13 body systems categories, of which Genitourinary System Disorder and Nervous, had the highest agreement of use with ICF from 0.8, each. Some species, such as Heliotropium indicum, have a high RI, are scarcely indicated for therapeutic activities in caatinga and require studies that prove their medicinal properties.

Highlights

Known for having one of the richest floras on the planet and containing around 20% of the world’s plant biodiversity (Garcez et al 2016), Brazil has more than 55,000 native species catalogued and a large variety of ethnic groups resulting in a wealth of knowledge about vegetation (Lima et al 2012)
Ziziphus joazeiro included the highest number of properties (12) and the second largest number of body systems (06), being most cited for the treatment of stomach pain, poor digestion, fever and anticariousness, through the oral intake of tea, Heliotropium indicum presented the second largest value of Relative Importance (1.67), encompassing the largest number of body systems (07) related to eight therapeutic properties
The study carried out in a caatinga area, in the community of Angico de Cima, Aurora, CE presents a considerable amount of native medicinal species, showing that the informants are knowledgeable and users of the local flora

Summary

Introduction

Known for having one of the richest floras on the planet and containing around 20% of the world’s plant biodiversity (Garcez et al 2016), Brazil has more than 55,000 native species catalogued and a large variety of ethnic groups resulting in a wealth of knowledge about vegetation (Lima et al 2012). A variety of medicinal plants from the caatinga widely known and used in folk medicine and in the commercial manufacture of herbal products, including: Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão, Amburana cearensis (Arr. Cam.) AC Smith., Erythrina velutina Willd., Anadenanthera colubrina Vell.) Brenan var. Some of the medicinal plants indicated in ethnobotanical surveys in the caatinga have already had their therapeutic indications confirmed through bioprospecting, presenting a great pharmacological potential. This is represented by activities such as antibacterial (Lôbo et al 2010), anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant (Leal et al 2003, Araújo-Neto et al 2010, Aquino et al 2016) as well as cicatrizing activities (Rodrigues et al 2002)

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