Abstract
Studies in rural communities are important to maintain popular knowledge between generations, as well as to identify new species for pharmaceutical production. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine which plant species the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil, uses by calculating the levels of fidelity and concordance regarding species uses among residents and to determine if there is a relationship between the number of known useful plants and levels of education, age, and residence time. Ethnobotanical data was collected from residents of the community through semi-structured interviews in January/December/2016. Species diversity was calculated using Shannon-Wiener, Level of Fidelity (LF), Correction Factor, and the Percentage of Agreement regarding the Main Uses (AMU). Statistical tests were performed using generalized linear models (GLM) in the R environment. The plant use indications were grouped according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD 10). We found 152 species belonging to 130 genera and 67 families. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves, and decoction was the most frequent preparation mode. Strychnos pseudoquina was the species with the highest amount of use indications. The diversity index was 4.5 nats/ind-1. The body system with the most citations was the code XVIII of ICD 10, corresponding to the species: alfavaca, mentraste, terramicina, angelim, fedegoso. Medicinal species with AMU values higher than 25% were: Strychnos pseudoquina, Plectranthus barbatus, Citrus sinensis cv. pera, Cymbopogon citratus. There was a relationship between the number of useful plants and the residence time of the participants. The Bananal community revealed high species richness and the relationship of knowledge showed that the older the residents and the longer their residence time in the community, the more knowledge they acquired.
Highlights
Ethnobotanical studies have been carried out throughout human history
This study aimed to: (i) determine the plant species used by the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil, (ii) verify the levels of fidelity and agreement of uses among the local inhabitants, (iii) determine the relationship between the number of known medicinal plants and the levels of education, age, and residence time
The present work stands out because of the high number of useful plants, this study was only developed in one community, while other studies were carried out in two or more communities [35]
Summary
Ethnobotanical studies have been carried out throughout human history. Such studies started off as qualitative descriptions, but later on focused on quantitative analyses that evaluated levels of fidelity and agreement of use of the species, and used as statistics with inferencial analyses. Some recent works include studies from Italy [3,4], from Iberian Peninsula countries [5] and from France [6] In the latter, the research focused on plants that are used to produce cosmetics and perfumes. More ethnobotanical research is done, being superior and displaying that plants are still widely used among human populations, and oftentimes are one of the few available resources for disease treatment. Such works, which evaluate traditional knowledge, are frequently published in countries as Kenya [7], Ethiopia [8], Angola [9], Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia [10, 11], among others. Other studies have been accomplished in distant places that are difficult to access, as an area in the Himalayan mountains [12], a district situated in South-Eastern Bangladesh [13], and an area on the northwestern coast of Egypt [14]
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