Abstract
This study investigated the combined use of traditional medicine and biomedicine by local experts in Chapada do Araripe communities (Ceará State) and maroon communities (Santa Catarina State), Brazil. The objective was to understand the perception of local health specialists regarding the number of healers, demand for healers and use of medicinal plants, and the dependence of different environments to obtain such plants. We also aimed to understand the role of medicinal plants to treat different categories of diseases and if there is a complementary use of medicinal plants and allopathic biomedicine, according to the context of each group. The research was conducted with local health specialists that answered structured interviews, created free lists and participated in guided tours to collect cited plants. Sixty-six local health specialists were identified in the Araripe communities and 22 specialists in the maroon communities. In the maroon communities, a greater number of specialists thought there was a decrease in the number and demand for healers, as well as the use of medicinal plants, due to changes in traditional livelihoods, since they are located in a region where the effects of the modernization were more intense. In the Chapada do Araripe communities the specialists knew more plants extracted from native vegetation, whereas in the maroon communities cultivated plants were better known, which may reflect the environmental conditions and the history of each region. Medicinal plants are preferred to treat simpler health problems that do not require medical care, such as gastrointestinal problems, general pain, flues and colds. The biomedicine is used principally for problems with blood pressure, general pains and endocrine and nutritional diseases. Even with the particularities of each region, in general the use of medicinal plants and biomedicines occurred in a complementary form in both regions; however, this coexistence may result from these different contexts. This study also found that there was knowledge and appreciation for traditional health practices in both regions.
Highlights
Traditional medicine is defined as “the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness” [1]
This study investigated the use of traditional medicine and biomedicine in communities from two distinct regions, the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil and the coastal region of southern Brazil
Cearastate, where Chapada do Araripe communities are located, has a medium Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) of 0.682 and 24% of the population living in rural areas, while Santa Catarina state, where maroon communities are located, presents a high MHDI of 0.774 (3rd place among 27 Brazilian states) place. human development index, and only 16% of the population living in rural areas [23]
Summary
Traditional medicine is defined as “the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness” [1]. The present work uses the term disease to designate different perceptions of changes in health. The use of medicinal plants and the demand for local health specialists stand out among the diverse practices of traditional medicine that are found in both rural areas and urban centers [3, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Local health specialists are people of communities that are the most knowledgeable about traditional medicine and often about medicinal plants [2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11], and, for this reason, they play an important role in the appreciation and dissemination of this knowledge. Medicinal plant specialists and midwives are some examples of local health specialists [12]
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