Traditional knowledge about medicinal plants by maya-chontal inhabitants of the town of Tucta, municipality of Nacajuca, Tabasco, Mexico

Abstract

In Tabasco the use of medicinal plants is extensive by a large group of the population, both rural and urban, largely because they do not have the economic resources. Therefore both, researchers and governmental institutions have been conducting research to rescue the knowledge about medicinal plants. One of these places is the town of Tucta in Nacajuca, Tabasco, where the largest number of Mayan-Chontal indigenous groups live. Para ello, se aplicó un modelo de metodología Etnobotánica, se comenzó a seleccionar a los informantes con los que se trabajó mediante la técnica de bola de nieve. In this small community, only three people had the knowledge according to the technique used, of which two are women and one is a man. The average age of these people is 55 years old. There are 87 species and 78 genera grouped in 44 families, being the Asteraceae the ones that presented the highest number of species with 9. Regarding the biological form that predominates, herbs occupy 60%, with species such as coriander (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) and incense (Artemisia mexicana Muller) among others. Forty-eight conditions were recorded, however, 11 are the most common, the most frequently reported was cough 13 times. The parts of the plants most used for the preparation of remedies are the leaves with 56% of cases. Finally, 46% of the plants are cultivated in their gardens. This shows that in most of the communities there is still knowledge and medicinal species from the Chontal Mayan culture.