USO DE PLANTAS MEDICINAIS DA COMUNIDADE MARRUÁS DO MUNICÍPIO DE CRAÍBAS-AL, COMO FERRAMENTA NA CONSTRUÇÃO DO CONCEITO DE EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL.

Abstract

Environmental awareness was applied in this work with the aim of instigating environmental awareness in local communities in the Alagoas countryside, with the aim of building, together with the community, a concept of environmental education, using medicinal plants as a tool. For this purpose, visits were made to the target communities, and semi-structured questionnaires were applied, emphasizing the informants' socio-economic data, as well as ethnobotanical data. The study was carried out in the Marruás community, district of Craíbas – AL, between the months of February and October 2010. 100 interviews were carried out with residents, aged 12 to 80, appointed by the community leader. 40 plant species were surveyed, distributed in 35 families. Most interviewees cited Myracrodruon urundeuva Fr. Allem, known as aroeira, as the most used, followed by Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) and Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. (Holy grass). The predominance of leaves (97%) was observed in relation to other vegetative organs, followed by the bark (6%). The local disappearance of some species such as Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (mastruz) and Eucalyptus globulus Labill was recorded. (eucalyptus). The data obtained reveals the need for instructions to promote the sustainable use of medicinal plants in communities like this, creating a perspective of conservation and management of local vegetation.