Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros1, Karina Ferreira Figueiredo2, Paulo Henrique Santos Gonçalves3, Roberta de Almeida Caetano4, Élida Monique da Costa Santos4, Gabriela Maria Cota Dos Santos4, Déborah Monteiro Barbosa4, Marcelo de Paula5, Ana Maria Mapeli2. 1. Campus de Engenharias e Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Br 104, s/n, Mata do Rolo, Rio Largo, Alagoas, 57100-000, Brazil. patricia.medeiros@ceca.ufal.br. 2. Centro das Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Rua da Prainha, n 1326, Morada Nobre, Barreiras, Bahia, 47810-047, Brazil. 3. Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Reitor Joaquim Amazonas, s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, Pernambuco, 50740-570, Brazil. 4. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Av. Paulo Holanda, 143, Cidade Universitária, Maceió, Alagoas, 57072-900, Brazil. 5. Centro das Ciências Exatas e das Tecnologias, Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Rua da Prainha, n 1326, Morada Nobre, Barreiras, Bahia, 47810-047, Brazil.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the variables that influence the species' cultural importance. METHODS: We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the variables that influence the cultural salience. RESULTS: The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values. CONCLUSION: It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners, or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional importance and ease of acquisition of these plants.
BACKGROUND: Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the variables that influence the species' cultural importance. METHODS: We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the variables that influence the cultural salience. RESULTS: The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values. CONCLUSION: It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners, or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional importance and ease of acquisition of these plants.
Authors: S Omar; B Lemonnier; N Jones; C Ficker; M L Smith; C Neema; G H Towers; K Goel; J T Arnason Journal: J Ethnopharmacol Date: 2000-11 Impact factor: 4.360
Authors: Alfred F Attah; Opeyemi O Akindele; Petra O Nnamani; Ugochukwu J Jonah; Mubo A Sonibare; Jones O Moody Journal: Front Pharmacol Date: 2022-03-08 Impact factor: 5.810