Intracultural Variation in the Knowledge of Medicinal Plants in an Urban-Rural Community in the Atlantic Forest from Northeastern Brazil

• Published in: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 2012; no. 2012; pp. 1 - 15
• Main Authors: Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino de, Alves, Romulo Romeu da Nobrega, Almeida, Alyson Luiz, de Sousa Araújo, Thiago Antonio, Medeiros, Maria Franco Trindade, de Melo, Joabe Gomes, Silva, Rafael Ricardo, Alves Ramos, Marcelo, de Almeida, Cecília de Fátima Castelo Branco Rangel, de Amorim, Elba Lúcia Cavalcanti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01-01-2012; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Age; Forests; Gender; Herbal medicine; Indigenous species; Introduced species; Knowledge; Medicinal plants; Plant sciences; Rural areas; Species richness; Urban areas; Brazil; Rio Grande do Sul Brazil; Atlantic Forest; Ethiopia
• ISSN: 1741-427X; 1741-4288
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/679373

This study assessed the intracultural knowledge of the use of medicinal plants in an urban-rural community in an Atlantic forest fragment in northeastern Brazil. We examined the importance of native and exotic species and the effects of gender and age on that knowledge. We also compared data obtained from different groups of informants (local experts and general community). We conducted 194 interviews between June 2007 and January 2008, using the freelist technique and semistructured forms to collect ethnobotanical data. Information obtained from the community was compared with that from six local experts who participated in a survey in 2003. From a total of 209 ethnospecies, exotic and herbaceous plants presented higher richness. With respect to the number of citations, women and older informants were shown to know a higher number of medicinal plants. Comparing knowledge of local experts with that of the general community, we noted that experts know a similar wealth of plant families and therapeutic indications, but the community knows a greater species richness. These results indicate that local experts may provide useful information for studies that search for a quick diagnosis of the knowledge of a given community.