Environmental influence on the choice of medicinal animals: a case study from northeastern Brazil

• Published in: Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 55 - 10
• Main Authors: da Silva Policarpo Brito, Iamara, Borges, Anna Karolina Martins, de Faria Lopes, Sérgio, Dias, Thelma Lúcia Pereira, Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 27-11-2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Biological Products - therapeutic use; Brazil; Case studies; Chelonia mydas; Coasts; Data collection; Disease; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Endangered & extinct species; Estuaries; Fishes; Folk medicine; Herbal medicine; Humans; Interviews; Invertebrates; Mammals; Medicinal animals; Medicine; Medicine, Traditional; Questionnaires; Reptiles; Reptiles & amphibians; Species; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taxonomy; Traditional medicine; Zootherapy; Brazil; Macao; Rio Grande do Norte Brazil; Zootherapy; Folk medicine; Medicinal animals
• ISSN: 1746-4269; 1746-4269
• DOI: 10.1186/s13002-019-0337-9

Animals from various taxonomic groups are commonly used in folk medicine, and their selection seems to be directly linked to their availability and accessibility. In the present study, we analyzed the use of animals as a source of folk medicines in a community in northeastern Brazil with access to aquatic and terrestrial animals. We hypothesize that the medicinal fauna is well represented by species of both habitat types.
For the collection of information, semi-structured questionnaires were applied to local residents.
We recorded the use of 22 animals used as medicinal resources in the community, distributed among eight taxonomic categories, which are used to treat 38 types of diseases. Of the therapeutic animals, 14 species are terrestrial and 8 species can be considered aquatic occurring in marine or estuarine habitats.
Our data confirm the tendency of human communities to use affordable medicinal animals in local ecosystems. We also found that medicinal use represents a strategy of optimizing the use of resources and is related to the economic, historical, social, cultural, and ecological contexts in which the community is inserted.