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Persea americana Mill. Lauraceae
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Persea americanaMill.: Laurus persea L.; Persea americana var. angustifolia Miranda; Persea americana var. drymifolia (Schltdl. & Cham.) S.F. Blake; Persea americana var. nubigena (L.O. Williams) L.E. Kopp; Persea drymifolia Schltdl. & Cham.; Persea edulis Raf.; Persea floccosa Mez.; Persea gigantea L.O. Williams; Persea gratissima C.F. Gaertn.; Persea gratissima var. macrophylla Meisn.; Persea gratissima var. oblonga Meisn.; Persea gratissima var. praecox Nees; Persea gratissima var. var. vulgaris Meisn.; Persea leiogyna S.F. Blake; Persea nubigena L.O. Williams; Persea paucitriplinervia Lundell; Persea persea (L.) Cockerell; Persea steyermarkii C.K. Allen
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The north of Peru represents the "Health Axis" of the Central Andes, with the roots of traditional practices going back to the Cupisnique culture (1000 BC).
During a decade of research semi-structured interviews of healers, collectors and sellers of medicinal plants were conducted. Bioassays were carried out to evaluate the effectiveness and toxicity of the plants found.
The majority (83%) of the 510 species used were native to Peru. 50% of the plants used in the colonial era disappeared from the pharmacopoeia. In the markets, vendors were grouped: common and exotic plants, plants for common diseases, plants only used by healers, and plants with magical purposes. About 974 preparations with up to 29 ingredients treated 164 conditions. Nearly 65% of the medicinal flora are applied in mixtures. Antibacterial activity was confirmed in most plants used for infections. 24% aqueous extract and 76% ethanol extracts showed toxicity. Traditional methods of preparation take this into account when choosing the appropriate solvent for the preparation of a remedy. The growing demand did not increase the significant cultivation of medicinal plants. The majority represent plants collected in nature, causing doubts about the sustainability of trade.
The focus of ethnobotanical studies and the participation of local stakeholders have changed a lot in recent decades. From the scientific point of view, the research has gone from simple inventories for example of mainly medicinal plants to detailed quantitative studies, often focused on all useful plants. However, the most important thing is that the research has finally moved away from colonial style research to modern ethnobotany based on the principles of the Nagoya Protocol. This is of great importance for the ethnobiological community. However, these changes have not been the same in all Latin American countries, and there are large regional differences.
The objective of this publication is to provide examples of twenty-five years of global research, describing the change of attitude and methodology during that time, highlighting the increasing role of local actors in ethnobotanical research and contributing ideas for the future development of the discipline.
With this special issue of Ethnobotany Research andApplications we try to bring 20 years
Background: Despite the importance of local markets as a source of medicinal plants in Colombia, comparatively little comparative research reports on the pharmacopoeiae sold. This stands in contrast to wealth of available information for other components of plant use in Colombia and other countries. The present provides a detailed inventory of the medicinal plant markets in the Bogotá metropolitan area, hypothesizing that the species composition, and medicinal applications, would differ across markets of the city.
Methods: From December 2014 – February 2016 semi–structured interviews were conducted with 38 plant vendors in 24 markets in Bogotá in order to elucidate more details on plant usage and provenance.
Results: In this study, we encountered 409 plant species belonging to 319 genera and 122 families. These were used for a total of 19 disease categories with 318 different applications. Both species composition and uses of species did show considerable differences across the metropolitan area – much higher in fact than we expected.
Conclusions: The present study indicated a very large species- and use-diversity of medicinal plants in the markets of Bogotá, with profound differences even between markets in close proximity. This might be explained by the great differences in the origin of populations in Bogotá, the floristic diversity in their regions of origin, and their very distinct plant use knowledge and preferences that are transferred to the markets through customer demand. Our study clearly indicated that studies in single markets cannot give an in-depth overview on the plant supply and use in large metropolitan areas.
Keywords: Medicinal plants, markets, Colombia, globalization
Bacterial infections and inflammation are among the ailments treated by traditional healers. The World HealthOrganization has expressed high interest in traditional medicine, and it is important to demonstrate scientifically thatremedies employed in folk medicine are indeed therapeutically active. In this communication we report on antibacterial assaysfor 171 plant species, conducted under simple laboratory conditions in a private clinic in Trujillo, Peru. The aim of the studywas to scientifically test if plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of infections showed indeed antibacterialactivity. Extracts of samples of 171 species were screened for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichiacoli, using agar-diffusion method. 14 species tested as traditional water extracts and 78 species extracted in ethanol showedactivity against al least one of the bacteria. Simple laboratory conditions can be applied to validate the antibacterial propertiesof plants used in traditional medicine. While folk-medicinal uses can provide clear leads for scientific trials, many plantstraditionally used against infections did not show any antibacterial activity, while plants used for different purposes yieldedsubstantial activity. To make the most of these leads plant uses have to be very carefully documented however. What has tobe taken into account is, that most traditional remedies are prepared as cocktails of different plants, where plant compoundspossibly enhance and complement each other, and bioassays need to be extended to cover such compound preparations
Antibacterial activity of northern-peruvian medicinal plants. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287104272_Antibacterial_activity_of_northern-peruvian_medicinal_plants [accessed Dec 21, 2015].
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Trabajo hasta la Fecha
Nuestro trabajo hasta le fecha—además de desarrollar una base de datos de 510 plantas medicinales (Bussmann y Sharon 2006, 2007a, 2009a) y 974 remedios de mezclas (Bussmann, Glenn, Meyer, Kuhlman y Townesmith 2010)—ha demostrado que el comercio de hierbas en Perú es un recurso económico de mayor importancia (Bussmann, Sharon, Vandebroek, Jones y Revene 2007) que se aplica extensivamente junto con el uso de productos farmacéuticos modernos, pero que es amenazado por la disminución de conocimientos tradicionales (Bussmann, Sharon y Lopez 2007; Bussmann, Sharon y Garcia 2009; Fajardo y Sours 2012). La investigación en el laboratorio de la mayor parte de la base de datos ha incluido concentraciones inhibitorias mínimas (Bussmann, Malca et al. 2010) análisis de toxicidad (Bussmann, Malca et al. 2011), ensayos de actividad antibacteriana (Bussmann, Sharon et al. 2008; Bussmann, Glenn et al. 2009a; Bussmann, Glenn et al. 2011) y análisis fitoquímico (Bussmann, Glenn et al. 2009b; Pérez, Rodríguez et al. 2012) con estudios enfocados de tratamientos herbales para la acné (Bussmann, Sharon et al. 2008), la malaria (Bussmann y Glenn 2010) y enfermedades renales e infecciones urinarias (Bussmann y Glenn 2011). Otros trabajos han tratado de la identificación de una planta ceremonial de la cultura pre-Hispánica Moche llamado Ulluchu (Bussmann y Sharon 2009b) y una reseña de fuentes coloniales sobre plantas medicinales en Perú Septentrional y Ecuador Meridional (Bussmann y Sharon 2009a). Una etnografía de hierbateros campesinos y aspectos de la cadena de oferta mostró que los proveedores de plantas no son adecuadamente remunerados para su labor y que la oferta es amenazado por la sobre-explotación y una falta de medidas de conservación (Revene, Bussmann, Sharon 2008). Carrillo (2012) criticó la metodología reduccionista de la ciencia moderna en cuanto a una valorización apropiada de remedios tradicionales. Smallwood (2010) escribió una etnografía sobre la interacción entre empresas fitofarmacéuticas y la Comisión Nacional Contra la Biopiratería. Analices antropológicos de curanderos tradicionales y sus mesas de curanderismo incluyen trabajos de Sharon (2009), Sharon y Gálvez (2009), Sharon, Glass-Coffin y Bussmann (2009) y Glass-Coffin, Sharon y Uceda (2004).
Vale notar que, durante la década que hemos estado trabajando en el campo y el laboratorio, ha ocurrido un cambio llamativo en actitudes y percepciones de la Medicina Tradicional (Sánchez Garrafas, eds. 2009; Vergara y Vásquez, eds. 2009). En Trujillo, un programa piloto de prescribir plantas medicinales científicamente evaluadas ha sido iniciado por el Programa Nacional de Medicina Complementaria (PRONAMEN) de EsSalud (Fernández 2009; Villar y Villavicencio 2001). También el programa “Semillas Sagradas” del Jardín Botánico de Missouri ha coordinado un jardín de plantas medicinales en el museo de sitio del centro urbano pre-Hispánica Chan Chan. Y un equipo de biólogos de la Universidad Nacional de Trujillo ha compilado un volumen de 774 plantas medicinales que abarca su taxonomía, ecogeografía, fenología y etnobotánica (Mostacero, Castillo, Mejía, Gamarra, Charcape y Ramírez 2011). En Huamachuco, un programa de etnobotánica y conservación manifestado en jardines y semilleros comunitarios de plantas medicinales está luchando para recubrr vida por medio de una colaboración entre una comunidad campesina, la Beneficencia Pública, el hospital regional, EsSalud, el programa “Semillas Sagradas” del Jardín Botánico de Missouri (MOBOT), MHIRT y el Cuerpo de Paz. Esperemos que trabajo futuro involucrará el desarrollo de una cadena de oferta entre la comunidad de Huamachuco y el Centro de Atención de Medicina Complementaria (CAMEC)-EsSalud de Trujillo respaldado científicamente por MHIRT, Universidad de Búfalo (SUNY)-Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias Biomédicas, el Jardín Botánico de Missouri y la Universidad Nacional de Trujillo.
Work up to 2012—besides developing a database of 510 medicinal plants (Bussmann and Sharon 2006b, 2007b, 2009c) and 974 remedies of mixtures (Bussmann, Glenn, Meyer, Kuhlman, and Townesmith 2010)—has demonstrated that herbal commerce in Peru is a major economic resource (Bussmann, Sharon, Vandebroek, Jones and Revene 2007), which, although used alongside modern pharmaceutical products, is showing signs of diminished popular knowledge of applications (Bussmann, Sharon, and Lopez 2007; Bussmann, Sharon, and Garcia 2009). Laboratory research on most of the database has ranged from minimum inhibition concentrations (Bussmann, Malca et al. 2010) to toxicity screening (Bussmann, Malca et al. 2011) as well as bioassays to determine antibacterial activity (Bussmann, Sharon et al. 2008; Bussmann, Glenn et al 2009a; Bussmann, Glenn et al. 2010) and phytochemical analysis (Bussmann, Glenn et al. 2009b; Perez, Rodriguez et. al. 2012) with more focused analyses of herbal treatments for acne (Bussmann, Sharon et al. 2008), malaria (Bussmann and Glenn 2010), and kidney problems and urinary infections (Bussmann and Glenn 2011). Other studies have sought to identify Ulluchu, a ceremonial plant of the pre-Hispanic Moche culture (Bussmann and Sharon 2009b) as well as surveying colonial sources of medicinal plants in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador (Bussmann and Sharon 2009a). An ethnography of peasant herbalists which documented aspects of the market supply chain showed that suppliers are not adequately remunerated and revealed threats posed by lack of conservation measures and overharvesting (Revene, Bussmann and Sharon 2008). Carrillo (2012) criticized the scientific reductionism of laboratory research in attempting to appropriately verify traditional remedies. Smallwood (2010) conducted an ethnography of the work of the Peruvian National Commission Against Biopiracy. Anthropological studies of traditional curanderos and their curing altars (mesas) included articles by Sharon (2009); Sharon and Gálvez (2009); Sharon, Glass-Coffin and Bussmann (2009); and Glass-Coffin, Sharon and Uceda (2004).
It is worth noting that, during the decade that we have been working in the field and the laboratory, there has been a sea change in attitudes and perceptions of Traditional Medicine (Sánchez Garrafas, eds., 2009; Vergara and Vásquez, eds., 2009). As noted earlier, in Trujillo, Lima and Arequipa, a pilot program prescribing medicinal plants scientifically validated by WHO/PAHO has been initiated by EsSalud’s National Program for Complementary Medicine, an initiative begun in 1999 with three centers which has grown to 26 to date (Fernández 2009; Villar and Villavicencio 2001). In Trujillo, the Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) Sacred Seeds program started an herbal garden and educational outreach program at the site museum of the pre-Hispanic Chimú city of Chan Chan. University of Trujillo (UNT), botanists Mostacero, Castillo, Mejía, Gamarra, Charcape and Ramírez (2011) compiled a volume of 774 medicinal plants, including taxonomy, ecogeography, fenology, and ethnobotany. In Huamachuco, a program of ethnobotany and conservation manifest in community gardens and seed banks of medicinal and food plants is slowly emerging through collaboration between a local peasant community, the Beneficencia Publica, the regional hospital, EsSalud, MOBOT’s Sacred Seeds program, MHIRT, and the Peace Corps. Future work will involve developing a supply chain between Huamachuco and EsSalud´s Centro de Atención de Medicina Complementaria in Trujillo with scientific validation by MOBOT, University at Buffalo (SUNY), and the Biotransformation and Natural Products Laboratory at UNT.
Medicinal plant use in Peru can be tracked back for millennia, and although westernized medicine has become an important factor in the treatment of illnesses, many patients still frequent herbalist shops and retain some herbal knowledge of their own. The present study, undertaken at "Laboratorios Beal," a herbalist practice in Trujillo, Peru, was conducted as a comparison to previous research at Clinica Anticona, a Western style clinic in the same city, to evaluate if patients at a herbal clinic were more likely to use plants for treatment rather than pharmaceuticals, and if their own plant knowledge was more extensive than the knowledge of the patients interviewed at a Western clinic. The results demonstrate that, amongst the patients of the herbal clinic, plants do played only a slightly larger role when compared to the use of pharmaceuticals, indicating that patients at the herbal clinic were as likely to use Western pharmaceuticals as patients at a Western clinic were using herbs, and vise versa. Even at a herbalist shop many patients thought that pharmaceutical medicine to be faster and more effective than herbs, while plants were regarded as safer and free from side-effects. The plant knowledge of individual patients was comparable to the knowledge encountered at a western medicinal facility.
The country of Madagascar is renowned for its high level of biodiversity and endemism, as well as the overwhelming pressures and threats placed on the natural resources by a growing population and climate change. Traditional medicine plays an important role in the daily lives of the Malagasy for various reasons including limited access to healthcare, limited markets and traditional values. The objective of this study was to assess the modern utitilization of the Agnalazaha Forest by the local population in Mahabo-Mananivo, Madagascar, for medicinal plants used by women, and to establish a list of medicinal plants used by women sourced from Agnalazaha Forest.
Ethnobotanical studies were conducted over a period of five months in 2010 to determine the diversity of medicinal plants used by women in the commune of Mahabo-Mananivo. In all, 498 people were interviewed, both male and female ranging age from 15 to over 60 years old.
152 medicinal plants used by local people were collected during the ethnobotanical studies. Among the recorded species, eight native species are widely used by women. These species are known for their therapeutic properties in treating placental apposition and complications during childbirth as well as tropical illnesses such as malaria, filariasis, and sexual diseases like gonorrhea and syphilis.
Littoral forests are rare ecosystems that are highly threatened on the island nation of Madagascar. Our investigation into the use of medicinal plants sourced from and around the Agnalazaha Forest by the women of Mahabo-Mananivo reinforces the need for this natural resource as a first line of health care for rural families.
had a much lower efficacy against bacteria and fell within the range of species that are traditionally used to treat other bodily disorders. Resumen Infecciones bacterianas e inflamación se encuen-tran entre las enfermedades tratadas por curanderos tradicionales. La Organización Mundial de Salud se ha expresada como altamente interesada en la Me-dicina Tradicional, y es importante demostrar cientí-ficamente que los remedios usados en la medicina popular de veras son terapéuticamente activos. En este trabajo evaluamos la propiedad antibacteriana de 525 muestras de plantas medicinales del Perú sep-tentrional de mínimo 405 especies contra Staphylo-coccus aureus Rosebach 1884 Escherichia coli (Migula Abstract Bacterial infections and inflammation are among the ail-ments treated by traditional healers. The World Health Organization has expressed high interest in Traditional Medicine (TM), and it is important to demonstrate scien-tifically that the remedies employed in folk medicine are indeed therapeutically active. In order to evaluate the anti-bacterial activity of species used in traditional medicine in Northern Peru, 525 plant samples of at least 405 species were tested in simple agar-bioassays for antibacterial ac-tivity under simple laboratory conditions in a private clin-ic in Trujillo, Peru. Antibacterial activity was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus Rosenbach 1884, Esche-richia coli (Migula 1895) Castellani & Chalmers 1919, Sal-monella enterica Typhi (ex Kauffmann & Edwards 1952) Le Minor & Popoff 1987, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schröter 1872) Migula 1900. The aim of the study was to scientifically test whether plants used in TM for the treat-ment of infections showed antibacterial activity, and to de-lineate a number of candidates for further in-depth study of their Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and tox-icity. One-hundred-ninety-three ethanolic extracts and 31 water extracts were active against S. aureus. In twenty-one cases only the water extract showed activity. None of the aqueous extracts were active against the other three bacteria, with the activity of the ethanolic extracts also much reduced, as only 36 showed any activity against E. coli, and 3 each against S. enterica Typhi and P. aerugi-nosa. Two-hundred-twenty-five extracts came from spe-cies that are traditionally employed against bacterial infec-tions. One-hundred-sixty-six (73.8%) of these were active against at least one bacterium. Of the three-hundred ex-tracts from plants without traditional antibacterial use, only 96 (32%) showed any activity Plants used for respiratory disorders, inflammation/infection, wounds, diarrhea, and to prevent post partum infections were efficacious in 70-88% of the tests. Plants used for "kidney inflammation" Published: February 25, 2011 Ethnobotany Research & Applications 68 www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol9/i1547-3465-09-067.pdf 1895) Castellani & Chalmers 1919, Salmonella enterica Typhi (ex Kauffmann & Edwards 1952) Le Minor & Popoff 1987 e Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schröter 1872) Migula 1900, usando un método de difusión en agar bajo de condiciones simples de laboratorio en Trujillo, Perú. La meta de este estudio fue de científicamente pro-bar si plantas usadas en la Medicina Tradicional para tratar infecciones mostraron actividad antibacteriana, y para delinear candidatos para estudios futuros de Concentración Inhibitoria Mínima y toxicidad. Ciento noventa y tres extractos etanolicos y 31 extractos en agua mostraron actividad en contra de S. aureus. En 21 casos solo los extractos acuosos fueron eficaces. Ninguno de los extractos acuosos tuvo actividad contra las otras bacterias, y solo 36 de los etanolicos mostraron eficaz contra E. coli, y 3 en cada caso con-tra S. enterica Typhi e P. aeruginosa. Doscientos vein-ticinco extractos pertenecieron a especies tradiciona-lmente usadas como antibacterianas. De estos 73.8% fueron activos. De los 300 extractos de plantas no tradicionalmente usadas contra bacterias, solo 32% tuvieron un efecto positive. Plantas usadas para el tratamiento de infecciones respiratorias, inflamación/ infección, heridas, diarrea e infecciones después del parto fueron eficaces en 70-88% de los casos. Plan-tas usadas para inflamaciones de los riñones y otros desordenes tuvieron una eficaz mucho mas baja en contra de bacterias.
Bacterial infections and inflammation are among the ailments treated by traditional healers. The World Health Organization has expressed high interest in traditional medicine, and it is important to demonstrate scientifically that remedies employed in folk medicine are indeed therapeutically active. In this communication, antibacterial assays for 165 plant species conducted under simple laboratory conditions in a private clinic in Trujillo, Peru has been reported. The aim of the study was to scientifically test whether plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of infections showed antibacterial activity. Extracts of samples of 148 species traditionally used as antibacterial were screened for activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli using an agar-diffusion method. In addition, 17 closely related species that were also part of the local pharmacopoeia, but only used for other purposes, were included for comparison. Sixteen species tested as traditional water extract and 96 species extracted in ethanol showed activity against at least one of the bacteria. The study confirms that simple laboratory methods are very well suited to assess the efficacy of traditionally used medicinal plants to inhibit bacterial growth. A comparison to the traditional uses also indicated that local knowledge can give important leads for the development of new treatments. Further tests, especially with regard to toxicity, are needed to verify the safety of the traditional preparations.
Intestinal disorders continue to be a major health challenge worldwide especially due to the increasingly fast development of resistance of bacterial strains against to the drugs currently in use. Many plant species are traditionally used for treatment of intestinal disorders, and some have been investigated for their efficacy with positive results. An often-limiting factor to these investigations is lack of comprehensive ethnobotanical data to help choose plant candidates for potency/efficacy tests. A total of 75 plant species belonging to 62 genera and 39 families were documented and identified as herbal remedies for intestinal ailments in Northern Peru. Most species used were Lamiaceae (13,33%), followed by Asteraceae and Rutaceae (both 5 species, 6.67%). Most other families contributed only one species each to the pharmacopoeia. The most important anti-infectious families are clearly over-represented in comparison to the overall medicinal flora, while some other medicinally important families (e.g. Asteraceae), are much less important. The majority of anti-infectious herbal preparations were prepared from the leaves of plants (29.25%), the whole plant (22.64%), and stems (16.04%). In almost 60% of the cases fresh plant material was used to prepare remedies, which differs little from the average herbal preparation mode in Northern Peru. Interestingly, only about 83% of the remedies were applied orally, while the remaining ones were applied topically. Over half of all remedies were prepared as mixtures of multiple ingredients. Almost 50% of the plants found in this study have shown efficacy in scientific studies. Resumen Infecciones de los intestinos están un problema mayor de salud a nivel global, en particular por el desarrollo rápido de resistencias de bacterias en contra de farmacéuticos de uso regular. En la medicina tradicional se usan muchas plantas para tratamiento de problemas del sistema gastro-intestinal, y algunos han sido investigados por la ciencia regular para demostrar su eficaz, dando resultados positivos. Un problema serio esta la escasez de datos etnobotanicos exactos para elegir plantas candidatos para investigaciones de este tipo. En este estudio un total de 75 especies de plantas de 62 géneros y 39 familias han sido documentadas e identificadas como remedios para problemas gastro-intestinales. La mayoría de los especies pertenece a Lamiaceae (13,33%), seguido por Asteraceae y Rutaceae (ambos con 5 especies, 6.67%). La mayoría de las otras familia solo contribuyo una especia a la farmacopoeia. Las familias mas importantes están sobre-representados en comparación a la flora medicinal general, mientras algunas familias importantes en medicine (por ejemplo Asteraceae) parecen menos importantes para estas enfermedades. La mayoría de los remedios consiste de hojas (29.25%), la planta entera (22.64%), y tallos (16.04%). En casi 60% de los casos se uso material fresco. Solo 83% de los remedies fueron aplicados por vía oral. Casi la mitad consistió de ingredientes múltiples. Casi 50% de las plantas mostraron eficaz en estudios científicos.
Infections of the reproductive tract, complications after childbirth, and reproductive problems continue to be a major health challenge worldwide. An impressive number of plant species is traditionally used to remedy such afflictions, and some have been investigated for their efficacy with positive results. A total of 105 plant species belonging to 91 genera and 62 families were documented and identified as herbal remedies for reproductive problems in Northern Peru. Most species used were Asteraceae (9.52%), followed by Lamiaceae and Fabaceae (8.57% and 6.67%). The most important families are clearly represented very similarly to their overall importance in the local pharmacopoeia. The majority of herbal preparations for reproductive afflictions were prepared from the leaves of plants (22.72%), the whole plant (21.97%), and stems (21.21%), while other plant parts were used less frequently. More than 60% of the cases fresh plant material was used to prepare remedies. Over 70% of the remedies were applied orally, while the remaining ones were applied topically. Many remedies were prepared as mixtures of multiple ingredients.
Little scientific evidence exists to prove the efficacy of the species employed as reproductive disorder remedies in Northern Peru. Only 34% of the plants found or their congeners have been studied at all for their medicinal properties. The information gained on frequently used traditional remedies might give some leads for future targets for further analysis in order to develop new drugs.
The investigation of plant mixtures used in traditional medicine in Northern Peru yielded a total of 974 herbal preparations used to treat 164 different afflictions. Psychosomatic disorders were, with almost 30% of all recipes applied, the most important afflictions treated. In most cases, healers used only one or two mixtures to treat an illness. However, up to 49 different preparations were used to treat the same disease. This indicates a high degree of experimentation. Altogether 330 plant species, representing almost 65% of the medicinal flora used in the region were applied in mixtures. The overwhelming number of plant mixtures contained 2-7 different plant species, although in the most extreme case 27 distinct species were included. The cluster analysis confirmed that mixtures used for applications like inflammations, infections and blood purification, as well as cough, cold, bronchitis or other respiratory disorders, or urinary infection and kidney problems had similar floristic compositions. Mixtures used for nervous system disorders, anxiety and heart problems often had a similar composition.
Medicinal plants have been used in Peru for millennia for a variety of uses, but, over the last century, modern technology has deterred the increased growth of this valuable knowledge. The present study attempts to look at a clinic in El Porvenir, on the north coast of Peru to discover what kind of medicines are preferred and the factors determining choices made. Previous studies have shown that medicinal plants still play an important role in treatment. However, the results of our study demonstrate that pharmaceutical medicine plays a larger role when compared to the use of medicinal plants. Thus, while many patients feel pharmaceutical medicine is faster and more effective, there are still a large number of plants that are commonly used by patients. As a result, there is evidence that more research in this area should be done in order to learn what factors determine medical choices and what factors might lead to an increase the use of medicinal plants.
The botanical identification of Ulluchu, an iconic fruit frequently depicted in the art of the pre-Columbian Moche culture that flourished from A.D. 100–800 on the Peruvian north coast, has eluded scientists since its documentation in ceramics in the 1930s. Moche fine-line drawings of Ulluchu normally depict seed-pods or seeds floating in the air in sacrificial scenes, associated with runners and messengers or intoxicated priests. It is a grooved, comma-shaped fruit with an enlarged calyx found mainly in fine-line scenes painted on Moche ceramics. The term first appeared without linguistic explanation in the work of pioneer Moche scholar Rafael Larco Hoyle, and the identification of the plant was seen as the largest remaining challenge in current archaebotany at the Peruvian North coast. The name Ulluchu seems to have been coined by Larco. According to his description, the name originated in the Virú River valley, and is supposedly of Mochica origin. However, there is no linguistic evidence that such a term indeed existed in the Mochica or Yunga language.
We conclude that Ulluchu can be identified as a group of species of the genus Guarea (Meliaceae) based on morphological characteristics. In addition, the chemical composition of the plant's compounds supports the thesis that it was used in a sacrificial context to improve the extraction of blood from sacrificial victims. We also suggest that a ground preparation of Guarea seeds, when inhaled, may have been used as a hallucinogen. However, more detailed phytochemical research is needed to corroborate the latter hypothesis.
This paper examines the traditional use of medicinal plants in Loja province, Southern Ecuador.
Two hundred fifteen plant species were collected, identified and their vernacular names and traditional uses recorded. This number of species indicates that the healers, market vendors and members of the public interviewed still have a very high knowledge of plants in their surroundings, which can be seen as a reflection of the knowledge of the population in general. However, the area represents only an outlier of the larger Northern Peruvian cultural area, where more than 500 species of plants are used medicinally, indicating that in Ecuador much of the original plant knowledge has already been lost.
Most plant species registered are only used medicinally, and only a few species have any other use (construction, fodder, food). The highest number of species is used for the treatment of "magical" (psychosomatic) ailments (39 species), followed by respiratory disorders (34), problems of the urinary tract (28), Fever/Malaria (25), Rheumatism (23) and nervous system problems (20).
This paper examines the traditional use of medicinal plants in Northern Peru, with special focus on the Departments of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca, and San Martin.
Northern Peru represents the center of the old Central Andean "Health Axis," stretching from Ecuador to Bolivia. The roots of traditional healing practices in this region go at least as far back as the Moche period (AC 100–800).
Although about 50% of the plants in use reported in the colonial period have disappeared from the popular pharmacopoeia, the plant knowledge of the population is much more extensive than in other parts of the Andean region.
510 plant species used for medicinal purposes were collected, identified and their vernacular names, traditional uses and applications recorded. The families best represented were Asteraceae with 69 species, Fabaceae (35), Lamiaceae (25), and Solanaceae (21). Euphorbiaceae had twelve species, and Apiaceae and Poaceae 11 species.
The highest number of species was used for the treatment of "magical/ritual" ailments (207 species), followed by respiratory disorders (95), problems of the urinary tract (85), infections of female organs (66), liver ailments (61), inflammations (59), stomach problems (51) and rheumatism (45).
Most of the plants used (83%) were native to Peru. Fresh plants, often collected wild, were used in two thirds of all cases, and the most common applications included the ingestion of herb decoctions or the application of plant material as poultices.
Traditional methods of healing have been beneficial in many countries with or without access to conventional allopathic medicine. In the United States, these traditional practices are increasingly being sought after for illnesses that cannot be easily treated by allopathic medicine. More and more people are becoming interested in the knowledge maintained by traditional healers and in the diversity of medicinal plants that flourish in areas like Northern Peru. While scientific studies of medicinal plants are underway, concern has arisen over the preservation of both the large diversity of medicinal plants and the traditional knowledge of healing methods that accompanies them. To promote further conservation work, this study attempted to document the sources of the most popular and rarest medicinal plants sold in the markets of Trujillo (Mayorista and Hermelinda) and Chiclayo (Modelo and Moshoqueque), as well as to create an inventory of the plants sold in these markets, which will serve as a basis for comparison with future inventories. Individual markets and market stalls were subjected to cluster analysis based on the diversity of the medicinal plants they carry. The results show that markets were grouped based on the presence of: (1) common exotic medicinal plants; (2) plants used by laypeople for self-medication related to common ailments ("everyday remedies"); (3) specialized medicinal plants used by curanderos or traditional healers; and (4) highly "specialized" plants used for magical purposes. The plant trade in the study areas seems to correspond well with the specific health care demands from clientele in those areas. The specific market patterns of plant diversity observed in the present study represent a foundation for comparative market research in Peru and elsewhere.
Con el objetivo de conocer y determinar la importancia relativa de las plantas usadas como medicinales, se realizó un estudio etnobotánico en las comunidades campesinas de algunas veredas de seis municipios del Altiplano del Oriente antioqueño: El Carmen de Viboral, El Retiro, Guarne, La Ceja, Marinilla y Rionegro, región correspondiente a la zona de vida denominada bosque húmedo montano bajo (bh-MB). Se recopiló información sobre plantas medicinales silvestres o espontáneas y plantas medicinales cultivadas, introducidas casi desde la época de la conquista o la colonia y que son de uso muy arraigado entre las comunidades de la zona de estudio. Con la información suministrada por 17 informantes de las diferentes veredas, se registraron 254 especies de plantas usadas como medicinales en el altiplano del Oriente antioqueño, agrupadas en 193 géneros correspondientes a 79 familias. La mitad de las especies mencionadas en este estudio (127) son silvestres o no cultivadas y se encuentran principalmente en áreas de vegetación secundaria como bordes de camino, potreros, matorrales, rastrojos y bordes de corrientes acuáticas, entre otros hábitats. Las otras 127 especies usadas como medicinales en la región del estudio, son cultivadas como alimenticias, ornamentales, esotéricas, maderables, medicinales, generalmente en huertas familiares y huertas especializadas para cultivos de plantas medicinales para la venta. El trabajo es un aporte al conocimiento de la flora medicinal de Colombia y al rescate del conocimiento tradicional sobre el uso de las plantas medicinales.
Ethnopharmacological relevance
The study documents current medicinal plant knowledge and use in two Andean communities and depicts the dynamic nature of ethnobotanical relationships by illustrating cultural integration of biomedicine and local plant medicine into a complementary system.
Aim of the study
In order to elucidate the importance of medicinal plants, the following research questions were addressed: Which position do medicinal plants have in the local health care system? Which plants are used medicinally, and do they differ between the communities? Is their use supported pharmacologically?
Materials and methods
Fieldwork was done for seven months in 2010. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 120 informants in Uchumarca and Pusac/San Vicente de Paúl, and the medicinal plant species mentioned by the informants were vouchered.
Results
In total, 2776 plant remedy use reports were recorded. Most people in both communities know at least some medicinal plants, usually from their parents, grandparents, sometimes from books. There are different types of local plant specialists, who are consulted above all for the treatment of diseases thought to have a magical origin or for recommendations of plants to treat minor diseases. Overall, 140 medicinal plants were documented, with a conformity of over 90% between the communities. The effective use of the most frequently cited medicinal plants is supported by scientific literature. Most uses were reported for the treatment of gastrointestinal (17%), nervous (14%), respiratory (14%), urological (13%) and dermatological diseases (8%); nervous diseases were more prevalent in the mountain community, while dermatological and urological diseases were more common in the valley.
Conclusions
People combine medicinal plant use and biomedicine depending on the kind of disease, their beliefs, and their economic situation. The local use of different available medical resources is reflected by the combination of related epistemologies to explain disease causes. Medicinal plant use and biomedicine complement each other to form the local health care system.
Plants of longevity - the medicinal flora of Vilcabamba. Plantas de longevidad - La flora medicinal de Vilcabamba. Honolulu: Arogya
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Antibacterial activity of Northern-Peruvian medicinal plants - a low cost laboratory approach to assess biological activity
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Quito/Aarhus: Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador/Herbario
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Antibacterial activity of northern Peruvian medicinal plants
- R W Bussmann
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Local Handicraft and Other Uses Ecuador: The plant is used as animal fodder (Mestizo-Loja
- Torre De La
Local Handicraft and Other Uses
Ecuador: The plant is used as animal fodder (Mestizo-Loja) (de la Torre et al. 2008).
The flower is visited by bees (unspecified ethnic group -Loja) (de la Torre et al.
Medicinal herbs of Southern Ecuador -Hierbas Medicinales del Sur Ecuatoriano
- E Béjar
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