Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Imperatriz, State of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The study of medicinal plants reveals locally important plant species often useful for the discovery of new drugs. The objective of this research was to conduct an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by the population of the Imperatriz city, State of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil. Two hundred and five interviews were conducted, resulting in the collection of 60 plant species from 31 plant families. The highest number of species belongs to Fabaceae, followed by Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae. The most reported species were Chenopodium ambrosioides, Myracrodruon urundeuva, Lippia alba, and Plectranthus barbatus. The main plant parts used were leaves (63.3%), bark (16.7%), fruits (6.7%), roots (6.7%), seeds (3.3), stems (1.7%) and latex (1.7%). Major administration routes were by oral (81.7%) or nasal via (1.6%) and topical application (16.7%) The plants were used to mitigate various health problems including pain, asthma, hypertension, gastritis, inflammation, influenza, and tuberculosis. The collected data shows that local population uses medicinal plants for treatment of several diseases and this study can serve as a basis for future chemical and pharmacological investigation, which can lead to the discovery of new therapeutic agents.KEYWORDS: Traditional knowledge; natural products, disease treatment, ethnopharmacology.Estudo etnobotânico de plantas medicinais em Imperatriz, Estado do Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil. RESUMOO estudo de plantas medicinais são em geral significativos em revelar espécies de plantas localmente importantes, principalmente para a descoberta de fármacos. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar um levantamento etnobotânico das plantas medicinais utilizadas pela população da cidade de Imperatriz no estado do Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil. 205 entrevistas foram realizadas resultando na coleção de 60 espécies de 31 famílias de plantas. Fabaceae teve o maior número de espécies, seguido por Lamiaceae, Asteraceae e Euphorbiaceae. As espécies mais utilizadas foram Chenopodium ambrosioides, Myracrodruon urundeuva, Lippia alba e Plectranthus barbatus. As principais partes foram as folhas (63,3%), cascas (16,7%), frutos (6,7%), raízes (6,7%), sementes (3,3%), caule (1,7%) e látex (1,7%). As vias de administração mais frequentes foram oral (81,7%), tópica (16,7%) e nasal (1,6%). As plantas são utilizadas para diversos problemas de saúde como dores em geral, asma, hipertensão, gastrite, inflamação, gripe e tuberculose. Os dados mostram que população local utiliza plantas medicinais para tratamento de várias doenças e este estudo pode servir de base para estudos químicos e farmacológicos futuros que levem ao descobrimento de novos agentes terapêuticos. PALAVRAS-CHAVES: Conhecimento tradicional; produtos naturais; tratamento de doenças; etnofarmacologia.

Ethnobotany and popular culture in the use of plants in settlements on the southern edge of southern Pantanal Mato Grosso

“…The predominant form of use (Table 1) is tea, with 41 citations, followed by infusion with 16; the use of plants by means of teas is also reported as prevalent in other regions, as recorded by Pinto et al (2006) in Itacaré-Bahia, Santos et al (2008) in Vargem Grande-SP, Cunha and Bortolotto (2011) in Anastácio-MS, Barbosa et al (2015) in Alto Boa Vista-MT and Penido et al (2016) in Imperatriz, Maranhão. Normally, the use of teas is the most readily available method for the user.…”

“…For native species, the number of plants per family with medical use is much lower, highlighting the Fabaceae family, with three species. The Fabaceae Lindl or Leguminosae Adans is considered the most representative botanical family in Brazil, found in all biomes and, according to Guarim and Moraes Neto (2003), Penido et al (2016) and Souza et al (2016), it is one of the families most used by the native populations.…”

“…In other studies conducted, such as Schardong and Cervi (2000), Medeiros et al (2004), Pilla et al (2006), Cunha andBortolotto (2011) andPenido et al (2016), the leaves were used by most of the population. The increased use of the leaves may be related to the ease of collection, since these, depending on the species, may be present all year and after collection, return to sprout, making their use sustainable.…”

“…Several authors, for example Guarim Neto (2006), Kunwar et al (2006), Oliveira et al (2011) and Penido et al (2016), have described the use of plants for the treatment of various diseases. This kind of knowledge is often the only treatment option for many communities and ethnic groups, traditional medicine in poor countries is the most affordable and practical and, in some cases, the only treatment available for the population.…”

Analysis of the Variability of Therapeutic Indications of Medicinal Species in the Northeast of Brazil: Comparative Study

“…After applying the process of inclusion and exclusion of duplicate articles, 40 articles that presented therapeutic indications of the species common to the Quincuncá community and the different areas in the Northeast of Brazil, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Ceará, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia, and Maranhão, with Caatinga, Cerrado, Carrasco, Atlantic Rainforest, and Amazonian vegetation, were selected [6, 7, 16, 28–64]. …”