Insect visitation and pollination of a culturally significant plant, Hopi tobacco (Nicotiana rustica)

Gibson, Shelby D; Halvorson, Kennedy; Myers, Lisa; Colla, Sheila R.

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105613

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

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“…The present work thus focused on this application. We conducted a case study in transdisciplinary collaboration [ 77 , 78 , 79 ] with a so-called Maestro Tabaquero , a traditional Amazonian healer whose medical specialization focuses on tobacco (a common name for N. rustica in this Amazonian region is mapacho ; other names reported in the literature from various Indigenous American groups include for instance sacha tabaco, yé, ya, tsalagayun’li, semaa, asemaa, real tobacco , Native tobacco, wild tobacco, Aztec tobacco, Hopi tobacco [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Using a mixed-methods field research approach, we aimed to describe the therapeutic process experience and symptom changes of a patient receiving a weeklong treatment with oral tobacco by a Peruvian-Amazonian Maestro Tabaquero .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine’s Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study

Berlowitz

Torres²,

Maake

et al. 2023

Plants

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Harmful usage of tobacco is a global public health problem associated with adverse health effects and addiction. Yet, in the Peruvian Amazon, the native region of Nicotiana rustica L., this plant is used in remarkably different manners: it is considered a potent medicinal plant, applied in liquid form for oral ingestion to treat mental health problems, a common and ancient healing practice in this region. Using a transdisciplinary field research approach with mixed ethnopsychological methods, this work aimed to report for the first time a case study in this context. The intervention took place in the Peruvian Amazon (Loreto) and involved ritual tobacco ingestion in a weeklong retreat-like frame, administered by a specialized traditional Amazonian healer. The patient was a 37-year-old woman with diagnosed mood, anxiety, and attention deficit disorders, as well as a chronic somatic condition. We applied qualitative experience-sampling during and quantitative symptom assessments pre- and post-treatment. Our findings offer a detailed description of the experiential therapeutic process during the treatment week and suggest clinically relevant improvements in patient well-being. This work is significant in view of the globally prevalent harmful uses of tobacco and the current scientific trend of revisiting herbal psychoactives (e.g., cannabis, psilocybin) for their therapeutic potentials.

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