Medicinal plants sold at traditional markets in southern Ecuador

Abstract

BackgroundThe traditional markets in southern Ecuador and within the Andean region are especially important for plant resource trading among local people, even since before Spanish colonization; therefore, ethnobotanical studies are currently necessary and important. These strategic spaces persist for the traditional medicine cultural value reflected in the higher consumption of medicinal plants, which span all socioeconomic levels of rural and urban people. The purpose of this study includes the following: 1) to create a novel list of medicinal plants sold at 33 traditional markets; 2) to establish medicinal plant use agreement amongst vendors with the Factor of Informant Consensus (FIC); and 3) to determine the most sold medicinal plant species using the Fidelity Level (FL).MethodsThis study focus on traditional markets ethnobotany utilizes the largest sample of medicinal plants market vendors up to date in Ecuador, interviewing them at 33 traditional markets, located within the Loja province. In order to determine the most sold medicinal plants and their ethnobotanical information, structured questionnaires and personal conversations were conducted with 196 medicinal plant vendors, and voucher specimens were created. Agreement among vendors about the therapeutic use of medicinal plants was measured using the FIC, and the most sold medicinal plant species were assessed with the FL.Results and discussionThis research registered 160 medicinal plant species, grouped in 126 genera and 57 families that were sold in 33 traditional markets. The uses of medicinal plants in southern Ecuador are related to a long history of traditional medicine health practices that has persisted until today as well as high plant diversity. The 53 therapeutic uses recorded were grouped into 12 medical categories that were adapted from the World Health Organization. Three medical categories shared the highest value for FIC = 0.92, which showed a high level of agreement of market vendors for 57 medicinal plant species sold to treat ailments related with digestive, dermatological, and sensorial systems. The FL index determined 11 culturally important medicinal plant species based on the reported uses by 40 or more market vendors. Two medicinal plant species had an FL = 100 %, Matricaria recutita and Gaiadendrum punctatum, used to treat digestive and respiratory systems ailments.ConclusionsIn the Loja province, people continue to consume medicinal plant species sold at local markets to treat somatic and/or psychosomatic health ailments because sociocultural customs are strongly expressed in ancestral practices of wellbeing. When the largest values of FL (60.5 %–100 %) and FIC (0.81–0.92) indexes are combined, they demonstrated agreement among 196 market vendors in the use of seven medicinal plant species that were most sold for the 12 medical categories. This study stresses how important public policies are for the trade and quality of medicinal plant resources, particularly for local people practicing auto-medication. Reasons for the mainte...

“Horchata” drink in Southern Ecuador: medicinal plants and people’s wellbeing

“…), and a vine (1 sp.). The high frequency of the herb habit reported in this study is similar to others in the Andean highlands, such as Bolivia [62], Peru [63] and Ecuador [30]. This similarity is likely due to the random occurrence of herbaceous species in nature, trends in plant species diversity, and geographic endemism.…”

“…When comparing the present research with Tinitana et al [30] conducted at traditional markets in Southern Ecuador, both studies show a strong consensus of the medicinal plants used to treat gastrointestinal afflictions in the Loja province. This can be seen in four culturally important medicinal plant species with FL index values above 72.4%: Aerva sanguinolenta , Borago officinalis , Matricaria recutita , and Melissa officinalis .…”

“…1). According to the classification by Tinitana et al [30], the established markets are situated within a permanent building, while the open markets occur weekly along nearby streets and sidewalks.…”

“…Vendors negotiate whole plant individuals or plant resources to retailers, either directly to customers at open markets or to formal vendors at stalls in stablished markets. The three criteria applied to determine the kind of vendors was partially based on Tinitana et al [30], on how they self-recognized their role, and on field observations (Table 1). This classification determined three different kinds of women vendors according to their role in the sale of medicinal plant species used to prepare “horchata” (Table 1).…”

“…This lack of knowledge is also present in Ecuador, especially regarding beverages that are typical to each region [19, 25], as is the case of “horchata,” which is mentioned in a few studies only [17, 21, 22, 26–30]. In this context, this research documents the following: 1) the list of medicinal plant species sold for the drink; 2) the culturally important medicinal plants species as determined by the Fidelity Level (FL) index; 3) the agreement among vendors regarding the therapeutic uses of medicinal plants as measured by the Factor of Informant Consensus (FIC) index; and 4) the groups of medicinal plants sold for the “horchata” drink as defined by a cluster analysis.…”