Perceptions and use of medicinal plants by an elementary and high school community in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Abstract

Plants have been used for centuries as therapeutic resources for various pathological conditions and are occasionally considered as the only resource available to some communities. However, knowledge on the potential of traditional medicinal plants have been lost over the years. Strategies that can guarantee the prospection of popular knowledge regarding medicinal plants to stimulate the spread of information between generations are therefore of enormous value. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the use and knowledge on medicinal plants of students from a public school in Vila Velha (Brazil) and their associated community, including parents. In this urban locality, data were obtained by the application of a semi-structured questionnaire to 206 people from the school community. Although homegrown cultivation seems to be an uncommon practice in urban contexts, the use of medicinal plants by the sampled population was significant (80%), as well as the interviewees' confidence on its therapeutic action (90%). It is worth mentioning that more than 70% of the respondents presented their parents and/or grandparents as their main source of information, highlighting the importance of popular knowledge valorization.