Plants and animals utilized as medicines in the Jaú National Park (JNP), Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

This article examines the therapeutic practices of the inhabitants of Jaú National Park (JNP), state of Amazonas, the most important feature of this region being its rich biodiversity associated with isolation in regard to conventional medical services. Seven months of field work were guided by methods of anthropology and botany. A total of 120 plants and 29 animals were utilized in 519 recorded uses comprising 81 therapeutic purposes. These were grouped under 15 categories of use, including: gastrointestinal disturbances, inflammatory processes, genitourinary disturbances, fever, mishaps with animals, dermatological problems, pain, osteomuscular problems and tropical diseases. Those who administer these medicines are local residents specializing in household remedies and other groups of healers such as rezadores - prayer-maker; curadores - healers; parteiras - midwives; desmintidores - masseurs and médiuns - mediums. At least 10 of the 120 plants species cited in this study are also utilized by other inhabitants of the Amazon region and for the same uses; some of these plants had already been studied from a pharmacological point of view. Furthermore, another six plants cited by the JNP caboclos belonging to the categories pain and inflammatory processes, are under investigation by groups of researchers in two Brazilian federal universities.

Animal Species Traded as Ethnomedicinal Resources in the Federal District, Central West Region of Brazil~!2010-01-05~!2010-01-24~!2010-06-22~!

“…Rodrigues [21] also found frequent use of animal fat (69%) in a study carried out at the Jaú National Park, Brazilian Amazon. He stressed that the fat was generally extracted from the ventral part of the animal, then melted down and stored in glass bottles until use.…”

Etnobotânica de plantas medicinais em comunidades ribeirinhas do Município de Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brasil

“…Assim, o número total de espécies medicinais (171 espécies) encontradas nas comunidades estudadas é bastante coerente com os resultados encontrados em outras populações rurais brasileiras (Rodrigues 2006;Coelho-Ferreira 2009;Cassino 2010). As famílias Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae e Euphorbiaceae foram também as mais bem representadas nos estudos feitos por Pilla et al (2006), Cassino (2010) e Cunha e Bortolotto (2011).…”

Avanços nas pesquisas etnobotânicas no Brasil

“…As demais publicações trazem contribuições teóricas e metodológicas para a área e/ou abordam diversos aspectos das relações entre pessoas e plantas incluindo investigações sobre: conhecimento, uso e manejo de recursos vegetais em geral, significado cultural, origem e fluxo do conhecimento, etnotaxonomia e perda de conhecimento (Elisabetsky & Wannmacher 1993;Figueiredo et al 1993;Gottlieb & Borin 1995;Begossi 1996;Hanazaki et al 1996;Nunes & Imamura 1996;Albuquerque 1997;Figueiredo et al 1997;Second et al 1997;Albuquerque & Andrade 1998;Jardim & Cunha 1998;Albuquerque 1999;Gottlieb et al 1999;Rossato et al 1999;Allem 2000;Begossi et al 2000;Guarim Neto et al 2000;Hanazaki et al 2000;Peroni & Martins 2000;Gottlieb et al 2001;Marimon & Felfili 2001;Sambatti et al 2001 Botrel et al 2006;Chaves & Reinhard 2006;Costa et al 2006;Cunha & Albuquerque 2006;Ferraz et al 2006;Hanazaki et al 2006;Rodrigues 2006;Baraloto et al 2007;Florentino et al 2007;Lucena et al 2007;Miranda et al 2007;Peroni et al 2007;Schmidt et al 2007).…”