Ethnobotanical review of the Mapuche medicinal flora: use patterns on a regional scale

Abstract

Aim of the study: This paper aimed to present a quantitative review of information on Mapuche ethnobotany published for Argentina and Chile in the period 1955-2007.

Materials and methods: Sixteen ethnobotanical articles were studied quantitatively by utilizing ethnobotanical indices, non-parametric and multivariate tests.

Results: A total of 505 medicinal species, 304 native (60%) and 196 exotic (39%) were registered. Ailments were treated with both native and exotic species, although native showed higher values of consensus (between studies) than exotic, and were more frequently used in all cases. The most common ailments were gastro-intestinal pains (26%). Most cures used herbs (56%). Native species were obtained mainly by gathering in forests and ecotones (40%), and exotics by gathering in anthropogenic environments (28%). Our results demonstrate the existence of a common, shared body of knowledge of the medicinal flora at a regional level, integrating ancestral knowledge with foreign knowledge accumulated over time. Finally, reflecting cultural erosion, modern articles cited significantly fewer native plants than older articles; a trend not found with exotic species.

Discussion and conclusion: The information offered can be used as a guide for future work on promising species for health care, and as background information for the development of bio-cultural conservation strategies.