Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Feb 23:11:11.
doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-11-11.

Local health practices and the knowledge of medicinal plants in a Brazilian semi-arid region: environmental benefits to human health

Sofia Zank  1 , Nivaldo Peroni  2 , Elcida Lima de Araújo  3 , Natalia Hanazaki  4
Affiliations

Local health practices and the knowledge of medicinal plants in a Brazilian semi-arid region: environmental benefits to human health

Sofia Zank et al. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Background: The concept of eco-cultural health considers the dynamic interaction between humans and ecosystems, emphasizing the implications of the health of the ecosystem for the health and well-being of human populations. Ethnobotanical studies focusing on folk medicine and medicinal plants can contribute to the field of eco-cultural health if they incorporate the perspective and local knowledge of communities. We investigated the local health practices in three rural communities living within the vicinity of a protected area of sustainable use in a semi-arid region of Brazil. We analyzed the opinions of local health experts on the elements that influence human health and on how the environment contributes to this influence. We also analyzed and compared the local knowledge of medicinal plants, as knowledge of this type is an important factor when considering the interaction between environmental and human health.

Methods: We performed structured interviews and free-listings with 66 local health experts. We used content analysis to systematize the elements of the influences on human health. We compared the richness of the plants cited among communities and analyzed the differences among the three communities regarding the ways in which the plants were obtained and the environments in which plants were collected.

Results: The local experts identified several influences of the environment on human health. These influences can be associated with ecosystem services, such as climatic conditions, water and air quality, recreation and medicinal and food resources. We identified 192 medicinal plant species, most of which were gathered from wild ecosystems. The most important environments for the three communities were the plateau mountain and backyards.

Conclusions: The informants had a broad and integrated view of health, perceiving the importance of conserving the environment within the National Forest of Araripe for the health and well-being of the local populations.

Fundamentação: O conceito de saúde eco-cultural considera a interação dinâmica entre os seres humanos e ecossistemas, com ênfase nas implicações da saúde do ecossistema na saúde e bem-estar das populações humanas. Os estudos etnobotânicos sobre medicina popular e plantas medicinais podem contribuir para o campo da saúde eco-cultural, ao inserir a perspectiva e conhecimento local das comunidades. Nós investigamos o processo de saúde em três comunidades rurais que vivem nas proximidades de uma área protegida de uso sustentável em uma região semi-árida do Brasil. Foram analisadas as opiniões dos especialistas locais de saúde sobre elementos que influenciam a saúde humana, e como o ambiente contribui para isso. Foi também analisado e comparado o conhecimento local das plantas medicinais nas três comunidades, um fator importante quando se considera a influência do ambiente na saúde humana.

Métodos: Realizamos entrevistas estruturadas e listagem-livre com 66 especialistas locais de saúde. Utilizamos análise de conteúdo para sistematizar os elementos de influência sobre a saúde humana, comparamos a riqueza das plantas citadas entre as comunidades, e analisamos as diferenças entre as comunidades nas formas de obtenção e nos ambientes de coleta das plantas.

Resultados: Os especialistas locais perceberam diversas influências do ambiente na saúde humana relacionadas aos serviços ecossistêmicos, como condições climáticas, qualidade da água e do ar, recreação, recursos medicinais e alimentícios. Foram identificadas 192 espécies de plantas medicinais, sendo que a maioria é extraída de ecossistemas naturais. Os ambientes mais importantes nas três comunidades foram a serra e os terrenos/quintais.

Conclusão: Concluímos que os informantes possuem uma visão ampla e integrada do processo de saúde, percebendo a importância dos ambientes conservados pela Floresta Nacional do Araripe para a saúde e bem estar das populações humanas.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rural communities studied in the surroundings of Araripe National Forest (FLONA Araripe), Ceará, Brazil.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of citations for the categories of influence on human health in three communities of the Araripe (Macaúba n = 27, Cacimbas n = 18, and Maracujá n = 21).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of citations for the categories of environmental influence on human health in three communities of the Araripe (Macaúba n = 19, Cacimbas n = 15, and Maracujá n = 17).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Expected richness (rarefaction curve) comparing the richness of medicinal plants in three communities of the Araripe (Macaúba n = 25, Cacimbas n = 15, Maracujá n = 18). Confidence intervals (CI) at 95% for n = 15: Macaúba 139 > CI95% > 116; Cacimbas 142 > CI95% > 122; and Maracujá 104 > CI95% > 85.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Ways of obtaining medicinal plants (bought, cultivated and harvested from the wild) in the three communities studied in the Araripe (Macaúba n = 153, Cacimbas n = 132 and Maracujá n = 101).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Places in which medicinal plants extracted from or grown in the three communities studied in the Araripe were found (Macaúba n = 153, Cacimbas n = 132 and Maracujá n = 101).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Rapport DJ, Costanza R, McMichael AJ. Assessing ecosystem health. TREE. 1998;13(10):397–401. - PubMed
    1. Rapport DJ, Gaudet C, Karr JR, Baron JS, Bohlen C, Jackson W, et al. Evaluating landscape health: integrating societal goals and biophysical process. J Environ Manag. 1998;53:1–15. doi: 10.1006/jema.1998.0187. - DOI
    1. MA: Millenium Ecosystem Assessment . Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Washington DC: Island Press; 2005.
    1. Rapport DJ, Maffi L. The dual erosion of biological and cultural diversity: implications for the health of Ecocultural systems. In: Pilgrim S, Pretty J, editors. Nature and Culture: Rebuilding Lost Connections. London: Earthscan; 2010. pp. 103–22.
    1. Parlee B, Berkes F. Health of the land, health of the people: a case study on Gwichín Berry harvesting in Northern Canada. Ecohealth. 2005;2:127–37. doi: 10.1007/s10393-005-3870-z. - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources