Medicinal plants of the caatinga (semi-arid) vegetation of NE Brazil: a quantitative approach.
The caatinga (semi-arid vegetation) is a Brazilian biome with a significant but poorly studied biodiversity closely associated with a diverse cultural heritage. The present work focused on analyzing published information available concerning medicinal plants used by traditional communities. We sought to contribute to future phytochemical and pharmacological investigations by documenting the therapeutic uses of native caatinga plants within the aims of modern ethnopharmacological research. Twenty-one published works cited a total of 389 plant species used by indigenous and rural communities in northeastern Brazil for medicinal purposes. The relative importance index (RI) of each species in these inventories was calculated, and information concerning the plant's local status (spontaneous or cultivated), distribution, and habit was recorded. Of the 275 spontaneous (non-cultivated) species cited, 15.3% were endemic to the caatinga. A statistical relationship was verified between the relative importance of the species and their endemic status (p<0.05). Herbaceous plants were more numerous (169) than trees (90) or shrubs and sub-shrubs (130) at a statistically significant level (p<0.05). A survey of published information on the phytochemical and pharmacological status of the plants demonstrating the highest RI supported the veracity of their attributed folk uses.
de Albuquerque
Ulysses Paulino
UP
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Departamento de Biologia, Area de Botânica, Laboratório de Etnobotânica Aplicada, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, Pernambuco 52171-030, Brazil. upa@db.ufrpe.br
Muniz de Medeiros
Patrícia
P
de Almeida
Alyson Luiz S
AL
Monteiro
Júlio Marcelino
JM
Machado de Freitas Lins Neto
Ernani
E
Gomes de Melo
Joabe
J
dos Santos
Janaina Patrícia
JP
D001938:Brazil; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*