Biodiversity is overlooked in the diets of different social groups in Brazil.

Food biodiversity is essential for improving nutrition and reducing hunger in populations worldwide. However, in middle and low-income countries, the biodiversity of food production does not necessarily represent food consumption patterns by population. We used Brazil, one of the world's megabiodiverse countries, as a case study to investigate the following questions: what is the prevalence of consumption of biodiverse foods in Brazil, and what are the socioeconomic factors that influence their consumption throughout the country? We used data from a Brazilian representative national dietary survey to estimate the frequency of food consumption of unconventional food plants, edible mushrooms, and wild meat, in according to socioeconomic variables. Thus, we investigated the socioeconomic predictors of Unconventional Food Plants consumption using methods of Machine Learning (ML) and multiple zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression. We showed that biodiverse food consumption in Brazil is low, just related by 1.3% of the population, varying in according to area, ethnicity, age, food insecurity, sex, and educational level. Our findings of low utilization of biodiversity suggest an important mismatch between the rich biodiversity of the country and its representation in the human diet.

Safety assessment of Bauhinia cheilantha Bong. Steud leaves extract: acute, sub-acute toxicity, antioxidant, and antihemolytic evaluations.

Bauhinia cheilantha (Fabaceae), known popularly as pata-de-vaca and mororó has been largely recommended treating several diseases in folk medicine. However, information on safe doses and use is still scarce. The goal was to evaluate in-vitro antioxidant and antihemolytic and also acute and sub-acute toxicity effects of hydroalcoholic extract from B. cheilantha leaves (HaEBcl). The identification of the compounds in the HaEBcl was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Antioxidant and hemolytic activity of HaEBcl was evaluated in vitro. To study acute toxicity, female mice received HaEBcl in a single dose of 300 and 2.000 mg/kg. Later, sub-acute toxicity was introduced in both female and male mice by oral gavage at 300, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg for 28 consecutive days. Hematological and biochemical profiles were created from the blood as well as from histological analysis of the liver. HaEBcl is rich in flavonoids (quercitrin and afzelin), has no hemolytic effects and moderate antioxidant effects in vitro. Acute toxicity evaluation showed that lethal dose (LD50) of HaEBcl was over 2000 mg/kg. Sub-acute toxicity testing elicited no clinical signs of toxicity, morbidity, or mortality. The hematological and biochemical parameters discounted any chance of hepatic or kidney toxicity. Furthermore, histopathological data did not reveal any disturbance in liver morphology in treated mice. Results indicate that HaEBcl has no hemolytic and moderate antioxidant effects in vitro. In addition, HaEBcl dosage levels up to 2000 mg/kg are nontoxic and can be considered safe for mammals.

What interferes with conducting free lists? A comparative ethnobotanical experiment.

BACKGROUND: The free list, also written "freelist", or "free recall", is an ethnographic method that characterizes the local knowledge of a population about a given cultural domain. However, there is still much to elucidate about the variables that can influence the number of items that participants cite using this technique. This study applied a casual-comparative experimental design to analyze whether 3 months' time, age, and external stimuli influence the similarity of plant free lists applied at different times. METHODS: Data was collected from 103 farmers from the rural community Alto dos Canutos, in the municipality of Picos, Piauí state, Brazil. Two free lists were conducted at two different times, with an interval of three months between them. Subsequently, the similarity between the first and second free lists of each participant was calculated using the Jaccard Similarity Index. The generalized linear model (GLM) with binomial errors and stepwise approach was used to analyze the effects of age and external stimuli on information collection when comparing free lists applied at different times. RESULTS: Participants' age influenced the information that the free lists collected, demonstrating that the older the participants, the lower the similarity among the free lists. Among the external stimuli analyzed, only the presence of third parties influenced the content of the free lists at the time of the interview. However, contrary to expectations, third-party presence positively influenced the similarity of the lists. CONCLUSION: The results show that the studied variables age and third-party presence can influence the capture of knowledge. These findings warrant future research into the influences' causes and their potential mitigation, e.g., by isolation or by breaking the medicinal plant domain into focused sub-domains and conducting simpler, successive free-lists, which can mitigate memory issues.

Rapid Ethnonutrition Assessment Method Is Useful to Prototype Dietary Assessments with a Focus on Local Biodiverse Food Plants.

Ethnonutrition is the study of diets in the context of food systems of different peoples and cultures. Its scope comprises native or local categories used to classify food, and also includes biodiverse food availability, local culinary techniques, seasonality, and cultural perceptions related to diet with nutritional implications. Here, we describe a method useful for gathering ethnonutrition data to design dietary interventions or assessments, the Rapid Ethnonutrition Assessment (REA). REA is a tool that offers food and nutrition research a broad biocultural view of diets, considering food system-level, by prototyping dietary assessments with high efficiency. This method permits us to prevent misinterpretations that lead to wrong conclusions in nutritional research.

Spondias tuberosa inner bark extract exert antidiabetic effects in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most important medical emergencies of the 21st century. However, commercially available oral drugs with antidiabetic properties have been limited because of potential side effects, such as: hypoglycemia, weight gain, hepatic dysfunction and abdominal discomfort. As well as antidiabetic drugs, many types of medicinal herbal supplements are utilized as alternative treatments for DM and related comorbidities. Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae), popularly known as "umbu", has been used in traditional medicine to treat a vast range of diseases, including DM, infections, digestive disorders, diarrhea and menstrual abnormalities. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study evaluated the effect of the hydroethanolic extract of the inner stem bark of Spondias tuberosa (EEStb) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diabetes was induced in rats by a single injection of STZ (40 mg/kg i.p.). Diabetic rats were treated with 250 mg/kg or 500 mg/kg of the EEStb for 21 days. Water intake, urinary volume, body weight, as well as biochemical parameters, such as cholesterol total (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), hepatic and muscle glycogen urea, alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, and glucose blood levels, were analyzed. We also determined the hepatic antioxidant state, as well as both of insulin and glucose tolerance. RESULTS: The extract was evaluated by HPLC, and the major components of EESTb were identified (i.e. gallic acid and quercetin). The 500 mg/kg dosage of EEStb significantly decreased fasting blood glucose and post-prandial glucose. The EEStb also reduced urinary volume, food and water intake, as well as decreased body weight gain. Diabetic rats that received EEStb had a lower loss of muscle mass and white adipose tissue. Additionally, EEStb improved the urinary excretion of urea and glucose. The extract significantly decreased triglycerides, total cholesterol and VLDL in diabetic rats. However, no significant effect was observed on the levels of total and HDL cholesterol. EEStb treatment prevented hepatotoxic diabetic-induced, improved GSH:GSSG ratio, SOD and CAT activity as well as reduced nitrite and TBARs levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that EEStb has antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects as well as improves insulin sensibility in diabetic rats. This indicates that S. tuberosa could be a potential resource for alternative therapies in the treatment of hyperglycemic conditions. These results also support the use of EEStb in ethnomedicine for the management of diabetes.

Assessing the Effects of Indigenous Migration on Zootherapeutic Practices in the Semiarid Region of Brazil.

Human migration implies adaptations to new environments, such as ways to benefit from the available biodiversity. This study focused on the use of animal-derived remedies, and we investigated the effects of migration on the traditional medical system of the indigenous Truká people. This ethnic group lives in Northeast Brazil and is currently distributed in four distinct villages. In these villages, the zootherapeutic knowledge of 54 indigenous people was determined through semi-structured questionnaires given from September 2013 to January 2014. The interviewees indicated 137 zootherapeutic uses involving 21 animal species. The variety of species and their uses have a higher similarity between villages that are closer to each other, which can be a reflection of geographic and environmental factors. However, even close villages showed a low similarity in the zootherapeutic uses recorded, which reflects a strong idiosyncrasy regarding the knowledge of each village. Hence, each village may be influenced by the physical environment and contact with other cultures, which may maintain or reduce the contact of younger villages with the original village.

Medicinal plant knowledge in a context of cultural pluralism: A case study in Northeastern Brazil.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The study of plant use in contexts of migrations can give important insights to cultural evolution, since people face rapid changes in their environments and often start interacting with native dwellers, both constituting forces that can lead to change. Therefore, this study focused on medicinal plant knowledge and transmission in order to understand what happens to such knowledge when people from several regions converge to a single place already inhabited by native people. METHODS: The study was carried out in the rural community of Caeté-Açu (known as Capão Valley), placed in the state of Bahia (NE Brazil). Native and migrant people's knowledge on medicinal plans was accessed with a free listing. People were also asked about whom in the community once taught them about medicinal plants. Four groups (native, regional migrants, national migrants and international migrants) were compared in terms of number of cited plants, plant repertoires and knowledge transmission. For each group we also ran simple regressions between age and number of cited plants and residence time and number of cited plants. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We found no differences among groups in terms of number of known species. However, plant repertoires differ in some extent among groups. While migrants claim to have learnt with both native people and other migrants, most native claim to have learned mainly with other natives. Age influences plant knowledge only for the natives, what strengthens evidence that this group's knowledge is based on experience while migrants'' knowledge is based on an active search. Residence time in the community did not influence migrants' knowledge. CONCLUSION: Native and migrant people have differences in their ways of acquiring medicinal plant knowledge and less popular species are also different between groups. However, we can observe a tendency of fusion and indissolubility of migrant and native knowledge since the new generations are in contact with both sources.

What happens to the soil seed bank 17 years after clear cutting of vegetations? / ¿Qué ocurre con el banco de semillas del suelo 17 años después del corte de la vegetación?

Seed banks play an important role in the resilience of potential anthropogenic areas and are influenced by seasonal variation. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the forests influences the richness and density of the soil seed bank, but there is a hypothesis that such influence can be changed in anthropogenic areas, where we expect to find lower richness and seed density in relation to the seed bank of mature forests. The richness and seasonal density of seeds in the soil depth of a young caatinga forest, 17 years after an agricultural activity was abandoned, were evaluated and compared with those of a mature forest. The study was conducted at the Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco - IPA (Estação Experimental José Nilson de Melo), located in Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brazil, in an area of tropical dry forest, known locally as “caatinga”. The local climate is seasonal, the dry season occurring from September to February and the rainy season concentrated in the remaining months. The average annual rainfall over time (time series of 30 years) is 692mm. In each climatic season (rainy and dry), the seed bank was sampled in 210 20x20cm plots (105 in the leaf litter and 105 at 5cm soil depth). The richness and seed density of the soil samples were evaluated by the method of seedling emergence. The seed bank had 47 species, with a predominance of herbaceous plants. Seasonal variation in richness and seed density in the soil (leaf litter + soil) was not significant, but 42 species of the mature forest were absent from the seed bank of the young forest, despite 17 years of natural regeneration and its proximity to the mature forest. On its own, the soil has greater richness and density of seeds than the leaf litter. The depth of seed deposition in the soil bank of the young forest significantly explained 36% of the species richness and 16% of the seed density, with a significant interaction effect with the climatic season only on species richness, explaining 4% of the variation recorded. The seed density of the young forest (1 277seeds/m²) was greater than that the mature forest indicating that the time abandoned had not yet been sufficient for complete recovery of plant diversity and there is no longer any seed limitation of pioneer species for regeneration of the young forest. Rev. Biol. Trop. 63 (2): 321-332. Epub 2015 June 01.

El banco de semillas juega un papel importante en el potencial de resiliencia de las áreas antropogénicas y sufre influencia de las variaciones estacionales. La heterogeneidad espacial y temporal de los bosques influye en la riqueza y la densidad del banco de semillas del suelo, pero hay una hipótesis de que tal influencia se puede cambiar en las zonas antropogénicas, donde esperaríamos encontrar menor riqueza y densidad de semillas en relación con el banco de semillas de los bosques maduros. La riqueza y la densidad estacional de semillas del espacio vertical del suelo de un bosque joven, con 17 años de abandono de cualquier actividad agrícola, fueron evaluadas y comparadas con las un bosque maduro. El estudio se realizó en el Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco - IPA (Estação Experimental José Nilson de Melo), situado en Caruarú, Pernambuco, Brasil, en una zona de bosque seco tropical, conocida localmente como “caatinga”. El clima local es estacional, la estación seca ocurre de septiembre a febrero y la estación de lluvias en los meses restantes. La precipitación promedio anual (series de tiempo de 30 años) es 692mm. En cada estación climática (lluviosa y seca), el banco de semillas fue muestreado en 210 parcelas de 20x20cm (105 en la hojarasca a 5cm de profundidad del suelo). La riqueza y densidad de semillas de las muestras del suelo fueron evaluadas por el método de emergencia de plántulas. El banco de semillas presentó 47 especies, con una predominancia de las herbáceas. Las variaciones estacionales de riqueza y densidad de semillas del suelo (hojarasca+suelo) no fueron significativas, pero 42 especies del bosque maduro todavía estaban ausentes en el banco de semillas del bosque joven, apesar de los 17 años de regeneración natural y de su proximidad con el bosque maduro. Aisladamente, el suelo presentó mayor riqueza y densidad de semillas que la hojarasca. La profundidad de depósito de semillas en el banco del suelo del bosque joven explicó significativamente 36% de la riqueza de especies y 16% de la densidad de semillas, con efecto significativo de interacción con la estación climática apenas sobre la riqueza de las especies, explicando más de 4% de la variación registrada. La densidad de semillas del bosque joven (1 277semillas/m²) fue más elevada que la del bosque maduro indicando, que a pesar del poco tiempo de abandono del cultivo, fue suficiente para la recuperación completa de la densidad de semillas.

Traditional botanical knowledge of artisanal fishers in southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: This study characterized the botanical knowledge of artisanal fishers of the Lami community, Porto Alegre, southern Brazil based on answers to the following question: Is the local botanical knowledge of the artisanal fishers of the rural-urban district of Lami still active, even since the district's insertion into the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre? METHODS: This region, which contains a mosaic of urban and rural areas, hosts the Lami Biological Reserve (LBR) and a community of 13 artisanal fisher families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 fishers, complemented by participatory observation techniques and free-lists; in these interviews, the species of plants used by the community and their indicated uses were identified. RESULTS: A total of 111 species belonging to 50 families were identified. No significant differences between the diversities of native and exotic species were found. Seven use categories were reported: medicinal (49%), human food (23.2%), fishing (12.3%), condiments (8%), firewood (5%), mystical purposes (1.45%), and animal food (0.72%). The medicinal species with the highest level of agreement regarding their main uses (AMUs) were Aloe arborescens Mill., Plectranthus barbatus Andrews, Dodonaea viscosa Jacq., Plectranthus ornatus Codd, Eugenia uniflora L., and Foeniculum vulgare Mill. For illness and diseases, most plants were used for problems with the digestive system (20 species), followed by the respiratory system (16 species). This community possesses a wide botanical knowledge, especially of medicinal plants, comparable to observations made in other studies with fishing communities in coastal areas of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. CONCLUSIONS: Ethnobotanical studies in rural-urban areas contribute to preserving local knowledge and provide information that aids in conserving the remaining ecosystems in the region.

Knowledge and use of wild food plants in areas of dry seasonal forests in Brazil.

The investigation aimed to compare the knowledge about food plants in rural communities of the Caatinga. The study was conducted in two rural communities in northeastern Brazil. Data collection utilized different ethnobotanical methods, including free listing, semi-structured interviews, and recall. Native species are less frequently consumed as food in both locations. Fruits are the most frequently cited wild resource, but in practice, most of this food availability potential is wasted. Despite community knowledge about wild species with potential food, few species are actually utilized, and thus, many plants are not included in the diets of the populations studied.

Does the selection of medicinal plants by Brazilian local populations suffer taxonomic influence?

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The analysis of the influence of taxonomic affiliation on the selection of medicinal plants by Brazilian local populations can help elucidate theoretical aspects of medicinal plant selection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethnobotanical medicinal plant studies were compiled and the resulting medicinal flora was compared to the total angiosperm flora with a Bayesian approach and the IDM model. RESULTS: A total of 35 families were considered to be overused and six were classified as underused for the Bayesian approach. On the other hand, the IDM model considered 13 families as overused and five as underused (all of them were also highlighted by the Bayesian approach). A high overuse level of Bixaceae, Amaranthaceae, Anacardiaceae and Smilacaceae was recorded for both Bayesian and IDM model, while Orchidaceae, Melastomataceae, Eriocaulaceae, Poaceae and Bromeliaceae were considered as underused for both analyses. The most dissimilar body system in terms of family composition was 'mental and behavioral disorders'. It was also found that the body systems are different from one another in the proportion of taxonomic groups, which could indicate chemical specificity in the treatment of diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the chemical specificity of taxonomic groups directly influences medicinal plant selection. Moreover, when data presented here are compared to other studies, there is clearly an overuse pattern for families like Lamiaceae, Rosaceae and Euphorbiaceae and an underuse pattern for Poaceae and Orchidaceae.

Caatinga revisited: ecology and conservation of an important seasonal dry forest.

Besides its extreme climate conditions, the Caatinga (a type of tropical seasonal forest) hosts an impressive faunal and floristic biodiversity. In the last 50 years there has been a considerable increase in the number of studies in the area. Here we aimed to present a review of these studies, focusing on four main fields: vertebrate ecology, plant ecology, human ecology, and ethnobiology. Furthermore, we identify directions for future research. We hope that the present paper will help defining actions and strategies for the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caatinga.

Habitat influence on antioxidant activity and tannin concentrations of Spondias tuberosa.

CONTEXT: Different habitat conditions can be responsible for the production of secondary metabolites and for the antioxidant properties of plant products. OBJECTIVE: Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the antioxidant activity and tannin concentrations in the stem bark of Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae) varied with collection site. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The bark was collected from 25 individual trees, distributed in five different landscape units, as follows: agroforestry gardens, areas of pastures, maize cultivation areas, mountain areas and mountain bases, with the former 3 being considered as anthropogenic habitats, and the latter 2 considered as habitats with native coverage. The study was conducted in the rural area of the city of Altinho, Pernambuco State (Northeast Brazil). The DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method was used to measure the antioxidant activity and tannin concentrations were evaluated by using the radial diffusion method. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that there were no significant differences among the tannin concentrations of the individuals from the native (6.27% ± 1.75) or anthropogenic areas (4.63% ± 2.55), (H = 2.24; p > 0.05). In contrast, there were significant differences (H = 5.1723; p < 0.05) among the CE50 means of the antioxidant activities of the individuals from the native (32.10 µg/ml ± 5.27) and anthropogenic areas (27.07 µg/ml ± 2.29). However, correlations between the tannin concentrations and antioxidant activity of the extracts were not observed in the native (r = 0.39; p > 0.05) or in the anthropogenic areas (r = 0.38; p > 0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Because the variation of the antioxidant capacity of S. tuberosa bark was not accompanied by a variation in the tannin concentration, this property may be related to the presence of other metabolite(s).

Ichthyofauna used in traditional medicine in Brazil.

Fish represent the group of vertebrates with the largest number of species and the largest geographic distribution; they are also used in different ways by modern civilizations. The goal of this study was to compile the current knowledge on the use of ichthyofauna in zootherapeutic practices in Brazil, including ecological and conservational commentary on the species recorded. We recorded a total of 85 species (44 fresh-water species and 41 salt-water species) used for medicinal purposes in Brazil. The three most commonly cited species were Hoplias malabaricus, Hippocampus reidi, and Electrophorus electricus. In terms of conservation status, 65% of species are in the "not evaluated" category, and 14% are in the "insufficient data" category. Three species are in the "vulnerable" category: Atlantoraja cyclophora, Balistes vetula, and Hippocampus erectus. Currently, we cannot avoid considering human pressure on the population dynamics of these species, which is an essential variable for the conservation of the species and the ecosystems in which they live and for the perpetuation of traditional medical practices.

Plant stem bark extractivism in the northeast semiarid region of Brazil: a new aport to utilitarian redundancy model.

We use the model of utilitarian redundancy as a basis for research. This model provides predictions that have not been tested by other research. In this sense, we sought to investigate the stem bark extraction between preferred and less-preferred species by a rural community in Caatinga environment. In addition, we sought to explain local preferences to observe if preferred plants have a higher content of tannins than less-preferred species. For this, we selected seven preferred species and seven less-preferred species from information obtained from semistructured interviews applied to 49 informants. Three areas of vegetation around the community were also selected, in which individuals were tagged, and were measured the diameter at ground level (DGL) diameter at breast height (DBH), and measurements of available and extracted bark areas. Samples of bark of the species were also collected for the evaluation of tannin content, obtained by the method of radial diffusion. From the results, the preferred species showed a greater area of bark removed. However, the tannin content showed no significant differences between preferred and less-preferred plants. These results show there is a relationship between preference and use, but this preference is not related to the total tannins content.

The ecological apparency hypothesis and the importance of useful plants in rural communities from northeastern Brazil: an assessment based on use value.

The ecological apparency hypothesis in ethnobotanical studies predicts that the apparent plants (i.e., the most easily found in the vegetation) would be the most commonly collected and used by people. To test this hypothesis, it has been used the concept of use value (VU), which measures the relative importance of useful plants for a group of people. However, the use value has got some limitations, including the fact that it does not distinguish "current use" (plants which are effectively used) from "potential use" (well known plants, however not used). Therefore, this study has tested whether the obtained results through three different use value calculations could be useful in testing the ecological apparency hypothesis. These calculations have included the current use value, the potential use value, and the general use value. It has been carried out a vegetation survey and an interview for residents from the rural communities from Barrocas and Cachoeira (Soledade, Paraíba, Brazil). It has been used Spearman's coefficient to correlate phytosociological and ethnobotanical data. It has been observed that phytosociological parameters in Cachoeira were not correlated with any of the use values calculations, except the relationship between the current use value and the relative dominance (r(s) = 0.57; p < 0.05). In Barrocas, every use value calculation was correlated with the basal area and the relative dominance. When each category of use is analyzed separately, it has been observed that there was no correlation between the use value and the phytosociological parameters, except for the construction category, in which the current use value in Cachoeira was correlated with the relative dominance (r(s) = 0.63; p < 0.05), importance value (r(s) = 0.67; p < 0.01), relative frequency (r(s) = 0.71; p < 0.05), and relative density (r(s) = 0.72; p < 0.01). In Barrocas, the UVc for the construction category was correlated with relative frequency (r(s) = 0.69; p < 0.05) and relative density (r(s) = 0.66; p < 0.01). These results have suggested that, the use value calculation, which takes into consideration just the current use of the species, is the one that best fits in the ecological apparency hypothesis.

The pharmacy of the Benedictine monks: the use of medicinal plants in Northeast Brazil during the nineteenth century (1823-1829).

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The health of nineteenth century Brazilians is only alluded to in historical documents, and researchers still have much to discover. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to show the medicinal plants used in the 19th century in Brazil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To this end, information was obtained from the prescription book deposited in the archive of the Monastery of Saint Benedict in Olinda, Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, about the daily use of medicinal plants. RESULTS: By analyzing the prescriptions, we ascertained the terms and/or species and diseases and/or symptoms that existed among the people who were treated at the Benedictine hospital between 1823 and 1829. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented here are relevant to other subject areas, especially modern pharmaceutical research. This study seeks to demonstrate the importance of plant resources in the nineteenth century and aims, through the detailed study of documentary sources, to provide a wealth of new information to modern science. Understanding the practices of the past provides insight into and may lead to improvements in modern pharmaceutical practice.

Comparative study of the antimicrobial activity of native and exotic plants from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest selected through an ethnobotanical survey.

CONTEXT: The idea that many commonly used medicinal plants may lead to the discovery of new drugs has encouraged the study of local knowledge of these resources. OBJECTIVE: An ethnobotanical survey of species traditionally used for the treatment of infectious diseases was undertaken in two areas of northeastern Brazil: one in the Caatinga (dry forest) and another in the Atlantic Forest (humid forest). MATERIALS: Initially, diffusion tests using paper disks and subsequently, for extracts presenting significant results (inhibition halos above 15 mm), minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined. The activity was evaluated as a percentage for each species, comparing the diameters of the inhibition halos and the number of positive results against the seven microorganisms studied. Extracts were classified into three categories: strong activity-species with halos exceeding 16 mm, moderate activity-species with halos between 13 mm and 15 mm and low activity-species with halos below 12 mm. We selected 34 species, 20 from the Caatinga and 14 from the Atlantic Forest. RESULTS: In the Caatinga, 50% of the 20 plant extracts studied had strong antimicrobial activity, 25% had moderate activity and 15% had low activity. In the Atlantic Forest, 28.5% of the 14 plant extracts studied showed strong activity, with 14.5% having moderate activity and 28.5% having low activity. The microorganism that was most susceptible to the extracts from the Caatinga, was Mycobacterium smegmatis; 85% of the species tested were able to inhibit its growth. The organism that was susceptible to the highest number of plant species (71%) from the Atlantic Forest was Staphylococcus aureus. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Extracts from the Caatinga showed a trend of superior antimicrobial activity compared to the species from the Atlantic Forest, in terms of both inhibiting a greater variety of microorganisms and demonstrating higher activity against susceptible strains.

Intracultural variation in the knowledge of medicinal plants in an urban-rural community in the atlantic forest from northeastern Brazil.

This study assessed the intracultural knowledge of the use of medicinal plants in an urban-rural community in an Atlantic forest fragment in northeastern Brazil. We examined the importance of native and exotic species and the effects of gender and age on that knowledge. We also compared data obtained from different groups of informants (local experts and general community). We conducted 194 interviews between June 2007 and January 2008, using the freelist technique and semistructured forms to collect ethnobotanical data. Information obtained from the community was compared with that from six local experts who participated in a survey in 2003. From a total of 209 ethnospecies, exotic and herbaceous plants presented higher richness. With respect to the number of citations, women and older informants were shown to know a higher number of medicinal plants. Comparing knowledge of local experts with that of the general community, we noted that experts know a similar wealth of plant families and therapeutic indications, but the community knows a greater species richness. These results indicate that local experts may provide useful information for studies that search for a quick diagnosis of the knowledge of a given community.