Biodiversity and the search for new medicines – medicinal plants popularly used in Caueira village, a coast location in the Sergipe state, Brazil

Brazil has a rich tradition of plant-based knowledge on healthcare. Local empirical knowledge about medicinal properties of plants is the basis for their use as home remedies and for numerous studies on drug discovery from natural sources. Here, we have documented Brazilian medicinal plants preparations and usages by means of a semi-quantitative approach applied to an ethnopharmacological fieldwork. The data were collected in Caueira village, Sergipe state, Brazil (11°18'38 S; 37°17'28 W). Sixteen representative members of the local community were interviewed. The data have been collected based on the spontaneous citations of the plant species. After that, the main usages, the extractive process, the doses, and the use of fresh versus dried material were inquired. The Use Value method (UV) and the corrected percentage of Agreement related to the Main Uses (cAMU) were used to evaluate informant use citations agreement and the importance of species and families [1]. Thirty-four species, belonging to 19 families, have been identified and the exemplars have been deposited at the Federal University of Sergipe Herbarium. The leaf is the most common part used (57.8%), followed by fruits (10.5%), and the whole plant (10.5%). Decoction (55.3%) and maceration (10.6%) are the most used extractive procedures. Concerning the main usage, 15 species showed a cAMU of 100%. Such species have been used to combat illnesses described as flu, cerebral vascular accident, gastrointestinal affections, diabetes, cancer, and pain.

Acknowledgements: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD

References: 1. Phillips O & Gentry A.H. (1993) Economic Botany 47:15–32.