Traditional Plants Used by Remaining Healers from the Region of Grande Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Although the traditional use of medicinal plants is a very widespread practice in Brazil, there are still few studies aimed at native prescribers, known as healers. The aim of this work was to catalog the medicinal species prescribed by remaining healers of the Grande Dourados region, Mato Grosso do...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health 2019-04, Vol.58 (2), p.572-588
Main Authors: Coelho, Fabiana Chagas, Tirloni, Cleide Adriane Signor, Marques, Aline Aparecida Macedo, Gasparotto, Francielly Mourão, dos Reis Lívero, Francislaine Aparecida, Junior, Arquimedes Gasparotto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Brazil
Clinical Psychology
Ethnobotany
Ethnography
Folk medicine
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Herbal medicine
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Native peoples
Original Paper
Phytotherapy
Plants, Medicinal
Public Health
Religious Studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Although the traditional use of medicinal plants is a very widespread practice in Brazil, there are still few studies aimed at native prescribers, known as healers. The aim of this work was to catalog the medicinal species prescribed by remaining healers of the Grande Dourados region, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with support of a standardized questionnaire for remaining healers selected using the "snowball" technique. The medicinal species selected were collected, identified, and classified according to the British National Formulary. Remaining healers were identified in seven municipalities in the region of Grande Dourados. Family, divine revelation, and participation of the Catholic Church were the most important sources of knowledge. Seventy-one medicinal species, mainly herbaceous belonging to Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Amaranthaceae, and Verbenaceae families, were the most prescribed. Most species are used in the treatment of digestive and cardiovascular diseases, in addition to immune and respiratory diseases. Healers from the region of Grande Dourados maintain considerable ethno-knowledge about the medicinal properties of different medicinal species. Sharing this information values their culture and preserves the knowledge for future generations.
ISSN:0022-4197
1573-6571
DOI:10.1007/s10943-018-0713-0