Medicinal plants of significant use in Awajún communities of the Peruvian Amazon

Herles N.E.V.; Condorena E.G.B.; Aportela O.G. · Revista del Jardin Botanico Nacional (2022)

Resumen

The preservation and dissemination of knowledge of traditional medicine are in the interest of the international community, to promote improvements in the health of the people. The Awajún People use traditional ancestral medicine based on the use of medicinal plants, which have been transmitted orally for generations. The objective of this work is to identify medicinal plants most used in Awajún communities for different ailments and to review in the scientific literature, if the pharmacological activities of their active principles explain the empirical use in each ailment. An exploratory study of descriptive scope was carried out, with a stratified sampling of 50 communities and intentional non-probabilistic choice of 100 informants Awajún. The communities are located in the departments of Amazonas, Loreto, San Martin and Cajamarca. Thirty medicinal plants (20 native plants and 10 exotic plants) were identified for 10 ailments. The plants with a significant use index for evaluation were: ginger (Zingiber officinale), cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa), matico (Piper aduncum), sacha garlic (Mansoa alliacea), lemon (Citrus ×limon), ojé (Ficus insipida), malva (Malachra alceifolia), toé (Brugmansia suaveolens), piri piri (Cyperus articulatus) and grade blood or dragon´s blood (Croton lechleri). Evidence has been found in the scientific literature that supports the relationship between the use and pharmacological activity of the plants most used by the Awajún communities. The use of native and exotic species in the treatment of medical ailments stands out in the ancestral knowledge transmitted.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional del Altiplano