This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
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Wild Plants and the Food-medicine Continuum – An Ethnobotanical Survey in Chapada Diamantina (Northeastern Brazil)
Patrícia Muniz Medeiros
Universidade Federal de Alagoas
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3835-5232
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This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the drivers of species’ cultural importance.
Methods: We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the drivers of popularity and frequency of use.
Results: The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values.
Conclusion: It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional potential and ease of acquisition of these plants.
Keywords
Ethnobotany, Traditional Knowledge, Functional Foods, Wild Edible Plants, Selection Criteria
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This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
Wild Plants and the Food-medicine Continuum – An Ethnobotanical Survey in Chapada Diamantina (Northeastern Brazil)
Patrícia Muniz Medeiros
Universidade Federal de Alagoas
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3835-5232
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Revision
Version 1
Posted 30 Dec, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #2 received
Received 24 Jan, 2021
Editorial decision: Major Revision
On 24 Jan, 2021
Review #1 received
Received 11 Jan, 2021
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 29 Dec, 2020
Editor assigned
On 22 Dec, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 22 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 22 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 22 Dec, 2020
First submitted
On 21 Dec, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the drivers of species’ cultural importance.
Methods: We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the drivers of popularity and frequency of use.
Results: The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values.
Conclusion: It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional potential and ease of acquisition of these plants.
Figure 1