Disponibilidade e uso de plantas medicinais na zona de amortecimento do Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades, Piauí, Brasil

Abstract

The use of plants for the treatment of diseases among humans is historically old. Even today, in the face of the advance of modern medicine, the use of plants for therapeutic purposes is still seen in many human groups as an alternative, both for cultural and economic issues, especially in rural areas and in developing countries. The objective of the present study is to record and analyze the use and knowledge of medicinal plant species, as well as their local availability in the vegetation areas, in a rural community in the buffer zone of the Sete Cidades National Park in Piauí. Semi - structured interviews were conducted with 27 community residents and a phytosociological survey was performed using the quadrant method. The use and versatility of the species were evaluated by the methods of Value of Use, Relative Importance and Relative Frequency of Citation. Fabaceae and Anacardiaceae were the most representative families in number of species cited. Ximenia americana was the most prominent species in relation to all quantitative methods adopted. The parts of the plants most used were bark and bramble. Regarding the preparation the highlight was for sauce, lambedor and decoction. The more highlighted category of diseases to which the plants were cited was Diseases of the Respiratory System. The data obtained does not support the Ecological Appearance Hypothesis.