Utilização medicinal de espécies da família Cactaceae no semiárido do Brasil: um estudo de caso na Paraíba

Abstract

Medicinal use of species of the Cactaceae family in the semiarid region of Brazil: A case study in Paraíba. The present study registered the use of medicinal species of the Cactaceae Family, with the objective of conducting a survey on the versatility, consensus of use and importance of the species, in six rural communities in the Semiarid Region of Northeast Brazil. Medicinal uses were recorded based on semi-structured interviews with 182 heads of households. Knowledge assessment was performed using the Relative Importance (RI) and Relative Quotation Frequency (RQF) indices. In order to assess body systems with greater local importance, the Informants Consensus Factor (ICF) was used. Six species of Cactaceae for medical use have been recorded: Cereus jamacaru jamacaru (115 citations), Melocactus sp. (120), Opuntia ficus indica (5), Pilosocereus gounellei (19), Pilosocereus sp. (4) and Tacinga inamoena (4). The calculation of Relative Importance demonstrated that the most versatile species was C. jamacaru jamacaru (RI = 2). Regarding the RQF index, the species Melocactus sp. stood out (RQF = 0.56). From the calculation of the RQF, the Respiratory System Disorder (RQF = 0.96) obtained the highest value. Therefore, it was possible to observe that the rural communities studied share a relatively synchronous knowledge in relation to the medicinal species of Cactaceae because, most of the citations were for similar medicinal uses, such as, for example, the treatment of respiratory system problems. Thus, it is possible to note the importance of studies with species of medicinal use of the Cactaceae Family, studies that demonstrate the therapeutic power of plants and value the popular knowledge of rural communities in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil.