Comparative study of the antimicrobial activity of native and exotic plants from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest selected through an ethnobotanical survey.

Context: The idea that many commonly used medicinal plants may lead to the discovery of new drugs has encouraged the study of local knowledge of these resources.

Objective: An ethnobotanical survey of species traditionally used for the treatment of infectious diseases was undertaken in two areas of northeastern Brazil: one in the Caatinga (dry forest) and another in the Atlantic Forest (humid forest).

Materials: Initially, diffusion tests using paper disks and subsequently, for extracts presenting significant results (inhibition halos above 15 mm), minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined.

Intracultural variation in the knowledge of medicinal plants in an urban-rural community in the atlantic forest from northeastern Brazil.

This study assessed the intracultural knowledge of the use of medicinal plants in an urban-rural community in an Atlantic forest fragment in northeastern Brazil. We examined the importance of native and exotic species and the effects of gender and age on that knowledge. We also compared data obtained from different groups of informants (local experts and general community).

Insights into the search for new drugs from traditional knowledge: an ethnobotanical and chemical-ecological perspective.

Context: The variety of pathways for the introduction of a species into the medical collection of traditional communities has led many researchers to question the processes of selection and the use of these resources. A better comprehension of these processes will allow us to understand the cultural dynamics that are related to traditional medical practices, as well as to provide us with new ways in which to facilitate the exploration of natural products.

Objective: This study aims to test the predictive power of the plant apparency hypothesis as it relates to medicinal plant selection by the rural communities of the Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest in northeast Brazil.

A comparison of knowledge about medicinal plants for three rural communities in the semi-arid region of northeast of Brazil.

Aim: The aim of this research was to understand the importance of native and exotic plants in local medical systems in the Caatinga of the Brazilian northeast, and the influence of socio-economic factors on the acquisition of knowledge about these resources.

Methods: A total of 55 people were interviewed in three rural communities using free list and semi-structured interviewes.

Results: A total of 108 ethnospecies were reported, 99 of which were identified; 43 of these were preferred by informants.