What Factors Guide the Selection of Medicinal Plants in a Local Pharmacopoeia? A Case Study in a Rural Community from a Historically Transformed Atlantic Forest Landscape

Table 1

Medicinal plants cited by residents of the Engenho Cuieiras community in the city of Aliança, Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. ADND = not defined disorders or pain; DGENM = endocrine, nutrition, and metabolic diseases; DIP = infectious and parasitic diseases; DPTCSC = diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue cell; DSOTC = disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue; IG = general inflammations; NEO = neoplasms; TSC = circulatory system disorders; TSSO = sensory system disorders (eye/ear); TSD = digestive system disorders; TSGU = genito-urinary system disorders; TSN = disorders of the nervous system; TSR = disorders of the respiratory system.

Family/scientific name	Popular name	Origin	Habit	Therapeutic indication	Body system
Acanthaceae
Justicia gendarussa Burm.F.	Anador	Exotic	Herb	Pain	ADND, TSD
Adoxaceae
Sambucus australis Cham. & Schltdl.	Flor de Sabugo	Native	Three	Cough	TSR
Amaranthaceae
Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen	Acônico	Exotic	Herb	Fever	ADND
Anacardiaceae
Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi	Aroeira	Native	Three	Injury, general inflammation, inflammation in uterus	IG, DTCSC, TSGU
Anacardium occidentale L.	Cajú-Roxo	Native	Three	Injury, general inflammation, intestinal infection	DTCSC, IG, TSD
Apiaceae
Foeniculum vulgare Mill.	Êndio	Exotic	Herb	Pain, intestinal problem	ADND, TSD
Coriandrum sativum L.	Coentro	Exotic	Herb	Stomaching	TSD
Pimpinella anisum L.	Erva-doce	Exotic	Herb	Soothing, intestinal problem	TSN, TSD
Arecaceae
Syagrus sp.	Coco-catolé	Native	Three	Osteoporosis	DSOTC
Asteraceae
Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (Delile) Sch.Bip. ex Walp.	Alcachofra	Exotic	Herb	Pain of belly, liver problems	TSD, TSD
Matricaria recutita L.	Camomila	Exotic	Herb	Soothing	TSN
Acanthospermum hispidum DC.	Espinho-de-cigano	Exotic	Herb	Catarrh, cough	TSR
Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq.	Rabo-de-raposa	Exotic	Herb	Fungus	DPTCSC
Bignoniaceae
Handroanthus impetiginosus (Mart. ex DC.) Mattos	Pau-d’arco-roxo	Native	Three	Inflammations	IG
Burseraceae
Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand	Amescla, amescla- roxa e amescla-branca.	Native	Three	Pain, internal inflammations, intestinal infection	ADND, IG, TSD
Cactaceae
Cereus jamacaru DC	Mandacaru, Cardeiro	Native	Shrub	Reins, spinal problems	TSGU, DSOTC
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodium ambrosioides L.	Mastruz	Exotic	Herb	Catarrh, bronchitis, worms	TSR, DIP
Costaceae
Costus spicatus Sw.	Cana-de-macaco	Exotic	Herb	Blood pressure, spinal problems, reins	TSC, DSOTC, TSGU
Cucurbitaceae
Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw.	Chuchu	Exotic	Herb	Blood pressure	TSC
Cucumis sativus L.	Pepino	Exotic	Herb	Blood pressure	TSC
Euphorbiaceae
Phyllanthus niruri L.	Quebra-pedra	Exotic	Herb	Reins, renal problem	TSGU, TSGU
Cnidoscolus urens (L.) Arthur	Urtiga-branca	Native	Herb	Infections, eyes	IG, TSSO
Jatropha gossypiifolia L.	Pinhão-roxo	Native	Herb	Heals scarring	DPTCSC
Fabaceae
Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville	Barbatimão	Native	Three	Wounds/cuts	DPTCSC
Hymenaea courbaril L.	Jatobá	Native	Three	Catarrh, cough	TSR
Mimosa pudica L.	Malícia-fina	Native	Herb	General inflammation, inflammation of the uterus, swelling of the legs	IG, TSGU, TSC
Senna occidentalis (L.) Roxb.	Manjerioba	Exotic	Herb	Catarrh, cough	TSR
Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth	Sucupira	Native	Three	Internal inflammations	IG
Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth	Sucupira-branca	Native	Three	Pain	ADND
Lamiaceae
Rosmarinus officinalis L.	Alecrim	Exotic	Herb	Fever	ADND
Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng	Hortelã-Graúda	Exotic	Herb	Catarrh, cough	TSR
Ocimum basilicum L.	Manjericão	Exotic	Herb	Antiabortive, infections	IG, TSGU
Mentha piperita L.	Hortelã-miúda	Exotic	Herb	Anti-VCA, blood pressure, flu, parasites, amebiasis, pain in the belly	TSC, TSR, DIP, TSD
Ocimum campechianum Mill.	Alfavaca-do-mato	Native	Herb	Control of rates, gases, prostate	DGENM, TSD, TSGU
Lauraceae
Persea americana Mill.	Abacate	Exotic	Three	Renal problem	TSGU
Nectandra cuspidata Ness & Mart.	Canela	Native	Three	Numbness, inflammation	TSD, IG
Liliaceae
Aloe vera (L.) Berm.f.	Babosa	Exotic	Herb	Skin problems, inflammation, gastritis, osteoporosis	DPTCSC, IG, TSD, DSOTC
Allium cepa L.	Cebola-branca	Exotic	Herb	Catarrh	TSR
Malpighiaceae
Malpighia glabra L.	Acerola	Exotic	Shrub	Cough	TSR
Malvaceae
Abelmoschus esculentus L.	Quiabo	Exotic	Herb	Diabetes	DGENM
Urena lobata L.	Malva-Rosa	Native	Herb	Pain, intestinal problem	ADND, TSD
Mimosaceae
Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan.	Angico	Native	Three	Catarrh, cough	TSR
Monimiaceae
Peumus boldus Mol.	Boldo	Exotic	Herb	Intestinal problems	TSD
Moraceae
Ficus sp.	Figo	Exotic	Three	Fungus	DPTCSC
Myrtaceae
Eugenia uniflora L.	Pitanga	Native	Shrub	Intestinal problems	TSD, TSD
Psidium guajava L.	Goiaba	Native	Three	Intestinal problems	TSD, TSD
Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.	Eucalipto	Exotic	Three	Respiratory problems	TSR
Psidium guineense S.W.	Araçá	Native	Three	Intestinal problems	TSD
Syzygium jambolanum (Lam.) DC.	Azeitona	Exotic	Three	Diabetes	DGENM
Oxalidaceae
Averrhoa carambola L.	Carambola	Exotic	Three	Renal problems	TSGU
Pedaliaceae
Sesamum orientale L.	Gergilin	Exotic	Herb	Pain	ADND
Poaceae
Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf.	Capim-santo	Exotic	Herb	Pain, intestinal problems, soothing, pain	ADND, TSD, TSN, DSOTC
Saccharum officinarum L.	Cana-de-açucar	Exotic	Herb	Blood stagnation	TSC
Punicaceae
Punica granatum L.	Romã	Exotic	Shrub	Inflammation of the throat, intestinal infections	IG, TSD
Rosaceae
Malus domestica Borkh.	Maçã	Exotic	Shrub	Vision	TSSO
Rubiaceae
Morinda citrifolia L.	Noni	Exotic	Shrub	Cholesterol, diabetes, pain, rheumatic fever, cancer prevention	DGENM, ADND, DIP, NEO
Genipa americana L.	Jenipapo	Native	Three	Catarrh	TSR
Borreria verticillata (L.) G. Mey.	Vassoura-de-botão	Exotic	Herb	Pain, inflammations, cough	ADND, IG, TSR
Rutaceae
Ruta graveolens L.	Arruda	Exotic	Herb	Headache, earache	ADND, ADND
Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck	Laranja	Exotic	Three	Soothing, insomnia	TSN
Solanaceae
Solanum paniculatum L.	Berinjela	Exotic	Herb	Cholesterol	DGENM
Solanum paniculatum L.	Jurubeba-branca, Jurubeba-roxa	Exotic	Herb	Catarrh, inflammations, stomachache, blood	TSR, IG, TSD, DGENM
Physalis angulata L.	Camapu	Native	Herb	Skin problems	DPTCSC
Verbenaceae
Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Br.	Herb-cidreira	Exotic	Herb	Digestive problems, pain, insomnia, soothing	TSD, ADND, TSN, TSN
Vitaceae
Cissus verticillata (L) Nicolson & C.E. Jarvis	Insulina	Native	Herb	Diabetes	DGENM
Zingiberaceae
Alpinia speciosa (Blume) D. Dietr.	Colônia	Exotic	Herb	Fever, sinusitis, catarrh, flu, headache	ADND, TSR, TSR, ADND