TY - JOUR
T1 - Documentation of the medicinal knowledge of Prosthechea karwinskii in a Mixtec community in Mexico
AU - Garcia, Gabriela Cruz
AU - Gomez, Rodolfo Solano
AU - Rivera, Luicita Lagunez
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank all people who provided the information presented in this study. National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) provided financial support for this study through the project SIP 20121328. Scarlett Jones revised the English wording of the manuscript.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - In Mexico, native orchids are appreciated for their ornamental value and traditional uses and in many indigenous communities they comprise part of a biocultural heritage. The orchid Prosthechea karwinskii(Mart.) J.M.H. Shaw, Orchidaceae, is particularly relevant in this context, although some of its traditional uses have been attributed to a very similar species, P. citrina. A recent study of P. karwinskiireported unknown medicinal and other traditional uses by the Mixtec community in Mexico. Unfortunately, increasing acculturation of indigenous communities has resulted in a loss of the community's traditional knowledge, thus, we herein documented the worldview and practices associated with the medicinal use of P. karwinskiias well as the socioeconomic aspects that characterize the holders of this knowledge. People with this knowledge are mainly indigenous women with little or no schooling, who learned the medicinal practices from family tradition. They use pseudobulbs, leaves, or flowers of the plant to treat coughs (infusions), wounds and burns (poultices), diabetes (tea or chewed), to prevent miscarriages and to assist in childbirth (infusions). These results show a promising future for ethnopharmacological research on P. karwinskii.
AB - In Mexico, native orchids are appreciated for their ornamental value and traditional uses and in many indigenous communities they comprise part of a biocultural heritage. The orchid Prosthechea karwinskii(Mart.) J.M.H. Shaw, Orchidaceae, is particularly relevant in this context, although some of its traditional uses have been attributed to a very similar species, P. citrina. A recent study of P. karwinskiireported unknown medicinal and other traditional uses by the Mixtec community in Mexico. Unfortunately, increasing acculturation of indigenous communities has resulted in a loss of the community's traditional knowledge, thus, we herein documented the worldview and practices associated with the medicinal use of P. karwinskiias well as the socioeconomic aspects that characterize the holders of this knowledge. People with this knowledge are mainly indigenous women with little or no schooling, who learned the medicinal practices from family tradition. They use pseudobulbs, leaves, or flowers of the plant to treat coughs (infusions), wounds and burns (poultices), diabetes (tea or chewed), to prevent miscarriages and to assist in childbirth (infusions). These results show a promising future for ethnopharmacological research on P. karwinskii.
KW - Ethnobotany
KW - Medicinal plants
KW - Oaxaca
KW - Traditional knowledge
KW - Traditional medicine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904369827&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bjp.2014.03.002
DO - 10.1016/j.bjp.2014.03.002
M3 - Artículo
SN - 0102-695X
VL - 24
SP - 153
EP - 158
JO - Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia
JF - Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia
IS - 2
ER -