Estudo etnobotânico de plantas medicinais em cinco comunidades rurais do município de Ouro Branco / RN.

Abstract

Ethnobotany is the study of the knowledge of the flora of a region, which is concerned with the subjects and their knowledge, in addition to gathering information from those who maintained relationships with the plants and cultural elements of a people. In view of this, the objective was to carry out an ethnobotanical survey of the use of medicinal plants in five rural communities located in the municipality of Ouro Branco, in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, thus contributing to the rescue of traditional practices together with the awareness of protection and species safety. Data were collected in December 2022, through a semi-structured questionnaire, with 72 residents of five communities in the municipality of Ouro Branco/RN, aged between 18 and 80 years. For data analysis, relative frequency was used. The participants were investigated regarding their socioeconomic profile and the use of medicinal plants. Most residents of the communities studied are female, are over 54 years old, have incomplete primary education, earn up to one minimum wage and have lived in those locations for many years. According to the data, it appears that 91.7% of respondents believed in the healing power of medicinal plants, and that most acquire the species in their backyards. Regarding the most used part of the plant, it was found that in all communities, respondents used the leaves and the main form of use is tea. Thirty-eight medicinal species belonging to 27 botanical families were identified. Thus, the relevance of ethnobotanical research was evidenced as a way to boost the appreciation and communication of traditional knowledge, intertwined with the conservation of medicinal species.