Does the selection of medicinal plants by Brazilian local populations suffer taxonomic influence?

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance The analysis of the influence of taxonomic affiliation on the selection of medicinal plants by Brazilian local populations can help elucidate theoretical aspects of medicinal plant selection.

Materials and methods Ethnobotanical medicinal plant studies were compiled and the resulting medicinal flora was compared to the total angiosperm flora with a Bayesian approach and the IDM model.

Results A total of 35 families were considered to be overused and six were classified as underused for the Bayesian approach. On the other hand, the IDM model considered 13 families as overused and five as underused (all of them were also highlighted by the Bayesian approach). A high overuse level of Bixaceae, Amaranthaceae, Anacardiaceae and Smilacaceae was recorded for both Bayesian and IDM model, while Orchidaceae, Melastomataceae, Eriocaulaceae, Poaceae and Bromeliaceae were considered as underused for both analyses. The most dissimilar body system in terms of family composition was ‘mental and behavioral disorders’. It was also found that the body systems are different from one another in the proportion of taxonomic groups, which could indicate chemical specificity in the treatment of diseases.

Conclusions Results indicate that the chemical specificity of taxonomic groups directly influences medicinal plant selection. Moreover, when data presented here are compared to other studies, there is clearly an overuse pattern for families like Lamiaceae, Rosaceae and Euphorbiaceae and an underuse pattern for Poaceae and Orchidaceae.