Chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of purified extracts of Prosopis pallida (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Kunth (Fabaceae) fruits from Northern Peru / Composición química y capacidad antioxidante de extractos purificados de frutos de Prosopis pallida (Humb. & Bonpl. Ex Willd.) Kunth (Fabaceae) del norte de Perú

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of Prosopis pallida (Fabaceae) fruits "algarrobo", in addition to determine their main chemical components. Fruit purified extracts from the regions of Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, and La Libertad (Peru) were evaluated using infusion, decoction, and alcoholic extraction at concentrations of 45, 70 and 96%. To measure the antioxidant capacity of the extracts, the determination of total phenolics content was performed, followed by the antioxidant evaluation using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS. The chemical identification was carried out through UHPLC-UV-MS/MS. The results showed that the decoction of the sample from the region of La Libertad, as well as the ethanol extracts at 45% of the samples from Tumbes and Lambayeque presented greater antioxidant capacity. Moreover, ten major substances of these extracts were identified: nine phenolic derivatives (vicenin II as the main constituent of the extracts) and one diterpene (7-oxodehydroabietic acid).

El propósito de este trabajo fue evaluar la capacidad antioxidante de frutos de Prosopis pallida (Fabaceae) "algarrobo", además de determinar sus principales componentes químicos. Se estudiaron extractos purificados de frutos de las regiones de Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque y La Libertad (Perú), mediante infusión, decocción y extracción alcohólica en concentraciones de 45, 70 y 96%. Para medir la capacidad antioxidante de los extractos, se realizó la determinación del contenido de fenoles totales, seguida de la evaluación antioxidante mediante DPPH, FRAP y ABTS. La identificación química se realizó mediante UHPLC-UV-MS/MS. Los resultados mostraron que la decocción de la muestra de la región de La Libertad, así como los extractos de etanol al 45% de las muestras de Tumbes y Lambayeque presentaron mayor capacidad antioxidante. Además, se identificaron diez sustancias principales de estos extractos: nueve derivados fenólicos (vicenin II como componente principal de los extractos) y un diterpeno (ácido 7-oxodehidroabiético).

Land use and land cover modification and its impact on biodiversity and the ecosystem services in District Kurram, Pakistan / Uso del suelo y modificación de la cobertura terrestre y su impacto en la biodiversidad y los servicios de los ecosistemas en el distrito de Kurram, Pakistán

Modifications of land use and vegetation cover are proceeding faster than ever before in human history, with a considerable reduction in forest cover in biodiversity hotspots. We investigated the land use and vegetation cover changes, their impact on biodiversity in the Kurram District, Pakistan, for 27 years (1989 to 2015). Temporal satellite imagery was processed using a supervised maximum likelihood classification algorithm in ARCGIS 10.1 to elucidate information regarding land use/land cover changes,with conducted structured interviews to obtain the inhabitants' perspectives on their dependence on ecosystems in Kurram, and how their environment is changing. We found that the land under forest cover and rangeland showed a remarkable decrease over the study period. This decline in rangeland and forest cover was a result of the increased of farmland, barren land. The study area is part of a biodiversity, with important medicinal, rare and unique plant species.

Las modificaciones del uso de la tierra y la cobertura vegetal están avanzando más rápido que nunca en la historia de la humanidad, con una reducción considerable de la cobertura forestal en los puntos críticos de biodiversidad. Investigamos el uso de la tierra y los cambios en la cobertura vegetal, su impacto en la biodiversidad en el distrito de Kurram, Pakistán, durante 27 años (1989 a 2015). Las imágenes satelitales temporales se procesaron utilizando un algoritmo de clasificación de máxima verosimilitud supervisada en ARCGIS 10.1 para dilucidar información sobre los cambios en el uso del suelo/cobertura del suelo, con entrevistas estructuradas realizadas para obtener las perspectivas de los habitantes sobre su dependencia de los ecosistemas en Kurram y cómo está cambiando su entorno. Descubrimos que la tierra cubierta por bosques y pastizales mostró una disminución notable durante el período de estudio. Esta disminución en los pastizales y la cubierta forestal fue el resultado del aumento de las tierras de cultivo, tierras estériles. El área de estudio es parte de una biodiversidad, con importantes especies de plantas medicinales, raras y únicas.

Temporal assessment of the medicinal plants trade in public markets of the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Open and public markets are the main providers of medicinal plants in urban environments. The present study evaluated the medicinal plants sold in public markets in different municipalities in the mesoregions of the state of Paraíba, northeast of Brazil, and the possible variations in the supply of these plants in the markets over the course of a year. METHODS: Interviews with medicinal plant traders were conducted in four mesoregions of different climatic and phytophysiognomic characteristics (ranging from Caatinga to Atlantic Forest). The versatility of the species sold was elucidated using the relative importance (RI) index, and the set of species sold by each informant in each mesoregion was compared with each other by one-way Anosim  and by the analysis of main coordinates. RESULTS: Thirty-five plant traders identified 163 medicinal plant species (151 genders and 76 families) and more 17 non identified species. The most frequent families were Fabaceae (19 species), Asteraceae (12), Lamiaceae (11), and Myrtaceae (6). Punica granatum, Zingiber officinale, and Myracrodruon urundeuva were the species with the highest RI. The analysis of similarity showed distinct differences between the Sertão and all other mesoregions. The Agreste, an ecotone area, was also the area where more species of other regions was found. The absence of 88 species in at least one of the trading locations at some stage of the fieldwork was recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The presence and absence of the commercialized species do not seem to be related to the period of the year or the mesoregion. There were differences in the inventory of plants commercialized in markets in recent years. We identified an intermediate zone of knowledge and use of species commercialized between the studied localities.

Local Knowledge and Use of Medicinal Plants in a Rural Community in the Agreste of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil.

The use of medicinal plants is an important source of therapeutic resources in rural communities and the wide versatility of some species may attract interest for prospecting studies. The aim of this study was to record and analyze local knowledge and the use of medicinal plants in the rural community of Malícia, municipality of Araçagi, Paraíba State, Northeastern Brazil, applying quantitative methods to calculate the Relative Importance (RI) and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). Semistructured interviews were conducted with 46 heads of households. The interviews addressed questions about the used parts of the plants, therapeutic indications, and form of use. Therapeutic indications were classified into categories of body systems. The Relative Importance Index (RI) was calculated to verify the species versatility, and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) was calculated to verify the consensus of use among informants regarding the body systems. A total of 111 plant species were recorded, inside 101 genera and 47 families. Fabaceae (16 spp.), Lamiaceae, and Myrtaceae (each one with 7 spp.) were the most representative families. Mentha arvensis, Aloe vera, and Myracrodruon urundeuva had the highest RI. A high consensus of use was observed among the informants for neoplasms, nervous system diseases, and infectious and parasitic diseases. Leaves were the part most cited for medicinal use. Regarding the method of preparation, the decoction and the oral administration route stood out. Neoplasms and respiratory system diseases had the highest ICF values. The results indicate a diversified knowledge of the local pharmacopeia and the need for in-depth studies to corroborate the effectiveness of medicinal plants and to understand the dynamics of local knowledge.

Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19.

Household responses to COVID-19 in different corners of the world represent the primary health care that communities have relied on for preventing and mitigating symptoms. During a very complex and confusing time, in which public health services in multiple countries have been completely overwhelmed, and in some cases even collapsed, these first-line household responses have been quintessential for building physical, mental, and social resilience, and for improving individual and community health. This editorial discusses the outcomes of a rapid-response preliminary survey during the first phase of the pandemic among social and community contacts in five metropolises heavily affected by the COVID-19 health crisis (Wuhan, Milan, Madrid, New York, and Rio de Janeiro), and in twelve rural areas or countries initially less affected by the pandemic (Appalachia, Jamaica, Bolivia, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, Turkey, Pakistan, Cambodia, and South Africa). We summarized our perspectives as 17 case studies, observing that people have relied primarily on teas and spices ("food-medicines") and that there exist clear international plant favorites, popularized by various new media. Urban diasporas and rural households seem to have repurposed homemade plant-based remedies that they use in normal times for treating the flu and other respiratory symptoms or that they simply consider healthy foods. The most remarkable shift in many areas has been the increased consumption of ginger and garlic, followed by onion, turmeric, and lemon. Our preliminary inventory of food medicines serves as a baseline for future systematic ethnobotanical studies and aims to inspire in-depth research on how use patterns of plant-based foods and beverages, both "traditional" and "new", are changing during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our reflections in this editorial call attention to the importance of ethnobiology, ethnomedicine, and ethnogastronomy research into domestic health care strategies for improving community health.

Pinguicula rosmarieae Casper, Bussmann & T.Henning (Lentibulariaceae), a new butterwort from the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone (northern Peru).

The insectivorous genus Pinguicula occurs along the whole Andean mountain chain from Colombia-Venezuela in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south with a short interruption in the Peruvian-Chilean desert range. This paper describes a new and striking species of Pinguicula that occurs in the south-eastern part of the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone in north Peru. It grows either as a lithophyte on moist rocks or as an epiphyte on Polylepis multijuga Pilg. in the wet highlands of the Cordillera Central. Pinguicula rosmarieae Casper, Bussmann & T.Henning, sp. nov. is clearly distinguished by a basal rosette of ovate-obovate leaves spread out flat on the ground and especially by a two-partite corolla with a straight uniform tube-spur complex, two features unknown from other Andean Pinguicula species. The morphological similarity to P. calyptrata Kunth is discussed and the habitat and distribution of P. rosmarieae are characterised.

ResumenEl género insectívoro Pinguicula se encuentra a lo largo Andes desde Colombia y Venezuela en el norte hasta Tierra Fuego en el sur, con una breve interrupción en el los desiertos peruano-chilenos. Este artículo describe una nueva y distintiva especie de Pinguicula que se encuentra en la parte sur de la zona Amotape-Huancabamba en el norte del Perú. Puede crecer tanto como litófita sobre rocas húmedas o como epífita sobre Polylepis multijuga Pilg. en las tierras altas y húmedas de la Cordillera Central. Pinguicula rosmarieae Casper, Bussmann & T.Henning, sp. nov. se distingue claramente por tener una roseta basal de hojas ovadas-obovadas, postradas sobre el suelo y, especialmente, por la corola bipartida con un espolón uniforme recto, una combinación de características desconocidas de otras especies andinas de Pinguicula. Se discute la similitud morfológica con P. calyptrata Kunth y se caracterizan el hábitat y la distribución de P. rosmarieae.

Astonishing diversity-the medicinal plant markets of Bogotá, Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Despite the importance of local markets as a source of medicinal plants in Colombia, comparatively little comparative research reports on the pharmacopoeiae sold. This stands in contrast to wealth of available information for other components of plant use in Colombia and other countries. The present provides a detailed inventory of the medicinal plant markets in the Bogotá metropolitan area, hypothesizing that the species composition, and medicinal applications, would differ across markets of the city. METHODS: From December 2014 to February 2016, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 plant vendors in 24 markets in Bogotá in order to elucidate more details on plant usage and provenance. RESULTS: In this study, we encountered 409 plant species belonging to 319 genera and 122 families. These were used for a total of 19 disease categories with 318 different applications. Both species composition and uses of species did show considerable differences across the metropolitan area-much higher in fact than we expected. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated a very large species and use diversity of medicinal plants in the markets of Bogotá, with profound differences even between markets in close proximity. This might be explained by the great differences in the origin of populations in Bogotá, the floristic diversity in their regions of origin, and their very distinct plant use knowledge and preferences that are transferred to the markets through customer demand. Our study clearly indicated that studies in single markets cannot give an in-depth overview on the plant supply and use in large metropolitan areas.

To list or not to list? The value and detriment of freelisting in ethnobotanical studies.

Although freelisting and semi-structured interviews are widespread methods in ethnobotany, few studies quantitatively examine how these methods may bias results. Using a comprehensive ethnobotanical inventory of palm species, uses and names in the Chácobo tribe of Bolivia, we show that interviews elicit more items than freelists, but the effect is sensitive to sample size, item type and data categorization. This implies that even subtle methodological choices may greatly affect reported results.

Who should conduct ethnobotanical studies? Effects of different interviewers in the case of the Chácobo Ethnobotany project, Beni, Bolivia.

BACKGROUND: That the answers elicited through interviews may be influenced by the knowledge of the interviewer is accepted across disciplines. However, in ethnobotany, there is little evidence to quantitatively assess what impact this effect may have. We use the results of a large study of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of plant use of the Chácobo and Pacahuara of Beni, Bolivia, to explore the effects of interviewer identity and knowledge upon the elicited plant species and uses. METHODS: The Chácobo are a Panoan speaking tribe of about 1000 members (300+ adults) in Beni, Bolivia. Researchers have collected anthropological and ethnobotanical data from the Chácobo for more than a century. Here, we present a complete ethnobotanical inventory of the entire adult Chácobo population, with interviews and plant collection conducted directly by Chácobo counterparts, with a focus on the effects caused by external interviewers. RESULTS: Within this large study, with a unified training for interviewers, we did find that different interviewers did elicit different knowledge sets, that some interviewers were more likely to elicit knowledge similar to their own, and that participants interviewed multiple times often gave information as different as that from two randomly chosen participants. CONCLUSIONS: Despite this, we did not find this effect to be overwhelming-the amount of knowledge an interviewer reported on the research subject had comparatively little effect on the amount of knowledge that interviewer recorded from others, and even those interviewers who tended to elicit similar answers from participants also elicited a large percentage of novel information.

Traditional knowledge hiding in plain sight - twenty-first century ethnobotany of the Chácobo in Beni, Bolivia.

BACKGROUND: The Chácobo are a Panoan speaking tribe of about 1000 members (300+ adults) in Beni, Bolivia. Originally nomadic, the Chácabo were relocated to their current main location in the 1960s. Researchers have visited the Chácabo since 1911. A first more detailed anthropological report exists from the late 1960s, and ecological-ethnobotanical studies were conducted in the 1980s and 1990s. The presented work represents a complete ethnobotanical inventory of the entire adult Chácobo population, with interviews and plant collection conducted directly by Chácobo counterparts. METHODS: Based on previous reports and our preliminary studies, we hypothesized that twenty-first century Chácobo plant use centered on income generation, and that traditional plant use related to household utensils, medicine and traditional crop varieties had almost disappeared. To test this hypothesis, we started the "Chácobo Ethnobotany Project," training 10 indigenous Chácobo participants in ethnobotanical interview and plant collection techniques, in order to more fully document Chácobo knowledge and avoid the influence of foreign interviewers. RESULTS: Our study found 331 useful plant species in 241genera of 95 plant families, with leaves, roots and bark being the most commonly used plant parts The comprehensive documentation that these methods enabled completely nullified our initial hypothesis of knowledge loss. Traditional crop varieties are still widely grown and traditional knowledge is alive. Moreover, it is being actively recuperated in certain domains by the younger generation. Most Chácobo know, and can name, traditional utensils and tools, although only the older generation has still the skills to manufacture them. While many Chácobo still know the names and uses of medicinal species, the younger generation is however often unsure how to identify them. CONCLUSIONS: In this paper we illustrate the complexity of perspectives on knowledge at different ages, and the persistence of knowledge over almost a century. We found that traditional knowledge was only partially affected by the processes of exposure to a market economy, and that different knowledge domains experienced different trends as a result of these changes. Overall knowledge was widely distributed, and we did not observe a directional knowledge loss. We stress the importance to not directly conclude processes of knowledge loss, cultural erosion or acculturation when comparing the knowledge of different age groups.

The socioeconomic context of the use of Euterpe precatoria Mart. and E. oleracea Mart. in Bolivia and Peru.

BACKGROUND: Traditional knowledge (TK) has enabled communities to adapt to changes in life conditions over centuries. However, this local context is being dramatically affected by recent changes through globalization and modernization of societies. In this paper we seek to identify socio-economic factors that are related to the knowledge and use of two palm species in mestizo and indigenous communities in the Amazonian of Peru and Bolivia. Both species are known in the region under the main vernacular name of Asaí, and are source of two highly commercialized resources: palm-hearts and fruits. Euterpe precatoria Mart. is native to the region whereas E. oleracea Mart. is being introduced for the use of both resources. METHODS: We compare TK about the two Euterpe species in both countries in relation to 14 socioeconomic factors in seven use categories. We performed a Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to elucidate the influence of each socioeconomic factor on the overall palm knowledge or on individual use categories. RESULTS: In the two countries, we found that mestizos, speaking only Spanish, and migrants in the same ecoregion, knew more uses in all use categories for E. precatoria than for E. oleracea, even in use categories such as Medicinal and veterinary and Construction, for which indigenous participants had more uses in case of other species. In Peru, the use of E. precatoria was higher among participants with greater wealth, which could be related to the commercial importance that both the fruits and the palm-hearts have had in the markets of the region. In contrast, in Bolivia, although some income generation from Euterpe sp. was observed, the use of E. precatoria was much more homogeneously distributed. The use of E. oleracea in Bolivia is recent, and although its most important uses are related to the consumption of fruits and palm-hearts (Human food), it is now being slowly used for Medicinal and Construction purposes, similar to E. precatoria. CONCLUSIONS: The use of each of the species forms part of divergent strategies in people's livelihoods. We show that integration into a market economy does not necessarily erode TK, but can rather stimulate knowledge acquisition and transmission of knowledge, and helps to understand the role and potential of these products to contribute to the livelihoods of households.

Constituents from the bark resin of Schinus molle

ABSTRACT A total of five terpenes was isolated from the bark resin of Schinus molle L., Anacardiaceae, and their structures were determined by spectroscopic techniques. Among these compounds the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon terebinthene showed significant growth inhibitory activity against human colon carcinoma HCT-116 cells. Furthermore, terebinthene and pinicolic acid (5) also showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633.

Changing markets - Medicinal plants in the markets of La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Given the importance of local markets as a source of medicinal plants for both healers and the population, literature on market flows and the value of the plant material traded is rather scarce. This stands in contrast to wealth of available information for other components of Bolivian ethnobotany. The present study attempts to remedy this situation by providing a detailed inventory of medicinal plant markets in the La Paz-El Alto metropolitan area, hypothesizing that both species composition, and medicinal applications, have changed considerably over time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From October 2013-October 2015 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 plant vendors between October 2013 and October 2015 in the Mercado Rodriguez, Mercado Calle Santa Cruz, Mercado Cohoni, Mercado Cota Cota, and Mercado Seguencoma and Mercado El Alto in order to elucidate more details on plant usage and provenance. The results of the present study were then compared to previous inventories of medicinal plants in La Paz and El Alto studies to elucidate changes over time and impact of interview techniques. RESULTS: In this study we encountered 163 plant species belonging to 127 genera and 58 families. In addition, 17 species could not be identified. This species richness is considerably higher than that reported in previous studies (2005, 129 species of 55 families; 2015, 94 identified species). While the overall distribution of illness categories is in line with older reports the number of species used per application, as well as the applications per species, were much higher in the present study. Overall, informant consensus was relatively low, which might be explained by the large number of new species that have entered the local pharmacopoeia in the last decade, although some species might simply have been missed by previous studies. In course of the present study it became apparent that even well known species might often be replaced by other apparently similar but botanically unrelated species due to environmental and market forces CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that, while the floristic composition of markets in the La Paz metropolitan area remained relatively constant over the last decade, with this inventory adding about 20% of species to previous studies, the number of indications for which certain species were used increased tremendously, and that profound differences exist even between markets in close proximity. The dramatic increase in previously not used species used per indication might pose serious risks for consumers. We found serious problems due to species replacements. Even plants that have a well established vernacular name, and are easily recognizable botanically, can be replaced by other species that can pose a serious health risk. Vendor education and stringent identification of the material sold in public markets are clearly needed.

Coumarins of Loricaria ferruginea

ABSTRACT In the presented research we isolated and characterized compounds from Loricaria ferruginea (Ruiz & Pav.) Wedd., Asteraceae. To the best of our knowledge no data on any compounds from L. ferruginea have been published to this day. As main compounds of the hexane extract we found four known coumarins: 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin; 5,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin; 5-hydroxyobliquine and 5-methoxyobliquine. All the structures were determined by spectroscopic and spectrometric methods.

Constituents of Corynaea crassa "Peruvian Viagra"

Abstract A phytochemical investigation of methanol and n-hexane extracts of tuber/roots of Corynaea crassa Hook. f., Balanophoraceae, led to the isolation and characterization of β-sitosterol, lupenone, β-amyrone, lupeol, and β-amyrine. Unusual complex 1:1 mixtures of lupenone/β-amyrone and lupeol/β-amyrine obtained from the extracts were identified by NMR and HR-MS experiments. The structure of the 1:1 lupenone/β-amyrone mixture was confirmed by X-ray analysis. These triterpene ketone derivatives, only distinguished either by 5- or 6-membered E ring, co-crystallize in one common unit cell in the solid state.

Plantas medicinales de los Andes y la Amazonia. La Flora mágica y medicinal del Norte del Perú / Medicinal plants of the Andes and the Amazon. The magical and medicinal Flora of Northern Peru

El enfoque principal de este proyecto ha sido la etnobotánica de plantas medicinales usadas en la costa norte de Perú. Perú Septentrional representa el "eje de salud" de la antigua área cultural de los Andes Centrales extendiéndose de Ecuador a Bolivia (Camino 1992). Evidencia gráfica del uso tradicional de plantas mágicas y medicinales en esta región data del primer milenio AC (Cultura Cupisnique) y durante la época Moche (100-800 DC) hay cerámicas mostrando escenas de curación. Precedentes para este estudio fueron establecidos por cronistas de la época colonial temprano (Monardes 1574; Acosta 1590; Cobo 1653), las colecciones de flora (293 plantas en cajones 11 y 12 de 24) enviados en 1789 al Palacio Real de Madrid bajo el título Trujillo del Perú (vols. 3, 4 & 5 de 9 volúmenes de acuarelas) por Obispo Baltasar Jaime Martínez Compañón; los trabajos de Ruiz y Pavón (1798, 1799, 1802); los estudios del naturalista italiano Antonio Raimondi (1857); el análisis etno-arqueológico del cacto alucinógeno San Pedro (Sharon 2000), curandera Representaciones en la Cerámica Moche(Glass-Coffin, Sharon y Uceda 2004) y la investigación de plantas medicinales en Ecuador Meridional (Béjar, Bussmann, Roa y Sharon 1997, 2001; Bussmann y Sharon 2006a, 2007a). El trabajo de campo para el estudio actual comenzó el 2001 en los mercados de Trujillo (Mayorista y Hermelinda) y Chiclayo (Modelo y Moshoqueque). En nuestro base de datos proveemos los datos norperuanos y fotos digitales de 510 plantas medicinales organizada bajo los subtítulos: nombres científicos, nombres vernáculos, partes de las plantas usadas, administración, preparación y usos.

Peril in the market-classification and dosage of species used as anti-diabetics in Lima, Peru.

BACKGROUND: Peru is what Peruvian anthropologist Lupe Camino calls the "health axis" of the old Central Andean culture area stretching from Ecuador to Bolivia. In particular in the North of the country the traditional use of medicinal dates back as far as the first millennium B.C. Both healers, and the wider population, often buy their medicinal plants in local markets, but there is very little comparative information available about which plants are sold under which vernacular name at any given time, for which indication, and which dosage information and information about side effects is given by vendors. For this study we used two traditionally used species groups "Hercampuri" Gentianella spec. (Gentianaceae) and "Pasuchaca" Geranium spec. (Geraniaceae.), found in the Mercado Aviación in Lima, as small, clearly circumscribed plant group frequently used to treat symptoms of diabetes as a test case to study the taxonomy, indications, dosage, indicated side effects, and additional species used as admixtures and hypothesized that: 1. A wide variety of different species is sold under the same common name, and often several common names exist for one species. 2. There is no consistency in the dosage, or a relationship between dosage and species marketed under one name. 3. However, there is consistency in the knowledge about usage and side effects. METHODS: Surveys focusing on medicinal plants sold and their properties were conducted at the Mercado Aviaciónin Lima in December 2012. Vouchers of all specimens were deposited at the National Herbarium of Peru. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Our surveys in Mercado Aviación in Lima yielded four species of Gentianella, two of Geranium, and three additional species from three genera used as common additives that were sold as anti-diabetic. These results indicate that even in case of only a few plant species, used for a very clearly circumscribed application, patients run a considerable risk when purchasing their remedies in the market. The possible side effects in this case are the more serious because diabetes has to be treated long term, and as such the patients are ingesting possible toxic remedies over a long period of time. Much more control, and a much more stringent identification of the material sold in public markets, and entering the global supply chain via internet sales, would be needed.

The globalization of traditional medicine in northern peru: from shamanism to molecules.

Northern Peru represents the center of the Andean "health axis," with roots going back to traditional practices of Cupisnique culture (1000 BC). For more than a decade of research, semistructured interviews were conducted with healers, collectors, and sellers of medicinal plants. In addition, bioassays were carried out to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of plants found. Most of the 510 species encountered were native to Peru (83%). Fifty percent of the plants used in colonial times have disappeared from the pharmacopoeia. Market vendors specialized either on common and exotic plants, plants for common ailments, and plants only used by healers or on plants with magical purposes. Over 974 preparations with up to 29 different ingredients were used to treat 164 health conditions. Almost 65% of the medicinal plants were applied in these mixtures. Antibacterial activity was confirmed in most plants used for infections. Twenty-four percent of the aqueous extracts and 76% of the ethanolic extracts showed toxicity. Traditional preparation methods take this into account when choosing the appropriate solvent for the preparation of a remedy. The increasing demand for medicinal species did not increase the cultivation of medicinal plants. Most species are wild collected, causing doubts about the sustainability of trade.

Medicinal plant use in two Andean communities located at different altitudes in the Bolívar Province, Peru.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The study documents current medicinal plant knowledge and use in two Andean communities and depicts the dynamic nature of ethnobotanical relationships by illustrating cultural integration of biomedicine and local plant medicine into a complementary system. AIM OF THE STUDY: In order to elucidate the importance of medicinal plants, the following research questions were addressed: Which position do medicinal plants have in the local health care system? Which plants are used medicinally, and do they differ between the communities? Is their use supported pharmacologically? MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fieldwork was done for seven months in 2010. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 120 informants in Uchumarca and Pusac/San Vicente de Paúl, and the medicinal plant species mentioned by the informants were vouchered. RESULTS: In total, 2776 plant remedy use reports were recorded. Most people in both communities know at least some medicinal plants, usually from their parents, grandparents, sometimes from books. There are different types of local plant specialists, who are consulted above all for the treatment of diseases thought to have a magical origin or for recommendations of plants to treat minor diseases. Overall, 140 medicinal plants were documented, with a conformity of over 90% between the communities. The effective use of the most frequently cited medicinal plants is supported by scientific literature. Most uses were reported for the treatment of gastrointestinal (17%), nervous (14%), respiratory (14%), urological (13%) and dermatological diseases (8%); nervous diseases were more prevalent in the mountain community, while dermatological and urological diseases were more common in the valley. CONCLUSIONS: People combine medicinal plant use and biomedicine depending on the kind of disease, their beliefs, and their economic situation. The local use of different available medical resources is reflected by the combination of related epistemologies to explain disease causes. Medicinal plant use and biomedicine complement each other to form the local health care system.

Medicinal ethnobotany in Huacareta (Chuquisaca, Bolivia).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to document the types of diseases treated by the use of medicinal plants, their main applications and also to have a report of the major diseases treated at the Hospital of San Pablo de Huacareta (Chuquisaca Bolivia). METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews on the use medicinal plants with 10 local informants, and categorized the kinds of diseases treated by traditional medicine. We obtained reports of cases treated at the Hospital of Huacareta in order to compare the use frequency of traditional medicine and allopathic medicine for the treatment of recurrent diseases in the area. RESULTS: Our survey identified 258 traditional medicine uses, spanning a total of 13 diseases categories and including 91 native and exotic plant species and one unidentified sample plant type. Gastrointestinal disorders (55%) were most frequently treated with medicinal plants, followed by afflictions of the musculoskeletal system (25%) and dermatological disorders (24%). Hospital information indicates that the most common diseases are acute respiratory infections (47%) and acute diarrheal diseases (37%). The herbal remedies were mostly used in the form of teas and decoctions. The informants used mainly native plant species, although exotic species has been introduced to the pharmacopoeia. CONCLUSIONS: The treatment of gastrointestinal disorders is the primary objective of the medical ethnobotany of the inhabitants of Huacareta, while respiratory system diseases are mostly treated in the hospital. Looking at the data from the Hospital records we can infer that gastrointestinal disorders are among the most common diseases in the study area. For most respondents, traditional medicine is a reliable choice for the care of their illnesses. However, the preference of the population for either traditional medicine or allopathic medicine needs to be clarified in future comparative studies to obtain more convincing results. The results presented can be used as a base for subsequent work related to traditional medicine and its contribution to allopathic medicine in San Pablo de Huacareta.