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Romanus PC, Mendes FR, Carlini EDA. Factors affecting the use of medicinal plants by migrants from rural areas of Brazilian Northeast after moving to a metropolitan region in Southeast of Brazil. JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE 2018; 14:72. [PMID: 30466463 PMCID: PMC6249753 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-018-0270-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ethnopharmacological studies about migrants reveal a dynamic process of knowledge and use of medicinal plants. In this study, we sought to elucidate quantitative and qualitatively the main factors influencing the use of medicinal plants by migrants from rural areas to an urban region in Brazil with traces of remnant natural vegetation. METHODS Seven Northeastern individuals who migrated to the Southeastern Region of Brazil (Bororé Peninsula, in the city of São Paulo) were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of medicinal plants throughout their lives, and indicated an inhabitant in their hometown that would be able to accompany the field collections in each area. Socioeconomic, educational, family structure, and use of Western medicine data were provided during interviews with the individuals from their hometowns. Plant samples cited by the interviewees were collected both at the current place of residence and in their hometowns. RESULTS The participants cited 131 plants and 315 recipes, being the main indications related to the gastrointestinal system, respiratory problems, and pain and inflammatory processes. We observed that most plant uses were maintained after migration. Higher percentages of maintenances and incorporations in plant uses occurred to exotic species, while replacements happen mainly to native plants. The introduction of new species into the migrants' therapeutics occurred mainly by observations of organoleptic similarities between the substituted plant and the incorporated species, conversations with neighbors, and contact with the television and print media. In addition, the public health system allowed the interviewees access to prophylactic drugs, leading to the discontinuation of certain recipes used in endemic diseases. CONCLUSION Migrants were exposed to information about new plants and their uses, new diseases, and socioeconomic and cultural differences that impacted their use of medicinal plants. Although migration to a more developed city facilitated access to public health and education, on the other hand, it made access to fresh medicinal plants difficult, causing some medicinal plants to be replaced or ceased to be used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Perla Carvalho Romanus
- Department of Psychobiology, UNIFESP, Rua Botucatu, 862, 1° andar, prédio Ciências Biomédicas, Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP 04023-062 Brazil
| | - Fúlvio Rieli Mendes
- Center for Natural and Human Sciences, UFABC, Rua Arcturus, 03, Sala 236, Bloco Delta. Bairro Jardim Antares, São Bernardo do Campo, SP 09606-070 Brazil
| | - Elisaldo de Araújo Carlini
- Department of Preventive Medicine, UNIFESP, Rua Botucatu, 740, 4° andar. Bairro Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP 04023-900 Brazil
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Lüde S, Vecchio S, Sinno-Tellier S, Dopter A, Mustonen H, Vucinic S, Jonsson B, Müller D, Veras Gimenez Fruchtengarten L, Hruby K, De Souza Nascimento E, Di Lorenzo C, Restani P, Kupferschmidt H, Ceschi A. Adverse Effects of Plant Food Supplements and Plants Consumed as Food: Results from the Poisons Centres-Based PlantLIBRA Study. Phytother Res 2016; 30:988-96. [PMID: 26948409 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.5604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Plant food supplements (PFS) are products of increasing popularity and wide-spread distribution. Nevertheless, information about their risks is limited. To fill this gap, a poisons centres-based study was performed as part of the EU project PlantLIBRA. Multicentre retrospective review of data from selected European and Brazilian poisons centres, involving human cases of adverse effects due to plants consumed as food or as ingredients of food supplements recorded between 2006 and 2010. Ten poisons centres provided a total of 75 cases. In 57 cases (76%) a PFS was involved; in 18 (24%) a plant was ingested as food. The 10 most frequently reported plants were Valeriana officinalis, Camellia sinensis, Paullinia cupana, Melissa officinalis, Passiflora incarnata, Mentha piperita, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Ilex paraguariensis, Panax ginseng, and Citrus aurantium. The most frequently observed clinical effects were neurotoxicity and gastro-intestinal symptoms. Most cases showed a benign clinical course; however, five cases were severe. PFS-related adverse effects seem to be relatively infrequent issues for poisons centres. Most cases showed mild symptoms. Nevertheless, the occurrence of some severe adverse effects and the increasing popularity of PFS require continuous active surveillance, and further research is warranted. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia Lüde
- National Poisons Centre, Tox Info Suisse, Associated Institute of the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Vecchio
- Pavia Poison Center and National Toxicology Information Centre-Toxicology Unit IRCCS Maugeri Foundation and University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Aymeric Dopter
- Nutrivigilance, Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail, Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - Harriet Mustonen
- Poison Information Centre, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Slavica Vucinic
- National Poison Control Centre, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Dieter Müller
- GIZ-Nord Poisons Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Karl Hruby
- Austrian Poisons Information Centre, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Chiara Di Lorenzo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Patrizia Restani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Hugo Kupferschmidt
- National Poisons Centre, Tox Info Suisse, Associated Institute of the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Ceschi
- National Poisons Centre, Tox Info Suisse, Associated Institute of the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Lugano, Switzerland
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