ETHNOBOTANY STUDY OF VEGETABLE SPECIES WITH THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES FROM A RURAL COMMUNITY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BARBALHA, CEARÁ, BRAZIL

From the beginnings of mankind man recurs to natural resources for the treatment, cure and prevention of various diseases through the use of medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to revitalize and identify the knowledge regarding plant species with therapeutic purposes used by the traditional Santo Antonio community, Barbalha, Ceara, Brazil, with the aim of assisting chemical and pharmacological studies. The methodology was based on semi-structured interviews to explore informant’s knowledge surrounding medicinal species and to highlight those considered more versatile. 27 species were described, distributed across 21 distinct families, of which the most representative was the Anacardiaceae family. From these species, 05 have gained prominence regarding their versatility: Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Helianthus annuus L., Bauhinia variegata L., Anethum graveolens L., Passiflora cincinnata Mast. In general, the leaf was the most used plant part. As for preparation method, infusion prevailed. For therapeutic purpose, a greater use in disease cases involving problems such as scarring, hypertension, anxiety and diabetes was observed. Most of the indications reported by the local community coincide with findings in the literature, thus, this research may serve as a subsidy for pharmacological and chemical studies which may lead to the discovery of new herbal medicines.