RESUMO
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Organoleptic properties, and more specifically chemosensory cues, have been shown to guide therapeutic applications of medicinal plants. Humoral qualities, on the other hand, are widely believed to be an abstract concept, mainly applied post hoc to validate therapy. However, the nexus between humoral qualities, chemosensory properties, and medicinal plant uses has never been systematically assessed. AIM OF THE STUDY: To systematically analyse the correlations between chemosensory properties, humoral qualities, and medicinal uses of selected botanical drugs. METHODS: The issue was approached experimentally via an organoleptic testing panel, consisting of Zoque healers in Chiapas, Mexico. The healers smelled and tasted 71 selected herbal drugs and subsequently commented on their humoral qualities and therapeutic uses. The resulting dataset is analysed for correlations between these variables using Bayesian statistics. Qualitative data on the characteristics and role of the hot-cold dichotomy complement the quantitative analysis, facilitating meaningful interpretation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results reproduce and extend the findings of previous studies, which established specific correlations between chemosensory cues and nosological units. The key predictors of drugs' therapeutic uses, however, are their humoral qualities, which are themselves conditioned by taste and smell. These findings appear to be valid for drug samples known to the participants as well as for unfamiliar samples. Thus, this study establishes the role of the hot-cold dichotomy as an important cultural filter connecting organoleptic properties and therapeutic uses of herbal drugs. CONCLUSIONS: There is considerable cross-cultural consensus in Mesoamerica for the specific correlations described in this study. Given the continued pervasiveness of the hot-cold dichotomy, humoral qualities and the underlying organoleptic properties ought to be increasingly considered in the design of pharmaceutical products as well as public health strategies. Such culturally appropriate adjustments may considerably improve the perceived quality and effectiveness of healthcare.
Assuntos
Comparação Transcultural , Medicina Tradicional , Preparações de Plantas/química , Plantas Medicinais/química , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Teorema de Bayes , Temperatura Baixa , Etnofarmacologia , Feminino , Grupos Focais , Medicina Herbária/métodos , Temperatura Alta , Humanos , Masculino , México , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Fitoterapia/métodos , Olfato , PaladarRESUMO
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: In rural areas of Mexico the impact of modernization has changed healthcare and health seeking behaviour to varying degrees. This has rarely been accounted for when discussing and comparing medicinal floras. The ethnomedical system of the Zoque has never before been systematically studied. AIM OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study was to document medical practices and medicinal plant knowledge of the Zoque of Chiapas and Oaxaca, the latter being more strongly affected by acculturation. The medicinal floras are compared in order to detect similarities and differences and establishing links to the cultural transformation. METHODS: Research was carried out in a total of nine Zoque municipalities, attempting to adequately represent the cultural and ecological diversity of the Zoque territory. Standard anthropological and ethnobotanical methods were used for data collection. The recorded medicinal uses were classified into 17 disease categories according to emic medical concepts. In each category, the recorded taxa were rank-ordered based on number of use-reports and the informant consensus factor was calculated. The characteristics of the disease categories and the most salient taxa were compared across the two field sites. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 6598 use-reports on 544 species have been collected. With the strongly acculturated Zoque of Oaxaca we have documented a considerably less extensive medicinal flora. The ethnopharmacopoeias of the two Zoque groups share 144 species. These species are of over-proportionate salience, accounting for two-thirds of the total use-reports. In both field sites gastrointestinal disorders are of particular importance, followed by women's diseases, respiratory diseases and musculoskeletal ailments. Children's and spiritual illnesses seem to have lost their importance in Oaxaca, as the underlying concepts are often considered backwards and superstitious. CONCLUSION: While it is difficult to establish a quantitative causal relation between acculturation and medicinal plant knowledge, in qualitative terms there are clear indicators for the changes acculturation has brought about in the medical system of the Zoque of Oaxaca. The results suggest the development of an increasingly homogenized pan-Mesoamerican medicinal flora.