Ethnobotany of medicinal plants in the canton of Arajuno, province of Pastaza, Ecuador

• Espinosa, Lina Neri ^[1] ; Bermúdez-Del Sol, Abdel ^[1] ; Cuyachamín Freire, Dayana Valeria ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Regional Autónoma de Los Andes

     Universidad Regional Autónoma de Los Andes

     Ambato, Ecuador

     
• Localización: Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias, ISSN-e 2953-4860, Nº. 3, 2024 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias)
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The World Health Organization promotes the use of medicinal plants to facilitate access to alternative treatments. Ancestral ethnographic knowledge is integrated into basic healthcare, benefiting cultural traditions and compensating for the limitations of medical services, especially in hard-to-reach areas. This study characterized the traditional use of medicinal plants in the canton of Arajuno, province of Pastaza, Ecuador. A total of 160 ethnobotanical questionnaires were applied, identifying 30 families and 49 medicinal plants. The most commonly used were Chamaemelum nobile, Piper aduncum L., Maytenus laevis, Kalanchoe pinnata, Solanum dulcamara L., and Aloysia triphylla, employed to treat gastrointestinal, respiratory, and anti-infective conditions. Leaves were the most used part of the plants, and infusion was the most common preparation method. These findings highlight the importance of ancestral knowledge in traditional medicine and its role in community health