Medicinal flora of Oaxaca, Mexico: a review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v16i6.3827Keywords:
active compounds, ethnomedicine, native peoplesAbstract
Medicinal plants are the first resource for global access to health. In Oaxaca, these resources have been used since pre-Hispanic times. The objective was to integrate the available information on the use of medicinal plants in the state of Oaxaca, including the region and ethnic group that uses them, the conditions they combat, the active compounds they contain, and their conservation status in NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. A search was conducted for scientific articles and floristic reports that inform about the presence of medicinal plants in the state in the ScienceDirect, Springer, Google Scholar, and Mendeley databases. The references were sorted and analyzed in Excel. Spearman correlation tests were performed with the SAS statistical package. A total of 1 056 medicinal species were identified, 150 belonging to the family Asteraceae and 69 to the family Fagaceae. A total of 485 were found in the Sierra Norte, and 312 in the Valles Centrales. The Zapotecs are the ones who use them the most, followed by the Chinantecs and Mazatecs. There are 316 species that are used to treat gastrointestinal problems. The state of Oaxaca has a high biological and cultural diversity that is reflected in the number of medicinal species used and the knowledge kept by the communities in which they are located.
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