Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in the Oziel Alves settlement, Mossoró/RN, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to conduct an ethnobotanical survey on the knowledge and use of medicinal plants by residents of the Oziel Alves, Mossoró/RN Settlement. Seventy-eight informants participated in this study. Following were applied: socioeconomic questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, free lists, guided tours and direct observation. 51 species were mentioned, distributed in 29 families and 41 genera. The family Lamiaceae was the most representative. The most cited species were: Cocos nucifera L., Anacardium occidentale L., Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck, Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. and Malpighia glabra L. The highest species of agreement of corrected main use (CUPc) were: Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck e Malpighia glabra L. And about the use value (V U): Cocos nucifera L., Anacardium occidentale L., Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck, Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. e Malpighia glabra L. were the most representative. The people interviewed said that the part of the plant most used is the leaf and the most cited form of preparation was the tea. Through this study it was possible to know important medicinal species both native and exotic with a variety of therapeutic indications.