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RESEARCH ARTICLE Ethnobiology and Conservation 2014, 3:3 (12 June 2014) doi:10.15451/ec2014-6-3.2-1-50 ISSN 2238-4782 ethnobioconservation.com Two decades of ethnobotanical research in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru Rainer W. Bussmann1* & Douglas Sharon ABSTRacT This paper is the compiltion of a talk given during the “Advanced Topics in Ethnobiology 2013” workshop in Recife, Brazil, under the title “A decade of ethnobotany in Northern Peru - healers and markets, bioassays, paleobotany and considerations of the Nagoya Protocol” Northern Peru represents the “Health Hub” of the Central Andes, with roots going back to traditional practices Cupisnique culture (1000 BC). During almost two decades of research semi- structured interviews with healers, collectors and sellers of medicinal plants, and bioassays to evaluate the effective and plant toxicity were carried out. Most (83%) of the 510 species used were native to Peru. 50% of the plants used in colonial times disappeared from the pharmacopoeia. Common and exotic plants were mostly used for common ailments, while plants with magical purposes were only employed by specialist healers. About 974 preparations with up to 29 ingredients treated 164 conditions. Almost 65% of the medicinal plants were applied in mixtures. Antibacterial activity was confirmed in most plants used for infections. The aqueous extract 24% and 76% ethanolic extracts showed toxicity. Traditional preparation methods take this into account when choosing the appropriate solvent for the preparation of a remedy. The increasing demand did not increase the significant cultivation of medicinal plants. Most plants are wild-collected, causing doubts about the sustainability of trade. Dedicated programs aim to establish in-situ collections of important species, as well as to repatriate traditional knowledge in local language, under the guidelines of the Nagoya Protocol. Keywords: William L. Brown Center, Traditional knowledge, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, Nagoya Protocol, repa- triation of knowledge INTRODUCTION food plants – have been the foundation of crop domestication, plant breeding, and indeed the William L. Brown Center (WLBC) at Missouri modern agriculture that feeds the earth’s 6 billion Botanical Garden and its role in Traditional Medicine people. Plants provide the molecular basis of many pharmaceuticals, as direct compounds or molecular WLBC blueprints. Modern science begins to confirm that the distinction between nutrition and medicine is Plants provide humankind with our most blurred. With economic development empowering basic resources – food, medicines, fibre, and a a greater percentage of the world’s people, whole array of other useful products. Relatives urban areas continuing to expand, and human of wild crops and traditional varieties – the populations projected to double in the next 50 repository of genetic diversity within and among years, it seems certain that natural resources will 1 William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA; phone: (314) 577-9503, facsimile: (314) 577-0800; *corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected] 1 Bussmann RW, Sharon D, 2014. Two decades of ethnobotanical research in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. Ethnobio Conserv 3:3 face increasing threat. Habitat loss, unsustainable understand the relationship between plants, extraction of plants, spread of invasive species, people, the environment, and associated traditional climate change, and other human activities will knowledge. WLBC is a leader in the compilation of have tremendous impact. Plant species will be databases on traditional medicinal and food species. lost, genetic diversity of surviving species will be The center plays a leading role in the preservation diminished, and traditional knowledge associated of traditional knowledge for indigenous and local with plant use will be eroded. Perhaps never communities, and in the production of useful before in human history has there been a more plant volumes for ongoing floristic projects. The pressing need to discover, understand, conserve Center plays a leading role organizing symposia, and sustainably use the plant resources that are meetings, and workshops to facilitate scientific essential for the benefit of humanity. exchange. The Garden is an international leader The William L. Brown Center is uniquely in developing the legal and ethical frameworks positioned to respond to these issues and to for conducting international programs in natural play a leading role in addressing the problems products discovery, medicinal plant research, outlined above. The Center is located in one of and ethnobotany. These frameworks ensure the largest herbaria in the world, making a wealth compliance with the Convention on Biological of plant data available from collections. Access Diversity and equitable distribution of benefits to advanced scientific methodologies allows that arise from such research, including efforts more rapid characterization of useful species, to value, acknowledge and equitably compensate chemicals or genes that lead to new nutritional traditional knowledge. Projects conducted by the and pharmaceutical products. The Center has WLBC include training programs ranging from access to improved information technologies botanical field techniques and ethnobotanical that facilitate the rapid communication of data, research to collections management, market and allow repatriation of data to the countries development, sustainable production and public where it is needed to make intelligent decisions health. Projects have significant conservation about the use of natural resources. Appropriate components and these activities include programs partnerships between the Center and collaborators aimed at medicinal and other useful plants as well in developing countries enable capacity building as those that incorporate traditional knowledge in to ensure that countries have the infrastructure to the conservation of natural resources. make sound development and conservation plans. Finally, partnerships between the Center and both Traditional Medicine national institutions and local communities permit the implementation of integrated conservation and Traditional Medicine is used globally and sustainable development programs. has a rapidly growing economic importance. WLBC focuses to a large extent on mountainous In developing countries, Traditional Medicine ecosystems. Mountain systems are highly bio- is often the only accessible and affordable diverse, they are the most important sources of treatment available. In Uganda, for instance, the crop species and medicinal plants, and are heavily ratio of traditional practitioners to the population affected by climate-change. The programs of the is between 1:200 and 1:400, while the availability WLBC concentrate on medicinal and food species of Western doctors is typically 1:20,000 or less. in mountain regions, especially the Andes, the Moreover, doctors are mostly located in cities and Himalayas and the African Highlands. Numerous other urban areas, and are therefore inaccessible projects utilize information from local people to rural populations. In Africa, up to 80% of the to better understand how communities rely on population uses Traditional Medicine as the locally available natural resources and to design primary healthcare system. In Latin America, the solutions so that they can be used sustainably. The WHO Regional Office for the Americas (AMRO/ WLBC ethnobotany programs are internationally PAHO) reports that 71% of the population in Chile recognized as leading scientific efforts to and 40% of the population in Colombia have used 2 Bussmann RW, Sharon D, 2014. Two decades of ethnobotanical research in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. Ethnobio Conserv 3:3 Traditional Medicine. In many Asian countries popular herbal products included Ginseng (Ginkgo Traditional Medicine is widely used, even though biloba), Garlic (Allium sativum), Echinacea spp. and Western medicine is often readily available. In St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) (Brevoort Japan, 60–70% of allopathic doctors prescribe 1998). traditional medicines for their patients. In China, Traditional and Complementary-Alternative Traditional Medicine accounts for about 40% of all Medicine are gaining more and more respect by healthcare, and is used to treat roughly 200 million national governments and health providers. Peru’s patients annually. The number of visits to providers National Program in Complementary Medicine and of Complementary-Alternative Medicine (CAM) the Pan American Health Organization recently now exceeds by far the number of visits to all compared Complementary Medicine to Allopathic primary care physicians in the US (WHO 1999a,b; Medicine in clinics and hospitals operating 2002). within the Peruvian Social Security System. A Complementary-Alternative Medicine is total of 339 patients - 170 being treated with becoming more and more popular in many Complementary-Alternative Medicine and 169 with developed countries. Forty-eight percent of the allopathic medicine - were followed for one year. population in Australia, 70% in Canada, 42% in the US, 38% in Belgium and 75% in France, have used Treatments for osteoarthritis; back pain; neurosis; Complementary-Alternative Medicine at least once asthma; peptic acid disease; tension and migraine (WHO 1998; Fisher et al. 1971; Health Canada 2001). headache; and obesity were analyzed. The results, A survey of 610 Swiss doctors showed