Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants traditionally used in the North of Pará State, Brazil

Traditional knowledge about the use of natural resources is becoming increasingly important in defining the basis of sustainable strategies and actions for conservation, valorization and development of rural and marginal areas. In this study is presented an ethnobotanical survey on medicinal plants used by an Indio tribe leaving in the Amazon rainforest, in the North of Brazil inside the Indigenous Reserve Alto Rio Guamà, Parà state. First step has been conducted by collecting information directly from the Indio Tembè population, during an expedition on February 2011, done within the Itaputyr project, an Italian-Brazilian experience of bottom-up cooperation for development (1,2). The methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews and informal discussions with indigenous people and plant specialists were used. 10 different medicinal plant species commonly used by natives resulted to be interesting for further investigations. Andira anthelmintica, Bauhinia forficata, Bauhinia splendens, Bixa orellana, Copaifera langsdorfii, Parahancornia fasciculata, Pilocarpus jaborandi, Ptychopetalum olacoides, Stryphnodendron adstringens, Symphonia globulifera were analysed to verify antioxidant capacity and phenol content using DPPH. and Folin-Ciocalteau assay respectively. Characterization of volatile compounds of Andira anthelmintica, Ptychopetalum olacoides and Bauhinia splendens by SPME-GC/MS was also conducted. Almost all investigated plant species resulted to be good sources of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant capacity as compare to other plant species (3). Sustainable harvesting method and domestication of the highly used or traded species could be proposed in the study area to preserve biodiversity and also to create a sustainable development opportunity for Indio population based on traditional knowledge.