Brazilian traditional medicine
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Traditional Brazilian medicine (Portuguese: Medicina indígena) includes many native South American elements, and imported African ones. It is predominantly used in areas where indigenous groups and African descendants reside, like in the
The
There is growing interest in Brazilian medicine as the Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical forest in the world, and is home to immense biodiversity, including cures or treatments for many ailments. Japanese scientists have found strong anticancer activity in Brazilian traditional remedies.[2] In one study in 1997 published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, only 122 species existing in Brazil could be related to the Chinese species (or 14.35% of the samples),[3] which means the vast majority of species are not known to Chinese traditional medicine. Thousands and possibly millions of species remain unstudied and/or susceptible to extinction by habitat destruction.
Examples
Examples include psychoactive plants like Ayahuasca Epena and Jurema used in rituals currently being investigated for their potential use in psychiatry.[4]
The
The Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress Group at the UPV/EHU's Faculty of Medicine and Nursing at the University of the Basque Country has published a study where traditionally infused Vismia baccifera has shown massive induction of oxidative stress in kidney cancer cells, with rapid death, but leaving healthy cells alone.[6]
See also
- Health in Brazil
- Healthcare in Brazil
- Herbalism
- Indigenous peoples in Brazil
- List of plants of Amazon Rainforest vegetation of Brazil
- Pharmacognosy
- Shamanism
- Traditional medicine
- Tropical medicine
Notes
- PMID 25071580.
- ISSN 0031-6903. Archived from the originalon February 10, 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Comparison between ethnopharmacology in traditional Chinese medicine and Brazilian popular phytotherapy". CAT.INIST. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "What Is MAPS?". Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "BIOPIRATARIA NA AMAZÔNIA - APRESENTAÇÃO". Amazon Link (in Portuguese). 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- Medical Xpress. University of the Basque Country. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
External links
- A comprehensive look at the use of animals in Brazilian medicine
- Antifungal properties of plants used in Brazilian traditional medicine against clinically relevant fungal pathogens (including those resistant to other medicines for HIV+ patients)
- Alves R. R. N. (2009). "Fauna used in popular medicine in Northeast Brazil". .