Chemosensory perception and medicinal plants for digestive ailments in a Mapuche community in NW Patagonia, Argentina

MOLARES, SOLEDAD; LADIO,

JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY

Elsevier

Año: 2009 vol. 123 p. 397 - 406

0378-8741

Aim of the study: To document the richness of plant species used in gastrointestinal disorders and toinvestigate about the criteria of aroma and flavor associated with its recognition, classification, selectionand use.Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical fieldwork consisted of interviews to 30 inhabitants living ina Mapuche community of Northwestern Patagonia; data collected was analyzed by means of nonparametricstatistics.Results: This work records 75 ethnospecies, pertaining to 40 botanic families. Lamiaceae, Asteraceae andChenopodiaceae were the most frequently mentioned and described in terms of smell and taste. Most ofspecies (69%) have notable aroma and/or flavor characteristics. The species presenting highest consensusin the population are positively associated with a higher frequency of organoleptic descriptions. In addition,local people consider these perceptions to be potentially useful in the search for substitutes whenspecies are scarce or disappear from a locality.Conclusions: It is possible to establish a preliminary system of classification of medicinal plants based ontheir organoleptic characteristics and relate this to their effects on health. Moreover the cultural interpretationof smell and taste is of great heuristic importance to ethnopharmacology, in that it indicateswhich plants are most likely to contain the main active ingredients sought.