Recent Reports on Ethnopharmacological and Ethnobotanical Studies of Valeriana carnosa Sm. (Valerianaceae)

MOLARES S.; LADIO A.; NAGAHAMA N.

Ethnobotany. Local Knowledge and Traditions

Taylor & Francis

Lugar: Boca Ratón; Año: 2018; p. 90 - 102

In Patagonia, there are records of the use of at least five native species of Valeriana for medicinal purposes. Among them, the most used Valeriana species by regional ethnic groups is V. carnosa Sm. (Ñamkulawen, which means the white hawk medicine in Mapuzungun language, probably in reference to the high sites where the species grows and where the ñamku-Buteo polyosoma-can be seen in flight) and is considered a sacred plant". Valeriana carnosa stands out as one of the principal elements in the indigenous pharmacopoeias of Patagonia, and its roots and rhizomes have been used since ancient times. The local perception of this plant is that it has wide-ranging curative powers: "its a cure-all". This attribute confers on the species high cultural and symbolic value for the Mapuche people, and its reputation and use has spread throughout the formal and informal medicinal herb market of Patagonian cities.