Articles
BIODIVERSITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM SALTA PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN ARGENTINA
Article number
955_1
Pages
25 – 30
Language
English
Abstract
Argentina is one of the most diverse countries in the world due to its species richness and endemism.
A survey was carried out to categorize medicinal Angiosperms weeds found in Salta Province.
We found that Dicotyledones constitutes 92.1%, with 65 families and 232 genera. Asteraceae turned out to be the family with the largest number of used taxa (24.55% of the total medicinal plants), followed by Fabaceae (9.02%), Solanaceae (7.67%), Verbenaceae (6.65%) and Lamiaceae (5.63%). Monocotyledones are represented by 10 families and 26 genera.
The most important families were Poaceae (4.16% of the total medicinal plants), Typhaceae (1.04%), Liliaceae (0.52%) and Cannaceae (0.52%). The recorded species were associated with 33 health problems.
Considering the most common medicinal uses we recorded that 17% of the species had an antibiotic activity, 9.32% of the species had antifungal activity, and 7.6% had anti-inflammatory activity.
The most frequently used plant part were leaves (25.6%), stems (15.9%) and roots (10.6%). These taxa are still used for the prevention and relief of medical disorders.
The number of species covered in this review demonstrates that Salta Province represents an important source of medicinal plants.
A survey was carried out to categorize medicinal Angiosperms weeds found in Salta Province.
We found that Dicotyledones constitutes 92.1%, with 65 families and 232 genera. Asteraceae turned out to be the family with the largest number of used taxa (24.55% of the total medicinal plants), followed by Fabaceae (9.02%), Solanaceae (7.67%), Verbenaceae (6.65%) and Lamiaceae (5.63%). Monocotyledones are represented by 10 families and 26 genera.
The most important families were Poaceae (4.16% of the total medicinal plants), Typhaceae (1.04%), Liliaceae (0.52%) and Cannaceae (0.52%). The recorded species were associated with 33 health problems.
Considering the most common medicinal uses we recorded that 17% of the species had an antibiotic activity, 9.32% of the species had antifungal activity, and 7.6% had anti-inflammatory activity.
The most frequently used plant part were leaves (25.6%), stems (15.9%) and roots (10.6%). These taxa are still used for the prevention and relief of medical disorders.
The number of species covered in this review demonstrates that Salta Province represents an important source of medicinal plants.
Authors
A.V. Etcheverry, C.N. Yáñez, D. López-Spahr, T. Figueroa-Fleming , M.M. Alemán, C.A. Gómez
Keywords
angiosperms, folk medicine, medicinal uses, used plant parts
Online Articles (54)