Modern ways of life in urban communities have altered the use and popular transmission of knowledge about medicinal plants. This study evaluated the changes induced by training in medicinal plants in a group of female residents of the urban community of Muribeca (Jaboatão do Guararapes, Pernambuco), comparing them with other community members who have traditionally acquired knowledge. Semi-structured interviews were employed. Informant Consensus Factor (FIC) and Relative Importance (RI) of each species cited by the two groups were calculated. Informants trained in use and manipulation cited 70 species, of which Petiveria alliacea L. (2.0) and Ocimum selloi Benth. (1.6) showed higher RI; therapeutic indications with the greatest consensus among informants were: infectious diseases (1.0), diseases of the endocrine glands, nutrition and metabolism (0.9), and of skeletal, muscle, and connective tissue (0.89). Untrained informants cited 55 species, with higher values of RI for Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf (2.0), Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Br. (2.0), and Mentha x villosa Huds. (1.8); parasitic diseases (1.0), disorders of the nervous system (0.79), and gastrointestinal system (0.72) were therapeutic indications with the greatest FIC. Plants cited are similar, but training influenced species relative importance and therapeutic use indications.
ethnobotany; traditional knowledge; phytotherapy
