Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)

Autores
Hernández, Jorge; Campos, Claudia Monica; Borghi, Carlos Eduardo
Año de publicación
2015
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Background: Wild and domestic animals and their by-products are important ingredients in the preparation of curative, protective and preventive medicines. Despite the medicinal use of animals worldwide, this topic has received less attention than the use of medicinal plants. This study assessed the medicinal use of animals by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo MaB Reserve by addressing the following questions: What animal species and body parts are used? What ailments or diseases are treated with remedies from these species? To what extent do mestizo people use animals as a source of medicine? Is the use related to people’s age? Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 171 inhabitants (15–93 years old) of four villages close to the Reserve: Tudcúm, Angualasto, Malimán and Colangüil. We calculated the informant consensus factor and fidelity level to test homogeneity of knowledge and to know the importance of different medicinal uses for a given species. Results: The medicinal use of animals was reported by 57% of the surveyed people. Seven species were mentioned: Rhea pennata, Lama guanicoe, Puma concolor, Pseudalopex sp., Lama vicugna, Lepus europaeus and Conepatus chinga. Several body parts were used: fat, leg, bezoar-stone, stomach, feather, meat, blood, feces, wool, and liver. The fat of R. pennata was the most frequently used animal part, followed by the bezoar stone and the leg of L. guanicoe. Animals were used to treat 22 ailments, with respiratory and nervous system disorders being the most frequently treated diseases with a high degree of consensus. Old people used animals as remedies more frequently than young residents, showing some differences among villages. Conclusions: A low number of animal species was mentioned as used for medicinal purposes, which could be explained by the perception of strong control related the legislation that bans hunting and the erosion of traditional knowledge produced by mestizaje. However, the presence of a traditional medicine is deeply rooted in the community culture. Management strategy for protected areas should focus not only on the conservation and sustainability of biological resources, but also on the ancestral knowledge of local communities, such as the medicinal use of animals.
Fil: Hernández, Jorge. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentina
Fil: Campos, Claudia Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Aridas; Argentina
Fil: Borghi, Carlos Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentina
Materia
ETHNOZOOLOGY
LATIN AMERICA
MEDICINAL ANIMALS
MESTIZAJE
PUNA
RURAL POPULATION
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
ZOOTHERAPY
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/5112

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repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)Hernández, JorgeCampos, Claudia MonicaBorghi, Carlos EduardoETHNOZOOLOGYLATIN AMERICAMEDICINAL ANIMALSMESTIZAJEPUNARURAL POPULATIONTRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGEZOOTHERAPYhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3Background: Wild and domestic animals and their by-products are important ingredients in the preparation of curative, protective and preventive medicines. Despite the medicinal use of animals worldwide, this topic has received less attention than the use of medicinal plants. This study assessed the medicinal use of animals by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo MaB Reserve by addressing the following questions: What animal species and body parts are used? What ailments or diseases are treated with remedies from these species? To what extent do mestizo people use animals as a source of medicine? Is the use related to people’s age? Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 171 inhabitants (15–93 years old) of four villages close to the Reserve: Tudcúm, Angualasto, Malimán and Colangüil. We calculated the informant consensus factor and fidelity level to test homogeneity of knowledge and to know the importance of different medicinal uses for a given species. Results: The medicinal use of animals was reported by 57% of the surveyed people. Seven species were mentioned: Rhea pennata, Lama guanicoe, Puma concolor, Pseudalopex sp., Lama vicugna, Lepus europaeus and Conepatus chinga. Several body parts were used: fat, leg, bezoar-stone, stomach, feather, meat, blood, feces, wool, and liver. The fat of R. pennata was the most frequently used animal part, followed by the bezoar stone and the leg of L. guanicoe. Animals were used to treat 22 ailments, with respiratory and nervous system disorders being the most frequently treated diseases with a high degree of consensus. Old people used animals as remedies more frequently than young residents, showing some differences among villages. Conclusions: A low number of animal species was mentioned as used for medicinal purposes, which could be explained by the perception of strong control related the legislation that bans hunting and the erosion of traditional knowledge produced by mestizaje. However, the presence of a traditional medicine is deeply rooted in the community culture. Management strategy for protected areas should focus not only on the conservation and sustainability of biological resources, but also on the ancestral knowledge of local communities, such as the medicinal use of animals.Fil: Hernández, Jorge. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaFil: Campos, Claudia Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Aridas; ArgentinaFil: Borghi, Carlos Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaBioMed Central2015-01-21info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/5112Hernández, Jorge; Campos, Claudia Monica; Borghi, Carlos Eduardo; Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina); BioMed Central; Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine; 11; 15; 21-1-2015; 1-101746-4269enginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://ethnobiomed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-4269-11-15info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417256/info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F1746-4269-11-15info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T09:41:53Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/5112instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 09:41:53.309CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
title Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
spellingShingle Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
Hernández, Jorge
ETHNOZOOLOGY
LATIN AMERICA
MEDICINAL ANIMALS
MESTIZAJE
PUNA
RURAL POPULATION
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
ZOOTHERAPY
title_short Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
title_full Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
title_fullStr Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
title_full_unstemmed Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
title_sort Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina)
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Hernández, Jorge
Campos, Claudia Monica
Borghi, Carlos Eduardo
author Hernández, Jorge
author_facet Hernández, Jorge
Campos, Claudia Monica
Borghi, Carlos Eduardo
author_role author
author2 Campos, Claudia Monica
Borghi, Carlos Eduardo
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv ETHNOZOOLOGY
LATIN AMERICA
MEDICINAL ANIMALS
MESTIZAJE
PUNA
RURAL POPULATION
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
ZOOTHERAPY
topic ETHNOZOOLOGY
LATIN AMERICA
MEDICINAL ANIMALS
MESTIZAJE
PUNA
RURAL POPULATION
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
ZOOTHERAPY
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Background: Wild and domestic animals and their by-products are important ingredients in the preparation of curative, protective and preventive medicines. Despite the medicinal use of animals worldwide, this topic has received less attention than the use of medicinal plants. This study assessed the medicinal use of animals by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo MaB Reserve by addressing the following questions: What animal species and body parts are used? What ailments or diseases are treated with remedies from these species? To what extent do mestizo people use animals as a source of medicine? Is the use related to people’s age? Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 171 inhabitants (15–93 years old) of four villages close to the Reserve: Tudcúm, Angualasto, Malimán and Colangüil. We calculated the informant consensus factor and fidelity level to test homogeneity of knowledge and to know the importance of different medicinal uses for a given species. Results: The medicinal use of animals was reported by 57% of the surveyed people. Seven species were mentioned: Rhea pennata, Lama guanicoe, Puma concolor, Pseudalopex sp., Lama vicugna, Lepus europaeus and Conepatus chinga. Several body parts were used: fat, leg, bezoar-stone, stomach, feather, meat, blood, feces, wool, and liver. The fat of R. pennata was the most frequently used animal part, followed by the bezoar stone and the leg of L. guanicoe. Animals were used to treat 22 ailments, with respiratory and nervous system disorders being the most frequently treated diseases with a high degree of consensus. Old people used animals as remedies more frequently than young residents, showing some differences among villages. Conclusions: A low number of animal species was mentioned as used for medicinal purposes, which could be explained by the perception of strong control related the legislation that bans hunting and the erosion of traditional knowledge produced by mestizaje. However, the presence of a traditional medicine is deeply rooted in the community culture. Management strategy for protected areas should focus not only on the conservation and sustainability of biological resources, but also on the ancestral knowledge of local communities, such as the medicinal use of animals.
Fil: Hernández, Jorge. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentina
Fil: Campos, Claudia Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Aridas; Argentina
Fil: Borghi, Carlos Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentina
description Background: Wild and domestic animals and their by-products are important ingredients in the preparation of curative, protective and preventive medicines. Despite the medicinal use of animals worldwide, this topic has received less attention than the use of medicinal plants. This study assessed the medicinal use of animals by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo MaB Reserve by addressing the following questions: What animal species and body parts are used? What ailments or diseases are treated with remedies from these species? To what extent do mestizo people use animals as a source of medicine? Is the use related to people’s age? Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 171 inhabitants (15–93 years old) of four villages close to the Reserve: Tudcúm, Angualasto, Malimán and Colangüil. We calculated the informant consensus factor and fidelity level to test homogeneity of knowledge and to know the importance of different medicinal uses for a given species. Results: The medicinal use of animals was reported by 57% of the surveyed people. Seven species were mentioned: Rhea pennata, Lama guanicoe, Puma concolor, Pseudalopex sp., Lama vicugna, Lepus europaeus and Conepatus chinga. Several body parts were used: fat, leg, bezoar-stone, stomach, feather, meat, blood, feces, wool, and liver. The fat of R. pennata was the most frequently used animal part, followed by the bezoar stone and the leg of L. guanicoe. Animals were used to treat 22 ailments, with respiratory and nervous system disorders being the most frequently treated diseases with a high degree of consensus. Old people used animals as remedies more frequently than young residents, showing some differences among villages. Conclusions: A low number of animal species was mentioned as used for medicinal purposes, which could be explained by the perception of strong control related the legislation that bans hunting and the erosion of traditional knowledge produced by mestizaje. However, the presence of a traditional medicine is deeply rooted in the community culture. Management strategy for protected areas should focus not only on the conservation and sustainability of biological resources, but also on the ancestral knowledge of local communities, such as the medicinal use of animals.
publishDate 2015
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2015-01-21
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/5112
Hernández, Jorge; Campos, Claudia Monica; Borghi, Carlos Eduardo; Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina); BioMed Central; Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine; 11; 15; 21-1-2015; 1-10
1746-4269
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/5112
identifier_str_mv Hernández, Jorge; Campos, Claudia Monica; Borghi, Carlos Eduardo; Medicinal use of wild fauna by mestizo communities living near San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina); BioMed Central; Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine; 11; 15; 21-1-2015; 1-10
1746-4269
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://ethnobiomed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-4269-11-15
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417256/
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F1746-4269-11-15
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv BioMed Central
publisher.none.fl_str_mv BioMed Central
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
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reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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