Plants used by Brazilian communities of African descent for women's health

TL;DR

This paper explores how Brazilian communities of African descent use plants for women's health, focusing on sexual and postpartum care passed down by women.

Contribution

The study systematically identifies and documents medicinal plants used by Quilombola women for women's health, highlighting cultural preservation.

Findings

44 medicinal plants from 23 families were identified for women's health in these communities.

The plants are used in various forms and for sexual, menstrual, and postpartum care.

Oral transmission by women preserves cultural identity and ethnopharmacological knowledge.

Abstract

•Ethnopharmacological knowledge is passed down through generations by women in the community, who use plants especially for sexual and postpartum care.

Ethnopharmacological knowledge is passed down through generations by women in the community, who use plants especially for sexual and postpartum care.

Quilombola women are primarily responsible for maintaining ethnopharmacological knowledge. Their knowledge is transmitted orally to their descendants, preserving cultural identity and ensuring the survival of Quilombola communities. Was conducting a scoping review on the use of medicinal plants by Quilombola women. Based on the PPC strategy (population, concept, and context) and the “Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer's Manual”, this systematic scoping review sought to answer the guiding question: which medicinal plants are used for diseases that compromise women's health in Brazilian communities of African descent? The article has registered this research in the Open Science Framework available at osf.io/eb2nc, at identifier DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5N24Y. Using the search keys, 888 studies were found. After reading the titles and abstracts, 38 studies moved on to the next stage. During the reading of the texts in full, 32 were excluded for not meeting all the inclusion criteria and six studies were included in the research. In all, 44 plants, belonging to 23 families, were mentioned in the studies. The plants reported by the study have a plurality in their therapeutic use, the form of preparation, and part of the plant used. Regarding women's health, plants were recorded for sexual, menstrual, and postpartum care. The appreciation and recognition of this ancestral knowledge contribute not only to Women's health but also to strengthening the identity and rescuing the cultural roots of these communities.

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