Medicinal plants in two towns of the San Martín de las Pirámides municipality, State of Mexico

Abstract

The current traditional medicine in all ethnic groups and mestizos of Mexico, is an ancentral heritage of knowledge of medicinal plants, which represent a cultural heritage that we must cherish and preserve. The purpose of this study is to determine the status of the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants among the inhabitants of Santiago Tepetitlan and the San Martin de las Piramides municipality. Questionnaires and surveys were applied to farmers, housewives, old people, and basic-and medium-level students. Medicinal plants were collected during walks in the two localities and their environs. People of both communities use 96 medicinal plants, 55 of which are wild and 23 are cultivated, 10 are “arvenses” and 8 are “ruderales”. The plants are grouped in 46 botanical families of which Asteraceae are the best represented (45.6%), and Solanaceae (15.2%), Amaranthaceae and Lamiaceae (10.8%), Apiaceae and Fabaceae (8.7%) record lower percentages. Medicinal plants are mainly used to treat problems of the digestive system (31.3%), as analgesics (11.8%), the respiratory system (10.8%), skin (8.1%), injuries (7.5%) and the reproductive system (7.0%). The traditional knowledge of medicinal plants that is preserved by the communities was recovered and represents an alternative for dealing with diseases. It was recorded that it is the old people and the housewives that have an ample knowledge of the use and application of medicinal plants.