Traditional Brazilian medicine (Portuguese: Medicina indígena) includes many native South American elements, and imported African ones. It is predominantly used in areas where indigenous groups and African descendants reside, like in thenortheast coast, nearly all interior regions includingAmazon regions,savannahs,rainforest,foothills, andPantanal. According to Romulo R. N. Alves, "although Brazil's health system is public...use of traditional remedies and rituals provide an economical way of healing for much of the populace, but that also does not mean that wealthy Brazilians don't seek it out as well. Traditional medicine is a deep part of Brazilian heritage."[1]
TheAruak,Tupi,Yamomami,Krahô,Guarani and other Indians groups are among the native tribes that together with isolated descendants of Africans orQuilombola, and Indians integrated (Caboclo) that are known to almost exclusively practice traditional medicine. Among the plants include edible foods like thecashew,peppers,mangosteen andcoconut, but often include inedible parts like the fruits, leaves, husk,bark. Neighboring nations like thePatamona ofGuyana also use the cashew.[citation needed]
There is growing interest in Brazilian medicine as the Amazon rainforest is the largesttropical forest in the world, and is home to immensebiodiversity, including cures or treatments for many ailments. Japanese scientists have found strong anticancer activity in Brazilian traditional remedies.[2] In one study in 1997 published inThe American Journal of Chinese Medicine, only 122 species existing in Brazil could be related to the Chinese species (or 14.35% of the samples),[3] which means the vast majority of species are not known to Chinese traditional medicine. Thousands of species remain unstudied and/or susceptible to extinction byhabitat destruction.
Examples include psychoactive plants likeAyahuascaEpena andJurema used in rituals currently being investigated for their potential use in psychiatry.[4]
TheKambo cleanse is a practice that uses a secretion from thegiant leaf frog used by indigenous groups, such as the Noke Kuin, that is injected into the bloodstream and used in traditional medicine to ward off bad luck. Multiple patents are pending for its use againstischemia andhepatic injury.[5]
The Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress Group at the UPV/EHU's Faculty of Medicine and Nursing at theUniversity of the Basque Country has published a study where traditionally infusedVismia baccifera has shown massive induction ofoxidative stress inkidney cancer cells, with rapid death, but leaving healthy cells alone.[6]
