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

Research

Jorge Hernandez, Claudia M Campos and Carlos E Borghi

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2015, 11:15 
doi:10.1186/1746-4269-11-15

Published: 21 January 2015

Abstract (provisional)

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: Tudcum, Angualasto, Maliman and Colanguil. 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.