Estudio etnobotánico y farmacognóstico de especies vegetales en la comunidad Pulinguí, cantón Guano de la provincia de Chimborazo

Abstract

The aim of this research was to carry out an ethnobotanical and pharmacognostic study of plant species in Pulinguí community, Chimborazo province, where two workshops about cultural revitalization on the following plants were carried out: curly dock (Rumex crispus), cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana), redstem filaree (Erodium cicutarium), matico del páramo (Jungia rugosa) and needle-leaf wax plant (Peperomia galiodes Kuth), which have important medicinal properties. The plants were taxonomically identified in the herbarium of the ESPOCH then a micromorphological study was carried out by means of longitudinal and transverse cuts of leaves, stems and roots. For the pharmacognostic study, the plant species were dried and crushed then ash, humidity and phytochemical screening tests were carried out. As a result of the ethnobotanical study, knowledge exchange on the use of medicinal plants among the inhabitants of the community was achieved, and in the taxonomic and micromorphological study, the main plant structures were identified. When evaluating the ash and moisture content for the 5 species, it was determined that they meet the optimum limits established by the regulations of the Royal Spanish Pharmacopoeia, except for Physalis peruviana, which exceeds the percentages of total ash with 6.76%, water-soluble ash with 2.34% and acid-insoluble ash with 1.74%, remaining these outside the established range due to the soil conditions of its habitat. The phytochemical screening identified important metabolites such as alkaloids, phenols, coumarins, saponins and flavonoids. It was concluded that the ethnobotanical study in the community was carried out satisfactorily and at the pharmacognostic level the quality control and phytochemical screening of each plant drug was performed. It is recommended to carry out more studies of these five plant species in order to know pharmacological activities for the benefit of population health.