Review Article
Therapeutic resources used by traditional communities of the Brazilian Amazon: a scoping review
AUTHORS
Altair Seabra De Farias1,2 (Indigenous Researcher) PhD Student, Asst Prof * 
Fabíola Guimarães de Carvalho 1
Alicia Patrine Cacau dos Santos 1,2
AFFILIATIONS
1 Escola Superior de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil
2 Diretoria de Ensino e Pesquisa, Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Brazil
3 Centro de Estudos Superiores de Tabatinga, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Tabatinga, Brazil
4 Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
ACCEPTED: 22 July 2024
Now published, see the full article
early abstract:
The traditional communities of the Brazilian Amazon possess significant knowledge regarding the huge therapeutic arsenal available from natural sources that can be used to care for their health problems. This study aimed to identify, map and synthesize the scientific evidence on the use of traditional medicine as a therapeutic resource when used by traditional communities of the Brazilian Amazon. It is a scoping review, which is a method used to map the main concepts of a research area, the available evidence and its sources, and is developed in five steps: 1) identification of the research question; 2) identification of relevant studies; 3) selection of studies; 4) data analysis; and 5) grouping, synthesis and presentation of data. Regarding the results, medicinal plants, vertebrates and invertebrates, among other medicinal products, are elements that are widely used by traditional populations. Among the structures of the plants stems, the bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, roots, tubers and even the whole plant stand out; and these are prepared in various forms, such as teas, infusions, smoke for rituals, baths, macerations, oils, ointments, concoctions, dressings, incenses, and exfoliants, among others. Regarding animals, the main structures and forms of use are lards, fats, visceras, horns, cocoons, nests, feathers and beaks of birds, eggs and roes. These therapeutic practices are often carried out using endogenous, wild and domesticated natural resources, which are present in the biodiversity of the environment of traditional populations and involve magical-religious beliefs to treat all types of illnesses, including cultural syndromes that affect children, young people, adults and the elderly. This scoping review has an important role to disseminate and expand the discussion of traditional medicine practices, inviting readers, whether they are health professionals, community members, managers and decision makers, to a continuous debate using an intercultural dialogue necessary to improve approaches. interdisciplinary. From this perspective, it is essential to consider the comprehensive legal and legal framework that guides the public policies of national health systems.
Keywords: medicinal plants; zootherapy; riverine; indigenous; quilombolas.