Ethnomedical, Biological, and Clinical Support for Medicinal Plant Use on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast

ABSTRACT

The use of medicinal plants on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua was compared with the use of these plants worldwide. Similar medical usage was documented for 66 species in dozens of countries on several continents. Additionally, medicinal uses of 34 plants in eastern Nicaragua were noted to have applications consistent with biological or clinical activity. The similarities in ethnomedicinal applications and the evidence from biomedical investigations support the concept that the use of medicinal plants by indigenous peoples of Nicaragua is not haphazard, but rather a consistent and perhaps legitimate system of medical treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• Central America
• ethnobotany
• Ethnopharmacology
• knowledge
• intellectual property rights
• medicinal plants
• Nicaragua