Ferreira Felipe S, Brito Samuel V, Ribeiro Samuel C, Almeida Waltécio O, Alves Rômulo Rn
Universidade Regional do Cariri, Departamento de Química Biológica, Crato, CE, Brazil.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009 Aug 5;5:21. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-5-21.
Animals have been used as a source of medicine in Brazil since ancient times, and have played a significant role in healing practices. Specifically in Northeast Brazil, zootherapy is a very common practice, and together with medicinal plants, it plays an important role as a therapeutic alternative. In the state of Ceara, no works have been carried out on rural communities with regard to use of zootherapeutics, even though the practice of zootherapy is common in this region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the use of medicinal animals in a rural community (Poco Dantas) in the municipality of Crato, Ceara, Brazil.
The field survey was carried out from October 2008 to January 2009 by conducting interviews using structured questionnaires with 72 people (33 men and 39 women), who provided information on animal species used as remedies, body parts used to prepare the remedies, and ailments for which the remedies were prescribed. We calculated the informant consensus factor (ICF) to determine the consensus over which species are effective for particular ailments, as well as the species use value (UV) to determine the extent of utilization of each species.
A total of 29 species, distributed in 17 families were categorized as having some medicinal property. The taxa most represented were: mammals (9), insects (7), reptiles and birds (4). Progne chalybea, a species not previously recorded as being of medicinal use, was cited in the present work, where it is utilized in the treatment of alcoholism. The animals are used in the treatment of 34 diseases or symptoms, where sore throat, inflammations and cough are the ailments with the greatest number of citations.
The data show that zootherapy represents an important therapeutic alternative for the inhabitants of the community. New studies on medicinal fauna should be conducted with the aim of determining the exploitation level of the species utilized, promoting sustainable development of medicinal species that are eventually threatened, and preserving and disseminating the knowledge developed by traditional individuals of the community.
自古以来，动物在巴西就被用作药物来源，并且在治疗实践中发挥了重要作用。特别是在巴西东北部，动物疗法是一种非常普遍的做法，它与药用植物一起，作为一种治疗选择发挥着重要作用。在塞阿拉州，尽管动物疗法在该地区很常见，但尚未针对农村社区开展关于动物疗法使用情况的研究。因此，本研究的目的是分析巴西塞阿拉州克拉图市一个农村社区（波科丹塔斯）对药用动物的使用情况。
2008年10月至2009年1月进行了实地调查，通过使用结构化问卷对72人（33名男性和39名女性）进行访谈，这些人提供了用作药物的动物种类、制备药物所用的身体部位以及开具这些药物所针对的疾病信息。我们计算了信息提供者共识因子（ICF）以确定对于特定疾病哪种物种有效的共识程度，以及物种利用价值（UV）以确定每个物种的利用程度。
共有29个物种，分布在17个科，被归类为具有一定药用特性。代表性最强的分类群是：哺乳动物（9种）、昆虫（7种）、爬行动物和鸟类（4种）。在本研究中提到了一种此前未被记录有药用价值的物种——灰胸崖燕，它被用于治疗酗酒。这些动物被用于治疗34种疾病或症状，其中喉咙痛、炎症和咳嗽是被提及次数最多的疾病。
数据表明，动物疗法是该社区居民重要的治疗选择。应该开展关于药用动物群的新研究，目的是确定所利用物种的开发水平，促进最终受到威胁的药用物种的可持续发展，以及保护和传播该社区传统居民所积累的知识。
