Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Centro de Biociências, 59072-900 Natal-RN, Brazil.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Jul 6;130(1):54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.04.010. Epub 2010 May 9.
This study investigates the trade of animals for medicinal purposes in Natal metropolitan area, northeastern Brazil, to document which animal species are used, how and for what purposes. This study also discusses the implications of the use of zootherapeutics for wildlife conservation.
Based on interviews with merchants of medicinal animals in all open fairs of the metropolitan region of Natal City, we calculated the informant consensus factor (ICF) to determine the consensus over which species are effective for particular ailments, as well as the species relative importance to determine the extent of potential utilization of each species.
We describe the therapeutic effects of 23 animal species used medicinally. The zootherapeutical products sold commercially are used to treat 34 health problems that were classified into 14 broad categories. We also highlight those species valued for their effectiveness against a range of ailments. The highest ICF value (1.0) was cited for diseases of the circulatory system, which include relief of symptoms such as stroke, hemorrhage, varicose veins and edema.
Our study indicated that the local population holds a great deal of ethnomedical knowledge about their local animal resources, and highlights the need for clinical investigations of these traditional remedies to test the safety and efficacy. The animal species identified in this study not only hold high medicinal value for local populations, but could potentially be a source of healing compounds that could aid pharmaceutical research. While the impact of these practices on animal populations is unknown, the high extractive value of these animal populations and the associated medicinal traditional knowledge, needs to be considered in any conservation strategy aimed at the faunistic resources of this area.
本研究调查了巴西东北部纳塔尔大都市区（Natal metropolitan area）以药用为目的的动物贸易，以记录使用哪些动物物种、如何使用以及用于何种用途。本研究还讨论了使用动物疗法对野生动物保护的影响。
基于对纳塔尔市大都市区所有开放集市的药用动物商人的访谈，我们计算了信息共识因子（ICF），以确定哪些物种对特定疾病有效具有共识，以及物种相对重要性，以确定每种物种的潜在利用程度。
我们描述了 23 种用于药用的动物物种的治疗效果。商业销售的动物治疗产品用于治疗 34 种健康问题，这些健康问题被分为 14 个广泛的类别。我们还强调了那些因其对一系列疾病的疗效而受到重视的物种。循环系统疾病的 ICF 值最高（1.0），包括缓解中风、出血、静脉曲张和水肿等症状。
我们的研究表明，当地居民对当地动物资源拥有大量的民族医学知识，并强调需要对这些传统疗法进行临床研究，以测试安全性和有效性。本研究中确定的动物物种不仅对当地居民具有很高的药用价值，而且可能是治疗化合物的潜在来源，这些化合物可以帮助药物研究。虽然这些做法对动物种群的影响尚不清楚，但这些动物种群的高提取价值以及相关的药用传统知识，需要在任何旨在保护该地区动物资源的保护策略中得到考虑。
