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The Role of Animal-Derived Remedies as Complementary Medicine in Brazil

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Animals in Traditional Folk Medicine

Abstract

Although animal-derived remedies constitute an integral part of folk medicine in many parts of the world, particularly for people with limited or no access to mainstream medical services, their role in health care has generally been overlooked in discussions about public health, conservation, and management of faunistic resources and ecosystem protection. Brazil’s high biological and sociocultural diversity translates into a wealth of traditional knowledge and practices, including the use of animals for medicinal purposes. In this chapter, we report on the use of 354 medicinal animal species in Brazil, 96% of which are wild caught and 21% of which are on one or more lists of endangered species. Further population declines may limit users’ access to these bioresources and diminish the knowledge base upon which traditional medicine is built.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for financial support from PROBIO/MMA/IBRD/GEF/CNPq and PADI Foundation. Thanks are also due to CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), for providing us with research productivity scholarships which helped the development of our studies on the medicinal uses of animals in Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethnozoology, Conservation and Biodiversity Research Group, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campina Grande-PB, 58109-753, Brazil

    Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves

  2. Laboratório de Ecofisiologia Animal, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa-PB, 58051-900, Brazil

    Gindomar Gomes Santana

  3. Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, 58059-970, Brazil

    Ierecê Lucena Rosa

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  1. Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves
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  2. Gindomar Gomes Santana
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  3. Ierecê Lucena Rosa
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Correspondence to Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , CCBS - Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraiba, Av. Baraúnas 351, Campina Grande, 58-109753, Paraíba, Brazil

    Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves

  2. , CCEN / Depto. de Sistemático, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, 58059-900, Paraíba, Brazil

    Ierecê Lucena Rosa

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Alves, R.R.N., Santana, G.G., Rosa, I.L. (2013). The Role of Animal-Derived Remedies as Complementary Medicine in Brazil. In: Alves, R., Rosa, I. (eds) Animals in Traditional Folk Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29026-8_13

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