Resumo

GALLEGOS-ZURITA, Maritza  e  GALLEGOS-Z, Diana. Medicinal plants used for treatment of skin diseases in rural communities in Los Ríos province, Ecuador. An. Fac. med. [online]. 2017, vol.78, n.3, pp.315-321. ISSN 1025-5583.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/anales.v78i3.13767.

Introduction: Skin diseases occupy the third place among the ten causes of general morbidity in Ecuador, and traditional medicine practices are the most frequent therapeutic options in rural sectors. Objective: To identify the medicinal plants used for treatment of skin diseases. Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Place: Two rural Babahoyo city parishes named Pimocha and Febres-Cordero, and located south of the Los Ríos province, Ecuador. Participants: Persons responsible for family care consisted in 198 women (61.7%) and 123 men (38.3%), 17 to 76 years old. Interventions: After obtaining informed consent, we conducted direct observations, interviews and surveys; we used the U-PlanMed questionnaire. Main outcome measures: Plant species and therapeutic uses. Results: Ten species of plants and their therapeutic applications for skin diseases were identified, such as acne, burns, pruritus, rash, dermatitis, ulcerations of the skin (sores), stains, and skin care. Conclusions: 100% of the population used medicinal plants for the treatment of skin conditions, mainly Aloe vera, Chamaemelum nobile, Melissa officinalis and Scoparia dulcis.

Palavras-chave : Skin Diseases; Plants, Medicinal; Therapeutic Uses.

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