“I eat the manofê so it is not forgotten”: local perceptions and consumption of native wild edible plants from seasonal dry forests in Brazil

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque⁵  Nivaldo Peroni³  Iván Sarmiento-Combariza⁴  Patrícia Muniz Medeiros²  Margarita Paloma Cruz¹ 

[1] Colombian Society of Ethnobiology, Bogotá, Colombia;Institute of Biological Sciences and Sustainable Development, Federal University of Bahia, Bahia, Brazil;Ecology and Zoology Department (ECZ), Federal University of Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brazil;Centro de Estudios Médicos Interculturales (CEMI), Cota Cundinamarca, Colombia;Laboratory of Applied and Theoretical Ethnobiology (LEA), Biology Department, Botany Area, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, CEP: 52171–900, Recife Pernambuco, Brazil

关键词: Food plants;    Consumption preferences;    Local representations;    Ethnobiology;    Ethnobotany;   

Others  :  803474
DOI  :  10.1186/1746-4269-10-45

 received in 2013-09-12, accepted in 2014-05-09,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

There is little information available on the factors influencing people’s selection of wild plants for consumption. Studies suggest a suitable method of understanding the selection of edible plants is to assess people’s perceptions of these resources. The use and knowledge of wild resources is disappearing, as is the opportunity to use them. This study analyzes people’s perceptions of native wild edible plants in a rural Caatinga (seasonal dry forest) community in Northeast Brazil and the relationships between the use of these resources and socioeconomic factors.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews with 39 people were conducted to form a convenience sample to gather information regarding people’s perceptions of 12 native wild edible plant species. The relationships between variables were assessed by simple linear regression analysis, Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, and in the case of nominal variables, contingency tables. The discourse of participants regarding their opinions of the use of wild plants as food was analyzed through the collective subject discourse analysis technique.

Results

Perceptions were classified into 18 categories. The most cited category was organoleptic characteristics of the edible part; more specifically, flavor. Flavor was the main positive perception associated with plant use, whereas the negative perception that most limited the use of these plants was cultural acceptance. Perceptions of the use of wild edible plants were directly correlated with both interviewee age and income.

Conclusion

Within the studied community, people’s perceptions of native wild edible plants are related to their consumption. Moreover, the study found that young people have less interest in these resources. These findings suggest that changing perceptions may affect the conservation of plants, traditional practices and the associated knowledge.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Cruz et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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