Chemosensory perception and medicinal plants for digestive ailments in a Mapuche community in NW Patagonia, Argentina

Aim of the studyTo document the richness of plant species used in gastrointestinal disorders and to investigate about the criteria of aroma and flavor associated with its recognition, classification, selection and use.Materials and methodsEthnobotanical fieldwork consisted of interviews to 30 inhabitants living in a Mapuche community of Northwestern Patagonia; data collected was analyzed by means of non-parametric statistics.ResultsThis work records 75 ethnospecies, pertaining to 40 botanic families. Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Chenopodiaceae were the most frequently mentioned and described in terms of smell and taste. Most of species (69%) have notable aroma and/or flavor characteristics. The species presenting highest consensus in the population are positively associated with a higher frequency of organoleptic descriptions. In addition, local people consider these perceptions to be potentially useful in the search for substitutes when species are scarce or disappear from a locality.ConclusionsIt is possible to establish a preliminary system of classification of medicinal plants based on their organoleptic characteristics and relate this to their effects on health. Moreover the cultural interpretation of smell and taste is of great heuristic importance to ethnopharmacology, in that it indicates which plants are most likely to contain the main active ingredients sought.