Ethnobotany: Ressignifying traditional knowledge for high school students

Abstract

Ethnobotany seeks to understand the relationship between man and plants, a relationship that spans generations and places itself in lines of discussion where the interaction between subjects and the fronts gains new boundary from personal experiences. In highschools, so more people seek to unite traditional knowledge and scientific principles with a view to producing an engaged education. In the present work, we sought to evaluate the level of knowledge of students from a highschool in the municipality of Guaiúba-CE, about the use of medicinal plants and through this, to understand their perception of the field of ethnobotany. For that, a semi-structured questionnaire was applied, with objective and subjective questions, in an audience of 30 students aged between 15 and 18 years. The collected data gave rise to graphs and tables that support the discussion. The results showed that the students acquired part of their knowledge about medicinal plants through the family, demonstrating the ethnic/generational character of knowledge. Students demonstrated knowledge of the use of medicinal plants to cure diseases, treat wounds and relieve symptoms. The most cited plant was boldo, with use aimed at the treatment and/or relief of poor digestion, stomachache and nausea. From the results, it is noted that the students have knowledge about the use of medicinal plants, although we do not have the perception that such knowledge is part of a broader sense of knowledge, its named Ethnobotany.