William L. Brown Center's Global Discovery Program: Markets, Healers, Vendors, Collectors and Modern Applications – Medicinal Plant Use in Northern Peru

William L. Brown Center (WLBC) operates in over a dozen countries, with a specific focus on medicinal plant research. Northern Peru represents the center of the Andean „health axis“, where the continuous use of more than 500 medicinal plants has been documented [1]. Local healers and patients purchase a large part of their plants in local markets. Scientific studies confirm the efficacy of local species [2], but concern has arisen over the preservation of the large diversity of medicinal plants and the traditional knowledge that accompanies them. Studies indicate that only 76 species (25 introduced, 51 indigenous) are cultivated in local gardens. Of these however, only five species are commonly cultivated. All but three of the commonly cultivated species are introductions. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, increasing plant demand in coastal markets has not led to significant cultivation of medicinal plants. The vast bulk of the plant material sold in the markets of Northern Peru represents plants collected in the wild. Both collection as well as transport to the coastal markets required long-distance travel. The average daily net income of the collector is hardly sufficient to provide for a family. The low income indicates that the herb trade is very fragile, since collectors might either decide to engage in higher income activities or higher turnover. This coupled with the fact that most plant material is wild-crafted, leads to over-harvesting of rare medicinal species in the region.

Acknowledgments: The financial support of the fieldwork through NIH-MHIRT (Fund: 54112B MHIRT Program, Grant: G0000613) is gratefully acknowledged.

References: [1] Bussmann RW, Sharon D (2006)J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2: 47. [2] Bussmann RW, Sharon D, Diaz D, Cardenas R, Chait G, Castro M, Regalado S, Del Toro C R, Malca G G, Perez AF, Glenn A (2009) Arnaldoa,16(1): 93–103.