Ethnobotanical knowledge of native plants in Santa Rita Estado Aragua, Venezuela

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in a village, Santa Rita, parish capital of Francisco Linares Alcántara Municipality, Venezuela. There is an estimated population of 79,885 people by the year 2008 (INE). The main respondents of the survey were three diabetic patients and informants belong to the Buena Vida’s club, where all members are diabetic. The validity and reliability of the data were given by the coherence between the narrations of the informants and the interpretation of the researchers. The diseases that have largely expressed by the informants were: levels of high blood sugar, nervousness, insomnia, flu, colic, parasites, burns and shingles. They revealed that they used the modern synthetic drugs prescribed by doctors along with plants, in the form of decoctions of leaves, stems, fruits, flowers and roots, others shaped like cayenne infusion to treat insomnia and nerves, external application as aloe to treat burns. The informants also commented on how they prepared the plants, amount used and the desired effects.