Ethnomedicine Ancestral Legacy and Use of Medicinal Plants

Preface

The Medicinal Use of The Potato according to Juan Miquel (1792–1866): A Medical Practitioner from Cadiz, Pioneer of Chilean Medicine

José Ramón Vallejo and Antonio Pérez Pérez

Herbalism and its Contribution to the Digestive System Health in Tu´un savi and Mé´pháá Indigenous Peoples in Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero, México

Samuel Mayo Mayo, Artemio Cruz León, Claudia Yanet Wilson García and Joel Cervantes Herrera

Contemporary Use of Medicinal Plants in the Bulgarian Mountain Rhodopes Based on Traditional Knowledge

Irena Mincheva, Zheko Naychov, Christo Radev, Ina Aneva, Luca Rastrelli and Ekaterina Kozuharova

Contribution of Magical-Religious Practices to Ethnobotanical Knowledge in Peru

José Mostacero-León, Jesús Manuel Charcape Ravelo, Anthony Jordan De La Cruz Castillo, Carmen Lizbeth Yurac Gonzales Velasquez, Edmundo Venegas-Casanova and José L. Martínez

The Ancestral Use of Medicinal Plants in Chile

Gabriela Valenzuela-Barra, Mirtha Parada, Jessica Bravo and Maité Rodríguez-Díaz

Healing the Spirit: The Ritual and Medicinal Uses of Colorín (Erythrina americana, Fabaceae) in Mexico

Alejandro Torres-Montúfar and Héctor Sierra de Jesús

Ethnomedicinal Properties of Magical and Symbolic Plants in Bulgarian Folklore

Dessislava Dimitrova, Valentina Ganeva-Raicheva, Yulia Bosseva, Mihail Chervenkov and Teodora Ivanova

Psychoactive Plants and Cultural Perspectives on Mental Disorders: Kavango Regions in Namibia

Michael Shirungu, Ahmad Cheikhyoussef and Alfred Maroyi

Hypotensive Plants of the Traditional Totonac Medicine from Tlalpila, Veracruz, Mexico

Maricarmen Hernández-Suárez, Óscar Antonio Sánchez-Aguirre, Thelma Claudia Muñoz-Ibarra, Eloísa Jácome-Castillo and Leticia Margarita Cano-Asseleih

Pre-hispanic Medicinal Plants and their Importance in Present Day Mexico

Leticia Margarita Cano-Asseleih, Thelma Claudia Muñoz-Ibarra and Óscar Antonio Sánchez-Aguirre

Traditional Medicine: Anthropological, Botanical, Chemical and Pharmacological Issues About Value and Interpretation

Fernando Echeverri

Index

Biography

José L. Martínez joined the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Santiago de Chile in mid-2023. In 2022, he received an honorary doctorate in Peru for his contributions to the dissemination and development of Latin American medicinal plants. He also received a tribute in Mexico. In 2025, he received the highest distinction from the College of Biologists of Peru. He has been the creator, founder, and editor of the Latin American and Caribbean Bulletin of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (BLACPMA) for 24 years, founder of the Latin American Congress of Medicinal Plants (COLAPLAMED), and founder of the Latin American Society of Medicinal Plants (SOLAPLAMED). He is a member of the Editorial Board of various journals on medicinal plants and natural products. He is the co-author of numerous articles.

José Mostacero-León is a researcher and senior lecturer at the National University of Trujillo (UNT) with over 50 years of experience. He has served as Dean of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Director of Graduate Studies, and Head of Research. He is a RENACYT researcher with over 100 publications and 17 books. He holds an honorary doctorate, a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Peru, director of the Herbarium Truxillense, and a CITES Scientific Authority, recognized for his outstanding work in botany and conservation.

Ina Aneva is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). She also serves as Scientific Secretary of BAS and is a member of its Governing Board. A recognized leader in plant biodiversity, conservation, and phytochemistry, she has authored over 130 scientific publications. Her numerous honours include UNESCO’s MAB Young Scientists Award, Bulgaria’s prestigious “Pythagoras” Prize (2020), and the honorary badge “For Merits to BAS” (2024).