**1. Introduction**

The migration of human groups around the world and the cultural mix of these people has instigated more researches in the field of ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology in recent years (Pieroni & Vandebroek, 2007). Brazil is an example of blending traditional knowledge combined with the use of natural resources to the cure of various diseases and, therefore, have been the subject of several surveys including ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological. Given the enormous biological diversity and biochemistry in the several biomes around the world and also in Brazil, it is very difficult to find randomly a molecule on which it is possible to develop a competitive drug, acting on a mechanism known and has significant pharmacological properties (FAPESP, 2011). Therefore, the ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology are among the main strategies used for selecting plants to be investigated in laboratorial studies, those with great chances of success (Spjut & Perdue, 1976; Balick, 1990 as cited in Rodrigues, 2005), and is one of the fastest ways to obtain a safe product and pharmacologically active (Giorgetti et al., 2007).

The ethnobotany looks at how people incorporate the plants in their cultural traditions and folk practices (Balick & Cox, 1997) or, according to Alcorn (1995), is the study of the interrelationships between humans and plants in dynamical systems (as cited in Rodrigues et al., 2005).

The ethnopharmacology was originally defined as a science that sought to understand the universe of natural resources (plants, animals and minerals) as drugs used in the view of human groups (Schultes, 1988). However, over time this discipline has evolved and is defined by the INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY as: Retracted

*"Interdisciplinary study of the physiological actions of plants, animals and others substances used in indigenous medicines of past and present cultures".* 

This concept is also currently applied in the case of medicinal substances from nonindigenous people, thus expanding the diversity of information generated in studies ethnopharmacological. The relationship of the biological wealth of the world's diverse

The Influence of Displacement by Human Groups Among Regions in the

migrants from northeastern Brazil who currently occupy the southeast.

depending of the availability of raw material (Garcia et al., 2010).

multidisciplinary research to develop new drugs.

(Giorgetti et al., 2007).

**2. Brazilian biodiversity and cultural richness** 

chemical and pharmacological potential of the Atlantic Forest biome.

Medicinal Use of Natural Resource: A Case Study in Diadema, São Paulo - Brazil 481

(Voeks, 2009); from Africa to Brazil (Carney & Voeks, 2003); from Suriname to the Netherlands (van Andel & Westers, 2010); from Colombia to London (Ceuterick et al., 2008); from Germany to eastern Italy (Pieroni et al., 2004); from Albania to southern Italy (Pieroni et al., 2002a, 2002b); and from Europe and Africa to eastern Cuba (Cano & Volpato, 2004; Pieroni & Vandebroek, 2007). However, few studies have focused on migration within a country, such as that described by Rodrigues et al. (2005) and Garcia et al. (2010) regarding

Migration between regions encourages contact with the rich biological and cultural diversity and allows interpersonal interactions that contribute to the transformation of local medicinal therapies. As described by Garcia et al. (2010), where the influence of displacement of people from the Northeast and Southeast Brazil to Diadema (São Paulo) resulted in: maintenance, incorporation, replacement and/or discontinued use of natural resources in their medicinal pharmacopoeia. Migrants bring along their traditions, lifestyles, world and health views, such your supporting systems, including knowledge about the use of natural resources to health care and nutrition. These attitudes and practices are held to different ways in the host society (e.g., Nguyen, 2003) and may fall into partial or total disuse,

This chapter is an attempt to demonstrate the importance that the field ethnobotanist/ethnopharmacological meets in search of new bioactive molecules and how the knowledge about the medicinal use of natural resources can be more diverse and enriched after the displacement of human groups between regions. More broadly and generally, this chapter will also address details of the work done by Garcia et al. (2010) where the authors tried to understand, and comprehend more clearly the extent to which the displacement of people within a country can influence the traditional knowledge about medicinal use of natural resources. We hope this work can contribute significantly to future

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest region (Figure 1) was the first to be occupied by European settlers in post-Columbian times (Rodrigues et al., 2008). "Ipe-roxo" (Tabebuia heptaphylla), "cidrão" (*Hedyosmum brasiliensis*), "marcela" (*Achyrocline satureioides*), "estévia" (*Stevia rebaudiana*), "hortelã-do-mato" (*Peltodon radicans*), "espinheira-santa" (*Maytenus* spp), "pata-de-vaca" (*Bauhinia forficata*), "carqueja" (*Baccharis trimera*), "guaco" (*Mikania* spp) and "erva-baleeira" (*Cordia verbenacea*) are some plant species with high

Brazil is very rich in biodiversity, endemism and traditional communities. Is inhabited by diverse ethnic groups, including: Indigenous Ethnic Groups, Quilombo communities, Mestizos, Caiçaras, Fishermen, Rafters, Rubber Tappers, Raizeiros, among other, and the mostly the result of interbreeding between native Indians, Europeans and African elements

Native inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest, including non-indigenous, are still in this region, for example, the Caiçaras: people of mixed origin, descendants of European and Native Americans (Rodrigues and Carlini, 2006; Hanazaki et al., 2009). Descendants of Europeans, Africans and Asians settled in Brazil during the colonization and this culminated with

ecosystems, sometimes aided by the traditional knowledge of people who directly depend on these places to survive, is ancient for an extensive possibilities of discovering medicinal formulas for curing various diseases. The multiple possibilities resulting from this combination, natural biodiversity and cultural diversity, give richness and complexity in terms of knowledge about the flora and their therapeutic potential, some studies as: Pieroni & Vandebroek (2007) and Garcia et al., (2010) show that this relationship is even more intrinsic when there is displacement of human groups to a new environment.

Brazil offers a favourable environment for studies focused on migration and medicinal plants/animals because it possesses a large area of 8,514,876.599 km² (IBGE, 2011) and boasts high indices of cultural and biological diversity. In Brazil, the use of herbs for medicinal purposes is a common practice and very diverse, result of intense mixing that occurred during colonization (Europeans and Africans – sixteen to the eighteen century), added with the ancient knowledge of indigenous people, who ever inhabited these lands (Giorgeti et al., 2007). Retracted

Brazil is inhabited by mestizo groups derived from the miscegenation of Indian, Black, European and Asiatic people, 232 indigenous ethnic groups (Instituto Socioambiental, 2011) and 1,342 Quilombola groups (descendants of Afro-Brazilian people) (Fundação Cultural Palmares, 2011). Brazil has the richest flora in the world, with nearly 56.000 species of plants (Ribeiro, 1996; Schultes, 1990). For these and other reasons Brazil may be considered a laboratory *in situ* for a variety of processes that are studied by researchers from diverse fields, including the development of pharmaceutical drugs (Rodrigues, 2007).

However, at present moment, marked by the destruction of natural ecosystems, not only the biodiversity of plants and animals are affected, but also human groups that depend of environments to survive (Davis, 1995).

According to Simões and Lino (2004), the original Atlantic Forest covered approximately 1.3 million km2, spanning 17 Brazilian states from south to northeast; however, it currently covers only 14 states, and its area has been reduced to 65,000 km2. Despite alarming fragmentation, the Atlantic Forest still contains more than 20,000 plant species (8,000 endemic) and 1,361 animal species (567 endemic). It is the richest forest in the world in wood plants per unit area; the southern Bahia, for example, holds a record of 454 different species/ha (IBAMA, 2011).

Because of this reality, ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological surveys make an important role in collecting and valuing traditional knowledge of people about the medicinal use of biodiversity in which they live. This assumption, undoubtedly, is the key to preserve the biodiversity of these sites, as well as cultural traditions, once the ignorance on the potential pharmacological importance for the society becomes absent. While migration has become an integral part of modern globalization is as old as human society (Thomas et al., 2009; Waldstein, 2008). There are many reasons why people decide to leave home and live somewhere else, some having reasons within the place of origin, others with perceived opportunities available from the new environment (Findley & De Jong, 1985; Suzuki, 1996). Whatever the reason for the displacement, the migrants experience some difficulties and opportunities due to its displacement to a new location that those who stay behind may not experience (Lacuna-Richman, 2006). Numerous studies have related information on medicinal plants from human groups who migrated from Haiti to Cuba (Volpato et al., 2009); from Mexico to the U.S.A. (Waldstain, 2006, 2008); from Africa to South America Retracted

ecosystems, sometimes aided by the traditional knowledge of people who directly depend on these places to survive, is ancient for an extensive possibilities of discovering medicinal formulas for curing various diseases. The multiple possibilities resulting from this combination, natural biodiversity and cultural diversity, give richness and complexity in terms of knowledge about the flora and their therapeutic potential, some studies as: Pieroni & Vandebroek (2007) and Garcia et al., (2010) show that this relationship is even more

Brazil offers a favourable environment for studies focused on migration and medicinal plants/animals because it possesses a large area of 8,514,876.599 km² (IBGE, 2011) and boasts high indices of cultural and biological diversity. In Brazil, the use of herbs for medicinal purposes is a common practice and very diverse, result of intense mixing that occurred during colonization (Europeans and Africans – sixteen to the eighteen century), added with the ancient knowledge of indigenous people, who ever inhabited these lands (Giorgeti et al., 2007). Brazil is inhabited by mestizo groups derived from the miscegenation of Indian, Black, European and Asiatic people, 232 indigenous ethnic groups (Instituto Socioambiental, 2011) and 1,342 Quilombola groups (descendants of Afro-Brazilian people) (Fundação Cultural Palmares, 2011). Brazil has the richest flora in the world, with nearly 56.000 species of plants (Ribeiro, 1996; Schultes, 1990). For these and other reasons Brazil may be considered a laboratory *in situ* for a variety of processes that are studied by researchers from diverse

However, at present moment, marked by the destruction of natural ecosystems, not only the biodiversity of plants and animals are affected, but also human groups that depend of

According to Simões and Lino (2004), the original Atlantic Forest covered approximately 1.3 million km2, spanning 17 Brazilian states from south to northeast; however, it currently covers only 14 states, and its area has been reduced to 65,000 km2. Despite alarming fragmentation, the Atlantic Forest still contains more than 20,000 plant species (8,000 endemic) and 1,361 animal species (567 endemic). It is the richest forest in the world in wood plants per unit area; the southern Bahia, for example, holds a record of 454 different

Because of this reality, ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological surveys make an important role in collecting and valuing traditional knowledge of people about the medicinal use of biodiversity in which they live. This assumption, undoubtedly, is the key to preserve the biodiversity of these sites, as well as cultural traditions, once the ignorance on the potential pharmacological importance for the society becomes absent. While migration has become an integral part of modern globalization is as old as human society (Thomas et al., 2009; Waldstein, 2008). There are many reasons why people decide to leave home and live somewhere else, some having reasons within the place of origin, others with perceived opportunities available from the new environment (Findley & De Jong, 1985; Suzuki, 1996). Whatever the reason for the displacement, the migrants experience some difficulties and opportunities due to its displacement to a new location that those who stay behind may not experience (Lacuna-Richman, 2006). Numerous studies have related information on medicinal plants from human groups who migrated from Haiti to Cuba (Volpato et al., 2009); from Mexico to the U.S.A. (Waldstain, 2006, 2008); from Africa to South America

intrinsic when there is displacement of human groups to a new environment.

fields, including the development of pharmaceutical drugs (Rodrigues, 2007).

environments to survive (Davis, 1995).

species/ha (IBAMA, 2011).

(Voeks, 2009); from Africa to Brazil (Carney & Voeks, 2003); from Suriname to the Netherlands (van Andel & Westers, 2010); from Colombia to London (Ceuterick et al., 2008); from Germany to eastern Italy (Pieroni et al., 2004); from Albania to southern Italy (Pieroni et al., 2002a, 2002b); and from Europe and Africa to eastern Cuba (Cano & Volpato, 2004; Pieroni & Vandebroek, 2007). However, few studies have focused on migration within a country, such as that described by Rodrigues et al. (2005) and Garcia et al. (2010) regarding migrants from northeastern Brazil who currently occupy the southeast.

Migration between regions encourages contact with the rich biological and cultural diversity and allows interpersonal interactions that contribute to the transformation of local medicinal therapies. As described by Garcia et al. (2010), where the influence of displacement of people from the Northeast and Southeast Brazil to Diadema (São Paulo) resulted in: maintenance, incorporation, replacement and/or discontinued use of natural resources in their medicinal pharmacopoeia. Migrants bring along their traditions, lifestyles, world and health views, such your supporting systems, including knowledge about the use of natural resources to health care and nutrition. These attitudes and practices are held to different ways in the host society (e.g., Nguyen, 2003) and may fall into partial or total disuse, depending of the availability of raw material (Garcia et al., 2010). Retracted

This chapter is an attempt to demonstrate the importance that the field ethnobotanist/ethnopharmacological meets in search of new bioactive molecules and how the knowledge about the medicinal use of natural resources can be more diverse and enriched after the displacement of human groups between regions. More broadly and generally, this chapter will also address details of the work done by Garcia et al. (2010) where the authors tried to understand, and comprehend more clearly the extent to which the displacement of people within a country can influence the traditional knowledge about medicinal use of natural resources. We hope this work can contribute significantly to future multidisciplinary research to develop new drugs.
