**2. Brazilian biodiversity and cultural richness**

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 chemical and pharmacological potential of the Atlantic Forest biome.

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 (Giorgetti et al., 2007). Retracted

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

The Influence of Displacement by Human Groups Among Regions in the

(e.g*.*, such as Garcia et al., 2010; Ming, 1995; Pio Correa, 1926).

remedies (Pieroni et al., 2005b; Volpato et al., 2007).

**3. Displacement of human groups** 

pharmacological knowledge about them.

vegetal resources(Lee et al. 2001; Ososki et al. 2007).

seeking (Han & Ballis, 2007).

(Carney, 2001; Carrier, 2007; Niñez, 1987 as cited in Volpato et al., 2008).

Medicinal Use of Natural Resource: A Case Study in Diadema, São Paulo - Brazil 483

especially South America, a biologically rich and diverse field, with emphasis on the Brazilian forests. This mixture of traditions associated with the weight of diversity vegetal has led to a traditional medicine and herbal treatment methods and of different researchers

Sometimes, researchers focus on ethnobotanical knowledge and practices at one moment in time, where little attention has been given to the "drivers" of change over time, and thus the migration becomes widely accepted as one of the principle means by which vegetal genetic material, associated knowledge and practices are diffused on the globe

In this context, the main forces that guide the changes in the traditional medicinal knowledge, as cited by Volpato (2009) are: (a) the adaptation of the original knowledge to the new (host) environment; and (b) the development of strategies to obtain the original

Ethnomedicine/ethnopharmacology normally does not cease to carry with the changes in a new social context, and it can continue to influence the choices of care and health practices. The life experiences of migrants in new land, in general, and their professional life in particular, significantly influence in their attitudes and care about the range of health care

People, who move from their region of origin to live in somewhere else, are subject to various factors that may influence their health and pharmacopoeias. For example, a group of people moving from the Northeast to the Southeast of Brazil were faced with a new routine of life, different customs, new diseases and most importantly, a distinct vegetation. This last factor induces the need to seek pharmacological learning about local natural biodiversity,

Bharat et al. (2008) mentions that before Lepcha tribe get in Sikim southwest of Tibet, they migrated to Thailand, Burma, Bhutan and Assam during the course of migration, they could collect important information along the way, which was about the use of wild plants available in these sites and important pharmacological characteristics of plants associated with the welfare of humanity local as well as the efficiency that these drugs had to save his life. In turn, in Sikkim, they encountered many new plant species and developed their

As cited by Ososki et al. (2007), ethnobotanical knowledge is dynamic and may evolves with the exchange, transfer and ownership of information among people adapted to new environments (Lee et al., 2001; Voeks and Leony, 2004). There is often an exchange of knowledge, medicinal plants and cultural traditions when human groups migrate between urban and rural settings (Ososki et al., 2007). Knowledge about the use of medicinal plants is

Some substances become even promising when they are constantly used by human groups, considering the distances travelled and the consequent exposure to different cultures and

sometimes the only option for many human groups in the treatment of diseases.

which can enrich the knowledge of the information ethnopharmacological.

cultural miscegenation of many Brazilian communities and ethnic groups, enriching them culturally. All of these groups have traditionally relied on human resources to treat their illnesses and have at their disposal a rich flora.

Fig. 1. The six main biomes of Brazil, (IBAMA, 2011)

According to Rodrigues (2005), human groups that live in the forests are still substitutes for laboratory animals, especially in regions where medical treatment is lacking.

The cultural diversity that exists in Brazil is the result of the migration process and miscegenation that begun in the sixteenth century. In this period, were made the first records of the Brazilian medicinal flora (Camargo, 2000; Giulietti et al., 2005; Rodrigues et al., 2008). Little was known about Brazil at the time of the discoveries. The first Jesuits, explorers, scientists, and settlers who arrived in Brazil, reported a lot of characteristics observed on the new environment (Kury, 2001 as cited in Giorgetti et al., 2007). Retracted

The first European explorers that arrived in Brazil found a large number of medicinal plants used by indigenous tribes who lived here. Knowledge of local flora was merged those brought from Europe. Those that migrated from Africa (1530-1888) play an important role in traditional popular knowledge in Brazil until today (Rodrigues, 2007). The Africans who came to Brazil adapted your traditions to the new environment (Rodrigues, 2007).

Due the fusion among human groups from different sites of the world and because of the colonization of the Americas, some plants of temperate climate were brought and introduced in tropical locations (Rodrigues et al., 2008), which made these regions, especially South America, a biologically rich and diverse field, with emphasis on the Brazilian forests. This mixture of traditions associated with the weight of diversity vegetal has led to a traditional medicine and herbal treatment methods and of different researchers (e.g*.*, such as Garcia et al., 2010; Ming, 1995; Pio Correa, 1926).

Sometimes, researchers focus on ethnobotanical knowledge and practices at one moment in time, where little attention has been given to the "drivers" of change over time, and thus the migration becomes widely accepted as one of the principle means by which vegetal genetic material, associated knowledge and practices are diffused on the globe (Carney, 2001; Carrier, 2007; Niñez, 1987 as cited in Volpato et al., 2008).

In this context, the main forces that guide the changes in the traditional medicinal knowledge, as cited by Volpato (2009) are: (a) the adaptation of the original knowledge to the new (host) environment; and (b) the development of strategies to obtain the original remedies (Pieroni et al., 2005b; Volpato et al., 2007). Retracted
