Medicinal Plants Classification Biosynthesis and ... - Index of

Native Medicinal Plants used in the Ethnomedicine of the Córdoba Hills...
changes in the blood. These kinds of expressions and physiological explanations in popular
terms evidence a Hippocratic-humoral conception of blood, a feature shared with the
traditional medicinal practices of peasants from other regions of Argentina (Scarpa, 2004a;
Idoyaga Molina, 2001a) and of the Americas (Queiroz, 1984).
Originated by agents affecting the skin
According to the informers, ―culebrilla” or ―culebría” (shingles) is a disease produced
by an iguana or small lizard that is generally invisible when it acts. The afflicted person
suffers a sort of burn that goes round their waist. If this eruption closes round the waist it is
very dangerous and can lead to death.
“It is by the urine of a “culebrilla”, while that animal walks the rash grows and if
the ends of the rash meet in the stomach it is very dangerous because the infection is
passed on to the intestines… it is like a very small iguana, there are two types, one is
black with white spots and the other is green with two yellow stripes down the side to
its tail… it contaminates the clothes line, it urines on the clothes that you left in
different places… It is cured with prayers and Indian ink. The wound is surrounded
for it not to walk‖.
“It is a small bug, no one has seen it, it is an allergy that causes rashes, small ones
that advance, that produces fever, stinging and itching. “Culebrilla” is cured with
Indian ink, the black one… you have to cut its progress, surround it with ink”
Curing the irritating and harmful effects of snake, arachnid (spiders and scorpions) and
insect bites is a common matter for the older practitioners; in this case, the efficacy of the
remedies, plants or preparations is mainly symbolical rather than physiological or
pharmacological. They also mention injuries, irritations and burns produced by the sun or by
natural caustic or allergenic substances as for example the ―flechaduras‖ or ―canchas‖
(rashes or skin ulcers) caused by exposure to the ―molle‖ tree (Lithraea molleoides). Other
ailments produced by this cause are interpreted as disorders originated by temperature
imbalances, as is the case of sunstroke.
Although less known, the ―mal de pie‖ (foot malaise) is an ailment probably associated
with mycosis, as explained by one of the specialists: “The whole foot is covered in blisters
underneath, as if it were a fungus. That is not cured by a doctor”
The additional details and testimonies that refer specifically to skin conditions, as well as
a detailed list of plant pharmacopoeia recipes for their treatment, can be found in the work of
Martínez (2008b).
Other imbalances and ailments
Other etiological explanations use elements of biomedical language. For example,
―culebrilla” is produced by the patient‘s contact with the urine of a lizard or ―bug‖ that is not
seen, but that is the carrier of the ―virus‖ or ―microbe‖ causing it. Using different terms, the
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