The “Materia Médica Misionera” attributed to the Jesuit Pedro Montenegro in 1710 part II: Identification of plants and their uses against disorders of the reproductive system

Abstract

Plants are here identified that are mentioned in the “Materia Médica Misionera” (M.M.M.), attributed to the Jesuit Pedro Montenegro in 1710, to be used against disorders of the reproductive system. Their therapeutic properties are described in their medical historical context of reference, and the relationships of these results with present folk medical ethnobotany of the “misiones” region are discussed. Plant identities were inferred based on written descriptions and graphic representations extracted from the data source, as well as the botanical correspondences of the vernacular names obtained from an exhaustive search in a total of 59 publications. A total of 57 taxa (from 102 ethnobotanical data) used against reproductive system disorders could be identified. Even though few plants (42,1%) and medicinal uses (5,8 %) are shared between the M.M.M. and those of current works, this observation would indicate a certain degree of continuity with respect to the pharmacopoeia used and the etiological-therapeutic criteria characteristic of the folk medical ethnobotany of Paraguay.