Diversity and perception of medicinal plants used by the Costa Rican population

Abstract

Medicinal plants have become an important source for the treatment of various diseases. In Costa Rica, a survey conducted with 132 people identified the use of 107 medicinal plants, of which only 34% are native. The health disorders for which medicinal plants are mainly used are gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. The most commonly used medicinal plant species are Matricaria chamomilla, Lippia alba, and Zingiber officinale. The family of plants with the highest number of species used as medicine is Lamiaceae. The majority of surveyed individuals learn about medicinal plants from their family members. A decrease in the number of medicinal plants is observed as the population becomes younger, with this difference being statistically significant between individuals under 40 years old and those over 80 years old. Costa Ricans use medicinal plants to avoid using allopathic drugs that they consider harmful.