Interpretando as plantas medicinais de uma Organização Não Governamental no Sul do Brasil a partir da visão yin/yang da medicina tradicional chinesa.

Abstract

Looking for the health, in all its breadth, has always been one of the great challenges of humanity. This study aimed to reinterpret the use of medicinal plants in a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) by one of the pillars from traditional Chinese medicine, yin/yang. The methodology consisted of a qualitative, exploratory and analytical case study. From April to September 2011 semistructured interviews were applied to five informants in medicinal plants. Analysis was based on the repeated reading of the interviews transcripted, looking for references on medicinal plants that could be interpreted in thematic groups yin/yang, based on theoretical reference. Respondents indicated the use of 106 medicinal plants, whose reinterpretation by pillar yin/yang identified 9 plants representing yin/anatomy and 14 plants corresponding to yang/physiology. It is concluded that there are several ways to use the potential of medicinal plants, and it is possible a reinterpretation of medicinal plants used in folk Brazilian medicine from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine.