Cited by 74Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants StudiesPhytochemistry Medicinal Plant ApplicationsComplementary and Alternative Medicine Studies

Traditional herbal medicine in Mesoamerica: toward its evidence base for improving Universal Health Coverage

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Geck, Matthias S., Cristians, Sol, Berger-González, Mónica, Casu, Laura, Heinrich, Michael, Leonti, Marco·2020·Frontiers in Pharmacology

Abstract

The quality of health care in Mesoamerica is influenced by its rich cultural diversity and characterized by social inequalities. Especially indigenous and rural communities confront diverse barriers to accessing formal health services, leading to often conflicting plurimedical systems. Fostering integrative medicine is a fundamental pillar for achieving universal health coverage (UHC) for marginalized populations. Recent developments toward health sovereignty in the region are concerned with assessing the role of traditional medicines, and particularly herbal medicines, to foster accessible and culturally pertinent healthcare provision models. In Mesoamerica, as in most regions of the world, a wealth of information on traditional and complementary medicine has been recorded. Yet these data are often scattered, making it difficult for policy makers to regulate and integrate traditionally used botanical products into primary health care. This critical review is based on a quantitative analysis of 28 survey papers focusing on the traditional use of botanical drugs in Mesoamerica used for the compilation of the "Mesoamerican Medicinal Plant Database" (MAMPDB), which includes a total of 12,537 use-records for 2188 plant taxa. Our approach presents a fundamental step toward UHC by presenting a pharmacological and toxicological review of the cross-culturally salient plant taxa and associated botanical drugs used in traditional medicine in Mesoamerica. Especially for native herbal drugs, data about safety and effectiveness are limited. Commonly used cross-culturally salient botanical drugs, which are considered safe but for which data on effectiveness is lacking constitute ideal candidates for treatment outcome studies.

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  • Remission of depression in a mother has positive effects on her school aged and adolescent children for at least a year afterwards, including the children of mothers treated with medication or psychotherapy, and varying with the severity of maternal depression.

    “Remission of depression in a mother has positive effects on her school aged and adolescent children 564,676 for at least a year afterwards: 677 including the children of mothers treated with medication 676,678 or psychotherapy, 679-682 and varying with the severity of maternal depression. 683”

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Authors
Geck, M. S., Cristians, S., Berger-González, M., Casu, L., Heinrich, M., & Leonti, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Cagliari (IT)
  • Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
  • Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (CH)
  • UCL School of Pharmacy (GB)
Corresponding author
Leonti, Marco
Venue
Frontiers in Pharmacology
Published
2020-07-31
Volume
11
Pages
1160-1160
ISSN
1663-9812 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3046459822
Cited by
74
References
468
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 1
FWCI
0.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Pharmacology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • edoc (University of Basel) (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • UNICA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Cagliari) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
European Commission (606895)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Phytochemistry Medicinal Plant Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
Keywords
traditional herbal medicine, Mesoamerica, universal health coverage, integrative medicine, medicinal plants, plant-derived drugs, Indigenous health, health care access, health sovereignty, toxicology, evidence base, complementary therapy, primary care, health disparities

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