Análise intercultural do continuum alimento-medicina em duas comunidades do nordeste brasileiro com contextos socioambientais distintos

Abstract

The dissertation addresses the food-medicine continuum from an intercultural perspective, investigating the biocultural factors that influence the prioritization and use of plants with nutritional and medicinal functions in two communities in the Northeast. The work is structured in two main chapters. The first chapter presents the objectives, theoretical framework and introduction, highlighting the interface between nutrition and health in socio-ecological systems. The second chapter consists of the scientific article, which details the results of the research carried out in the communities of Sítio Coelho (Petrolina-PE) and São Sebastião dos Pretos (Bacabal-MA). The methodology included ethnobotanical interviews using free lists and semi-structured interviews. Statistical analyses, such as logistic regression and log-linear models, were performed to test two hypotheses: (1) Plants with uses for food and medicine are prioritized in people's memory; (2) Different parts of the same plant are used depending on the specificity of the use. The results demonstrated that cultural and ecological factors influence the manifestation of the food-medicine continuum and that the use of multiple plant parts reflects a strategy to maximize plant resources. It is concluded that the continuum not only reinforces the cultural importance of multifunctional plants, but also highlights their adaptive relevance and potential for biodiversity conservation in different contexts.