Journal of Ethnopharmacology 71 (2000) 493 – 504
Snakebites and ethnobotany in the northwest region of
Colombia
Part I: Traditional use of plants
R. Otero
a,b,
*, R. Fonnegra
a
, S.L. Jime ´nez
a
, V. Nu ´n ˜ez
a
, N. Evans
a
,
S.P. Alzate
a
, M.E. Garcı ´a
a
, M. Saldarriaga
a
, G. Del Valle
a
, R.G. Osorio
a
,
A. Dı ´az
a
, R. Valderrama
a
, A. Duque
a
, H.N. Ve ´lez
a
a
Programa de Ofidismo, Facultad de Medicina, Uniersidad de Antioquia, A.A. 1226, Medellı ´n, Colombia
b
Departamento de Pediatrı ´a, Facultad de Medicina, Uniersidad de Antioquia, A.A. 1226, Medellı ´n, Colombia
Received 10 June 1999; received in revised form 5 April 2000; accepted 15 April 2000
Abstract
In Antioquia and Choco ´ , traditional healers attend 60% of snakebites. With the aim to produce an inventory of the
plants used by the healers to treat snakebites and to document the methods of preparation, administration, the
dosage, number of patients treated throughout their years of practice with treatment results, 20 healers with
experience in Bothrops, Porthidium and Bothriechis envenomations were interviewed between August, 1996 and
November, 1998. They belong to nine black and three indigenous rural communities located near the towns of
Bojaya ´, Vigı ´a del Fuerte, Unguı ´a (Atrato river valley), Nuquı ´ and Bahı ´a Solano (Pacific coast). Based on field
interviews, 101 species of plants were identified as used to treat snakebites. The part used of each plant varies
according to the species. Sixty plants are used in the form of drinks prepared by infusion, decoction or maceration;
78 as external baths on the affected extremity; 11 for steam application and 39 for poultices; the latter is used mainly
when the bite is complicated by local necrosis. In mild and moderate envenomations, they generally use a mixture of
three plants, while in severe cases they mix from five to 12, a handful of each one. Treatment is generally performed
for 1–3 days, when the patient reacts positively. They reported to have treated 454 patients during their years of
experience, 20 of them (4.4%) died. With the guidance of the healers, 77 species of plants were collected and
photographed. These plants belong to 41 families, of which Piperaceae (13 species), Araceae (six species), Asteraceae
(five species) and Gesneriaceae (three species) have the highest number of species. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland
Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Snakebites; Ethnobotany; Colombia
www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm
* Corresponding author: Tel.: +57-4-2631914; fax: +57-4-2638282.
E-mail address: rotero@catios.udea.edu.co (R. Otero).
0378-8741/00/$ - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII:S0378-8741(00)00243-9