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BACKGROUND: Urban ethnobotanical research in Costa Rica is rather rare and home gardens are poorly studied so far. Investigating their biodiversity is crucial in gathering knowledge on the uses of this particular flora, especially related to the owners' health. This study therefore explores the diversity and knowledge of medicinal plants of private garden owners from three different urban neighborhoods in Heredia, Costa Rica, an thus far understudied area. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews (n = 61) were conducted with garden owners in three socioeconomically different urban neighborhoods (Central Heredia, Maria Auxiliadora and Bernardo Benavides). Information was collected about medicinal plants cultivated in the garden, treatments, plant part used and mode of administration. All species were identified and their geographical origin was determined. This information was then compared with the available regional and local (ethno)pharmacopoeias to detect possible newly documented uses. RESULTS: The majority or 90% of garden owners who also held knowledge on medicinal plants species were women (n = 30) of all ages (between 26 and 85 years old). A list of 27 species of medicinal plants was obtained from the participants of three urban neighborhoods. In Central Heredia, 74% (n = 20) of the total species were present, in Maria Auxiliadora 33% (n = 9) and in Bernardo Benavides 56% (n = 15). Most plant species were used by the participants to treat respiratory problems (11 spp.), hair and skin problems (9 spp.) and digestive disorders (8 spp.). Some plants were used to treat multiple ailments (10 spp.). About a third of all species (n = 8) were used by the participants to treat disorders that were not indicated in the regional and local pharmacopoeias. More specifically, Aloe saponaria, Blechum pyramidatum, Costus scaber, Impatiens walleriana, Lippia alba, Tradescantia zebrina, Psidium friedrichsthalianum and Solenostemon scutellarioides used for medicinal purposes by the participants were not found in the above-mentioned resources. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides new information about the use of medicinal plants in a thus far understudied urban area in Costa Rica. We documented new medicinal uses for several plants listed in the regional and local pharmacopoeias as well as for plants not previously reported in an urban environment. In general, there is little information about the types of plants used for medicinal purposes in urban ecosystems in Costa Rica. Although the country has a high endemic diversity of plants, many exotic medicinal plant species were introduced by the Spaniards during the colonization and by Afro-Costa Rican descendants. The present results thus show how the diversity of the medicinal plants used by these garden owners' confirms a socioeconomic gradient and reflects both Costa Rica's colonial history as well as the current epidemiological profile of the country. These findings underline the need for more ethnobotanical research in urban areas in Costa Rica.

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Home gardens are recognised in the literature for their contribution to food security, yet the process by which agrobiodiversity and household characteristics mediate this relationship is less well understood. This paper contributes to fill this research gap by drawing on a multi-site case study in the Yucatán region in Mexico. By applying regression analysis, the significance of the association between home garden diversity and food security is confirmed. Plant diversity is found to have a positive association with food consumption scores and the frequency of vegetable intakes. The number of animals used for food purposes is also found to have positive and significant associations with food consumption scores and frequency of meat intakes. However, the dimension and the significance of these positive associations were found to vary among communities and quantiles of the distribution of food security measures. In the households studied, younger individuals and better-educated people, males and Spanish speakers were more likely to engage in jobs in urban areas. Engagement in urban jobs was found to involve complementarities with the overall plant diversity of home gardens, but also trade-offs with the diversity of vegetables and other herbs used for food purposes and with the abundance of animals raised for food purposes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12571-021-01148-w.

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Background: Multi-dimensional monitoring evaluation and learning strategies are needed to address the complex set of factors that affect early child development in marginalized populations, but few studies have explored their effectiveness. Objective: To compare improvement of health and development of children 0-3 years between intervention communities (IC) and control communities (CC) from peripheral settlements of Lima. Sequential interventions included: (1) home and community gardens, (2) conscious nutrition, and (3) parenting workshops following the International Child Development Program (ICDP). Methods: Interventions were delivered by community health promoters (CHPs) using a "step-by-step" learning system. Both IC and CC were monitored before the interventions began, at 8 and 12 months (n = 113 IC and 127 CC children). Data were collected on household characteristics, diet, food security, health indicators (history of diarrhea and respiratory infections, hemoglobin, intestinal parasites, anthropometry), caregiver-child interactions and stress, and achievement of Pan-American Health Organization age-specific developmental milestones. Stepwise multiple logistic regressions were used to determine if the interventions affected food insecurity, as well as motor, social/cognitive and language delays. Results: At baseline, 2.6% were categorized as "suspected developmental delay" and 14.2% were on "alert for development delay." Food insecurity, diarrhea and respiratory infections were lowered following the interventions. Through the "step-by-step" approach, caregivers in IC gained skills in gardening, conscious nutrition and parenting that reduced the risk of food insecurity [Adjusted Risk Ratio = 0.20 (95% CI: 0.08-0.51)] and language delay [0.39 (0.19-0.82)] but not motor or social/cognitive delay. Use of a multiple micronutrient supplement decreased the risk of motor delay [0.12 (0.03-0.56)], but more pets were associated with higher risk of motor [3.24 (1.47-7.14)] and social/cognitive delay [2.72 (1.33-5.55)], and of food insecurity [1.73 (1.13-2.66)]. Conclusion: The combined interventions delivered by CHPs helped to mitigate the impact of adversity on food insecurity and language delay. Additional improvements may have been detected if the interventions had continued for a longer time. Our results indicate that control of infections and pets may be needed to achieve measurable results for motor and social/cognitive development. Continuous monitoring facilitated adjusting implementation strategies and achieving positive developmental outcomes.

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OBJECTIVE: Child undernutrition remains one of the greatest challenges for public health nutrition in rural areas in developing countries. Interventions aiming to increase and conserve agrobiodiversity seem to be promising alternatives to improve child nutrition. However, the existing literature on these interventions is not conclusive about their effectiveness in combating child undernutrition. We tested the hypothesis that 'higher agrobiodiversity is associated with greater dietary diversity and better anthropometric status' in rural Guatemala.Design/Setting/SubjectsIn the summer of 2016, we conducted a cross-sectional study with a sample of 154 children (6-60 months). We conducted dietary recalls and structured interviews, measured children's weight and height, and visited food production systems (Milpas, home gardens, coffee plantations). Crop species richness, nutritional functional diversity, dietary diversity scores and anthropometric status were calculated. RESULTS: Higher food self-sufficiency, nutritional functional diversity and dietary diversity scores were positively correlated with higher crop and animal species richness. Contrarily, remoteness to the local market was negatively correlated with dietary diversity scores. However, higher dietary diversity scores were not correlated with better child anthropometric status. Better child anthropometric status was positively correlated with improved sanitary conditions and maternal education; and negatively correlated with large household size and frequent child morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Agricultural diversification could diversify diets, increase nutrient availability and improve child anthropometry. However, these interventions need to be accompanied by sanitation improvements, family planning, nutritional education and women's empowerment to strengthen their positive effect on diet and nutrition.

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El objetivo del trabajo fue realizar un registro de plantas medicinales presentes en los solares-huertos familiares de la localidad zoque de Ayapa, Tabasco, México, considerando las cualidades frías y calientes asignadas a las plantas por los habitantes de la comunidad y utilizadas en el tratamiento de enfermedades. A partir de las investigaciones etnobotánicas realizadas mediante 24 entrevistas e información de 5 informantes clave se identificaron 140 especies de uso medicinal correspondientes a 65 familias botánicas diferentes, de las cuales 25 especies medicinales son consideradas de carácter caliente, 98 de carácter frío y 17 especies presentan características tanto frías como calientes. Las plantas medicinales presentes en la zona son utilizadas en el tratamiento de 70 padecimientos. 104 plantas son especies de origen americano y 36 introducidas. Este trabajo representa una primera aproximación al uso de la flora medicinal zoque de Tabasco siendo el primer reporte sobre plantas medicinales en la localidad, lo cual contribuirá a preservar su uso en la región.

The aim of this research was to record plants with medicinal value cultivated in solares or home gardens from Ayapa, a Zoque Village in Tabasco, México. We consider the analysis of the hot-cold qualities assigned by people of the community to the medicinal plants used in the treatment of illnesses. The research has an ethnobotanical perspective. Through 24 interviews and information provided by 5 key informants, we identified 140 medicinal plant species, corresponding to 69 botanical families. 25 species are considered to have a hot quality, whilst 98 are considered cold. 17 species have both cold and hot qualities. 70 ailments are treated using medicinal plants found in the area of study. 104 plants have American origin and 36 are introduced. This first approach to the analysis of the medicinal plants from the Zoque of Tabasco constitutes a first report and a contribution on medicinal lore in this community. This will help to preserve the medical knowledge of this ethnic group.

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With the retreat of the state under neoliberalism, the lack of (or negligible) government and non-governmental support reasserts grassroots initiatives as a global-change strategy. A feminist political ecology approach and the concept of adverse inclusion were used to facilitate an analysis of social differences shaping local-level adaptive responses. Adaptive responses of small farmers in the border village of San Ignacio, Sonora, Mexico, who are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, water scarcity, and changing labor markets were studied. Gender differences in production sites translate into diverse vulnerabilities and adaptive strategies. Local capacities and initiatives should be a focus of research and policy to avoid viewing women and men as passive in the face of global change. The dynamic strategies of San Ignacio women and men in home gardens and small orchards hold lessons for other regions particularly related to adaptation to climate change via agrobiodiversity, water resource management, and diversified agricultural livelihoods.

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O município de Abaetetuba, localizado na mesorregião do nordeste paraense, possui uma população que detém um rico conhecimento sobre a flora regional. Diante disso, o presente estudo apresenta um levantamento das plantas medicinais que são usadas e cultivadas nos quintais dos moradores do bairro de Algodoal em Abaetetuba-PA. Foram feitas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 44 moradores do bairro de Algodoal. As plantas listadas nas entrevistas foram coletadas e fotografadas durante turnês-guiadas, obtendo-se assim material botânico para a identificação das espécies com base na literatura especializada. Foram listadas 138 etnoespécies distribuídas em 49 famílias, onde a mais citada foi Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. (pirarucu) com 35 citações. Dentre as partes mais utilizadas para o preparo terapêutico destacam-se a folha (83), seguida de ramo (18) e raiz (11). Entre as indicações mais frequentes para o uso dos remédios estão as doenças do sistema digestivo e as doenças culturais, com mais de 20% de indicações cada. Desta forma, foi possível constatar o grande conhecimento sobre o uso de plantas medicinais cultivadas nos quintais urbanos de Abaetetuba.(AU)

The town of Abaetetuba in the northeastern midle region of Para has a population that has a rich knowledge about the regional flora. Thus, this study presents a survey of medicinal plants that are used and grown in the residential homegardens of the Algodoal District in Abaetetuba-PA. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 residents of the Algodoal District. The plants listed in the interviews were collected and photographed during guided-tours, thus yielding botanical material for species identification based on literature. 138 were listed ethnospecies distributed in 49 families, where the most cited was Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. (pirarucu) with 35 citations. Among the parts most commonly used for the preparation of medicinal remedies stand out from the leaf (83), followed by the branch (18) and the root (11). Among the most frequent indications for the use of remedies are diseases of the digestive system and the cultural diseases, with more than 20% of nominations each. Thus, there has been great knowledge about the use of medicinal plants grown in the urban homegardens of Abaetetuba.(AU)

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São José da Figueira is a rural community which economy is based on small-sized family-owned agricultural and dairy farms. Rural communities often possess medicinal plant knowledge because not only does the rural lifestyle promote this but also because these communities coexist with a wide variety of plants. The aim of this study was to survey the knowledge of the community on plants and their medicinal uses. For data collection, semi-structured interviews and guided tours were carried out. Data were analyzed through the Major Use Agreement. All of the 34 informants were women. Plants were the first choice for use for primary health care by 75% of the interviewees. Of the total of 165 species identified, most species are exotic (45%), obtained by collection in home gardens (88%), and of herbaceous habits (65.7%). Leaves were the plant parts most often used (52%). Decoction was the most widely used form of preparation (41%), and oral intake was cited most often (66.4%). Leonurus sibiricus showed the highest value of Major Use Agreement (77.3%), in agreement with its popular use to treat diarrhea. The information obtained in this study showed that women in the community have extensive knowledge regarding medicinal plants. The home garden is a space where useful medicinal plants are maintained, and is the main location where these plants are gathered. .

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Gardens are an important part of the environment as they play multiple roles and are central to the lifestyle and economy of many communities. The investigators use qualitative methods to explore patterns and perceptions about changes in gardening and cultivation in the community of Maycoba, Mexico. Maycoba is home to a large community of Pima Indians, an Indigenous population genetically prone to diabetes. Pima Indians living in the United States have been shown to have an extremely high prevalence of diabetes, but the genetically comparable Pimas in Maycoba, Mexico, were found to have little diabetes in the early 1990s. The authors examine home gardens and other cultivation in the area as an element of a changing environment and lifestyle during the past 15 years. Methods include interviews and focus groups. Preliminary findings are presented in this paper.

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En este estudio, se inventariaron 46 especies de especies fructíferas en la comunidad negra de Itacoã, Acará, Pará, situada a pocos kilómetros de la ciudad de Belem en el Estuario Amazónico. De igual manera se investigó las diversas actividades productivas desarrolladas por las familias y su relación con la generación de renta. Los principales métodos usados en el trabajo fueron las entrevistas y la visita a los quintales y otras áreas de producción de frutas (várzeas y purmas) para identificación y localización de las especies fructíferas. Existe alta diversidad de frutas en todo el territorio, especialmente en los quintales, con abundancia de especies de interés nutricional y/o comercial e importancia de la comercialización de esta producción como fuente de recursos económicos para las familias residentes. De hecho, para el 28% de las unidades familiares, la principal fuente de ingresos anuales es la venta de frutas regionales, a pesar de su marcada estacionalidad, con picos de fructificación durante el período más lluvioso del año. Por último, este estudio reafirma al quintal como modalidad de sistema agroforestal tradicional con bajo uso de insumos, alta diversidad de especies útiles y su múltiple funcionalidad: producción de frutas de origen extractivo, garantía de ingresos monetarios, seguridad alimentar y mantenimiento de relaciones de intercambio no monetario entre los comunitarios.

In this study, 46 fruit-bearing species were inventoried in the black community of Itacoã, Acará ( Pará, Brazil), a few kilometers from the city of Belém in the Amazon estuary. The various productive activities carried out by families and their relationship to income generation were also investigated. The main methods used were interviews and visits to home gardens and other fruit production areas (floodplain forests and fallows), in order to identify and locate the fruit-bearing species. The main findings were: a high fruit diversity throughout the community, especially in home gardens; an abundance of species of nutritional and/or commercial interest; and the importance of the commercialization of this production as a source of economic resources for resident families. The main annual income source of 28% of family units is the sale of regional fruits, in spite of their strong seasonality, with fruiting and maturation peaks during the rainiest period of the year. Finally, this study reasserts the home garden as a type of traditional agroforestry with low input use, high diversity of food and commercial species and multiple functionality: extractive fruit production, cash income, food security and maintenance of non-cash exchange relationships among community members.

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En este estudio, se inventariaron 46 especies de especies fructíferas en la comunidad negra de Itacoã, Acará, Pará, situada a pocos kilómetros de la ciudad de Belem en el Estuario Amazónico. De igual manera se investigó las diversas actividades productivas desarrolladas por las familias y su relación con la generación de renta. Los principales métodos usados en el trabajo fueron las entrevistas y la visita a los quintales y otras áreas de producción de frutas (várzeas y purmas) para identificación y localización de las especies fructíferas. Existe alta diversidad de frutas en todo el territorio, especialmente en los quintales, con abundancia de especies de interés nutricional y/o comercial e importancia de la comercialización de esta producción como fuente de recursos económicos para las familias residentes. De hecho, para el 28% de las unidades familiares, la principal fuente de ingresos anuales es la venta de frutas regionales, a pesar de su marcada estacionalidad, con picos de fructificación durante el período más lluvioso del año. Por último, este estudio reafirma al quintal como modalidad de sistema agroforestal tradicional con bajo uso de insumos, alta diversidad de especies útiles y su múltiple funcionalidad: producción de frutas de origen extractivo, garantía de ingresos monetarios, seguridad alimentar y mantenimiento de relaciones de intercambio no monetario entre los comunitarios.

In this study, 46 fruit-bearing species were inventoried in the black community of Itacoã, Acará ( Pará, Brazil), a few kilometers from the city of Belém in the Amazon estuary. The various productive activities carried out by families and their relationship to income generation were also investigated. The main methods used were interviews and visits to home gardens and other fruit production areas (floodplain forests and fallows), in order to identify and locate the fruit-bearing species. The main findings were: a high fruit diversity throughout the community, especially in home gardens; an abundance of species of nutritional and/or commercial interest; and the importance of the commercialization of this production as a source of economic resources for resident families. The main annual income source of 28% of family units is the sale of regional fruits, in spite of their strong seasonality, with fruiting and maturation peaks during the rainiest period of the year. Finally, this study reasserts the home garden as a type of traditional agroforestry with low input use, high diversity of food and commercial species and multiple functionality: extractive fruit production, cash income, food security and maintenance of non-cash exchange relationships among community members.