Chacras, which are Amazonian agricultural systems, are examples of traditional agricultural management that are sustainable. They are also characteristic of the identities of different ethnographic groups in tropical America. However, information regarding the botanical characterization of chacras is scant. In tropical rural communities, there is a gender bias hypothesis that makes women potential reservoirs of traditional chacras plant knowledge. We present an experimental study in order to demonstrate if this knowledge difference really exists and to plan accordingly. We performed workshops in an isolated Kichwa community from Amazonian Ecuador. We calculated the cultural signififcance index (CSI) for 97 local flora plants. Our results revealed statistically significant differences. They were coherent with the Kichwa worldview and the structure of their society. We concluded that gender perspective must be taken into account in biodiversity conservation programs, such as, for example, those to implement the resilient agricultural practices of tropical contexts promoted by The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SGD2).

Existen muchas plantas nativas de la amazonia cuyas cualidades fitoquímicas, toxicológicas y sus posibles efectos terapéuticos no han sido estudiados. Nuestro objetivo fue encontrar en el oriente ecuatoriano plantas que contengan látex y resinas, para estudiar preliminarmente sus características fitoquímicas y toxicológicas con el fin de utilizarlas como embolizantes en el tratamiento de algunas enfermedades. Inicialmente, se buscó en la literatura algunas plantas ubicadas en la región amazónica ecuatoriana que contienen látex o resinas. Se identificaron 33 plantas de las cuales 5 plantas fueron seleccionadas y sus cualidades fitoquímicas y toxicológicas estudiadas. Realizada la prueba de toxicidad aguda y subaguda para un extracto de plantas medicinales de acuerdo al criterio de Williams y a la escala logarítmica de Hill y el análisis fitoquímico empleándose la Marcha Fitoquímica Preliminar y el análisis Cromatográfico de los extractos de látex encontramos que los extractos de Sapotaceae pouteria caimito, Apocynaceae lacmellea spaciosa, Moraceae Ficus yoponensis y Euphorbiaceae Sapium glandulosum son muy tóxicos según los criterios de Williams y que todos los extractos de látex tienen un alto contenido de resinas por lo que deben ser sometidos a nuevos estudios para establecer sus posibles usos terapéuticos como agentes embolizantes.

Traditional medicine is especially important in the treatment of neglected tropical diseases because it is the way the majority of populations of affected countries manage primary healthcare. We present a case study that can serve as an example that can be replicated by others in the same situation. It is about the validation of a local remedy for myasis in Amazonian Ecuador, which is contrasted by bibliographic chemical reviews and in silico activity tests. We look for scientific arguments to demonstrate the reason for using extracts of Lonchocarpus utilis against south American myasis (tupe). We provide a summary of the isoflavonoids, prenylated flavonoids, chalcones, and stilbenes that justify the action. We make modeling predictions on the affinity of eight chemical components and enzyme targets using Swiss Target Prediction software. We conclude that the effects of this extract can be reasonably attributed to an effect of the parasite that causes the disease, similar to the one produced by synthetic drugs used by conventional medicine (e.g., Ivermectine).

This study’s objective was to evaluate the rescued traditional knowledge about the chiricaspi (Brunfelsia grandiflora s.l.), obtained in an isolated Canelo-Kichwa Amazonian community in the Pastaza province (Ecuador). This approach demonstrates well the value of biodiversity conservation in an endangered ecoregion. The authors describe the ancestral practices that remain in force today. They validated them through bibliographic revisions in data megabases, which presented activity and chemical components. The authors also propose possible routes for the development of new bioproducts based on the plant. In silico research about new drug design based on traditional knowledge about this species can produce significant progress in specific areas of childbirth, anesthesiology, and neurology.

In rural areas of Latin America, Hyptis infusions are very popular. Hyptis obtusiflora extends from Mexico throughout Central America to Bolivia and Peru. It has added value in Ecuador where it has been used by different ethnic groups. We aimed to learn about the traditional knowledge of ancient Kichwa cultures about this plant, and to contrast this knowledge with the published information organized in occidental databases. We proposed to use traditional knowledge as a source of innovation for social development. Our specific objectives were to catalogue the uses of H. obtusiflora in the community, to prospect on the bibliography on a possible chemical justification for its medicinal use, to propose new products for development, and to give arguments for biodiversity conservation. An ethnobotanical survey was made and a Prisma 2009 Flow Diagram was then followed for scientific validation. We rescued data that are novel contributions for the ethnobotany at the national level. The catalogued main activity of anti-inflammation can be related to the terpene composition and the inhibition of xanthine oxidase. This opens the possibility of researching the extract of this plant as an alternative to allopurinol or uricosuric drugs. This is a concrete example of an argument for biodiversity conservation.

We carried out surveys on the use of Cordia nodosa Lam. in the jungles of Bobonaza (Ecuador). We documented this knowledge to prevent its loss under the Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol. We conducted bibliographic research and identified quercetrin as a significant bioactive molecule. We studied its in silico biological activity. The selected methodology was virtual docking experiments with the proteins responsible for the venomous action of snakes. The molecular structures of quercetrin and 21 selected toxins underwent corresponding tests with SwissDock and Chimera software. The results point to support its antiophidic use. They show reasonable geometries and a binding free energy of −7 to −10.03 kcal/mol. The most favorable values were obtained for the venom of the Asian snake Naja atra (5Z2G, −10.03 kcal/mol). Good results were also obtained from the venom of the Latin American Bothrops pirajai (3CYL, −9.71 kcal/mol) and that of Ecuadorian Bothrops asper snakes (5TFV, −9.47 kcal/mol) and Bothrops atrox (5TS5, −9.49 kcal/mol). In the 5Z2G and 5TS5 L-amino acid oxidases, quercetrin binds in a pocket adjacent to the FAD cofactor, while in the myotoxic homologues of PLA2, 3CYL and 5TFV, it joins in the hydrophobic channel formed when oligomerizing, in the first one similar to α-tocopherol. This study presents a case demonstration of the potential of bioinformatic tools in the validation process of ethnobotanical phytopharmaceuticals and how in silico methods are becoming increasingly useful for sustainable drug discovery.