Plants Used as Food and Medicine by Polish Immigrants in Misiones, Argentina. Revista de Fitoterapia 2010; 10 (Supl. 1): 159.

ISE6-P07 Plants Used as Food and Medicine by Polish Immigrants in Misiones, Argentina. Revista de Fitoterapia 2010; 10 (Supl. 1): 159. M. Kujawska University of Wroclaw, Departament of Ethnology, ul. Szewska 50/51, 50-139 Wroclaw, Poland. Background: Polish peasant families, migrating from temperate climate settled down in subtropical environment in the north of the province of Misiones, Argentina, between 1936 -1939. New flora which they found in Misiones was the major hindrance in the continuation of their home medicine and phytotherapy, as known from Poland. Objectives: To investigate changes in traditional health care practices, and in particular the phytotherapy based on plants used also in food context by Polish immigrants in Argentina. Methods: Semistructured and in-depth interviews, freelisting questionnaires with 87 adults of Polish origin and their descendents living in two settlements, province of Misiones, botanical identification of 43 plant species. The data analysis combines quantitative methods (frequency of occurrence, informant consensus) and qualitative anthropological methods. Results and conclusions: 43 plant taxa and 5 industrially processed plants are used both as medicine and food. As medicine 188 uses were recorded principally to treat respiratory (20%), gastrointestinal (17,5% ), circulatory (15%) and genitourinary (10%) disorders. The internal uses (84%) prevail dramatically over the external ones (16%) and leaves are most frequently administered (55%). In contrast, as food fruits are mostly used (56%). The continuation of Polish pharmacopoeia is observed in the use of 8 cultivated species: Allium sativum, A. cepa, Brassica oleracea, Petroselinum crispum, Mentha spp., Anethum graveolens, Linum usitatissimum and Piper nigrum. The high percentage of food plants in the pharmacopoeia of Polish immigrants is a result of reliance on mainly cultivated and exotic species, gathered from home gardens and fields. Most of the medicinal uses are strongly influenced by the local Mestizo culture. Keywords: Medicinal resources, medicinal food, Polish immigrants' pharmacopoeia, Argentina.