Phytochemicals from Wild Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Argentina

Abstract

In the rural and indigenous communities of Argentina, medicinal plants play a very important role in the care of people?s health. Moreover, in these communities the traditional medicine is better accepted from a spiritual and cultural point of view. The number of medicinal plants collected and used by the first inhabitants of the current Argentine territory was increased with the contribution received by the European migrants related to their pharmacological or medicinal properties. Currently, the market related to the aromatic and medicinal plants has grown in urban areas as a result of increasing interest to use natural products for healthcare. In Argentina, the use of traditional medicine involves more than 60% of the population, and many of the medicinal plants are sold in pharmacies, street markets, or natural products shops. In this chapter a systematic literature survey was carried out in scientific databases, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar about the research carried out on the folkloric practice versus evidence-based medicine, using medicinal plants. Thus, this chapter provides molecular, phytochemical, genetic, and pharmacological evidence to support the traditional indigenous phytotherapy practiced in Argentina. In this chapter, we have not provided information about aromatic plants that produce essential oils responsible for bioactivity.