SCIENTOMETRICS, ETHNOBOTANY AND NICHE MODELING OF Amburana cearensis (ALLEMÃO) A.C.SM
Cumaru, Traditional knowledge, Folk medicine.
Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A.C.Sm is a native of the northeastern semiarid popularly known as cumaru, belonging to the Fabaceae family. It has considerable economic and medical importance, especially for the Caatinga biome. The species is widely used in folk medicine; however, it is threatened with extinction due to predatory extractivism. Thus, this study aimed to identify the production of scientific knowledge about Amburana cearensis and the pharmacological and ethnobotanical applicability of the species, to verify trends in studies over the years. Subsequently, an ethnobotanical investigation was carried out at the non-governmental organization Centro de Educação Popular (NGO CENEP), through the technique of semi-structured interviews with key informants and participant observation. Thus, it was possible to obtain results on the quantitative and qualitative aspects that involve the production regarding the medicinal properties of the species. Regarding the scientometric study a total of 68 articles were identified, between the years 2005 and 2020, there was a significant increase in the number of publications during the period evaluated. It is registered that the species has been widely used in traditional medicine and that this fact has driven the development of studies, especially experimental ones with a focus on unveiling its pharmacological potential. The data generated also allowed a better understanding of the therapeutic characteristics of the A. cearensis, considering the indication of use from the traditional knowledge that surrounds the NGO CENEP, thus contributing to the rescue of popular knowledge that is essential for the development of new scientific proposals, strategies of conservation and management. The final stage of the research will be developed through ecological niche modeling, where it will be possible to indicate favorable geographic areas for the development of the species considering different scenarios of climate change.