Medicinal plants used by the population of the city of León

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to gather information about medicinal plants that are most commonly used and marketed in the population of the municipality of León. The main objective was to identify the medicinal plants used by the people of León during the period of July to December 2005. Due to the lack of access to essential medications with affordable prices and the difficulty in obtaining them, the use of medicinal plants in Nicaragua, as in many Central American countries, has become a viable health alternative, as it plays an important role in solving related health problems. Out of the 93 neighborhoods in the city of León, twenty were randomly selected, each with a total of twenty households. For each selected household, one person was surveyed to gather information, resulting in a total of 400 surveyed individuals. Among the 400 surveys, 285 (71%) reported using medicinal plants, while 115 (29%) stated that they do not use this resource. According to the results, it was confirmed that medicinal plants represent a therapeutic alternative for addressing health problems in the city of León.