Inventory, description and characterization of medicinal plants in the Amazonian region of Ecuador

Ethnobotanical research is increasingly widespread in different parts of the world. This makes the study of medicinal plants a fundamental part to investigate to solve the medical needs in rural communities. Therefore, the objective of this review provided a general description of the Amazonian plant species that are native to the eastern Ecuadorian region to which some medicinal property is attributed. As for the Amazon region of Ecuador, it has a varied climate, average annual precipitation 3500 mm with an average annual temperature of 24 ° C, relative humidity close to 100% evapotranspiration 952 mm and heliophany 1200 h. Seven types of soils located geographically in the eastern region reported in the bibliography were identified, where inceptisols predominated, being present in the 6 provinces of the Amazon. For the bibliographic survey of medicinal plants reported in the Amazon of Ecuador, 42 families and 93 different species distributed throughout the territory were collected. The piperácea family was attributed the largest number of predominant native species in the Amazon. These 10 species have various medicinal uses to which anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and healing properties are attributed. It is followed in greater number by 9 species belonging to the solanaceous family that have been reported with antimicrobial characteristics used as antibiotics and antihistamines by various rural communities.