Applied Ethnobotany: Establishment of a Medicinal Garden at the INSA Experimental Farm in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil

Abstract

This technical project proposes the implementation of the Reference Center for Applied Ethnobotany through the structuring of a Medicinal Plants Garden at the Prof. Ignácio Hernan Salcedo Experimental Farm, belonging to the National Institute of the Semiarid (INSA/MCTI), in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. Departing from traditional academic botanical models organized by taxonomic families, this garden adopts an innovative spatial layout methodology, structured in a pedagogical and functional manner within demonstration beds systematized by therapeutic indications (respiratory pathologies, inflammations, nervous system disorders, gastrointestinal and metabolic conditions). The methodological framework incorporates Semiarid Coexistence Technologies, integrating high-precision drip micro-irrigation, surface thermal protection through organic mulch using regional plant straw, and a continuous supply of organic fertilization via cured goat manure and composting. In addition to its educational focus on citizen science and rural extension for family farming and community health agents (aligned with the SUS Living Pharmacies program), the center will serve as a platform for scientific bioprospecting and bioeconomy. The facility will support analytical studies on the physicochemical and phytochemical characterization of the Caatinga flora, evaluating the impact of water stress on the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites for the development of safe, effective, and standardized herbal medicines of medical interest.