[Comparative study of abdominal pain in the Mayan cultures Tzeltal, Maya Tzotzil and Maya Q´eqchi´ and use of Ageratina ligustrina for the treatment

Abstract

The current study is a comparison of the abdominal pain conception produced by gastrointestinal disorders, relieved by Ageratina ligustrina, among inhabitants of the Mayan Tzeltal, Tzotzil, and Q'eqchi' groups ethnomedical, ethnobotanical, and cross-cultural approaches were used to compare previous studies with the present field work. To evaluate the efficacy of A. ligustrina to relieve pain, also through a bibliographic review an inventory of the molecules present in this species was performed, as well as their pharmacological activity. The results showed that the epidemiology of pain produced by GID, its ethnobotany, and the explanatory model of abdominal pain are similar among ethnic groups. Likewise, 27 molecules with anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects were identified, which could explain why this species is culturally important for the Mayan Tzeltal, Tzotzil, and Q'eqchi' groups for the relief of abdominal pain, while, from a biomedical point of view, it is a species with potential to inhibit visceral pain.