Ethnobotany of rural and urban Dominican Republic: Medicinal plants, women, and health

This dissertation is a contribution to Caribbean ethnobotany and to the understanding of medicinal plant utilization by women and healers in the Dominican Republic. It combines ethnographic and ethnobotanical field work with statistical and laboratory analysis to examine aspects of Dominican women's traditional medicine. The history of the Caribbean region is considered in this discussion as it has shaped the complex interrelationships between plants and people in the Dominican Republic.; This research highlights the richness of plant species and herbal therapies used for Dominican women's health and the diversity of this knowledge across rural and urban communities in the provinces of La Vega and San Cristobal. The field work was conducted using interviews and surveys with specialists (healers) and generalists (laypersons) in four communities. Several forms of analysis, including diversity indices, an ethnobotanical index, and frequencies, were utilized to examine the data.; The survey yielded a total of 205 plant species reported for ten women's health conditions that varied from menstruation, pregnancy, to menopause. Medicinal plant species and remedies were most frequently reported for postpartum care and vaginal infections. The distribution of responses in the survey indicated a high level of variability, though much variation is associated with socio-demographic factors such as age and location of residence. Rural women proved to hold a greater depth of knowledge about medicinal plants for the women's health conditions than urban women, except for the health condition uterine fibroids. Additional studies are needed to further understand this variation.; Selected plant species reported in this study were also evaluated for estrogenic activity using a literature review and bioassay. The Ishikawa bioassay was applied to methanolic extracts of 11 plant species to determine their estrogenic activity on human carcinoma endometrial cells. None of the botanical extracts showed estrogenic activity.; This study provides a foundation of data upon which further questions can be asked about traditional medicine, women's health, and ethnobotanical methodologies. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the preservation of valuable traditional healing knowledge and practices of communities and individuals in the Dominican Republic.