White forest and ethnobotany: Endemic knowledge as a key element in the treatment of coronavirus disease

This article carefully presents, in a discursive, detailed, and historical perspective, an analysis on traditional groups’ knowledge in natural systems of Caatinga (“white forest”) and its potential for technological advances in the proposal of phytoproducts to resolve or reduce the negative effects of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Thus, this study is an act of reflection that translates the meaning of the relationship between society and nature, leading us to a field of vision that denotes the relevance of the sustainable use of natural resources as a driver of regional development. In this sense, it is recorded that the knowledge in areas of Caatinga developed from the experience of social groups with their plant resources. It is noteworthy that the species endemism in this region also determines endemic knowledge, i.e., exclusive of a relationship developed in natural systems and marked in short rainy seasons and long periods when the sun shows itself as the master and author of the present reality. Therefore, ethno botanical studies have proved to be valuable for recording this endemic knowledge, which can indicate important species to be used in the treatment of coronavirus disease.