Epistemological limits of ethnopharmacology: Seyro morotĩ as xiru for the Guarani Kaiowá people in Brazil

Kellen Natalice Vilharva Master's degree in Biology. PhD candidate in Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. image/svg+xml , João Ernesto de Carvalho PhD in Pharmacology, Senior Lecturer. Full Professor, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. image/svg+xml , Aparecida Benites Historian. Coordinator of Indigenous Special Education, Department of Education, Amambai City Government, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. , Rafael Matos Ximenes PhD in Pharmacology. Associate Professor I, Department of Antibiotics, Center for Biosciences, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil. image/svg+xml , Islândia Maria Carvalho de Sousa PhD in Public Health. Faculty member and researcher, Department of Public Health, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Pernambuco, Brazil. image/svg+xml
Received: 25 March 2026, Accepted: 12 September 2026, Published: 22 September 2026 Open Access
https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2026.6195
Article views
34

Abstract


Ethnopharmacology has contributed to research on medicinal plants used by different peoples, although certain approaches focus on their chemical and biological dimensions, limiting the understanding of the cosmological, spiritual, and relational aspects of Indigenous medical systems. This essay reflects on the epistemological limits of ethnopharmacology through the case of seyro morotĩ (Cedrela fissilis), understood in Guarani Kaiowá medicine as a xiru, a category that expresses its participation in the production of healing, protection, and the balance of life. The discussion engages with authors who problematize the coloniality of knowledge and epistemological plurality. It argues that the main limitation of ethnopharmacology lies not in its experimental methods, but in the categories that guide the formulation of its scientific questions. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for an epistemological broadening through the recognition of categories produced within Indigenous medical systems themselves.

Keywords: Ethnopharmacology, Health of Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Medicine, Medicinal Plants, Brazil

Categories: Epistemology, Policies, Healthcare models, Bioethics

Funding: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior | 001

Full-text of the article is available for this language: Español.


References


1. Elisabetsky E. Etnofarmacologia. Ciência e Cultura. 2003;55(3): 35-36.

2. Patwardhan B, Aswar U. Harnessing the potential of ethnopharmacology for future medicines. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2025;353(Pt A):120359.

3. Redhu AK, Gota V. Ethnopharmacology in contemporary cancer research: systems perspectives and translational opportunities. Systems Ethnopharmacology and Sustainable Bioresources. 2026;100026.

4. Atanasov AG, Waltenberger B, Pferschy-Wenzig EM, Linder T, Wawrosch C, Uhrin P, et al. Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products: a review. Biotechnology Advances. 2015;33(8):1582-1614.

5. Rodrigues E, Oliveira DR. Ethnopharmacology: a laboratory science? Rodriguésia. 2020;71:e01082019.

6. Million JL, Veron V, Vilharva KN, Cáceres NV, Oliveira RC. Plantas medicinais e ritualísticas dos Kaiowá do Tekoha Taquara como contribuição para a demarcação da terra ancestral, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Rodriguésia. 2020;71.

7. Pavão S, Lopes I, Vilharva KN, Pedro MS, Gisloti LJ. Plantas medicinais dos povos kaiowá e guarani como possível prática complementar no enfrentamento dos sintomas da covid-19: conhecimento tradicional como arma contra a pandemia. Revista Brasileira de Agroecología. 2020;15(4):4-17.

8. Basta P, Sousa I, Bevacqua A, Benites A, organizadores. Pohã Ñana; ñanombarete, tekoha, guarani ha kaiowá arandu rehegua = Plantas medicinais: fortalecimento, território e memória guarani e kaiowá. Recife: Fiocruz; 2020.

9. João I. Língua vegetal guarani. Piseagrama [Internet]. 2023 [citado 10 feb 2026]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/2s3859jb

10. Veron V. Tekombo’e kunhakoty: modo de viver da mulher Kaiowá [dissertação]. Brasília: Universidade de Brasília; 2018.

11. Fabricant DS, Farnsworth NR. The value of plants used in traditional medicine for drug discovery. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2001;109(Suppl 1):69-75.

12. Albuquerque UP, Hanazaki N. As pesquisas etnobotânicas e etnofarmacológicas no Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia. 2006;16(Supl):678-689.

13. Quijano A. Colonialidade do poder, eurocentrismo e América Latina. In: Lander E, organizador. A colonialidade do saber: eurocentrismo e ciências sociais: perspectivas latino-americanas. São Paulo: CLACSO; 2005. p. 117-142.

14. Walsh C. Interculturalidad y colonialidad del poder: un pensamiento y posicionamiento “otro” desde la diferencia colonial. In: Castro-Gómez S, Grosfoguel R, organizadores. El giro decolonial: reflexiones para una diversidad epistémica más allá del capitalismo global. Bogotá: Siglo del Hombre Editores; 2007. p. 47-62.

15. Santos BS. Para além do pensamento abissal: das linhas globais a uma ecologia de saberes. Revista Crítica de Ciencias Sociales. 2007;(78):3-46.

16. Santos BS, Meneses MP, organizadores. Epistemologias do Sul. São Paulo: Cortez; 2010.



Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC