Among the angiosperm families of the New World tropics, the Gesneriaceae have a high record of ethnomedical plants. of the ca. 1800 species ofneotropical Gesneriaceae, about 7% belong to the pharmacopeia of indigenous populations, especially in Ecuador and Colombia. The number of medicinal gesneriads was probably even larger in decades and centuries past, when the Amer-Indian people prospered and the rain forests were still intact. It is remarkable that 50% (61 species of the bioactive gesneriads listed are cited as remedies for the bite of deadly poisoous snakes, such as bushmaster, fer-de-lance and coral snake. Many of the gesneriad species recorded below have multiple curative uses. Members of the genus Dalbergaria (90+ species) appear to be especially preferred among some tribes. The chemistry of the Gesneriaceae is still poorly known.
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