Papers by Patricia Colunga-GarciaMarin
Industrial Crops and Products, Dec 1, 2018
The study of evolutionary history allows us to examine diversification, selection and domesticati... more The study of evolutionary history allows us to examine diversification, selection and domestication processes. Mexico belongs to Mesoamerica, one of the world's most important centers of origin and diversification of plants. One of the plants that has sustained its peoples for over 10,000 years is the agave (Agave sp.). Mexico is the center of diversity of the genus, with 75% of the species. Two agave products, tequila and mezcal, are of great economic and biocultural importance for Mexico. The description of genetic diversity and the identification of the wild relatives of the agave species used to produce these emblematic beverages is fundamental information for their production and conservation. Previous studies have proposed wild populations of A. angustifolia in Jalisco as possible wild relatives of blue agave or tequila (Agave tequilana). We use microsatellite (eight loci) to study the genetic diversity and the relationships between wild populations of A. angustifolia and traditional cultivars of the Agave species utilized in the production of tequila and mezcal in Jalisco. The studied taxa present intermediate genetic variation, with the exception of A. tequilana "Azul" which had the same genotype. A Structure analysis indicates that the "Azul" is closely related to A. angustifolia mainly to wild populations from southern Jalisco. Agave rhodacantha and the cultivars of A. tequilana ("Sigüin" and "Chato") form a group separate from Agave angustifolia y A. tequilana "Azul".
Revista de geografía agrícola, Jun 1, 2017
El núcleo del sistema alimentario precerámico en el occidente de Mesoamérica se pudo integrar con... more El núcleo del sistema alimentario precerámico en el occidente de Mesoamérica se pudo integrar con las poblaciones silvestres ancestrales del maíz, el frijol y la calabaza. El manejo agrícola incipiente de estas especies, año tras año, en un mismo sitio pudo derivar en la estructuración del sistema agroalimentario conocido como "milpa". En este trabajo intentamos responder: 1. ¿Cómo y cuándo se pudo integrar el sistema agroalimentario de milpa?; 2. ¿Qué grupos culturales humanos lo pudieron conformar?; 3. ¿Pudo ser posible la domesticación de las poblaciones silvestres del maíz, las calabazas y los frijoles en varios sitios de América?, 4. ¿A través de qué rutas y cuándo se pudieron difundir estos cultivos? Integramos evidencias paleo-ecológicas arqueológicas, etnobotánicas y genético-moleculares; analizamos el significado de la domesticación y la importancia de estudiar la dinámica evolutiva de los complejos poblacionales silvestre-domesticado de las especies cultivadas en la milpa y puntualizamos los retos, amenazas y oportunidades para sus recursos genéticos. El núcleo del sistema agroalimentario Milpa se estructuró con especies de la selva baja caducifolia hace cerca de 9,000 años. El maíz pudo arribar a Panamá, Ecuador y Perú hace 7,400-6,500 años. Las poblaciones silvestres ancestrales de las calabazas y los frijoles pudieron ser domesticadas tanto en Mesoamérica como en Suramérica. Para las plantas, la domesticación significó su dependencia de los humanos, y para los humanos un alto costo social no valorado actualmente. El estudio de la dinámica evolutiva de los complejos poblacionales de la milpa nos ayuda a desarrollar estrategias de conservación y restauración, y a establecer los riesgos de escape de genes domésticos y transgenes. Los recursos fitogenéticos de la milpa enfrentan grandes amenazas a raíz de los cambios sociales y económicos provocados por la globalización de los mercados. Sin embargo, constituyen una herramienta fundamental para enfrentar el cambio climático.
Ethnobiology, 2016
Lowland Maya culture can be traced back to around 1200–1000 BC in the lowlands of Belize. Their s... more Lowland Maya culture can be traced back to around 1200–1000 BC in the lowlands of Belize. Their subsequent expansion and settlement in the northern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula was possible, thanks to the integration of three agricultural systems that originated in other dry tropical forests but were also adapted to the lithosol–cambisol physiographic and edaphic sequences of Yucatan: the Mesoamerican milpa (Zea mays—Phaseolus spp.—Cucurbita spp. complex), the South American conuco (Manihot esculenta—Xanthosoma sagittifolium—Maranta arundinacea—Ipomoea batatas complex), and the family garden based on native tree species but also on species introduced from other areas of Mesoamerica or from Central and South America. Hunting, gathering, and fishing complemented Mayan food production since their arrival in Yucatan. Various studies have enumerated Mayan foods and dietary patterns based on the milpa production system that has persisted since Pre-Columbian times. Nevertheless, we lack comparable reports on how the contemporary Maya structure their food system and the relative contribution of each of its various components. In order to address this need, we studied a traditional Maya community in northern Yucatan by making inventories of food dishes and drinks elaborated in the community and the origin of their ingredients. We found 74 food dishes and drinks primarily produced with ingredients produced locally in the milpa. 91.9 % of them included Zea mays, 29.7 % included Cucurbita spp., 12.1 % included Phaseolus spp., 12.5 % included Capsicum spp., 6.7 % included Spondias, and 5.4 % included Cnidoscolus. Although they have economic and nutritional importance, other production systems, such as the family garden, are clearly secondary to the milpa in contributing to Xocen’s food supply. The culinary characteristics of different varieties of the cultivated species appear to have served as selective pressures for the generation and conservation of intraspecific diversity. Efforts to augment productivity of the milpa system through transforming it to a maize monoculture can yield significant changes to the food system with negative consequences to local nutrition, ecology, and culture.
Journal of Herbal Medicine, Oct 1, 2020
Ibervillea sonorae (Cucurbitaceae) has risen to prominence as an empirical treatment for type 2 d... more Ibervillea sonorae (Cucurbitaceae) has risen to prominence as an empirical treatment for type 2 diabetes in Mexico, where the problem of diabetes is widespread. To further explore possible anti-hyperglycemic mechanisms of I. sonorae, the anti-diabetic reports for Cucurbitaceae tribes indexed in the Web of Knowledge and the empirical practices used by local healers and herbal shopkeepers for I. sonorae were reviewed. The colorimetric α-glucosidase activity assays, ELISA, and RT-qPCR were used to investigate potential medicinal mechanisms of I. sonorae aqueous extract (ISE). The overlay of anti-diabetic reports and Cucurbitaceae phylogeny revealed even distribution of reports throughout the family, yet uneven research emphasis with studies largely focusing on the tribe Momordiceae. Inhibition studies revealed the concentration-dependent and competitive inhibition of α-glucosidase by ISE. Further, ISE stimulated insulin secretion from RIN-m5F pancreatic β cells. The results display the potential of phylogeny in providing context for ethnopharmacological studies. In addition, understanding the inhibition type of this popular supplement (I. sonorae) in α-glucosidase inhibition and stimulation of insulin secretion from β cells supports patient care by aiding physicians in avoiding potential contraindications and shows the value of continued pharmacological studies of the Cucurbitaceae.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2021
The concepts of health and illness, and their causes, are fundamental for understanding medicinal... more The concepts of health and illness, and their causes, are fundamental for understanding medicinal plant choice and use by traditional people. The hot-cold system is widespread in Mesoamerican traditional medicine and guides many therapeutic decisions. Aim of the study: This study explores a hypothesis that climate influences the hot-cold classification of illnesses and medicinal plants, and the perception of hazard of illnesses. In addition, we examine the classification categories within the system used in different regions of Mexico. Materials and methods: Studies from Mexico with quantitative and qualitative data on the hot-cold properties of medicinal plants and ailments were reviewed. The information was organized and then related to the climate type of the study areas. Results: In temperate climates, most diseases were considered cold, and hot medicinal plants were dominant. Conversely, in warm-tropical climates, hot diseases dominated, and the majority of medicinal plants were cold; however, this evidence was weaker. The perception of hazard was congruent with the number of illnesses for temperate climates. There were additional classification categories within the hot-cold system for diseases and medicinal plants, and they were expressed in different terms in Spanish, English, and indigenous languages. Although similar terms and categories were used in the classification of diseases and medicinal plants, they can differ conceptually and vary between places and cultures. Publications are sometimes unclear if the terms used are emic or etic. The basic principle of using plants with the opposite property of the disease does not always apply strictly. Conclusions: Climate appears to influence the hot-cold classification of diseases and medicinal plants in Mexico, and the system is not strictly dual. Improved knowledge of the hot-cold system is necessary to understand Mesoamerican medicinal plant use and culture.
Ethnobiology, 2016
The west of the biogeographic region Balsas-Jalisco is considered a center of agricultural origin... more The west of the biogeographic region Balsas-Jalisco is considered a center of agricultural origin and plant domestication in the New World; in this region, a complex agro-alimentary system could have generated as far back as the Archaic Period (10000–4400 BP). To date, we ignore the structure and evolution of the system found there by the Europeans in 1522; however, this knowledge is fundamental to understand the high cultural development of the area and to measure the changes produced by the conquest and the subsequent cultural subjugation. We compiled the dishes that could have been elaborated during the Post-Classic Period (900–1521 CE), incorporating archaeological, ethnographic, and ethnobotanical information. The results indicate that the food system in 1522 could have been structured with close to a hundred dishes elaborated with at least 75 wild plants, 19 domesticated or cultivated natives, 12 domesticated ones introduced from other regions, and 6 wild edible mushrooms. Some of these dishes included meat, obtained from at least 19 wild animals and 4 domesticated ones. Spirits possibly were among the major dishes of this time. The nucleus of the system was made up by the same species listed since the Archaic Period, produced in the milpa agro-ecosystem. The changes recorded in the food system and the diet, induced by the conquest and heightened in the last 60 years, could partly explain the high levels of decalcification, cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity among the human population native to the study area.
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Climate change is aggravating agricultural crop failures, and the paucity of wild food harvests f... more Climate change is aggravating agricultural crop failures, and the paucity of wild food harvests for Indigenous desert dwellers in Mexico and the U.S. This food production crisis challenges ongoing efforts by Indigenous communities in obtaining greater food security, prompting them to reconsider the value of traditional Indigenous food systems in both Mesoamerica and Arid America, two adjacent centers of crop diversity. While food production strategies in these two centers share many features, the food plant diversity in the Western Mesoamerican region appears to be greater. However, a higher percentage of plants in Arid America have adapted to water scarcity, heat, and damaging radiation. The phytochemical and physiological adaptations of the food plants to abiotic stresses in arid environments offer a modicum of resilience in the face of aggravated climate uncertainties. By comparing food plant genera comprising Western Mesoamerican and Arid American diets, we detected a higher rat...
Ambio, 2017
The persistence of traditional cultures and modes of land use within rapidly changing, globalized... more The persistence of traditional cultures and modes of land use within rapidly changing, globalized societies is a central issue in understanding ecological and cultural change in the Anthropocene. Located in the heart of the Green Revolution, the Yoreme (Mayo) people of the Mayo Valley in Mexico still obtain a significant proportion of their sustenance from wild ecosystems in the midst of this intensive technological and agricultural development. They live in and around the thornscrub dominated by pitaya (Stenocereus thurberi (Engelm.) Buxb.). In this study, we hypothesize that pitaya supports Yoreme heritage and sustenance amidst anthropogenic changes to the landscape, and we asked three specific questions: What is the land-use status of the S. thurberi habitat? What are its potential uses? Does S. thurberi provide economic value? To address these questions, we conducted interviews, vegetation surveys, and land-use analysis based on geographic information systems. We found that (a) land conversion of the pitaya-rich thornscrub is occurring at a precipitous rate, (b) local producers preserve and adapt their traditions, and (c) S. thurberi supports Yoreme heritage while providing economic benefit. The resulting land-use projections along with the cultural value of pitaya products shows the importance of conserving land and promoting sustainable projects instead of clearing land for other uses. If habitat shrinking continues at the current rate, it is likely that both Yoreme livelihoods and continued cultural practices will suffer.
Biotica, 1982
orne of the aspects of rhe appropiation of the plant resources by the huavcs are analized, consid... more orne of the aspects of rhe appropiation of the plant resources by the huavcs are analized, considcring their socío-economic determinams, their limitations and ecological scopc, within a theoretical frarne- work that considera that the characteristics of the appropriation depend on the hlsiorícal moment of the society, which is considered a rural economy undcr explotatíon through transference of value to capital. The ecological framework, ihe map with the distribution of the plant associations and their way of appropriation are presented; also thc historical background and today's socioeconomic situation. Based on the knowledge and tradicional classification of agrohabitats, a description is givcn of plant management based on production processes: plot and orchard agriculrure and forestry. A list of families of 390 species of plants with common names and uses. Taking this list as a basis, sorne aspects of the current state of knowledge and the traditional use of flora are analized. Also, included is a discussion of the main changes the rcsource appropriation has undergone, the forces that have caused it and its ccological and socio-economic consequences, as well as sorne considerations of the ethnobotanical affairs.
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Papers by Patricia Colunga-GarciaMarin
y desde hace unos 10,000 años, por la selección humana, la que actualmente estamos disfrutando todos los pobladores de este país y del mundo.