You are here
Ethnobotany
Contraceptives
Traditional methods of birth-control in Colombia
On visiting the Witoto tribe of Colombia, explorer Nicola Maxwell was shown several plants used to regulate fertility [105].
One plant was used in a similar way to the morning-after pill whilst another was administered to girls approaching puberty and had the ability to effect sterility for 6-8 years after just 1 dose [105].
Finally she was shown a sedge-like plant which an indigenous person explained would cause permanent sterility with a single teaspoon [105].
Chinese Hibiscus
Similarities in plant-medicine use across diverse geographical regions
Similarities in the ways specific plants are used across a diverse range of cultures is evidence of primitive human-plant relationships [105].
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis has been used as a hot-water extract to treat menstrual problems and to regulate fertitily amongst primitive peoples in all of the following regions [105]: