Abstract: Aim: To compare the knowledge and custom about the chuchuhuasi (Maytenus macrocarpa) uses between native ethnic Bora-Bora Amazon populations (Iquitos, Loreto) and the healers living in Lima, Peru. Methods: The study was performed through oral interviews to a number of native Bora-Bora and healers from Lima, who voluntarily agreed to participate. We collected information about knowledge and custom in the use of chuchuhuasi. Results: Although on a purely commercial context, the healers from Lima reported to use chuchuhuasi for the following purposes: to cure asthma, as analgesic, and for sexual problems; and also they used it for mystical, magical, and religious purposes during healing sessions. The Amazonian Bora-Bora indigenous use chuchuhuasi for medicinal purposes, particularly for severe pain, postpartum pain, to stop postpartum bleeding, and as antidiarrheal. Conclusions: T...

This study focuses on the descendants of the royal Inka family. The Inkas ruled Tawantinsuyu, the largest pre-Columbian empire in South America, which extended from southern Colombia to central Chile. The origin of the royal Inkas is currently unknown. While the mummies of the Inka rulers could have been informative, most were destroyed by Spaniards and the few remaining disappeared without a trace. Moreover, no genetic studies have been conducted on present-day descendants of the Inka rulers. In the present study, we analysed uniparental DNA markers in 18 individuals predominantly from the districts of San Sebastian and San Jerónimo in Cusco (Peru), who belong to 12 families of putative patrilineal descent of Inka rulers, according to documented registries. We used single-nucleotide polymorphisms and short tandem repeat (STR) markers of the Y chromosome (Y-STRs), as well as mitochondri...