Analiza etnofarmaceutyczna naturalnych substancji leczniczych, używanych w okolicach Puńska i Sejn

ENResearch described in this article is the first attempt in specialist literature to take up ethno-pharmaceutical studies, which were made in the remarkably interesting area of Puńsk and Sejny. What makes the area so interesting and unique is its situation on the border of cultures that have been blending for centuries: mainly Lithuanian and Polish, but also influenced by others – Baltic and Slavic (Byelorussian, Russian). The authors are aware of the fact that the results presented are quite fragmentary; they reveal just a small bit of a vast research field that can be called ethno-pharmacy of the borderlands, the place of meeting of folk traditions, beliefs and customs of neighbouring ethnic groups. The outcome of Puńsk’s and Sejny’s studies should become an inspiration to undertake similar research in other regions where such diverse cultural communities co-exist, and there are many such places in Poland, Lithuania, Byelorussia and Ukraine.