Ethnobotany of Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw.: from ancestral practices to scientific innovation

The greatest morphogenetic diversity in wild and cultivated populations of chayote is still located in Mexico and that is where it is most observed and reported. Its use is reduced in Mesoamerica and with more emphasis in those parts of the world where the fruit is classified as introduced. This study includes in the search factors a diversity of local names throughout the globe. In this sense, the primary aim of this review was to recognize the traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of chayote cultivation to preserve it as cultural heritage, an iconic aspect of biodiversity, and the recognition of sustainable practices that encourage research from a pharmaceutical perspective and includes the diversity of local names throughout the globe. Except for the flowers, the entire plant has anthropocentric and ethnobotanical uses. Its traditional uses are concentrated on food and pharmaceuticals. This field of health includes alcoholic extracts and cucurbitacins for the treatment of various diseases including cancer. Chayote represents a valuable resource, its ancestral – rational use establishes current benefits that range from food, medicine, scientific research as well as its conservation. In current medicine, the uses of chayote include the attenuation of the symptoms of diabetes, certain heart diseases and carcinogenic diseases without ignoring the nutritional part, being a rich source of antioxidants. Wild species related to S. edule also play a significant role, as they exhibit valuable anthropocentric applications.