Estudo etnofarmacológico de espécies vegetais utilizadas por idosos em São Luís, Maranhão

Abstract

Brazil is experiencing a process of demographic aging. The acelered demographic transit ion has a negative impacto n the health of the elderly; with complex changes in the health-disease models, with a predominance of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The knowledge of the therapeutic recommendations of plants is usually a characterist ic present in the older population, since they are in phase of decreasing the rate of the metabolism, wich in a certain way leads to difficulty in the metabolization of the active principles of plants and allopathic medicines. In this sense the ethnopharmacological studies have provided important subsidies that allow the investigation of the vegetal resources employed therapeutically by the population. In addition, the in vitro toxicological studies that determine the toxic potential of products obtained from plants. So, this study aims to carry out an ethnopharmacological survey for the identification of plant species used in the elderly in the São Luís, capital of the state of Maranhão, as well as carry out toxicity tests of the most referenced plant species of therapeutic use in the study population, aiming to contribute effectively to the rational use of plants for medicinal purposes and in pharmacovigilance actions. A total of two hundred and twenty-seven (227) elderly people were interviewed at the Center for Integrated Health Care for the Elderly, with prevalence of 89,87% of the use of plants for medical purposes in the elderly, of whorm the majority were womans. In the sample under study it was observed a predominance of income less than two (02) minimum wages and that the majority of the interviewees presented at least the first primary school degree. The most frequent therapeutic categories of citations of plant species uses in the elderly were diseases of the digestive tract, followed by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases and diseases of the circulatory system. The hypertension was the most frequent chronic disease among the elderly with 27, 03%, followed by diabetes (17,44%). As expected, when asked about the associated use of plants with synthetic drugs, 68,29% stated that they simultaneously used medicinal plants with allopathic medicines. The vegetal species Erva Cidreira (Melissa officinalis L.) and the drug Losartan (23,10%) were the most cited. Among the plants most mentioned by the interviewees after identification and verificated the exclusion criteria was found predominance of Bauhinia forficata subsp. forficata Link (Pata de vaca), Turnera ulmifolia L. (Chanana), Bryophyllum calycinum Salisb (Santa Quitéria), Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng (Hortelã graúda) and Arrabidaea chica (Bonpl.) Verl, B (Pariri). Among all the extracts analysed the species that presented the best antioxidant activity compared with gallic acid (1,5 μg /ml) were: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng and Bryophyllum calycinum Salisb, presenting respectively mean = 2,885 μg / ml and 1,645 μg / ml. In this context, we highlight the scope of the ethnopharmacological research with its already widespread potential in the contribution of research to research and development as a strategy in the difficult process to select plant species for validation study, as well as to guide effective actions of pharmacovigilance in the real perspective of minimizing risks and dangers associated with the irrational use of plants for medical purposes.