Bioprospecção etnofarmacológica de plantas medicinais na Amazônia Ocidental

Abstract

Historically the popular use of natural products for various purposes has been reported in the most varied contexts of human history. Highlighting the importance of ethnopharmacology is fundamental from the understanding that empirical knowledge and local knowledge practices are inseparable tools of cultural values from different social backgrounds and thus constitute productive resources for the conservation of nature and self-management of natural resources. From this knowledge, several plants have been used in traditional medicine for therapeutic purposes to treat and prevent various diseases. The extracts obtained from these vegetables contain a complex mixture of several components that can synergistically contribute to biological or therapeutic activity. This study aimed to carry out an ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants and to evaluate the antioxidant activity and cytotoxic potential in vitro. The study was conducted in the region of Mirante da Serra-RO, in the rural area of Lh. 58. A pretest was applied to choose and evaluate the techniques to be used with the local population to better adjust to the research purposes. The information collection consisted of the application of semistructured interviews with closed and open questions, and direct observation and for the data collection the snowball sampling technique was used. In order to analyze the association between the use of medicinal species and nosological categories, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) was used. For the treatment of ethnopharmacological data we used the calculations of Fidelity Level (NF), Correction Factor (HR), relative frequency of use of each cited species (Pcup%) and Jaccard similarity. The species Adenocalymma bracteolatum, Stachytarpheta cayennensis, Piper hispidinervum, Pfaffia glomerata and Petiveria alliaceae, were highlighted for their fidelity level and were submitted for in vitro evaluation of cytotoxic and antioxidant potential. In vitro cytotoxic potential was evaluated by the Alamar Blue method using CHO-K1 non-metabolizing cells and the antioxidant activity was performed by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrilhydraz (DPPH) method. New discoveries are continually being made with plant-derived products. Several plant extracts are object of study in numerous researches that evaluate antioxidant action cytotoxicity, antiviral antifungal, among others. In this sense, the performance of the techniques and methods evaluated in view of the therapeutic potential for traditional use points to a promising future.