Estudo sobre o comércio informal de plantas medicinais em Goiânia e cidades vizinhas

Resumo

The practice of the use of medicinal plants already makes part of the history of humanity and the knowledge about the art of transforming plants in medicines, it has been transmitted along generations. However, that popular knowledge about the therapeutic power of the plants in medicines, has if restricted to a number every time smaller of people. Considering that context, the herb saller, professional who manipulates and comercializes medicinal plants, mainly in cities with strong tradition in the agriculture and livestock, it assumes important paper in the preservation and popularization of that knowledge. The objective of that study was to evaluate the work of the herb sallers of Goiânia and neighboring cities. The methodology consisted of the accomplishment of interviews with 14 herb sellers, selected in agreement with the age (more aged) and the with more dedicated time to the work with medicinal plants. The interviews if had developed informally during the work of the professional and had been recorded in ribbons cassette, being the transcribed data later. The interviews had allowed to identify as the herb sallers had acquired the knowledge on the use of medicinal plants, which the therapeutic effect that it is attributed to each one of them, as well as the preparation form and use, the ignorance as to interactions and side effects and as the vegetable species they are obtained for the trade. In the study 235 plants were mentioned by the popular names, and of the 28 more mentioned, 18 had the same basic therapeutic indication of all the ones that marketed her. The 28 plants more mentioned were analyzed by a botanist and 24 had the identified species, 03 just identified as for the genus and 01 it was not identified nor the genus. Although with safeguards, the importance of the herb sallers for the population, especially the one of low income, it should be recognized. Though, some factors can represent risks for the consumers of those popular preparations: insufficient knowledge on the marketed plants, risk of falsifications, lack of quality control of the vegetable material and the use of mixtures of plants without considering their interactions.

Descrição

Palavras-chave

Plantas medicinais, Raizeiros, Etnofarmacologia, Etnobotânica, Medicinal plants, Herb sallers, Fitotherapy, Ethnopharmacology, Ethnobotany

Citação

TRESVENZOL, Leonice Manrique Faustino; PAULA, José Realino de; RICARDO, A. F.; FERREIRA, Heleno Dias; ZATTA, Daniel Teles. Estudo sobre o comércio informal de plantas medicinais em Goiânia e cidades vizinhas. Revista Eletrônica de Farmácia, Goiânia, v. 3, n. 1, p. 22-28, jan./jun. 2006. Disponível em: <https://www.revistas.ufg.br/REF/article/view/2070/2013>.