Agroecology as an instrument for the advancement of herbal medicine in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33240/rba.v21i1.57545Keywords:
medicinal plants, sociobiodiversity, agrobiodiversity, herbal medicine, industryAbstract
Brazil has the most diverse flora in the world, with great potential for use in public health and the development of innovative medicines. In 2014, following WHO guidelines, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) began to consider the registration of herbal products based on their traditionality. In this approach, the efficacy of a medicine can be attested based on consistent information about its uses, presented in bibliography. In this study, we recovered data on 27 Brazilian medicinal species that comprised the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia and were used until 1995 to produce industrialized herbal medicines. Data were recovered from the seven editions of the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia and from public policies to improve the production of herbal medicines. We argue that native medicinal species from Brazil should be saved and better utilized in agroecological programs, since they combine practices and knowledge of traditional peoples and communities with advances in science.
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