Herbal medicines are widely used in Brazil and constitute a market in potential expansion. This article explains the situation on herbal medicines registration in Brazil plant species, focusing on the regulatory role of Anvisa. The research was realized in the Visalegis and site of Anvisa databases to verify the herbal medicines registered in Anvisa, resulting in the following data: there are 432 simple herbal medicines (composed by one medicinal plant) registered and 80 compound herbal medicine (more than one plant), the plants species with the largest number of registered derivatives are the Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and the Castanha da Índia (Aesculus hippocastanum), with 33 and 29 records, respectively. The article also brings a table with the plant species registered as simple herbal medicines, the main pharmaceutical forms registered and data about companies that produces herbal medicines.
Medicines; herbal medicines; regulation; register; Anvisa
