Medicinal Plants Used by the Population of Lagarto, SE, Brazil – Emphasis in Cancer Patients.

ABSTRACT

The use of plants for medicinal purposes is one of the oldest forms of medical practice. However, the concept of “natural” contributes to the popular and erroneous thinking that Medicinal Plants (PM) are synonymous of safe products, which may result in the development of adverse effects or drug interactions, particularly in cancer patients. In this context, it was conducted an ethnopharmacological survey of MP used in Lagarto, SE, Brazil, with emphasis in cancer patients. A total of 706 residents were interviewed, and they mentioned 80 plants, from which 57 were identified. The use of medicinal plants (MP) for therapeutic purpose was reported by 336 (47.65%) of the participants. The most used MPs were as follows: Bushy Lippia (Lippia alba(Mill) N. E. Brown– 103, 30.8%), Boldo (Plectranthus barbatus Andr. – 53, 15.7%), and Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus (D.C.) Stapf. – 49, 14.6%). From the participants who reported the use of MPs, half of them (360, 50.95%) spoke with a doctor but did not receive specific guidelines. The most common chronic diseases identified were: arterial hypertension (144, 20.34%), cancer (55, 7.81%) and diabetes (41, 5.89%). From these cancer patients, approximately 40% of them (22) used MP concomitantly with chemotherapy, an alarming discovery, as drug interactions are possible between MPs and antineoplastics. Given these data, we observed the use of the PM by the population of Lagarto, SE, and by cancer patients of this region, but they did not receive guidance from a qualified professional.

Keywords
Medicinal Plant; Ethnopharmacology; Integrative and Complementary Practices; Oncology