Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2012, Pages 103–112
Abstract
Observations
in prescriptions of the monasteries’ apothecaries of São Bento from Rio
de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro) and Olinda (Pernambuco) dating from the
nineteenth century, prescribed quina (Cinchona spp., Rubiaceae) and ipeca (Carapichea ipecacuanha
[Brot.] L. Andersson, Rubiaceae) for antidiarrheal/febrifuge and
emetic/expectorant uses. In addition to these observations,
pharmacological and anthropological literature indicate a great
importance of using these plants for treating human diseases since
ancient times. From this information, the present work conducts a
literature review to investigate the history of discovery and use of
these species, recovering information about past and current uses of
quina and ipeca, seeking also to record possible changes in usage over
time.
Keywords
- Historical ethnobotany;
- Rubiaceae;
- Past pharmacopoeias
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
