Available online 28 December 2015
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological Relevance
For
innumerous clinical cases related to women’s health and precarious
medical care in developing countries, a large repertoire of plants have
been used as popular medicines in order to fill this gap, which in a
certain way creates health risks to users, since pharmacological and
toxicological tests are still insufficient to guarantee their efficacy
and safety. Besides therapeutic use, abortive plants are broadly used in
coutries where abortion is prohibited, increasing that risk even more.
In this way, ethnopharmacological studies that register plants used for
women’s health can contribute not only to the selection of potential
bioactives, enriching the repertoire of drugs available to females,
above all in public health systems, but also questioning the safety of
products that are used without prescription.
Aims and objectives
This
review aims at determining plants applied by Brazilian cultures in the
treatment of conditions related to maternity, menstrual cycle and other
women´s health particularities, and to supplement the lack of
epidemiological data available to assess the health of indigenous, rural
and other populations of Brazilian women.
Materials and methods
A
literature review was conducted of the collection at the Ethnobotanical
and Ethnopharmacological Center of the Federal University of São Paulo
(period covered: 1965 to 2012). All of the 343 articles were consulted
and 31 articles mentioning therapeutic uses of interest were selected.
Relevant information was extracted to compose Table 1 - Maternity, Table 2 - Menstrual Cycle and Table 3
- Other Conditions. Data was statistically analyzed in order to
generate the discussion about plants used in healing contexts by
different Brazilian ethnicities. A bibliographic review was performed
using the Scopus database to collect the following information about the
most cited plants: ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology of non-Brazilian
cultures for women’s health conditions, pharmacology, toxicology, and
adverse reactions.
Results
A
total of 319 species were cited for 22 indications related to women's
health. Ninety-seven species were indicated for conditions related to
maternity, 94 to the menstrual cycle and 232 to others. The same species
could be present in more than one of these three categories. The most
cited family was Fabaceae (13.5%), and the species were Ruta graveolens L. (1.76%) and Strychnos pseudoquina
A. St.-Hil (1.76%). The most frequent part utilized, mode of
preparation and route of administration were leaves (2.0%), tea (73.38%)
and oral (87. 2%), respectively. The indications that showed the
highest number of species were: to treat venereal diseases (69 species),
abortive (54) and anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus (54).
According to our bibliographic survey, among the 19 most indicated
species in this review, only four are also used by non-Brazilian
cultures for conditions related to women’s health; 25% of them were
pharmacologically investigated and it was possible to validate their
ethnopharmacological/ ethnobotanical use, 10.5% have presented
well-described adverse reactions and for 42.1% of these species
toxicological studies were performed.
Conclusion
The
survey raised important data about plants implemented in healing
related to women’s health conditions by Brazilian cultures and their
practices. The compilation presented in this study enables the
realization of further investigation regarding the development of herbal
medicines and contributes to the incrementation of policies focused on
these cultures. Further phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological
studies should be conducted, which will allow the discovery of
pharmacological properties, bioactive constituents, and moreover,
adequate posology, manner of use and adverse events.
Graphical abstract
- Correspondence
to: Universidade Federal de São Paulo - Department of Biological
Sciences - Center for Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological Studies,
Rua Prof. Artur Riedel, 275 - Jardim Eldorado, CEP: 09972-270,
Diadema/SP, Brazil. Tel./fax: +55 11 3319 3554.
Volume 179, 17 February 2016, Pages 310–331ReviewPlants used during maternity, menstrual cycle and other women's health conditions among Brazilian cultures
- Center for Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological Studies-Institute of Environmental Sciences, Chemical and Pharmaceutical, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil
- Received 27 August 2015, Revised 24 December 2015, Accepted 25 December 2015, Available online 28 December 2015
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
For innumerous clinical cases related to women's health and precarious medical care in developing countries, a large repertoire of plants have been used as popular medicines in order to fill this gap, which in a certain way creates health risks to users, since pharmacological and toxicological tests are still insufficient to guarantee their efficacy and safety. Besides therapeutic use, abortive plants are broadly used in countries where abortion is prohibited, increasing that risk even more. In this way, ethnopharmacological studies that register plants used for women's health can contribute not only to the selection of potential bioactives, enriching the repertoire of drugs available to females, above all in public health systems, but also questioning the safety of products that are used without prescription.Aims and objectives
This review aims at determining plants applied by Brazilian cultures in the treatment of conditions related to maternity, menstrual cycle and other women's health particularities, and to supplement the lack of epidemiological data available to assess the health of indigenous, rural and other populations of Brazilian women.Materials and methods
A literature review was conducted of the collection at the Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological Center of the Federal University of São Paulo (period covered: 1965 to 2012). All of the 343 articles were consulted and 31 articles mentioning therapeutic uses of interest were selected. Relevant information was extracted to compose Table 1 – Maternity, Table 2 – Menstrual Cycle and Table 3 – Other Conditions. Data was statistically analyzed in order to generate the discussion about plants used in healing contexts by different Brazilian ethnicities. A bibliographic review was performed using the Scopus database to collect the following information about the most cited plants: ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology of non-Brazilian cultures for women's health conditions, pharmacology, toxicology, and adverse reactions.Results
A total of 319 species were cited for 22 indications related to women's health. Ninety-seven species were indicated for conditions related to maternity, 94 to the menstrual cycle and 232 to others. The same species could be present in more than one of these three categories. The most cited family was Fabaceae (13.5%), and the species were Ruta graveolens L. (1.76%) and Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil (1.76%). The most frequent part utilized, mode of preparation and route of administration were leaves (2.0%), tea (73.38%) and oral (87. 2%), respectively. The indications that showed the highest number of species were: to treat venereal diseases (69 species), abortive (54) and anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus (54). According to our bibliographic survey, among the 19 most indicated species in this review, only four are also used by non-Brazilian cultures for conditions related to women's health; 25% of them were pharmacologically investigated and it was possible to validate their ethnopharmacological/ethnobotanical use, 10.5% have presented well-described adverse reactions and for 42.1% of these species toxicological studies were performed.Conclusion
The survey raised important data about plants implemented in healing related to women's health conditions by Brazilian cultures and their practices. The compilation presented in this study enables the realization of further investigation regarding the development of herbal medicines and contributes to the incrementation of policies focused on these cultures. Further phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological studies should be conducted, which will allow the discovery of pharmacological properties, bioactive constituents, and moreover, adequate posology, manner of use and adverse events.
Graphical abstract
1. Introduction
Women's health and women's health care are concepts that have been discussed and lately have been changing significantly due to social movements. In particular, feminist social movements that began to take place in the 1960s were remarkable in terms of knowledge production and the conformation of institutions. In Brazil, only in 1994 did the Health Ministry create the Comprehensive Assistance Program for Women's Health (PAISM), in which the complexity of women's health issues based on completeness of policy and autonomy of women regarding reproductive issues was taken into account. The assessment of women's health problems and issues on the wide realization of the Brazilian System of Health (SUS) and the PAISM policies returned as a focus of feminist movements because of the First National Conference for Women's Policies that occurred in 2004. It aimed, this time, at health issues, gender and kept in mind the need to consider specific groups such as lesbians, black women, indigenous women and female prostitutes. As a result, in the same year, the Health Ministry generated the National Attention Integral to Women's Health Policy (PNAISM), which has as main goals: the reduction of maternal mortality and complications in abortion, increase of pregnancy monitoring, and, the prevention and control of more prevalent pathologies (BRASIL, 2004 and Costa et al., 2007).In 2013, the National Comprehensive Health Policy of the Rural and Forest Populations (PNSIPCF) was created by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, having in mind the ideal of addressing specific groups in society. This policy was aimed at promoting the health of rural and forest populations through practices and projects that recognize the individuality of gender, generation, race/color, ethnicity and sexual orientation, taking into consideration and valuing the knowledge and traditional health practices of these populations and respecting their specificities (BRASIL, 2013).PAISM should cover the health of the Brazilian female population over 10 years old, whose number is estimated at more than 73 million people, of whom 65.0% are at the reproductive age (BRASIL, 2004). Mortality associated with eclampsia (21.2%), hemorrhagic syndromes (12.4%), puerperal infection (7.0%) and abortion (9.4%) are the four major causes of maternal death (Tanaka, 2001). However, 92.0% of maternal deaths could be avoided (BRASIL, 2004). According to Adesse and Monteiro (2007), a decrease in the number of hospitalizations related to abortion registered by SUS between 1992 (344,956) and 2005 (250,447) occurred, which has also reduced the estimated number of unsafe abortions from 1,455,283 to 1,056,573.The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that countries with restrictive abortion laws have high induced abortion rates, most of the abortions being unsafe, and women's health and lives are often jeopardized. Abortion rates are not reduced due to legal restrictions if women face an unplanned pregnancy. Instead, they risk their health and lives by seeking unsafe methods. On the other hand, clandestine and unsafe abortions have become legal and safe in countries where legal restrictions have been removed, reducing the rates of maternal mortality (WHO, 2012).In Western Europe the countries with the most permissive abortion laws have the lowest rates of maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion, since abortions are more available, safer, and performed by trained professionals. The prevention of unwanted pregnancy and availability of safe and legal abortion can be achieved by governments with unrestrictive abortion laws that provide sexual education followed by expanded access to contraceptives (WHO, 2008).According to the Brazilian legislation (BRASIL, 1940), abortion is legal only in the cases of rape, life-threatening issues, fetus health problems or malformation. Even so, abortion is still widely performed and studies show that the main methods utilized are synthetic medications, such as misoprostol which are less of a health risk and require less cost with hospitalization after the abortion (BRASIL, 2009). Unfortunately, data about teas used as abortives, a practice of rural and indigenous women, and the risks involved in abortion methods is scarce, mainly because of the lack of supervision of the informal/formal herbal drug trade in Brazil (Neto et al., 2010), the veracity of reports written by those who performed these procedures since they are illegal acts, and the fact that this subject is still taboo in the country (BRASIL, 2009).Epidemiological data available to assess the health of indigenous women and the female adolescent population, as well as the resident and rural female worker population is insufficient. There are few studies that show the quality of life and health practices of these women, making it difficult to propose actions consistent with this reality (BRASIL, 2004).Since medicinal plants play a significant role in the treatments associated with women's health, ethnopharmacology data about plants used in women's healthcare can contribute to reduce mortality rates, either through pharmacological studies to prove their effectiveness or toxicological studies to assess their safety.International reviews show a low number of articles focusing on the use of plants for women's health conditions through folk medicine and most of the studies published were from Asia (Adnan et al., 2015, de Boer and Lamxay, 2009, Lamxay et al., 2011, Liulan et al., 2003, Ong and Kim, 2015, Shah et al., 2013 and Srithi et al., 2012), Africa (Malan and Neuba, 2011, Razafindraibe et al., 2013, Telefo et al., 2011 and van der Kooi and Theobald, 2006) and Oceania (Bourdy and Walter, 1992). Few studies were performed in the Americas (Bussmann and Glenn, 2010, Michel et al., 2012 and Torri, 2013) and, despite its endemic richness and cultural diversity, no data was found regarding this specific topic in Brazil.In this context, this manuscript is a literature review about medicinal plants applied by various Brazilian rural communities, indigenous and local wisdom in treating conditions related to women's health. It intends to understand local perspectives on the theme and relate different uses of each plant during maternity, the menstrual cycle and other women's health conditions, in order to provide knowledge about the traditional health practices of these populations. Also, the data presented in this manuscript contributes to the selection of potential bioactives, enriching the repertoire of drugs available to females and questioning the safety of the products that are used without prescription.2. Methods
This literature review was based on the collection of scientific papers of the Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological Center of the Federal University of São Paulo (online at www.cee.unifesp.br). That collection covers the period between 1965 and 2012, and is composed of 512 titles of contemporary publications, including books (98), chapters (42), monographs/theses/dissertations (29) and scientific articles (343) which describe plants used in healing contexts by various Brazilian ethnicities, many of them of difficult access, because some of the papers are not, or were not, indexed in the international basis at the time of the article's publication.This database has been assembled by its coordinator, Eliana Rodrigues, since 1992. Innumerous Universities in Brazil were visited and libraries were reviewed in order to collect scientific articles, books and theses about ethnopharmacology and ethnobotany. Also, frequently, the coordinator has asked researchers for the published material and, beyond that, data published regarding this theme has been gathered from Brazilian Journals.All of the 343 articles were consulted, and the 31 mentioning therapeutic uses of interest were selected, read and their data was extracted to compose the tables below. These tables describe the following information, when available: plant species and its family, part used, therapeutic use, mode of preparation, administration route, culture in which it is used, and the ethnobotanical/ethnopharmacological reference. The species, botanical families and origin (endemic, native or exotic to Brazil) were checked through the websites: Brazilian Flora Species List (http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/), Tropicos® (http://www.tropicos.org/Home.aspx) and The Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org/). After that, the data was organized into three categories, listed in alphabetical order into three large tables, according to their application. They are: Table 1 – Maternity (including pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and breastfeeding), Table 2 – Menstrual Cycle and Table 3 – Other Conditions. After that, the data was statistically analyzed in order to generate the discussion about plants used in healing contexts by different Brazilian cultures.- Table 1. Species indicated for conditions related to maternity.
Family Species Part used Mode of preparation Route Culture Ethnobotanical reference Anti-abortive Euphorbiaceae Maprounea guianensis Aubl. Ba Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Myrtaceae Psidium guajava L. Fr Fe Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Anti-hemorrhagic (postpartum) Amaranthaceae Amaranthus viridis L. Ro/Le Te – Healers van den Berg (1982) Convolvulaceae Merremia macrocarpa Roberty Ro Te – BPM Rêgo (1988) Fabaceae s.l. Piptadenia peregrina (L.) Benth. Ba Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Stryphnodendron coriaceum Benth. Ro Te – BPM Rêgo (1988) Lamiaceae Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. Le/Fl Te – Healers van den Berg (1982) Lecythidaceae Cariniana estrellensis (Raddi) Kuntze – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Malvaceae Helicteres pentandra L. Ba Te Bt Healers van den Berg (1982) Phyllantaceae Phyllanthus niruri L. Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Piperaceae Piper peltatum L. Wp Te To Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a,b) Santalaceae Phoradendron bathyoryctum Eichler Wp Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Contraindicated for pregnant Anacardiaceae Anacardium occidentale L. Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Annonaceae Annona coriacea Mart. Ro Ma Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Apiaceae Eryngium foetidum L. Wp Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Apocynaceae Aspidosperma excelsum Benth. Ba Ma Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Arecaceae Syagrus petraea (Mart.) Becc. Fr Fe Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Asteraceae Pectis elongata Kunth Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Bignoniaceae Tabebuia aurea (Silva Manso) Benth. & Hook.f. ex S.Moore Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Boraginaceae Cordia insignis Cham. Ro Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Connaraceae Rourea induta Planch. Le/Ro Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Euphorbiaceae Julocroton humilis Müll. Arg. Ro/Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Fabaceae s.l. Acosmium dasycarpum (Vogel) Yakovlev Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Copaifera guyanensis Desf. Se Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Crotalaria maypurensis Kunth Se/Le Fe Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Eriosema crinitum (Kunth) G.Don Ro Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Hymenaea stigonocarpa Hayne Ba Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Martiodendron mediterraneum (Benth.) R.C.Koeppen Wp Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Plathymenia reticulata Benth. Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Sclerolobium aureum (Tul.) Baill. Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Senna alata (L.) Roxb. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Senna occidentalis (L.) Link Ro Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Humiriaceae Duckesia verrucosa (Ducke) Cuatrec. Se Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Endopleura uchi (Huber) Cuatrec. Ba Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Lamiaceae Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley Le Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Loganiaceae Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. Le/Ba Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Loranthaceae Psittacanthus robustus (Mart.) Marloth Le Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Lythraceae Lafoensia pacari A. St.-Hil. Ba Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Malvaceae Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. Ba Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Melastomataceae Mouriri pusa Gardner ex Gardner Ba/Le Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Moraceae Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul Le/Ro Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Dorstenia asaroides Hook. Tu Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Myristicaceae Virola subsessilis (Benth.) Warb. Le/La Te/Fe Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Oxalidaceae Oxalis physocalyx Zucc. ex Progel Wp Ju Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Poaceae Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Simaroubaceae Simaba suffruticosa Engl. Ro Ma Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Siparunaceae Siparuna guianensis Aubl. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Zingiberaceae Zingiber officinale Roscoe Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) “Fallen” uterus Piperaceae Piper aduncum L. Le Te Bt/Or Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) To heal the navel of the newborn Euphorbiaceae Jatropha elliptica (Pohl) Oken La Fe To Krahô Indians Our data Myrtaceae Myrcia bracteata (Rich.) DC. Le Bu To Amazon river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Psidium myrsinites DC. La Fe To Krahô Indians Our data To increase milk for breastfeeding Apiaceae Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Lamiaceae Mentha viridis (L.) L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Rosaceae Malus domestica Borkh. Fr Te Or Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) To easy delivery Annonaceae Rollinia mucosa (Jacq.) Baill. Ba Te Or Amazon river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Apiaceae Eryngium foetidum L. Wp Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) and Santos et al. (2012) Apocynaceae Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel. Le /Fl/La Te – BPM Rêgo (1988) Asteraceae Cacalia mentrasto Vell. Le Te Bt Healers van den Berg (1982) Ayapana triplinervis (Vahl) R.M.King & H.Rob. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Pectis elongata Kunth Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Pluchea sagittalis Less. Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Boraginaceae Cordia bicolor A.DC. Le – – Ka’apor Indians Balée (1986) Caryocaraceae Caryocar brasiliense A.St.-Hil. Le Te Sb Healers van den Berg (1982) Dioscoreaceae Dioscorea amaranthoides C.Presl Tu Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Fabaceae s.l. Bauhinia cheilantha (Bong.) Steud. Ro Te Or Waurá Indians Valle (1973) Senna alata (L.) Roxb. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Loganiaceae Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Malvaceae Melochia tomentosa L. Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Menispermaceae Abuta grandifolia (Mart.) Sandwith Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Abuta sandwithiana Krukoff & Barneby Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Poaceae Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) and Santos et al. (2012) Siparunaceae Siparuna guianensis Aubl. Le – – Waurá Indians Valle (1973) Siparuna guianensis Aubl. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Zingiberaceae Zingiber officinale Roscoe Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Zingiber officinale Roscoe Tu Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) To determine the sex of the child Hypoxidaceae Curculigo scorzonerifolia (Lam.) Baker Ri Ma Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Used during pregnancy Asteraceae Chromolaena squalida (DC.) R.M.King & H.Rob. Le Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Ichthyothere terminalis (Spreng.) S.F.Blake Wp Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Chrysolaena herbacea (Vell.) H.Rob. Ro Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Burmanniaceae Burmannia bicolor Mart. Wp Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Fabaceae s.l. Zornia virgata Moric. Ro Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Gentianaceae Schultesia pohliana Progel Wp Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Lamiaceae Hyptis crenata Pohl ex Benth. Ro Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Lentibulariaceae Utricularia subulata L. – Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Orchidaceae Epistephium lucidum Cogn. Le Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Polygalaceae Polygala longicaulis Kunth St Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Polygala monticola Kunth Wp – To Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) For “washing” postpartum Asteraceae Acanthospermum australe (Loefl.) Kuntze Wp – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Connaraceae Connarus perrottetii (DC.) Planch. Le/Ba Te Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Fabaceae s.l. Chamaecrista desvauxii (Collad.) Killip Fr/Le Te Ba Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Lamiaceae Hyptis sp. Le Te Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Myrtaceae Eugenia biflora (L.) DC. Le Te Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Myrcia bracteata (Rich.) DC. Le Te Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Rutaceae Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) For newborns to start walking faster Caryophyllaceae Polycarpaea corymbosa (L.) Lam. Wp Bu To Krahô Indians Our data - Ap, aerial part; Ba, bark; Bl, bulbs; BPM, Brazilian Popular Medicine; Bt, bath; Fe, fresh; Fl, flower; Fr, fruit; Ga, gargle; Ju, juice; La, látex; Le, leaf; Ma, macerated; Or, oral; Ro, root; Ri, rizome; Sa, sap; Sb, seat bath; St, Stem; Se, seed; Sy, syrup; Re, resin; Te, tea; To, topic; Tu, tubercle; Wp, whole plant.
- Table 2. Species indicated for conditions related to menstrual cycle.
Family Species Part used Mode of preparation Route Culture Ethnobotanical reference Contraceptive/to avoid pregnancy Anacardiaceae Anacardium occidentale L. Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Annonaceae Unonopsis veneficiorum (Mart.) R.E. Fr. – – – Makú Indians Schultes (1979) Apocynaceae Aspidosperma excelsum Benth. Ba Ma Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Aspidosperma excelsum Benth. Ro Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Araceae Anthurium uleanum Engl. – – – Amazon Indians Schultes (1979) Philodendron dyscarpium R.E.Schult. – – – Amazon Indians Schultes (1979) Urospatha antisylleptica R.E.Schult. – – – Amazon Indians Schultes (1979) Arecaceae Syagrus petraea (Mart.) Becc. Fr Fe Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Bignoniaceae Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D.Don Tu Ju Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Cyperaceae Rhynchospora cephalotes (L.) Vahl Ro Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Fabaceae s.l. Eriosema crinitum (Kunth) G.Don Ro Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Hymenaea stigonocarpa Hayne Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Sclerolobium aureum (Tul.) Baill. Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Humiriaceae Duckesia verrucosa (Ducke) Cuatrec. Se Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Schistostemon macrophyllum (Benth.) Cuatrec. Ro Ma Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Melastomataceae Mouriri pusa Gardner ex Gardner Ba/Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Menispermaceae Curarea tecunarum Barneby & Krukoff Sa Fe Or Dení Indians Prance (1999) Orchidaceae Rodriguezia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. – – – Kayapó Indians Turner (1965) Rodriguezia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. – Fe Or/To Amazon Indians Turner (1965) Passifloraceae Passiflora coccinea Aubl. Ro Te Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Passiflora coccinea Aubl. Ro Te Or Waurá Indians Valle (1973) Siparunaceae Siparuna brasiliensis (Spreng.) A. DC. Ro/Le Te Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Verbenaceae Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex Britton & P.Wilson Le+salt Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Menopause Asteraceae Elephantopus mollis Kunth Le/Ro Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Fabaceae s.l. Bauhinia forficata Link Fr+honey Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Malpighiaceae Camarea affinis A.St.-Hil. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Moraceae Morus alba L. Le Te Or BPM Calábria et al. (2008) Vitaceae Vitis vinifera L. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Menstrual cramps Apiaceae Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss Wp Te Or BPM Calábria et al. (2008) Arecaceae Attalea speciosa Mart. Fr Fe Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Asteraceae Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch. Bip. Ap Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Tanacetum vulgare L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Zinnia elegans L. Fl Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Boraginaceae Cordia globosa (Jacq.) Kunth Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Fabaceae s.l. Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. Ba – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Lamiaceae Hyptis mutabilis (Rich.) Briq. Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Ocimum carnosum (Spreng.) Link & Otto ex Benth. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Malvaceae Malva parviflora L. Le/Ro Te To Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Oxalidaceae Oxalis physocalyx Zucc. ex Progel Wp Te Bt Healers van den Berg (1982) Phytolaccaceae Petiveria alliacea L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Polygalaceae Bredemeyera laurifolia Klotzsch ex A.W.Benn. Ro Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Rubiaceae Borreria verticillata (L.) G.Mey. Ro/Wp Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Guettarda angelica Mart. ex Müll.Arg. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Rutaceae Ruta graveolens L. Le Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) To promote fertility Amaranthaceae Gomphrena demissa Mart. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Amaryllidaceae Hippeastrum puniceum (Lam.) Voss Ro Fe To Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Apocynaceae Mandevilla scabra (Hoffmanns. ex Roem. & Schult.) K.Schum. Ro Fe To Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Marsdenia altissima (Jacq.) Dugand St/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia phosphorea Mart. Ba Te Or BPM Mengue et al. (2001) Hypoxidaceae Curculigo scorzonerifolia (Lam.) Baker Ri Ma Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Nyctaginaceae Boerhavia coccinea Mill. – – – Waurá Indians Valle (1973) Polygalaceae Bredemeyera laurifolia Klotzsch ex A.W.Benn. – – – BPM Botrel et al. (2006) Malvaceae Helicteres guazumifolia Kunth Ro Fe To Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) To restore menstrual flux to normal levels Apocynaceae Echites rubrovenosus Linden Ro Te Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Araliaceae Schefflera morototoni (Aubl.) Maguire, Steyerm. & Frodin Ro/Ba/Le Te – Kaiowá Indians Bueno et al. (2005) Aristolochiaceae Aristolochia triangularis Cham. St Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Asteraceae Chrysolaena herbacea (Vell.) H.Rob. Le Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Artemisia absinthium L. Le Te Or BPM Mengue et al. (2001) Cacalia mentrasto Vell. Le Te Bt Healers van den Berg (1982) Pterocaulon polystachyum DC. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Tagetes erecta L. Fl Te – Rain forest dwellers Di Stasi et al. (2002) Tanacetum vulgare L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Bignoniaceae Fridericia chica (Bonpl.) L.G.Lohmann Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Bixaceae Cochlospermum regium (Schrank) Pilg. Ro/Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Capparaceae Cynophalla flexuosa (L.) J.Presl Ro Te/Sy Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Capparis jacobinae Moric. ex Eichler Ro Te/Sy Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Euphorbiaceae Sebastiania brasiliensis Spreng. Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Fabaceae s.l. Bauhinia guianensis Aubl. St Te To/Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth Wp Bt To Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Calliandra dysantha Benth. Ro/Fl Te – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Calliandra dysantha Benth. Ro/Fl – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Senna alexandrina Mill. Le Te Or Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Chamaecrista desvauxii (Collad.) Killip Le Sy Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Chamaecrista desvauxii (Collad.) Killip Wp – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Dipteryx alata Vogel – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Gentianaceae Chelonanthus viridiflorus (Mart.) Gilg Ro Te/Sy Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Iridaceae Trimezia juncifolia (Klatt) Benth. & Hook.f. Ro Te Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Lamiaceae Hyptis crenata Pohl ex Benth. Ro Te – Rain forest dwellers Di Stasi et al. (2002) Rosmarinus officinalis L. Le Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Lythraceae Rotala ramosior (L.) Koehne – – – Healers Nunes et al. (2003) Malpighiaceae Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth Wp Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Callaeum antifebrile (Ruiz ex Griseb.) D.M.Johnson Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Malvaceae Gossypium barbadense L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dweleers Santos et al. (2012) Malva sylvestris L. Le Te/Sy Or BPM Rêgo (1988) Sida cordifolia L. Wp Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Moraceae Dorstenia asaroides Hook. Ro Te Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Myrtaceae Eugenia dysenterica DC. Wp – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Portulacaceae Portulaca pilosa L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dweleers Santos et al. (2012) Rubiaceae Coussarea paniculata (Vahl) Standl. Wp Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Rutaceae Ruta graveolens L. Le Te Or Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Ruta graveolens L. Ap Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Sapindaceae Serjania erecta Radlk. Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Simaroubaceae Quassia amara L. Le Ma Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Simaba ferruginea A. St.-Hil. Le Ma Or Healers van den Berg (1982) - Ap, aerial part; Ba, bark; Bl, bulbs; BPM, Brazilian Popular Medicine; Bt, bath; Fe, fresh; Fl, flower; Fr, fruit; Ga, gargle; Ju, juice; La, latex; Le, leaf; Ma, macerated; Or, oral; Ro, root; Ri, rizome; Sa, sap; Sb, seat bath; St, Stem; Se, seed; Sy, syrup; Re, resin; Te, tea; To, topic; Tu, tubercle; Wp, whole plant.
- Table 3. Species indicated to other women's health conditions.
Family Species Part used Mode of preparation
Route Culture Ethnobotanical reference Abortive Anacardiaceae Anacardium occidentale L. Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Apocynaceae Aspidosperma excelsum Benth. Ba Ma Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Marsdenia altissima (Jacq.) Dugand Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Schubertia grandiflora Mart. Tu Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Schubertia multiflora Mart. Tu Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Aristolochiaceae Aristolochia claussenii Duch. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Asteraceae Pluchea sagittalis Less. Le Te Or Healers Pereira et al. (1988) Pterocaulon polystachyum DC. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch. Bip. Ap Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Trixis antimenorrhoea var. divaricata (Kunth.) Kuntze Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Trixis vauthieri DC. Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Xanthium cavanillesii Schouw ex Didr. Le Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Brassicaceae Lepidium didymum L. Wp Ma Or Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Clusiaceae Symphonia globulifera L.f. La – – Ka’apor Indians Balée (1986) Connaraceae Rourea induta Planch. Ro Ju Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Rourea induta Planch. Ro Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Cucurbitaceae Cayaponia tayuya (Vell.) Cogn. Fr Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Luffa operculata (L.) Cogn. Fr Te Or BPM Mengue et al. (2001) Momordica charantia L. Fr Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Momordica charantia L. St/Le Te/Ma Or BPM Calábria et al. (2008) Euphorbiaceae Croton cajucara Benth. Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Fabaceae s.l. Acosmium dasycarpum (Vogel) Yakovlev Ba Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues, (2006) Andira anthelmintica Benth. Se Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Chamaecrista desvauxii (Collad.) Killip Fr/Le Te Bt Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Copaifera guyanensis Desf. Se Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Eriosema crinitum (Kunth) G.Don Ro Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Senna martiana (Benth.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Humiriaceae Endopleura uchi (Huber) Cuatrec. Ba Ma/Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Rodrigues (2006) Lamiaceae Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley Le Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Mentha pulegium L. Le Te – Rain forest dwellers Di Stasi et al. (2002) Lauraceae Laurus nobilis L. Le Te Or Healers Pereira et al. (1988) Loganiaceae Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. Le/Ba Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Loranthaceae Psittacanthus robustus (Mart.) Marloth Le Te Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Malvaceae Gossypium herbaceum L. Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Meliaceae Guarea guidonia (L.) Sleumer Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Menispermaceae Abuta sandwithiana Krukoff & Barneby St Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Myristicaceae Virola subsessilis (Benth.) Warb. Le/La Te/Fe Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Ochnaceae Ouratea margaretae Sastre Ro Ju Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Sauvagesia erecta L. Wp Te Or Yawalapiti Indians Emmerich and Valle (1991) Opiliaceae Agonandra brasiliensis Miers ex Benth. Le/Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Oxalidaceae Oxalis physocalyx Zucc. ex Progel Wp Te Or Afro-descendants Rodrigues (2006) Passifloraceae Piriqueta racemosa (Jacq.) Sweet Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Phytolaccaceae Petiveria alliacea L. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Piperaceae Piper mikanianum (Kunth) Steud. Ap Ma To Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Rubiaceae Coffea arabica L. Le Te – Rain forest dwellers Di Stasi et al. (2002) Coutarea hexandra (Jacq.) K.Schum. Le Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Rutaceae Ruta graveolens L. Le Te Or Healers Pereira et al. (1988) Ruta graveolens L. Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Ruta graveolens L. Le Te – Rain forest dwellers Di Stasi et al. (2002) Scrophulariaceae Capraria biflora L. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Simaroubaceae Simaba suffruticosa Engl. Ro Ma Or Krahô Indians Rodrigues (2006) Solanaceae Brunfelsia uniflora (Pohl) D.Don Ro/Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Solanum agrarium Sendtn. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus Acanthaceae Ruellia asperula (Mart. & Nees) Lindau Le – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Amaranthaceae Gomphrena demissa Mart. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Gomphrena vaga Mart. Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Anacardiaceae Anacardium humile A.St.-Hil. Le Te – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Anacardium humile A.St.-Hil. Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Anacardium occidentale L. Le Te Or Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão Ba Te/Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Apocynaceae Aspidosperma nitidum Benth. ex Mül.Arg. Ba Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Asteraceae Achyrocline alata (Kunth) DC. – – – Healers Nunes et al. (2003) Arctium lappa L. Le/Ro Te Or Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass. Wp Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Pseudobrickellia brasiliensis (Spreng.) R.M.King & H.Rob. Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Vernonanthura ferruginea (Less.) H.Rob. Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Bignoniaceae Fridericia chica (Bonpl.) L.G.Lohmann Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Tabebuia avellanedae Lorentz ex Griseb. St/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Tabebuia impetiginosa (Mart. ex DC.) Standl. St/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Handroanthus serratifolius (Vahl) S.O.Grose St/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Handroanthus spongiosus (Rizzini) S.O.Grose St/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Tabebuia aurea (Silva Manso) Benth. & Hook.f. ex S.Moore Ba – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Bixaceae Cochlospermum regium (Schrank) Pilg. – – – Healers Nunes et al. (2003) Celastraceae Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek Le/Ro Te Or Healers van den Berg (1982) Maytenus rigida Mart. St/Ba Te/Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Crysobalanaceae Licania heteromorpha Benth. Ba Te Or/Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Euphorbiaceae Aleurites moluccanus (L.) Willd. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al., (2007) Cnidoscolus infestus Pax & K.Hoffm. Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Cnidoscolus pubescens Pohl Le – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Cnidoscolus urens (L.) Arthur Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Fabaceae s.l. Campsiandra comosa var. laurifolia (Benth.) Cowan Ba Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Desmodium adscendens (Sw.) DC. Wp – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Mimosa pteridifolia Benth. Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Pithecellobium cochliacarpum (Gomes) J.F. Macbr. Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville – – – Healers Nunes et al. (2003) Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Lecythidaceae Cariniana domestica (Mart.) Miers Ba Te Sb Healers van den Berg (1982) Loasaceae Aosa rupestris (Gardner) Weigend Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Lythraceae Punica granatum L. Wp Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988a) Malpighiaceae Camarea affinis A.St.-Hil. – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Camarea affinis A.St.-Hil. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Meliaceae Cedrela odorata L. Ba Te Or/Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Nymphaeaceae Nymphaea pulchella DC. Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Papaveraceae Argemone mexicana L. Le – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Plantaginaceae Plantago australis Lam. Le/Wp Te Ga Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Plantago australis Lam. Le/Se Te Or BPM Calábria et al. (2008) Scoparia dulcis L. Le Te Bt Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Polygalaceae Polygala paniculata L. Ro Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Rosaceae Rosa gallica L. Fl Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Rubiaceae Palicourea rigida Kunth Le/Ro/Ba Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Palicourea rigida Kunth Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Salicaceae Casearia sylvestris Sw. Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Sapotaceae Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Roem. & Schult.) T.D.Penn. Ba – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Smilacaceae Smilax japicanga Griseb. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Xanthorrhoeaceae Aloe succotrina Lam. Le Ju Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Olacaceae Ximenia americana L. Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Sexual impotence/aphrodisiac Amaryllidaceae Hippeastrum psittacinum (Ker Gawl.) Herb. Bl Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Anacardiaceae Anacardium occidentale L. Fr Ju Or BPM Mendes and Carlini, (2007) Schinopsis brasiliensis Engl. Ba – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Spondias mombin L. Fr/Ba Te Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Apocynaceae Barjonia cymosa E.Fourn. Wp – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Mandevilla velutina K.Schum. Ro Te – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Asteraceae Baccharis aphylla (Vell.) DC. Wp – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC. Wp Te Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Bignoniaceae Anemopaegma arvense (Vell.) Stellfeld ex De Souza Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Anemopaegma laeve DC. Ro/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Anemopaegma arvense (Vell.) Stellfeld ex De Souza Ro/Ba/Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Tynanthus elegans Miers Wp Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Tynanthus elegans Miers Ro Te Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Bixaceae Bixa orellana L. Se Fe Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Caryocaraceae Caryocar brasiliense A.St.-Hil. Se – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Caryocar brasiliense A.St.-Hil. Fr Fe Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Celastraceae Maytenus rigida Mart. Ba – – Healers Almeida et al. (2005) Erythroxylaceae Erythroxylum pungens O.E.Schulz Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Euphorbiaceae Croton antisyphiliticus Mart. Ro/Le Te/Ma – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Fabaceae s.l. Arachis hypogaea L. Se Fe Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul. Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Clitoria guianensis (Aubl.) Benth. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Clitoria guianensis (Aubl.)Benth. Ro Te/Ma – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Hymenaea courbaril L. Ba Ma Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Hymenaea stigonocarpa Hayne Re, Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Lamiaceae Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Loganiaceae Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. Ba Te Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Malpighiaceae Heteropterys tomentosa A.Juss. Wp/Ro Ma – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Heteropterys tomentosa A.Juss. Ro Ma – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Malvaceae Helicteres brevispira A.Juss. Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Moraceae Ficus insipida Willd. La Fe Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Nyctaginaceae Guapira laxiflora (Choisy) Lundell Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Olacaceae Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. Ro/Ba/St Te/Ma – BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. Ro Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Passifloraceae Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult. Le/Wp Te Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Rubiaceae Genipa americana L. Ro/Ba Te Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Sapindaceae Paullinia cupana Kunth Se Fe Or BPM Mendes and Carlini (2007) Selaginellaceae Selaginella convoluta (Arn.) Spring Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Plants to manipulate sexual activities/decrease libido Apocynaceae Asclepias candida Vell. Ro Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Calophyllaceae Kielmeyera coriacea Mart. Le Te Or BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Lamiaceae Amasonia campestris (Aubl.) Moldenke Fls Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Loranthaceae Phthirusa stelis (L.) Kuijt Fl/fruit Fe Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) Polygalaceae Polygala longicaulis Kunth Wp Te Or Kayapó Indians Elisabetsky and Posey (1989) To treat venereal diseases Alismataceae Echinodorus macrophyllusa (Kunth) Micheli – – – Healers Nunes et al. (2003) Anacardiaceae Tapirira guianensisa Aubl. Ba/Le Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Annonaceae Xylopia aromatica (Lam.) Mart. fruit – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Apocynaceae Mandevilla velame (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon Le/Ro/La Te – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Mandevilla velame (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Mandevilla velamea (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon Ro/Wp Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Marsdenia altissimaa (Jacq.) Dugand St/Ba Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Asparagaceae Herreria salsaparilhaa Mart. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Herreria salsaparilhaa Mart. Ro Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Asteraceae Chionolaena capitata (Baker) S.E.Freire Ro Fe Bt Healers van den Berg (1982) Cynara scolymus L. Le Te/Ma – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Mikania smilacinaa DC. Wp Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Piptocarpha rotundifoliaa (Less.) Baker Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Bignoniaceae Anemopaegma arvense (Vell.) Stellfeld ex De Souza Le/Ro/St Te – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Anemopaegma arvense (Vell.) Stellfeld ex De Souza Ro/Ba/Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Cybistax antisyphiliticaa (Mart.) Mart. Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Jacaranda brasilianaa (Lam.) Pers. Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Jacaranda brasilianaa (Lam.) Pers. St/Ba Te/Ma Bt BPM Agra et al. (2007) Jacaranda carobaa (Vell.) DC. Le Te/Ma Bt BPM Agra et al. (2007) Jacaranda carobaa (Vell.) DC. Ba Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Lundia cordata (Vell.) DC. Ro Te – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Handroanthus heptaphyllus (Vell.) Mattos Ba/St Te – Healers van den Berg (1982) Tabebuia ochracea A.H. Gentry Le Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Tabebuia ochracea A.H. Gentry Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Zeyheria montanaa Mart. Ba Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Zeyheria montanaa Mart. Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Zeyheria montanaa Mart. – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Convolvulaceae Ipomoea asarifoliaa (Desr.) Roem. & Schult. Le/Ap Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Ipomoea pes-capraea (L.) R. Br. Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Operculina hamiltoniia (G. Don) D.F. Austin & Staples Ro Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Costaceae Costus spiralisa (Jacq.) Roscoe Ro Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Cucurbitaceae Cayaponia tayuyaa (Vell.) Cogn. Ro Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Wilbrandia verticillataa (Vell.) Cogn. Tu Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Cyperaceae Rhynchospora nervosaa (Vahl) Boeckeler Wp Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Euphorbiaceae Croton antisyphiliticusa Mart. Ro/Le Te/Ma – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Croton antisyphiliticusa Mart. Wp Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Croton antisyphiliticusa Mart. Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Jatropha ellipticaa (Pohl) Oken Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Sebastiania brasiliensisa Spreng. St/Ba Te To BPM Agra et al. (2007) Fabaceae s.l. Bowdichia nitidaa Benth. Ba Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Indigofera suffruticosaa Mill. Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Anadenanthera peregrina var. falcata (Benth.) Altschul – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Lamiaceae Leonotis nepetifoliaa (L.) R.Br. Le Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Lauraceae Ocotea odoriferaa (Vell.) Rohwer Ro/Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Lecythidaceae Cariniana estrellensis (Raddi) Kuntze – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Lecythis pisonisa Cambess. Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Loganiaceae Strychnos atlanticaa Krukoff & Barneby Le/St/Ba Te/Ma Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Malpighiaceae Byrsonima sericeaa DC. St/Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Malvaceae Waltheria indicaa L. Wp Te – Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Waltheria indicaa L. Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Meliaceae Cedrela fissilis Vell. Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Cedrela odorata L. St/Ba Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Orchidaceae Epistephium sclerophyllum Lindl. Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Passifloraceae Passiflora cincinnata Mast. Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthus claussenii Müll.Arg. Le Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Piperaceae Peperomia pellucida (L.) Kunth Fl Te Or BPM Agra et al. (2007) Pothomorphe umbellataa L. Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Rubiaceae Palicourea rigidaa Kunth Le/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Rudgea viburnoidesa (Cham.) Benth. Le/Ro/Ba Te – Healers Vila Verde et al. (2003) Rudgea viburnoidesa (Cham.) Benth. Ro/Ba – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Sabicea cana Hook.f. Le/Fl/Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Sabicea cana Hook.f. Ro Te – Rural women workers Garlet and Irgang (2001) Salicaceae Casearia sylvestris Sw. Ba Ma – Xucuru Indians Silva and Andrade (1998) Casearia sylvestrisa Sw. Le – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) Casearia sylvestrisa Sw. – – – BPM Souza and Felfile (2006) Smilacaceae Smilax brasiliensisa Spreng. Ro Te Rural workers Rodrigues and Carvalho (2001) Solanaceae Brunfelsia uniflora (Pohl) D.Don Ro Ma Bt Healers van den Berg (1982) Violaceae Anchietea pyrifolia (Mart.) G.Don St Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Xyridaceae Xyris laxifolia Mart. Ro – – BPM Vieira and Martins (2000) For vaginal discharge Apiaceae Killinga sp. Ro Te Or/Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Apocynaceae Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce ex Müll. Arg.) Woodson Ba Te Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Tabernaemontana flavicans Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. Ro Te Or/Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Bignoniaceae Fridericia chica (Bonpl.) L.G.Lohmann Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Fridericia chica (Bonpl.) L.G.Lohmann. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Chrysobalanaceae Licania heteromorpha Benth. Ba Te Or/Sb Caboclo river-dwellers Amorozo and Gély (1988) Nyctaginaceae Boerhavia hirsuta L. Wp Te – Healers van den Berg and Silva (1988b) Passifloraceae Passiflora coccinea Aubl. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) Passiflora foetida L. Le Te Or Caboclo river-dwellers Santos et al. (2012) - Ap, aerial part; Ba, bark; Bl, bulbs; BPM, Brazilian Popular Medicine; Bt, bath; Cr, crude; Fe, fresh; Fl, flower; Fr, fruit; Ga, gargle; Ju, juice; La, latex; Le, leaf; Ma, macerated; Or, oral; Re, resin; Ri, rizome; Ro, root; Sa, sap; Sb, seat bath; Se, seed; St, Stem; Sy, syrup; Te, tea; To, topic; Tu, tubercle; Wp, whole plant.
-
- a
- Species indicated specifically for syphilis.
After a quantitative analysis, 19 species were indentified as the most cited species in this review (9 species belonging to Category 1, 4 to category 2 and 7 to category 3). In order to verify their use in women's health conditions by non-Brazilian cultures, ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology information was searched through a bibliographic review performed in October 2015 in Scopus (http://www.scopus.com/). Also, studies about pharmacology, toxicology, phytochemical and adverse reactions were searched in this database.To verify if other studies have found similar results to the ones cited in this manuscript, a pharmacology review of the 19 most cited plants was performed. As many compounds have been found for each species, we have chosen to register only isolated chemical compounds that were pharmacologically tested. Only articles available in their complete version, whose tests were performed in vivo were considered. Articles containing only the abstract were included if enough information for our analyses was avaiable in this section. In the same way, safety and toxicological aspects of the 19 most indicated plants were reviewed and analyzed. Toxicological studies containing parameters as medium lethal dose (DL50), half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) and adverse reactions were selected. Information gathered from this literature review was checked, and Table 4, Table 5 and Table 6 were created.- Table 4. Ethnobotanical/ethnopharmacological studies mentioning uses related to women's health conditions by non-Brazilian cultures for the 19 most cited species of this review.
Species Ethnopharmacological uses mentioned in this review Ethnopharmacological uses mentioned by other cultures in the world (Reference) Part used Mode of preparation Route Culture Dose Duration of use Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf To ease delivery To promote lactation; to eliminate postpartum abdominal pain (Coe, 2008) Leaves Infusion Oral Nicaragua NDF NDF Eryngium foetidum L.a To ease delivery To eliminate postpartum abdominal pain, vaginal infections (Coe, 2008) Leaves Decoction/infusion Oral/bath Nicaragua NDF NDF Venereal diseases (Weniger et al., 1982) NDF NDF NDF NDF NDF NDF Menstrual pain and unspecified female complaint, for childbirth and infertility, menstrual pain, to remove placenta, shorten labor (Lans, 2007) NDF NDF NDF Trinidad and Tobago NDF NDF Siparuna guianensis Aubl.a To ease delivery, contraindicated for pregnant Postpartum (Renner and Hauser, 2005) Leaves Decoction Oral/topic (bath) Surinamese NDF NDF Abdominal cramps (Prance, 1972) Leaves Tea NDF People of Guiana (Amazon) NDF NDF Herpes (Duke, 2008) Bark Heat and pass on local Topic Equator (Quechuas) NDF NDF Aphrodisiacs for both, men and women; to cleanse the uterus after childbirth and menstruation (helps to remove blood clots from uterus and eliminate the foul smell) (van Andel et al., 2008) Leaves Decoction Vaginal steam-bath Afro-Surinamese NDF NDF Bath during chidbirth to facilitate labor (Grenand et al., 2004) Crushed leaves with salt decoction Topic Palikur Indians (French Guiana) NDF NDF Abortive (Grenand et al., 2004) Leaves Tea – Creóles (French Guiana) NDF NDF Tanacetum vulgare L. To restore menstrual flux to normal levels Emmenagogue (Conway and Slocumb, 1979) NDF NDF NDF Spanish New Mexicans NDF NDF Menstrual regulation (Neves et al., 2009) Leaves Infusion NDF Portugal NDF NDF - No data was found to: Anacardium occidentale L. a, Calliandra dysantha Benth. a, Casearia sylvestris Sw. a, Croton antisyphiliticus Mart. a, Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley a, Mandevilla velame (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon a, Myrcia bracteata (Rich.) DC. a, Palicourea rigida Kunth a, Passiflora coccinea Aubl. a, Pectis elongata Kunth a, Rodriguezia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. a, Senna alata (L.) Roxb. a, Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. a, Zeyheria montana Mart. a and Zingiber officinale Roscoe.
NDF: No data found. -
- a
- Species native of Brazil.
- Table 5. Pharmacological aspects of the 19 most indicated species.
Species Ethnopharmacological uses mentioned in this review Biological activity/Pharmacological parameters Organism Extract/isolated compound
Doses Reference Category 1 – Maternity Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf To ease delivery Anxiolytic, hypnotic and anticonvulsant Rats Essential oil from leaves 0.5 or 1.0g/kg, via oral by gavage Blanco et al. (2009) Anti-diabetic Rats 400mg/kg and 800mg/kg Kumar et al. (2013) Oral candidiasis in an HIV population Humans Infusion of leaves 125ml of lemon grass infusion, via oral; thereafter drink at least 250ml twice a day. Treatment period: 10 days. Wright et al. (2009) Anti-inflammatory Rats Decoction of leaves 3ml, via oral Carbajal et al. (1989) Antihypertensive Rats Decoction of leaves 1ml/kg, 2ml/kg and 3ml/kg, intravenous Carbajal et al. (1989) Antinociceptive Rats Myrcene Hot plate method [10 and 20mg/kg, via intraperitonial] and acetic acid-induced writhing test [20 and 40mg/kg, via subcutaneous] Rao et al. (1990) Rats Citronellal 200mg Quintans-Júnior et al. (2011) Hypoglycemic/hypolipidemic Rats Aqueous extract of leaves 125–500mg/kg, daily, via oral, during 42 days Adeneye and Agbaje (2007) Eryngium foetidum L. To ease delivery Analgesic Rats Aqueous extract 200mg/kg, 400mg/kg and 800mg/kg, via oral Singh et al. (2015) Anti-inflammatory Rats Decoction of leaves via oral Sáenz et al. (1997) Anticonvulsant Rats Aqueous extract 4.5mg/kg, via intraperitonial Roumy et al. (2007) Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley Anti-hemorrhagic No data found Myrcia bracteata (Rich.) DC. For “washing” postpartum and to heal the navel of the newborn No data found Pectis elongata Kunth To ease delivery No data found Senna alata (L.) Roxb. To ease delivery Laxative Rats Anthraquinones from leaves 500mg/kg Elujoba et al. (1989) Siparuna guianensis Aubl. To ease delivery Choleretic Rats Aqueous extract of the leaves 15mg/kg Assane et al. (1993) Anti-diabetic Rats Ethanolic extract of the leaves 100, 200 and 400mg/kg, via oral Palanichamy et al. (1988) Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. To ease delivery Antiulcer Rats Enriched alkaloid fraction (EAF) 250mg/kg administered via oral once a day for 14 consecutive days Bonamin et al. (2011) Hypoglycemic Wistar rats Aqueous extract of bark 600ml daily, via oral Honório-França et al. (2008) Antiulcerogenic Rats Methanolic extract (ME) and its enriched alkaloid fraction (EAF) 250 and 1000mg/kg, via oral Silva et al. (2005) Zingiber officinale Roscoe* To ease delivery To prevent gastrointestinal symptoms of motion sickness Humans Powdered rhizome two capsules of 940mg, via oral Mowrey and Clayson (1982) To reduce nausea and vomiting Humans (60 women after major gynecological surgery) – double-blind, randomised study Powdered ginger root 1g, via oral as pre-medication Bone et al., (1990) Antithrombotic agent Rats Aqueous extract of ginger 50mg/kg and 500mg/kg, daily for a period of 4 weeks, either via oral or intraperitoneal Thomson et al. (2002) Anti-inflammatory Rats Aqueous extract of ginger 50mg/kg and 500mg/kg, daily for a period of 4 weeks, either via oral or intraperitoneal Thomson et al. (2002) Hypotensive Rats Crude extract 0.3–3.0mg/kg Ghayur and Gilani (2005) Nephroprotective Rats Aqueous ethanol extract of rhizome 200 and 400mg/kg Ajith et al. (2008) To decrease menstrual bleeding* Humans (female from 15 to 18 years old) Dried rhizome capsules 250mg three times daily starting from the day before menstrual bleeding until the third day of menstrual period (for four consecutive days) Kashefi et al. (2015) Antifilarial Dogs Alcoholic extracts of rhizomes 20 subcutaneous injections of 100mg/kg Datta and Sukul (1987) Category 2 – Menstrual cycle Calliandra dysantha Benth. To restore menstrual flux to normal levels No data found Passiflora coccinea Aubl. Contraceptive No data found Rodriguezia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. Contraceptive No data found Tanacetum vulgare L. To restore menstrual flux to normal levels Anti-inflammatory Rats Chloroform extract of the leaves 15.2mg/kg, via intraperitoneal Mordujovich-Buschiazzo et al. (1996) Diuretic Rats Aqueous extracts of the leaves Acute and sub-chronic oral administration of 100mg/kg orally. Lahlou et al. (2008) Category 3 – Other conditions Anacardium occidentale L. Anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus, abortive, for sexual impotence/aphrodisiac Anthelmintic Worms Alcohol and aqueous extracts from the whole plant 500mg/ml Aiswarya et al. (2011) Lowered CCl 4-induced serum γ-Glutamyl Transferase , Alanine Amino Transferase and hepatic lipid peroxidation and it potentiated the effect of CCl 4 by increasing serum protein and cholesterol Rats Methanolic extract of the leaves Extract 100mg/kg was administered via oral for 7 days Adedosu et al. (2011) Casearia sylvestris Sw.* Anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus, for the treatment of venereal diseases Anti-inflammatory* Rats Essential oil 125mg/kg, via oral Rozza and Pellizzon (2013) Antiulcerogenic Antihyperlipidemic activity (decrease total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels) Rat model of type 1 diabetes Ethanol extract of dried leaves 300mg/Kg per 45 days consecutive, daily Espinosa et al. (2015) Croton antisyphiliticus Mart.* For the treatment of venereal diseases, sexual impotence/aphrodisiac Anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the activated leukocytes, exudate concentrations, nitrate/nitrite, and tumor necrosis factor-α interleukin-17 levels* Female Swiss mice Hydro-alcoholic extract of the aerial parts Pre-treatment with extract (25–200mg/kg) administered intraperitoneally 30min before pleurisy induction dos Reis et al. (2014) Mandevilla velame (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon* For the treatment of venereal diseases Anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and antipyretic* Mice Hydro-ethanolic extract of the xylopodium 20 and 200mg/kg, via oral Ribeiro et al. (2010) Palicourea rigida Kunth For the treatment of venereal diseases, anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus No in vivo studies found Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. Sexual impotence/aphrodisiac, as abortive See above Zeyheria montana Mart.* For the treatment of venereal diseases Analgesic and anti-inflammatory* Wistar albino male rats Ethanol extract of the leaves 75, 150 and 300mg/kg body weight Guenka et al. (2008) Anti-inflammatory (lower pulp inflammatory indexes, when compared with the positive control)* Rats Ethanolic extract of the leaves Single dose of ethanolic extract (300mg/Kg) Nossa et al. (2013) - The matches between the uses proclaimed by the ethnobotanical/ethnopharmacological studies and pharmacological data have been posted by (*).
- Table 6. Toxicological aspects of the 19 most indicated species.
Species Ethnopharmacological uses mentioned in this review DL50 (medium lethal dose)/IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) – (references) Toxicological studies (references) Adverse reactions (references) Category 1 – Maternity Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf To ease delivery Tincture of fresh foliage administered orally, by gavage to Swiss albino mice presented DL50=460.00mg/kg (Parra et al., 2001) No significant changes in gross pathology, body weight, absolute or relative organ weights, histology (brain, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, stomach, spleen and urinary bladder), urinalysis or clinical biochemistry were observed in mice treated with essential oil (1, 10 or 100mg/kg) (Costa et al., 2011) 16 adverse reaction reports in 2003. Three were related to skin, eight to digestive and 4 to central nervous system. Two of them had defined causality, two possible and 12 probable. Regarding severity, 14 were mild and 2 moderate (Milian et al., 2009) In vitro test with essential oil showed high toxicity against Chinese Hamster Ovary cells (IC50=10.63μg/mL) and moderate toxicity against human fibroblast cell line 138 (W138) (IC50=39.77μg/mL) (Kpoviessi et al., 2014) Essential oil was given by gavage to Wistar rats for 14 consecutive days. Doses generally higher than 1500mg/kg body weight caused significant functional damages to stomach and liver of rat (Fandohan et al., 2008). Administration of essential oil in male Swiss mice found DL50 to be around 3500mg/kg (Costa et al., 2011) Eryngium foetidum L. To ease delivery NDF NDF NDF Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley Anti-hemorrhagic NDF Crude ethanol extract and the hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions administered through the feed promoted inflammation and/or systemic lesions on the gills of Oreochromis niloticus L. (Fiuza et al., 2015) NDF Pancreatic and hepatic alterations, hemorrhagic spots and necroses were observed in Oreochromis niloticus L. treated with crude ethanol extract, ethyl acetate, hexanic and chloroform fractions obtained from its leaves administered to the fish orally with their feed. (Fiuza et al., 2009) Myrcia bracteata (Rich.) DC. For “washing” postpartum and to heal the navel of newborn NDF NDF NDF Pectis elongata Kunth To ease delivery NDF NDF NDF Senna alata (L.) Roxb. To ease delivery Hydro-ethanolic extract of leaves administered to Swiss mice and Wistar albino rats. T by intragastric gavage showed DL50=18.50g/kg of body weight (Pieme et al., 2006) Leaves of S. alata can cause marked toxic effects on rats. Also the ethanol extract and compounds isolated from S. alata can cause subtle hepatorenal toxicity (Yagi et al., 1998) No data were found to S. alata. Althought, female, 37 years old, presented a strong and persistent stomachache, with cramps, after administering Senna alexandrina. for constipation. Preparation form: dried leaflet infusion (3min) in boiling water; one tablespoon (about 3g) for one glass (250mL). Duration of use: one glass (250 mL) immediately after preparation, only once. Causality was assessed as probable, severity was mild, it was considered an expected adverse reaction, non-serious (Neto et al., 2014). Tincture of fresh foliage administered orally, by gavage to Swiss albino mice, DL=1459.32mg/kg (Parra et al., 2001) The plant is able to cause chronic liver injury in rats (Amao et al., 2010) Siparuna guianensis Aubl. To ease delivery NDF NDF NDF Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. To ease delivery NDF Methanol extract of the leaves is mutagenic to the TA98 (−S9) and TA100 (+S9, −S9) strains of Salmonella. In vivo tests with crude methanol extract in albino Swiss mice, treated by gavage, induced micronuclei at highest dose, 1800mg/kg body weight, confirming the mutagenic potential (Santos et al., 2006) NDF Zingiber officinale Roscoe To ease delivery No mortality occurred when ethanolic and watery extracts were given orally to mice in doses up to 5g/kg (body weight) (Shalaby and Hamowieh, 2010) Some minor adverse effects have been associated with the use by humans. In a clinical trial conducted with 12 healthy volunteers, who received ginger orally at a dose of 400mg (3 times per day for two week), one patient reported mild diarrhea during the first 2 days. Inhalation of dust from ginger may produce IGE-mediated allergy (Chrubasik et al., 2005). 18 adverse reaction reports in 2007. Two were related to skin, six to digestive tract, three to respiratory tract and 5 were general. Six of them had possible causality and 12 probable. Regarding severity, 13 were mild and 5 moderate (Milian et al., 2009) Category 2 – Menstrual cycle Calliandra dysantha Benth. To restore menstrual flux to normal levels NDF NDF NDF Passiflora coccinea Aubl. Contraceptive NDF NDF NDF Rodriguezia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. Contraceptive NDF NDF NDF Tanacetum vulgare L. To restore menstrual flux to normal levels Aqueous extract of leaves administered to mice by oral (gavage) and intraperitoneal via presented DL50=9.9g/kg and 2.8g/kg, respectively (Lahlou et al., 2008) Extract does not appear to have significant toxicity due to its relatively high values of no-observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL) in the acute study in mice, and lack of significant effect on biological and hematological parameters in rats after 90 days of daily doses. There is a wide margin of safety for the therapeutic use of the leaves aqueous extract (Lahlou et al., 2008) NDF Toxicity against Ixodes ricinus (Smolarz et al., 2013). Category 3 – Other conditions Anacardium occidentale L. Anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus, abortive, for sexual impotence/aphrodisiac Administration via oral of extract to mice had LD 50 of 2.154g/kg (Okonkwo et al., 2010) Hepatotoxic effect (increased the serum levels of alanine aminotransaminase and aspartate aminotransaminase) in mice (Okonkwo et al., 2010) and dogs (de Melo et al., 2006) NDF Anorexia, diarrhea, and syncope in mice with doses higher than 6g/kg (Tédong et al., 2007) The LD50 of the hexane extract, determined in mice after oral administration was 16g/kg (Tédong et al., 2007) Single oral dose of anacardic acid (2000mg/kg) has not produced biochemical and hematological alterations in BALB/c mice (Carvalho et al., 2011) Casearia sylvestris Sw. Anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus, for the treatment of venereal diseases Hydro-ethanolic extract of leaves administered to Wistar rats showed DL50 higher than 2000mg/kg (Ameni et al., 2015) Aqueous extract provoked neurochemical alterations, in cortical membrane preparations, in the purinergic and cholinergic systems of the central nervous system (inhibition of NTPDase-like activity with both, ATP and ADP. inhibition of 5′-nucleotidase activity and Na+/K+-ATPase) (da Silva et al., 2006) NDF Croton antisyphiliticus Mart. for the treatment of venereal diseases, sexual impotence/aphrodisiac NDF NDF NDF Mandevilla velame (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon for the treatment of venereal diseases Hydro-ethanolic extract administered via oral showed low acute toxicity. DL50=4.176±218.5mg/kg (Ribeiro et al., 2010) NDF NDF Palicourea rigida Kunth for the treatment of venereal diseases, anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus NDF NDF NDF Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. sexual impotence/aphrodisiac, as abortive See above Zeyheria montana Mart. for the treatment of venereal diseases DL50 (at 24h) was greater than 2000mg/kg (Guenka et al., 2008) NDF NDF - NDF: no data found.
3. Results and discussion
The analysis of the articles revealed 319 species used for 22 indications related to women's health. The most cited family was Fabaceae (13.5%), and the species were Ruta graveolens L. (1.76%) and Strychnos pseudoquina A. St.-Hil (1.76%). The most frequent part utilized, mode of preparation and route of administration were leaves (2.0%), tea (73.38%) and oral (87.2%), respectively. 34.8% of the indications were made by Brazilian popular medicine in general, as referred in source documents.The data evaluated was divided into the three categories mentioned above, with respective frequencies of species: Table 1 – Maternity (97 species mentioned), Table 2 – Menstrual Cycle (94) and Table 3 – Other Conditions (232), totaling 423 species cited, considering that the same species may have been suitable for more than one use.Table 1 represents plants used in maternity, including 11 uses related to pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and breastfeeding. They are: anti-abortive (2), anti-hemorrhagic (postpartum) (11), contraindicated during pregnancy (36), “fallen” uterus (1), for newborns to start walking faster (1), to heal the navel of the newborn (3), to increase milk for breastfeeding (3), to ease delivery (21), to determine the sex of the child (1), used during pregnancy (11) and for “washing” postpartum (7). In Table 2 plants are related to five possible conditions of the menstrual cycle. They are: contraceptive/to avoid pregnancy (23), menopause (5), menstrual cramps (17), to promote fertility (9) and to restore menstrual flux to normal levels (41). In Table 3, six uses were indicated for various purposes. They are: abortive (54), anti-inflammatory for the ovaries and/or uterus (54), sexual impotence/aphrodisiac (41), to manipulate sexual activities/decrease libido (5), to treat venereal diseases (69) and for vaginal discharge (9).In Table 1, 85 different species were cited, and among them, the most frequent were: Siparuna guianensis Aubl. used to ease delivery by Waurá Indians and caboclo river-dwellers ( Rodrigues, 2006 and Valle, 1973) and contraindicated in pregnancy as quoted by caboclo river-dwellers (Rodrigues, 2006), species Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Eryngium foetidum L., Pectis elongata Kunth, Zingiber officinale Roscoe and Senna alata (L.) Roxb. are contraindicated during pregnancy as they are used to ease delivery by caboclo river-dwellers ( Rodrigues, 2006 and Santos et al., 2012), S. pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. is used to ease delivery in Brazilian popular medicine ( Souza and Felfile, 2006) and it is contraindicated during pregnancy by quilombolas (Rodrigues, 2006), Hyptidendron canum (Pohl ex Benth.) Harley is used as an anti-hemorrhagic (postpartum) in Brazilian popular medicine, and according to quilombolas, it is contraindicated during pregnancy ( Rodrigues, 2006), and last, Myrcia bracteata (Rich.) DC. is indicated by Amazon river-dwellers for “washing” postpartum and healing the navel of the newborn ( Amorozo and Gély, 1988).The 85 different species cited for this category belong to 44 botanical families, and the most frequent are: Fabaceae (15 species), Asteraceae (8), and Lamiaceae (5). The most exclusively used part of the plants are the leaves (27.6%), while the most commonly used preparation is tea (80.0%) and oral administration (81.48%). The culture that mentioned a larger number of plants related to motherhood was the Kayapó Indians.For Table 2, 87 different plant species were mentioned, distributed into 46 families, and the most frequent were: Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Apocynaceae with 12, 10 and 5 species, respectively. The most frequent species in this category were: Calliandra dysantha Benth. indicated to restore menstrual flux to normal levels by raizeiros ( Vila Verde et al., 2003) and in Brazilian popular medicine (Vieira and Martins, 2000), Passiflora coccinea Aubl. used as contraceptive by the Yawalapiti ( Emmerich and Valle, 1991) and Waurá Indians (Valle, 1973), and also as a contraceptive, Rodriguezia lanceolata Ruiz & Pav. is used by the Kayapó ( Valle, 1973) and Amazon Indians (Turner, 1965), Tanacetum vulgare L. is used by Amazon river-dwellers to restore menstrual flux to normal levels ( Amorozo and Gély, 1988) and for menstrual cramps (Garlet and Irgang, 2001). Although flowers, fruits, seeds and barks are also used in some cases, roots and leaves represent the most commonly used parts in this category. For 22.61% of the species, the roots are exclusively adopted, and for 30.95%, the leaves. Tea is the most common mode of preparation (76.92%), and the oral route is the most commonly used (84.48%). For this category it was not possible to establish a specific culture with a greater frequency of ethnopharmacological indication. The so-called "Brazilian popular medicine", as extracted from publications, was the one that most indicated healing plants for the menstrual cycle, with a total of 20 recommendations.For Table 2, 189 species belonging to 71 botanical families were mentioned, and the most frequent were: Fabaceae (21), Bignoniaceae (18 species) and Asteraceae (17). The most frequent species was Anacardium occidentale L. used as an anti-inflammatory for ovaries and/or uterus by Xucuru Indians ( Silva and Andrade, 1998), as an abortive by Krahô Indians (Rodrigues, 2006) and for sexual impotence/aphrodisiac by Brazilian popular medicine (Mendes and Carlini, 2007), Casearia sylvestris Sw. is adopted as an anti-inflammatory for ovaries and/or uterus in Brazilian popular medicine ( Vieira and Martins, 2000), for the treatment of venereal diseases by Xucuru Indians (Silva and Andrade, 1998) and in Brazilian popular medicine ( Souza and Felfile, 2006 and Vieira and Martins, 2000), Croton antisyphiliticus Mart. is used in the treatment of venereal diseases by raizeiros ( Vila Verde et al., 2003), by rural workers (Rodrigues and Carvalho, 2001) and in Brazilian popular medicine (Vieira and Martins, 2000), raizeiros also use it for sexual impotence/aphrodisiac (Vila Verde et al., 2003), Mandevilla velame (A.St.-Hil.) Pichon is adopted in the treatment of venereal diseases by raizeiros ( Vila Verde et al., 2003), by Brazilian popular medicine (Vieira and Martins, 2000), and agricultural workers (Rodrigues and Carvalho, 2001), Palicourea rigida Kunth is administered for the treatment of venereal diseases in Brazilian popular medicine, which also places its use as an anti-inflammatory for ovaries and/or uterus ( Vieira and Martins, 2000). This indication was also cited by rural workers (Garlet and Irgang, 2001), S. pseudoquina A. St.-Hil. is administered for sexual impotence/aphrodisiac by Brazilian popular medicine ( Mendes and Carlini, 2007, Souza and Felfile, 2006 and Vieira and Martins, 2000) and as an abortive by quilombolas (Rodrigues, 2006), and finally mentioned was Zeyheria montana Mart. to treat venereal diseases by rural workers ( Rodrigues and Carvalho, 2001) and by Brazilian popular medicine ( Souza and Felfile, 2006 and Vieira and Martins, 2000). According to the data above, note that this table shows the greatest concordance between species and their uses by different cultures.As in the categories above, leaves also represent the most consumed part, being exclusively used in the preparation of 24.7% of the species. Oral administration is employed for 85.45% of the preparation mentioned, and tea is the most frequent form (75.29%). As in Table 2, the information presented here does not refer to a specific culture, it has been mentioned in a general way from consulted articles on "Brazilian popular medicine" (120).In the data collected for this review, the large number of identified species belonging to the families Fabaceae (35) and Asteraceae (25) can be explained by the fact that they have a large number of species, many of which have biological activity (Pinto et al., 2006). They are widely distributed geographically and can be found in both tropical and temperate climates (Bennett and Prance, 2000). Still, the botanical family Asteraceae is present in several regions in Brazil and contributes to the high number of species from the Atlantic Forest (Hanazaki et al., 2000) and Pernambuco’s semi-arid region (Almeida and Albuquerque, 2002).Among the three categories, the conditions that showed the highest number of indicated species were for the treatment of venereal diseases (69), abortive (54), anti-inflammatory for ovaries and/or uterus (54), to restore menstrual flux to normal levels (44), sexual impotence/aphrodisiacs (42), contraceptive/to avoid pregnancy (23), to ease delivery (21) and to promote fertility (17) (Fig. 1). The highest prevalence of these uses may indicate specific needs of the studied cultures, or an acquired knowledge due to a past necessity conveyed by predecessors. In this aspect it emphasizes the limitation of further discussion about data collected in this review, since there is no way to make larger inferences due to the lack of field observations and raw data from the researchers who carried them out.- Fig. 1.The eight indications with the highest number of cited species.
As seen in Table 4, the bibliographic review showed that of the 19 most indicated species previously cited in this manuscript, only four have ethnobotanical/ethnopharmacological information related to their use by non-Brazilian cultures. Data found showed that almost all statements involve leaves, and teas are the most used, as verified in the present manuscript, and the topical route of administration was the most suitable, followed by oral. The studies reviewed are incomplete and do not present information about dose and duration of use. Similar lack of data was found in articles consulted for this review. The S. guianensis Aubl., species with the greatest number of therapeutic indications among diverse cultures in South America, is used by Afro-Surinamese to cleanse the uterus after childbirth and menstruation, a decoction of crushed leaves with salt is indicated to facilitate labor by Palikur Indians ( Grenand et al., 2004), and it is also used as an abortive by the Creóles (Grenand et al., 2004). C. citratus (DC.) is indicated to promote lactation and to eliminate postpartum abdominal pain in Nicaragua ( Coe, 2008). E. foetidum L. in Trinidad and Tobago is used to remove placenta and shorten labor ( Lans, 2007). T. vulgare L. is used in Portugal for menstrual regulation ( Neves et al., 2009).Lack of information indicates that the methodologies in the reviewed studies are many times outdated and the information presented is not complete. Posology, geographic coordinates, mode of preparation and practices performed by folk medicine could have been further explored, which suggests the need of deeper exploration into these aspects. Also, similarities of use by other cultures, as seen in Table 4, highlights the possible correlation between ethno-medicinal uses and pharmacological activities, underlying how these compounds are promising candidates.Collected data of plants contraindicated during pregnancy (37), contraceptive (23), abortive (54) and delivery facilitators (21) insinuate the presence of active toxic compounds in indicated species, which can mean a higher risk to those who administer them, such as uterine contractions, decreased blood flow due to the presence of tannins, which may impair the absorption of proteins and alkaloids, among others (Rodrigues, 2006 and Williamson, 2001). As an example, according to the Krahô Indians, plants used for contraception can present reversible or irreversible effects, as is the case with Aspidosperma excelsum Benth and Sclerolobium aureum (Tul.) Baill., respectively ( Rodrigues, 2006).The pharmacology review presented in Table 5 has proved that out of the 19 studied plants, 25% have pharmacological effects that could explain their indicated use by Brazilian cultures; these matches were signalized in the table. Pharmacological studies described in this table are insufficient to promote inferences about validation of ethnobotanical/ethnopharmacological data, since many of the plants have not been tested for uses indicated by folk medicine. A higher number of studies regarding exotic species compared to native ones were also observed. If we consider the fact that 85% of these 19 species are native to Brazilian flora, and that few studies have been published about them, efforts should be made to encourage studies related to these plants.The safety and toxicological aspects review of the 19 most indicated plants permitted the elaboration of Table 6. According to the studies reviewed, only eight (42.1%) of them have toxicological information in scientific literature, and only 2 (10.5%) contain well-desribed adverse reactions, C. citratus (DC.) Stapf (16 reports) and Zingiber officinale Roscoe (18). In general, the medium lethal doses (DL50) found in the plants tested are high, however not all studies specify how extracts were made, what form of administration was used and how the tests were performed, which makes the validation of the data published difficult. Toxicological data found regarding the plants indicated to ease delivery (C. citratus (DC.) Stapf, S. alata (L.) Roxb., S. pseudoquina A. St.-Hil., Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and abortives (A. occidentale L.) do not match these descriptions, therefore further studies should focus on the assessment of these effects. Lack of safety information about species surveyed is evident and the data published is insufficient to ensure the safety of informal preparations.Studies about this theme in other countries target some specific cultures (Adnan et al., 2015, Bourdy and Walter, 1992, Lamxay et al., 2011, Michel et al., 2012, Ong and Kim, 2015, Razafindraibe et al., 2013, Shah et al., 2013, Srithi et al., 2012 and van der Kooi and Theobald, 2006), or specific conditions (Malan and Neuba, 2011; Telefo et al., 2011), which permits a better definition of held practices, whether ritualistic (Lamxay et al., 2011), plantation and collection (Shah et al., 2013), which might facilitate the understanding of how certain traditional remedies act in the context that their use is inserted. However, the reviewed studies (de Boer and Cotingting, 2014, Njamen et al., 2013 and Torri, 2013) are able to draw a parallel between the indications of the same plant by diverse cultures, emphasizing the level of consensus among different people regarding the use of these species, and permitting a further compilation of medicinal plants used globally (de Boer and Cotingting, 2014).The scarce information published about Brazilian cultures compared to Asian cultures suggests a noticeable knowledge gap in these practices. This frame may be explained by the fact that traditional medicine systems in some Asian countries such as China (Chang and But, 1986) and India (Kapoor, 1990) are based on natural products, and they have been part of the official medicine in those countries for decades, while in Brazil the National Program for Medicinal Plants and Herbal Medicines was included in SUS only in 2008, counting on 71 species (BRASIL, 2006). According to Gurib-Fakim (2006), approximately half (125,000) of the world's flowering plant species are in the tropical forests and less than 1% of the tropical species have been studied for their pharmaceutical potential. In Brazil, only 0.4% of the 55,000 plant species have been reported (Gurib-Fakim, 2006).The Brazilian government published, in 2008, a list of 71 plants to be used in SUS, and of these, only 6 species are native and endemic to the Brazilian flora, 23 are native, and most are exotic (42 plants), despite the great effort by ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology to list the endemic species used by native cultures in Brazil. This list was published, seemingly, because more studies on these exotic plants have been developed, or due to political issues, but somehow the government fails to value investments in studies on species of Brazilian flora and culture, which would favor plant uses, considering biome particularities and folk medicine, since they are part of the local belief frameworks which increase treatment adherence by diverse Brazilian cultures.4. Conclusion
Although feminist movements have triggered the implementation of public policies directed towards women's health, and the number of guidelines aimed at rural and forest women have increased, the lack of studies directed towards these populations and data consistent with the reality jeopardize the execution of these policies and hamper the proper approach to the reality of these cultures.In this context, the use of medicinal plants cited in this publication and folk practices should be implemented in reports and public policies that reveal the lack of information on therapies targeted towards women's health and abortion methods used by rural and indigenous women, facilitating the formulation of new policies focused on these groups of women, such as the National Comprehensive Care to Women's Health Policy (2004) and the National Comprehensive Health of the Rural and Forest Populations Policy (2013). Still, the risks of plants contraindicated during pregnancy, contraceptives, abortives, delivery facilitators and safety aspects in general should be more deeply explored, aiming at their dissemination by Health Systems among women, through educative material, health fairs and pharmaceutical care. Populations should be aware of the risks, possible negative effects caused by these species of plants and the danger involved in their use, with the intention of preventing damage.Although it provides evidence for the enrichment of public health policies, we perceive that the content of this manuscript is limited to Brazil and, due to its large size and the complexity of its biomes and cultures, future studies should individualize cultural aspects and plant characteristics, especially chemically, with the aim of developing novel and effective pharmaceutical agents.Furthermore, such information collaborates with studies directed towards herbal medicine incrementation, since better regulation and safety inspection of these herbal preparations is needed in order to incorporate them into the Unified Health System, recognizing and appreciating popular and traditional knowledge and using them as a way to facilitate access to medicine based on species that are already cultivated, known and used by these populations.The surveyed species are promising candidates for the development of novel and effective pharmaceutical agents, mainly the native ones, since they reflect regional and ethnic peculiarities, respected beliefs associated to them, and increased adherence to therapeutic treatments.Withal, studies published about these species, when found, are many times inconclusive, and do not ensure their medicinal use. With the view to certify medicinal uses of these cultures and validate ethnopharmacological practices, further phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological studies should be conducted, respecting the cultural and biological diversity of the six main Brazilian biomes, and allowing the discovery of pharmacological properties, bioactive constituents, and moreover, adequate posology, manner of use and adverse events.Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the communities that have participated of studies performed by authors of papers reviewed: Amazon and caboclo river-dwellers, quilombolas, raizeiros, Dení Indians, Ka’apor Indians, Kaiowá Indians, Kayapó Indians, Krahô Indians, Makú Indians, Xucuru Indians, Yawalapiti Indians, Waurá Indians and rural workers. At last, we would like to thank the fomentation agency FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) and also the four anonymous referees for their helpful suggestions to improve this paper.| |Appendix A. Supplementary material
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- Supplementary material
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