Abstract
This
review article focuses on pre-clinical and clinical studies with some
selected Brazilian medicinal plants in different areas of interest,
conducted by research groups in Brazil and abroad. It also highlights
the Brazilian market of herbal products and the efforts of Brazilian
scientists to develop new phytomedicines. This review is divided into
three sections. The section I describes the Brazilian large biodiversity
and some attempts of Brazilian scientists to assess the pharmacological
profile of most plant extracts or isolated active principles. Of note,
Brazilian scientists have made a great effort to study the Brazilian
biodiversity, especially among the higher plants. In fact, more than
10,000 papers were published on plants in international scientific
journals between 2011 and 2013. This first part also discussed the main
efforts to develop new medicines from plants, highlighting the Brazilian
phytomedicines market. Despite the large Brazilian biodiversity,
notably with the higher plants, which comprise over 45,000 species
(20–22% of the total worldwide), and the substantial number of
scientific publications on medicinal plants, only one phytomedicine is
found in the top 20 market products. Indeed, this market is still only
worth about 261 million American dollars. This represents less than 5%
of the global Brazilian medicine market. The section II of this review
focus on the use of Brazilian plant extract and/or active principles for
some selected diseases, namely: central nervous systems disorders,
pain, immune response and inflammation, respiratory diseases,
gastrointestinal tract and metabolic diseases. Finally, section III
discusses in more details some selected Brazilian medicinal plants
including: Cordia verbenacea, Euphorbia tirucalli, Mandevilla velutina, Phyllanthus spp., Euterpe oleracea, Vitis labrusca, Hypericum caprifoliatum and Hypericum polyanthemum, Maytenus ilicifolia, Protium kleinii and Protium heptaphylium and Trichilia catigua. Most of these publications are preliminary and only report the effects of crude extracts, both in vitro and in vivo
studies. Only very few studies have been dedicated to investigate the
mechanisms of action of isolated compounds. Likewise, studies on safety
(toxicology), pharmacokinetic, and especially on well-conducted clinical
trials are rare. In conclusion, in spite of the abundant Brazilian
biodiversity and the thousands of academic publications on plants in
international peer-reviewed scientific journals, few patents and
medicines have been derived from such studies. Undoubtedly, great
efforts must be made to improve the development of plant-derived
medicine market in Brazil, especially by involving the partnership
between academia and pharmaceutical companies.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Biodiversity;
- Medicinal plants;
- Herbal drugs development;
- Phytomedicine;
- Cordia verbenacea;
- Euphorbia tirucalli;
- Mandevilla velutina;
- Euterpe oleracea;
- Vitis labrusca;
- Hypericum;
- Maytenus ilicifolia;
- Protium;
- Trichilia catigua
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