Justicia pectoralis Jacq.: Brazil

January 2018 DOI: 10.1007/978-94-024-1552-0_22 In book: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of South America Carles Roersch Abstract Justicia pectoralis is used as a medicinal plant in Central America, the Caribbean and the tropical parts of South America. It has a longstanding history, being already mentioned in the sixteenth century in nowadays the Dominican Republic. The species is included in the pharmacopeia of Brazil and Cuba for its applications as an expectorant and sedative for nervous affections, respectively. In traditional medicine, the most frequent application is for illnesses of the respiratory tract. The scientific research concentrates on the anti-inflammatory, analgesic and sedative effects of the plant, with positive results that confirm traditional uses. Toxicity has hardly been reported. It would be recommended that more research should be done on the pharmacokinetics of the extracts and the clinical aspects.