Avaliação de aspectos legais e qualidade de um produto fitoterápico à base de graviola e associações.

Abstract

The ancient use of medicinal plants in order to cure the infirmities of humanity, provided a broad overview of the therapeutic action and toxicity of certain species. The use of these plants has great socioeconomic importance in the quality of life of low-income communities, due to its high availability, low toxicity, minimal risk of side effects and specially to lower costs and / or no cost compared to industrialized drugs. These products are likely to contamination from their gathering to their manipulation, and a very high microbial load can affect directly the stability of the drug. Therefore, there will be a decrease or loss of therapeutic effectiveness and it also can cause serious health damage. This study aims to evaluate the legal aspects, conduct phytochemical prospection and evaluate the quality assurance of the product based on soursop obtained in different pharmacies in the city of Cuité - PB. The legal aspects were evaluated using specific resolutions of ANVISA. In the phytochemical screening, specific methods for each type of secondary metabolite studied were used. The counting of viable microorganisms was determined by the standard plate count method and the identification of pathogenic microorganisms by sowing the samples on selective culture ambiance followed by a confirmation done by biochemical tests. It was also performed a micro-culture technique and a microscopic analysis to identification of filamentous fungi. It was noticed that the product based on soursop showed unconformities from the legal point of view by ANVISA, such as a lack of registration and several inadequacies in the labels of its packing. The phenolic compounds were the secondary metabolites that were predominant, followed by saponins and alkaloids. From the microbiological point of view, the samples were within the acceptable limits of the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia of fungi and bacteria. Fungi of the genus Cladosporium spp., and the species Fonsecae pedrosoi were identified. To sum up, it is necessary to have a larger and more efficient supervision of the competent organizations on this type of product, so that there is a correct divulgation and safe warrenty to the patient.