SILVA, C. G.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/2816715408783864; SILVA, Cleomária Gonçalves da.
Abstract:
The use of medicinal plants is an old practice in the treatment of human diseases and it has
been coming through generations which allowed the strengthening of the traditional medicine
taking popular wisdom as a starting point, as an important instrument in therapeutic resource
combined with ethnopharmacology. The ethnobotanical survey contributed to the study of the
flora in the state of Ceará, in order to carry out a data collection on the most used medicinal
plants by the residents of Nazaré Farm, and also the phytochemical analysis of them. The
ethnobotanical data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. 100
people were interviewed, aged between 25 and 85 years old, both gender in the period from
June to October, 2011. Phytochemical study and microbiologist analysis with ethanolic
extracts of the plants species, Cereus jamacaru DC. (leaves), Croton grewioides Baill.
(branches), Cissampelos sympodialis Eichler (roots), Cardiospermum corindum L. (roots) and
Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Roem & Schult.) T. D. (shells) were carried out, in relation to sort
of pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 12692), Staphylococcus
aureus (ATCC 358) and Bacillus cereus (ATCC 33018) and Gram-negative: Pseudomonas
aeruginosa (ATCC 15442), Escherichia coli (ATCC 27) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922)
in the period from September to October, 2011.The ethnobotanical results reported age groups
from 36 to 45 for males (10%) and for females (18%). In the preparation of home-made
medicines, we observed that all parts of the plants were used, mostly roots and shells. Various
ways of preparing were observed and tea was the most recommended one, followed by syrup.
62 species, 31 families and 53 genders were identified, 2 of them were only identified through
their gender (Sapium sp.; Ocimum sp.).The most representative botanical groups belong to the
families Fabaceae (16 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (07 spp.), Cucurbitaceae and Malvaceae (03 spp.)
and the others with two or only one species each. The results for the phytochemical
prospection of the ethanol extracts indicated the presence of condensed tannins, catechins,
alkaloids, among others. Species extracts demonstrated that parts of the plants which were
studied presented antimicrobial activity, specially MIC=16 μg/mL, and MIC= 32 μg/mL, for
Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) by branches extracts C. grewioides and C. jamacaru leaves,
respectively. Data revealed that popular knowledge on medicinal plants are very important for
diseases control and it contributes to other ethnopharmacology studies.
