Estudo do uso e cultivo de plantas medicinais na comunidade do Sítio Bujari-Cuité-PB.

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants plays important roles in quality of life, especially in the rural environment, contributing to comprehensive care in primary health care, valuing popular knowledge and self-care. In this direction, the present study aimed to evaluate the cultivation and use of medicinal plants in a rural community in the municipality of Cuité-PB. This is a cross-sectional, quali-quantitative, descriptive study, whose sample follow-up was represented by users of medicinal plants residing in the community of Sítio Bujari, a rural area in the municipality of Cuité-PB. The interviewees were chosen according to the “snowball” technique and those who agreed to participate were invited to take a guided tour, during which the cultivated plants were photographed. For data collection, a structured questionnaire was used to identify the profile and description of the socio-epidemiological characteristics of the community members, the factors that influence the consumption of medicinal plants by the population under study, the degree of information of the interviewees about the use and cultivation of medicinal plants, as well as evaluating the indications mentioned by the users and verifying the interactions with conventional medicines in concomitant use. The sample consisted of 17 residents of the Bujari community; most of the interviewees were elderly women between 60 and 80 years old, farmers and retirees, with an income of 1 to 3 minimum wages and low education. The main illnesses presented were hypertension, diabetes and respiratory allergies. All respondents cultivate and use medicinal plants; in all, 32 plants were cited, the main species reported being: Lippia alba (Mill.), Mentha sp., Cymbopogon citratus L., Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Plectranthus amboinicus L., Aloe vera, Ocimum basilicum, Citrus sp., Rosmarinus officinalis L., cultivated in the backyards of their homes, periodically fertilized and irrigated. The most used part was the leaf and the main preparation, the tea. Most of the conventional drugs used were in the category of antihypertensive and hypoglycemic agents in simultaneous use with vegetable herbs. In view of this, guidelines for the safe and rational use of medicinal plants by health professionals are important to minimize adverse effects, pharmacological interactions and harm to users' health due to the vulnerability of residents' popular knowledge.