Estudo Fitoquimico e potencial terapêutico da Bauhunia variegata.

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants by humanity is a custom used since antiquity, it is important because it is a way of accessing health for the population, therefore, it is essential to carry out studies on the subject, in relation to therapeutic indications and forms of use. Taking as an example, Bauhinia variegata popularly known as pata-de-vaca, due to the shape of its leaf, is a plant of Asian origin, but very common in Brazilian regions, it is considered a plant with enormous therapeutic potential and is used mainly as an anti-inflammatory. anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory. Thus, the objective of the work was to carry out pharmacognostic studies of extracts obtained from the bark and leaves of this species. For this study, the plant was collected and its exsiccate was produced, in order to produce ethanolic extracts and then characterize the groups of secondary metabolites that are present, through phytochemical studies. Hemolytic testing was also performed. In the phytochemical screening, the presence of tannins and alkaloids was observed for the leaf extract, while for the bark extract it was possible to identify the presence of alkaloids. It was possible to obtain extracts with a yield of 2.63% for the leaves and 1.44% for the bark. In the hemolytic test, both extracts presented negative results, indicating a possible absence of toxicity. Thus, due to the limited number of studies on this species, the work contributed to scientific proof of Bauhinia variegata, however, continued studies are necessary to appreciate the use of this species.