Development of Phyto-therapeutic Medicines from Native Species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Resumo

Medicinal plants were the first therapeutic resources available for the treatment of human diseases. Advances in organic synthesis led to those medicines from synthetic origin. The population of countries with high plant biodiversity, such as Brazil, continues to make use of natural therapeutic resources, especially those obtained from plants. In most cases, traditional knowledge is associated with restricted communities such as indigenous. Although Brazil concentrates a plant mega biodiversity and populations who know and use natural resources, it is estimated that only 1% of biodiversity has been duly exploited to generate therapeutic benefits. Human action has put into risk valuable ecosystems, such as the Atlantic Forest, which has only 1% of its original native range. Thus, it is urgent the research to rational use of biomolecular resources available in the Atlantic Forest. The search for new phyto-therapeutic medicines with appropriate scientific methodology can bring huge benefits to the Brazilian and world population. Include in search unexplored plants from the chemical and pharmacological point of view, from ecosystems with high biodiversity, such as the Atlantic Forest, may lead to the discovery of new therapeutic agents. This is the main Brazilian challenge in searching for new therapeutic agents of natural origin. This article discusses the main research problems of new herbal topics and presents some results of more than 15 years of research with native Piperaceae species from the Atlantic Forest.