Data of medicinal plants commonly used in the City of São João do Polêsine, RS, Brazil. I - Relationship between illness and use of species

Abstract

The traditional rule of employing for the treatment of health is widely known, but little information is available about their dosages, combinations, preparation methods, and toxicity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to obtain ethno-pharmacological data and to evaluate the described effects of the main medicinal plants used by the urban people of the town of São João do Polêsine, RS, Brazil. A questionnaire was applied by interviewers at residences chosen by sistematic/aleatory method. Specimens were collected for identification, and were included in the SMDB herbarium. Eighty-five questionnaires were answered (one for each home visited), and 132 species were collected (56 native and 76 exotic). Most people related satisfactory results with the use of medicinal plants from domestic cultivation. The knowledge about the use of these plants is transmitted through generations. Undesirable results related to overdose or due to combination of plants were described by 20.24% of the interviewed persons. As these plants are easily obtained from domestic cultivation or collection, it is suggested that additional studies dealing with standardization of dosage, combinations, preparation methods, and toxicity, should be earned out and transmitted to the people that use this kind of medicine.