Plantas medicinais mais recorrentes nos compêndios oficiais do Brasil: manual de apoio a profissionais da saúde como estratégia de incentivo à fitoterapia nos serviços de atenção primária à saúde.

Abstract

Since its inception, the World Health Organization (WHO) has sought to ensure global access to health care, including essential medicines. In Brazil, lists of essential medicines were implemented in 1964, which evolved into National List of Essential Medicines (RENAME) in 1975, and more recently, inclusion of integrative and complementary health practices, as phytotherapy, in Single Health System (SUS). The National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices and the National Policy on Medicinal Plants and Phytotherapeutics, both of 2006, stand out as important milestones in phytotherapy integration into SUS, since medicinal plants’ uses are a common practice that has been disseminated through generations of different cultures. Medicinal plants’ use and phytotherapeutics can be considered an important alternative to complement or replace conventional therapy to ensure the appropriate treatment for patients is offered effectively and safely, as long as there is scientific evidence regarding plant or phytotherapeutic agent used. Despite the implementation of public policies to strengthen phytotherapy in SUS, there are still gaps in training of health professionals on this topic, which reduces adherence to practice, especially in primary care. The objective of this study was to develop a handbook containing medicinal plants and phytotherapeutic products made from plants included in four Brazilian compendia: Brazilian Pharmacopoeia, Phytotherapeutic Memento, Phytotherapeutic Formulary and RENAME. In order to promote and facilitate prescription of phytotherapeutic products, this handbook contains important information on the use of medicinal plants. Plants included in at least 3 compendia were selected, and information on the selected plants was obtained from scientific databases and drug leaflets, resulting in a practical handbook containing 19 plants that can be used to treat anxiety, arthritis, rheumatism, and other conditions with the aim of promoting not only the practice of phytotherapy, but also the rational use of drugs and a more economical drug therapy.