Popular knowledge and scientific knowledge in the commercialization of medicinal plants for oral health

• Autor(a) principal: Emmi, Danielle Tupinambá
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Melo, Fernanda Oliveira Brelaz, Araújo, Marizeli Viana de Aragão
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Fitos
• Texto Completo: https://revistafitos.far.fiocruz.br/index.php/revista-fitos/article/view/1119
• topic: Phytotherapy; Oral diseases; Traditional medicine; Ethnobotany; Fitoterapia; Doenças bucais; Medicina tradicional; Etnobotânica

The aim of this study was to investigate the socioeconomic profile of herb sellers, the knowledge about the products they sell and  main herbs indicated for oral conditions. A field study was carried out with a visit to 22 fairs in the city of Belém, Pará, Brazil. The sample was collected for convenience with 40 herbs that worked in the fairs for a minimum period of 01 year, answered  semi-structured questionnaire. The data were worked in a descriptive way, using the G tests and Fisher's test for analysis between variables (α=0.05). Most herb sellers are women (62.5%), acquired knowledge about herbs from family members (75%, p=0.17), never attended courses on the topic (70.0%, p=0.09), stated that there are toxic herbs (72.5%, p=0.72), but that they have no contraindications (90.0%, p=0.61). Among the most recommended herbs, jucá seed (Libidibia férrea (Mart. ex Tul.) LPQueiroz (Fabaceae)) (70%) and cashew bark (Anacardium occidentale) (25%) were mentioned. The sale of medicinal herbs for oral conditions is a common practice, and  commercialization occurs, above all, in an empirical way. Thus, there is a need to train herbalists, for the association of traditional and scientific knowledge, so that the population has access to more effective products.