Brazilian traditional medicine: Historical basis, features and potentialities for pharmaceutical development

Abstract

This article gives a brief overview on the Brazilian traditional medicine, starting from its historical development based on the cultural mixing of indigenous populations, European colonizers, and African slaves. In the sequence, it analyzes some features that contributed to the gradual loss of interest on medicinal plants in Brazil, a process started in the 1950s, and recent initiatives undertaken to valuate the Brazilian traditional medicine. Furthermore, it highlights some drugs developed from or based on constituents of the Brazilian biodiversity and traditional knowledge, which are globally employed, and the perspectives for new drugs development. It also discusses the sanitary requirements currently adopted in Brazil for the development and registration of medicinal products based on the Brazilian biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, as well as the impact of new technologies. In addition, it is presented a discussion on the regulatory framework to access to genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge in Brazil, along with its impact on the development of pharmaceutical products. Finally, some attempts are made to indicate the possible causes that limit the development of products based on the genetic heritage of Brazilian plants and associated traditional knowledge.