Rejan R Guedes-Bruni

Evaluation of an Extract of Brazilian Arnica (Solidago chilensis Meyen, Asteraceae) in Treating Lumbago

One of the Brazilian arnicas, Solidago chilensis Meyen, is a species of the family Asteraceae. This plant is known by this common name because it shares very similar organoleptic properties with the genus Arnica L., also within the family Asteraceae, that comprises approximately 30 European species of perennial, herbaceous plants. The effectiveness of a fluid extract of S. chilensis used externally for treating lumbago was examined in placebo‐controlled double‐blind clinical pharmacological studies. Two daily skin applications of a gel containing a 5% extract in glycol were administered for 15 days to ten volunteers in a placebo group and to an equal number in a test group. Statistical analyses of the results demonstrated a significant reduction in the perception of pain and a significant increase in the flexibility of patients in the test group as compared with those receiving only the placebo. Copyright

Local knowledge on medicinal plant gardens in a rural community near the Atlantic Rain Forest, southeastern Brazil

The present study sought to identify the medicinal plants cultivated in a communal medicinal plant garden in Casimiro de Abreu, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and to access its utilization and importance to the local population based on interviews with the gardens administrator and forty rural users. The Relative Importance Index (RI) was calculated for 96 medicinal species. Twenty-seven species had a RI>1.00, with Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. and Leonurus sibiricus L. (erva-macae), having the largest value (2.00). Interviews revealed that the majority of the rural users live in the municipality where the garden is located, visit it on a weekly basis, trust the recommendations of the administrator, and know how to prepare the remedies used. Plants that treat illnesses related to the respiratory system are most sought after. The free use of the garden by the local community, associated with the small initial investment, demonstrates the viability of this public initiative and the value of traditional knowledge, but also calls the authorities attention for their safe human use.

Evidence for conservation and sustainable use in a fragment of the Atlantic forest in southeastern Brazil by a traditional human group

The use of forest resources by a rural community adjacent to a Biological Reserve was examined using quantitative methods based on the consensus of six local specialists. Plants with trunk diameters at 1.3 m above soil level (DBH) ≥ 5 cm were sampled in 0.5 ha of forest and their use-value (UV) were calculated and associated with their structural descriptors. A total of 129 species were identified, and 69 of them having known uses. The species with largest UV were: Xylopia sericea, Lecythis lanceolata and Guarea macrophylla. The results demonstrated that neither the degree of recognition of taxa by the local specialists nor their use-versatility depended on their abundance in nature. The results corroborate the hypothesis that richness of a plant family is a predictive character of its cultural importance and the community recognizes the value of conserving the forest remnants.