Phytochemical analysis of medicinal plants popularly indicated in the form of bottles for the treatment of gastric ulcers Luciana Lopes Guimarães, Andréia Leite Ventura, Luciana Rodrigues Capellari, Vivian Vicente de Souza, Walber Toma

Abstract

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a disease that generally progresses chronically, with flare-ups and periods of calm, and affects approximately 10% of the world population. Despite the widespread use of synthetic drugs to treat PUD, medicinal plants are still widely used worldwide for this purpose. Many of the plants used by the population do not have scientific data on their chemical composition, and there is no consistent data in the scientific literature on the pharmacological activities expected from the use of these plants. Therefore, the combination of data from traditional medicine with phytochemical and pharmacological analyses is of great importance so that medicinal plants can serve as a basis for the development of new therapeutic proposals. In the present study, phytochemical screening was performed on plant preparations, popularly known as “garrafadas”, used in the treatment of gastric ulcers. Five different preparations, acquired in the municipality of Cubatão-SP, composed of Solanum paniculatum L., Maytenus ilicifolia, Echinodorus grandiflorus, Anadenanthera colubrina, Amburana cearensis, Leonurus sibiricus L. and Psychotria ipecacuanha, were analyzed. The data obtained from the analyses revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and saponins, which together may be responsible for the therapeutic activity of the preparations evaluated.