Abstract

SORIA, Nélida  and  RAMOS, Pasionaria. Use of medicinal plants in Primary Health Care in Paraguay: some considerations for its safe and effective use. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2015, vol.13, n.2, pp.08-17. ISSN 1812-9528.  https://doi.org/10.18004/Mem.iics/1812-9528/2015.013(02)08-017.

The incorporation of medicinal plants in Primary Health Care (PHC) is a great challenge. According to WHO, the use of medicinal plants is a more natural, safer and effective therapy with rational and affordable cost for populations. To establish a safe and effective use is necessary the correct identification of the species and their origin. The objective of the study was to identify taxonomically the medicinal plants used by patients that consulted in the services of the Family Health Unit (FHU) from the IV Health Region of Guaira, Paraguay from August to December 2.011 as well as their origin habitats. The patients were interviewed about the medicinal plants used and their directions for use. The interviews included sample collection of the medicinal plants used that were then taxonomically identified. Fifty six species, for several medicinal purposes, were identified. Among these, the most common were: menta'i (Mentha x piperita), ñangapiry (Eugenia uniflora), salviarã (Lippia alba), koku (Allophylus edulis), typychacuraty (Scoparia dulcis) and ka'are (Chenopodium ambrosioides), two species are considered toxic in the literature: "mil hombres" (Aristolochia triangularis) and "cepacaballo" (Xanthium spinosum) and one specie ka'oveti (Solanum granulosumleprosum) was mentioned for the first time for medicinal purposes. Two of the identified species used are toxic and their should be avoided. Therefore, this shows the importance of the correct taxonomical identification of the medicinal plants used by the Paraguayan population in order to know their potential toxicity.

Keywords : Primary Health Care; medicinal plants; safety; efficacy; Paraguay.

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