Perfil farmacobotânico e químico de folhas, caules e amostras comerciais de Monteverdia ilicifolia (Mart. ex Reissek) Biral (Celastraceae) e seus adulterantes.

Abstract

The Celastraceae family consists of 100 genera and 1200 species distributed around the world, mainly in the tropics and subtropics. One of its main representatives is the genus Monteverdia, being the species Monteverdia ilicifolia (espinheira-santa) one of the most important of the genus due to its use in the traditional medicine. The main popular indication of the species is the use of leaf teas to treat gastritis and gastric ulcers, a treatment that has been scientifically proven. Due to the proof of traditional use, there was an increase in demand for this medicinal species, which occurred without a production planning. The unavailability of M. ilicifolia in commerce, associated with the similar morphology and the popular name given to the species Monteverdia aquifolia, Citronella gongonha, Jodina rhombifolia, Sorocea bonplandii and Zollernia ilicifolia, makes the practice of adulteration verified. These adulterations are not easily detected, as medicinal species are commonly sold in scratched, crushed or pulverized form. Among the pharmacopoeial methods used to detect adulterants in plant drugs are morphoanatomy, which evaluates the morphological and anatomical characters of the plant, and thin layer chromatography, which shows the chemical profile of extracts, standing out for being fast, efficient and low-cost methods. Considering the adulterations of M. ilicifolia with M. aquifolia, C. gongonha, J. rhombifolia, S. bonplandii and Z. ilicifolia, the objective was to analyze the leaf and stem anatomy of these species, using the usual microscopy techniques, as well as determining the chromatography profile of the extracts of these species and commercial samples by high performance thin layer chromatography, in order to provide microscopic and chromatographic data to support the quality control of plant drugs and herbals. The morphoanatomical features of leaves and stems and the chromatographic profiles of the extracts provide pharmacobotanical and chemical subsidies that help in the identification of species, contributing to the quality control of plant and herbal drugs. Analysis of ten commercial samples showed that only one commercial sample was unadulterated.