Medical use of copaiba (Copaifera sp.) oil by better age people of Presidente Médici municipality, Rondônia, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is the largest producer of extracted oil from 'copaíba' (Copaifera sp., Caesalpiniaceae), one of the most studied medicinal plants in the world, found mainly in the Amazon region. Ethnobotany approach can facilitate selection on potentially active species used by the local people, opening doors for the development of new drugs, in which can have assessment a higher number of people. Then, in this study the medicinal use of 'copaíba' oil by better age people of Presidente Médici, Rondônia State (Brazilian Amazon) was characterized, since there is a lack of data on the use of this plant for such purposes in the region. Ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 27 persons by using the "snowball" technique for the indication of new respondents. The main ethnopharmacological use found were treatment of infections (63%), wound healing (48%), tetanus prevention (18.5%) and antitumoral agent (11%). The stem-bark tea was recommended for washing and cleansing wounds and as a blood depurative (11%). Therefore, the plant is widely used among the better age people of that municipality owing to its medicinal characteristics, what draws attention to the need for studies to scientifically confirm its therapeutic efficacy.