Abstract

Using plants to treat health problems is an ancient practice that is still practiced today. One way that plants are used to improve health is through medicine bottled (garrafada). A medicine bottled is a homemade mixture of medicinal plants added to a solvent. Medicines bottled are medicinal mixtures that have been widely used, especially by residents of rural areas. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the plant species and contents used to prepare medicine bottled by the Bananal Community in the municipality of Rondonópolis/MT/Brazil. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the residents of the community. Data analysis was descriptive. The study revealed a total of 12 medicine bottled types used by the community, with 27 plant species belonging to 24 genera and 14 families. The most frequently cited families were Fabaceae, Rutaceae, Moraceae, and Bignoniaceae. The most frequently cited species was Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul, known popularly as a mama-cadela; was used in three cited medicine bottled. Some medicine bottled was produced with a single species of medicinal plant and others with three or more. Their therapeutic purposes were diverse, with some medicine bottled indicated to treat one disease and others to treat two or more diseases. It can be concluded that the Bananal community demonstrates knowledge about the plant species used and how to extract their active compounds. The strong historical and cultural context, in addition to the diversity and availability of native plant resources in Brazil, may have perpetuated the use of medicine bottled in the Bananal Community.

Key words: Medicinal plants, medicine bottled (garrafada), popular knowledge.