Survey of native plant aphrodisiacs popularly used in Brazil : an ethnopharmacological review

Abstract

Research for new therapeutic approaches can find ethnopharmacological data as an efficient guide. The World Health Organization (WHO) stimulates the development and prospection of medicinal plants within the context of traditional and complementary medicine. In this context, our study seeks to expand knowledge of Brazilian native medicinal plants popularly used as aphrodisiacs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). For this purpose, we conducted an ethnopharmacological compilation from 30 books, which originated a vast table, containing 78 native species, distributed alongside 45 botanical families, popularly recognized for their aphrodisiac properties. The more frequently cited species were Anemopaegma arvense, Ptychopetalum olacoides, Bixa orellana, Anacardium occidentale, Heteropterys tomentosa and Paullinia cupana. In addition to it, our study sought to analyze present scientifical data status, finding in vitro and in vivo studies for 17 plant species. Among the mentioned species, only Mucuna pruriens presented clinical studies. To our knowledge, this is the first study to merge ethnopharmacological and scientific data for native aphrodisiacs popularly used in Brazil. In conclusion, ethnopharmacological data can both work in reassuring safety in the use of traditional medicinal plants and in providing a guidance for further research.