Author(s)

Paula Fabiana Saldanha Tschinkel¹, Elaine Silva de Pádua Melo¹, Daniela Granja Arakaki¹, Valdir Aragão do Nascimento¹, Melina Ribeiro Fernandes¹, Nayara Vieira Lima¹, Luana Carolina Santos Leite¹, Hugo Santos Pereira², Kassia Roberta Nogueira da Silva², Francisco José Mendes dos Reis¹, Valter Aragão do Nascimento^1*

¹Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health, School of Medicine, Postgraduation Program in Health and Development in the Midwest Region, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, School of Medicine, Campo Grande, Brazil.
²Institute of Chemistry of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil.

Bredemeyera floribunda Wild (Polygalaceae), also known as pau-de-ovo is a medicinal plant used to treat snakebites, as tonic and fortifiers to treat fatigue and exhaustion. The aim of the present study was to document the knowledge of herbal sellers in the preparation of the so-called “B. floribunda fortifier” and to compare the plant root content with the recommended nutritional values and the permitted limit for medicinal plants. The study revealed that, unlike other regions of Brazil, in the Midwest region, the root of the plant is used as food to treat fatigue and exhaustion. The contents in B. floribunda root decreased in the following order: Ca > K > P > Na > Fe > Mg > Si > Mn > Zn > Cu. Daily intake of 30 grams of B. floribunda roots are considered as an excellent source of Cr, Cu, Mn and Se for people 19 to 50 years of age according to the RDA. In addition, Cu and Fe showed content above the established limit for medicinal plants stipulated by other countries. The root of the plant has low K, Mg, P, Na and Zn content. When the contents in roots of the plant are below the oral dose of reference, consumption of this plant can be considered safe and without risk to human health. On the other hand, concentration of elements such as Cu, Fe, Ni, Al, Cr and Se exceeding the allowable limit may cause serious health problems due to prolonged ingestion and large amounts consumed daily. The Brazilian legislation does not establish a permissible limit of macro- and micro-elements in medicinal plants; thus, the results presented in this study will contribute to the Brazilian public health policy on medicinal plants.

Macroelements, Microelements, Bredemeyera floribunda Wild, Pau-De-Ovo, ICP OES

Tschinkel, P. , de Pádua Melo, E. , Arakaki, D. , do Nascimento, V. , Fernandes, M. , Lima, N. , Leite, L. , Pereira, H. , da Silva, K. , dos Reis, F. and do Nascimento, V. (2020) Bredemeyera floribunda Wild Elemental Content and Comparison with Nutritional Recommendation for Adults: Medicinal Plant Used by the Brazilian Rural Population to Treat Fatigue and Exhaustion. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 11, 323-343. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2020.113024.