Plantas medicinais de interesse ao SUS com indicação para distúrbios do sistema nervoso central

Abstract

Disorders of the Central Nervous System (CNS) affect a large portion of the population and, as they have a complex etiology, the drugs available today still present, in some cases, limited effectiveness, as well as presenting a series of side effects. Anxiety is a disorder that affects more and more people around the world and some individuals do not respond well to conventional anxiolytic medications, which can lead to the development of tolerance and dependence, among other adverse effects. Medicinal plants and herbal medicines can be considered a promising alternative for the treatment of anxiety and other CNS disorders. Thus, ethnobotanical knowledge and the empirical basis of the traditional use of natural products generate interest from government agencies in the development of new drugs to be distributed to the population. The Ministry of Health launched in 2009 the National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the SUS (ReniSUS) with the aim of guiding studies and research to develop a set of plants to be distributed in the SUS for various indications. Of these, only five species are indicated for CNS disorders as an aid in the treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders, being the Passiflora incarnata, Passiflora edulis, Passiflora alata, Erythrina mulungu and Alpinia zerumbet. All of these species have indications based on scientific studies, at some degree, as confirmed by the articles selected for this work, but clinical studies with such species are scarce. Other species that are not present in ReniSUS have indications for use in CNS disorders described in other technical and government documents, suggesting that they could also be included in the ReniSUS list.