Hortos Medicinais em Unidades de Saúde Pública: o bem viver e conservação de espécies no Horto Medicinal Biodinâmico Mil Folhas (Botucatu - SP)

Abstract

In recent decades, phytotherapy has gained prominence both as a complementary practice and as an alternative in response to the high cost of synthetic medicines and to scientific evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of several plant species. The methodology was divided into three parts: literature review, case study, and documentary research. For the literature review, articles were selected using the SciELO and Google Scholar databases that addressed the historical use of medicinal plants and their articulation with sustainable cultivation practices, especially those related to medicinal gardens, agroforestry systems, and biodynamic agriculture, considering their impacts within the agroecological context and on the promotion of human health. The case study focused on the Biodynamic Medicinal Garden Mil Folhas, located in the city of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, in order to verify the activities developed that are capable of promoting population health and species conservation. Such information was provided by Maria Valéria Nani Rinaldi, coordinator of the Garden, through a semi-structured interview conducted on November 4, 2025.The documentary research aimed to identify and evaluate the conservation status of the species present in the garden, as well as their applications and preparation methods. The results show that, of the 30 species cultivated in the Mil Folhas Garden, 60% are exotic (27% of which are naturalized) and 40% are native. Regarding their conservation status, 70.1% are classified as “Not Evaluated (NE),” 23.3% fall into the “Least Concern (LC)” category, and 6.6% are classified as “Data Deficient (DD).” Through the activities developed by the Mil Folhas Garden, it is observed that it contributes to biodiversity conservation by reducing extractivism, strengthening traditional knowledge, expanding safe access to phytotherapy, acting as a space for socio-environmental education, and promoting health within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). It was verified that initiatives such as the Mil Folhas Garden represent effective strategies for integrating health, traditional knowledge, sustainability, science, and the conservation of medicinal species.