Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the primary and secondary labels of plantbased medicines. Method: This research has a cross-sectional and descriptive. The procedure consisted of analyzing 100 labels of medicinal plant-based products used by elderly people from (in) Macapá-AP, in 2017. A script was prepared to verify their adequacy to health standards based on the Brazilian legislation (commercial name, botanical nomenclature, active ingredients, concentration, route of administration, age-restricted use, quantity and pharmaceutical form, preservation care, company name, CNPJ - Brazils's companies registration number, composition, SAC, expiration date, manufacture and batch), descriptive analysis of the data was performed (protocol number 38400314.9.0000.0003). Results: Only 4% of the products completely met the analyzed criteria. One of the main problems observed was the absence of a uniform standard of presentation of information on the packaging. About 7% of these products did not present any information besides the popular name of the medicinal plant used, 37% of the packages (or labels) contain statements and images that induce self-medication, errors in use, or references to "natural medicine", besides, transmitting the idea that the product has superior properties to drugs on the market. Conclusions: The results obtained suggest that the packaging of medicinal plant-based products induces the irrational use of medicines due to the lack of adequate information, as well as the presence of inadequate makenting strategies, in accordance with current national legislation.
Highlights
MethodsThis research has a cross-sectional and descriptive character and data collection (labels) occurred between July and December 2017
In Brazil, it is estimated that about 82% of the population uses medicinal plant products in health care, either through traditional knowledge, popular medicine or the official health system, as a scientific practice, guided by the guidelines and principles of SUS - Unified Health System[1].Financial support: None
Traditional herbal products presented the highest frequency among the products analyzed, corresponding to 42% (Graph 1)
Summary
This research has a cross-sectional and descriptive character and data collection (labels) occurred between July and December 2017. 132 samples of medicinal plant-based medicines used by the elderly were donated for label analysis, of which only 100 were eligible for this study. These elderly people participated in the project “Evaluation of the quality of herbal preparations and the impact of their use in the pharmacotherapy of elderly patients”, where the medicinal plant-based medicines packages were given for microbiological quality control and the labels were removed for the development of this study. People at the time of donation of medicinal plant-based medicines samples reported that the acquisition was carried out in fairs, markets and drug stores or compounding pharmacies. Products that were not legible and labels that were torn or ripped were excluded
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