Pharmaceutical Care in Phytotherapy: quality of Passiflora spp. products purchased from pharmacies in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil

Abstract

The use of plants and their products as a therapeutic resource is expanding, reflecting the tendency to use natural products of plant origin in the recovery of health, a worrying situation, considering the risks associated with the use of poor-quality products for medicinal purposes. Thus, this study proposes to evaluate the quality samples of leaves of Passiflora spp., used for medicinal use by the Maranhão population, sold in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. Samples acquired in five pharmaceutical establishments were submitted to quality assessment using marketing parameters, authenticity, integrity, and purity. Most samples do not meet legal labeling parameters and there is wide price variation. All samples are within the limits of the specialized literature regarding water content, foam content, and total ash. In the quantification of flavonoids, two samples presented values lower than that required by the official monograph. The results show the need for greater supervision, surveillance, and quality control of medicinal plant material made available for commercialization.