Review of Piper species growing in the Brazilian State of Paraná with emphasize on the vegetative anatomy and biological activities

Abstract

The State of Parana has a diversity of plants that are used in the traditional medicine and among them are some of the representatives of the Piperaceae family. Piper is the one of the most important genera of this family and its species show similar morphology and different biological activities. The literature shows that approximately 54 species of Piper have been described in the State of Parana. The purpose of this study is to gather key information by means of electronic databases, about the morphoanatomy and biological activities of species of Piper found in the State of Parana. The results with regard to the morphoanatomy show that, on the whole, the species that have been described possess hypostomatic leaves, non-glandular and glandular trichomes, and calcium oxalate crystals in the leaves and stems. Several biological activities have been reported, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, digestive, diuretic, insecticidal, leishmanicidal, pesticide and trypanocide.