Therapeutic Potential of Tree Species in Araucaria Forest Fragments

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the medicinal potential of tree species in Araucaria Forest (FOM) remnants in Santa Catarina Plateau, highlighting those with therapeutic actions attested in scientific trials, as well as those with medicinal potential according to ethnobotanical records. The floristic composition was sampled through the point-centered quarter method, registering the individuals with DBH ≥ 5 cm closest to the center point. Sampling was conducted in Permanent Preservation Areas (APP’s) and/or Legal Reserve, with the help of 20 transects with 20 points quadrants each, totaling 2.61 hectares. Among the species recorded and identified, 16 of them, classified into 13 plant families, have medicinal potential described and attested in literature and 12 species within 10 families, are suggested as potential, according to ethnobotanical concepts. The present study showed that these sites may contribute to the maintenance of species of FOM and to base future studies on medicinal plants and/or other bioactive potential.