Studies in rural communities are important to maintain popular knowledge between generations, as well as to identify new species for pharmaceutical production. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine which plant species the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil, uses by calculating the levels of fidelity and concordance regarding species uses among residents and to determine if there is a relationship between the number of known useful plants and levels of education, age, and residence time. Ethnobotanical data was collected from residents of the community through semi-structured interviews in January/December/2016. Species diversity was calculated using Shannon-Wiener, Level of Fidelity (LF), Correction Factor, and the Percentage of Agreement regarding the Main Uses (AMU). Statistical tests were performed using generalized linear models (GLM) in the R environment. The plant use indications were grouped according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD 10). We found 152 species belonging to 130 genera and 67 families. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves, and decoction was the most frequent preparation mode. Strychnos pseudoquina was the species with the highest amount of use indications. The diversity index was 4.5 nats/ind-1. The body system with the most citations was the code XVIII of ICD 10, corresponding to the species: alfavaca, mentraste, terramicina, angelim, fedegoso. Medicinal species with AMU values higher than 25% were: Strychnos pseudoquina, Plectranthus barbatus, Citrus sinensis cv. pera, Cymbopogon citratus. There was a relationship between the number of useful plants and the residence time of the participants. The Bananal community revealed high species richness and the relationship of knowledge showed that the older the residents and the longer their residence time in the community, the more knowledge they acquired.

The aim of this study was to characterize the oil obtained from seeds of Campomanesia adamantium by physicochemical quality parameters, oxidative stability, antioxidant activity, quality indexes, optical and thermal stability and its fatty acid profile. These seeds were a relevant source of oil (83 mg g-1) with high potential antioxidant activity (IC 50 = 25.32 μg mL-1) evaluated by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) with induction period above of 50 hours. In addition, palmitic (53%) and oleic (34%) are the primary saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. This oil showed excellent quality for edible vegetable oil and bioctive compounds. The thermal stability of this oil by thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermogravimetry (TGA/DTG) started at 154 and 231 °C under synthetic air and nitrogen atmospheres, respectively, and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) crystallization was onset at 4.94 °C. This study revealed as a novelty that the C. adamantium seeds are an excellent source of oil that presents best qualities, which makes it a great candidate for edible vegetable oil, as well as for production of soap, lotions and biofuel.

Croton L. (Euphorbiaceae) is the second largest genus of the Euphorbiaceae s.l. family, which is composed of about 1,200 taxa. Several species are widely used medicinally in various parts of the world to treat cancer, digestive problems, skin diseases, malaria, ulcers, and obesity. The leaves and stems are sold as dehydrated fragments, or in powder form, and used in the preparation of teas and various types of formulations. The aim of this study was to accurately characterize the leaf anatomy of Croton bonplandianus Baill. and Croton gracilipes Baill. and to perform histochemical analysis of laticifers to provide subsidies for botanical certification. To accomplish this, leaf blade and petiole samples were fixed and prepared following standard techniques for scanning electron and light microscopy. Histochemical tests were carried out on sections to detect the compounds present in the secretions. Results showed neutral and acidic lipids, as well as phenolic compounds, in the latex. In addition, leaf anatomical structures of these two species were studied for specific identification of morphological characters and for quality assessment of these medicinal plants.

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Abstract:We report the first record of Nymphaea belophylla for the Pantanal wetland in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, being the southernmost record of this waterlily. It is one of the seven neotropical species of this genus in the Pantanal. We collected N. belophylla during a study on seasonality of herbaceous species composition in a remote area of the Paraguay river floodplain, what reinforces the importance of floristic surveys to improve knowledge on species distribution.

Using plants to treat health problems is an ancient practice that is still practiced today. One way that plants are used to improve health is through medicine bottled (garrafada). A medicine bottled is a homemade mixture of medicinal plants added to a solvent. Medicines bottled are medicinal mixtures that have been widely used, especially by residents of rural areas. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the plant species and contents used to prepare medicine bottled by the Bananal Community in the municipality of Rondonópolis/MT/Brazil. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the residents of the community. Data analysis was descriptive. The study revealed a total of 12 medicine bottled types used by the community, with 27 plant species belonging to 24 genera and 14 families. The most frequently cited families were Fabaceae, Rutaceae, Moraceae, and Bignoniaceae. The most frequently cited species was Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul, known popularly as a mama-cadela; was used in three cited medicine bottled. Some medicine bottled was produced with a single species of medicinal plant and others with three or more. Their therapeutic purposes were diverse, with some medicine bottled indicated to treat one disease and others to treat two or more diseases. It can be concluded that the Bananal community demonstrates knowledge about the plant species used and how to extract their active compounds. The strong historical and cultural context, in addition to the diversity and availability of native plant resources in Brazil, may have perpetuated the use of medicine bottled in the Bananal Community.

This work was carried out aiming to evaluate phytosociological parameters and the influence of topographic gradient and water levels on plant distribution in a vereda. That for, we sampled two sites (wet grassland and floodable transition to pond) in two seasons (rainy and dry). Along permanent transects, every 10 m we placed transversally four quadrats of 1 m 2 , 2 m apart, a total of 280 plots, to estimate percentage cover of each species and water depth. To evaluate the influence of relief and flood level on plant distribution we performed a Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and Analysis of Permutational Multivariate Variance (PERMANOVA). We recorded 174 species, the richest families were Poaceae (40), Cyperaceae (25) and Asteraceae (14) and the richest genera Paspalum, Rhynchospora and Utricularia (8 each), Hyptis and Cyperus (6), Eleocharis, Ludwigia and Xyris (5). The phytosociological parameters revealed the importance of Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Asteraceae in these communities, corroborating other reports on veredas. We found discrete difference in the species richness between sampling periods, in both wet grassland and transition areas. The slope varied from 0 to 314 cm and was significant for species distribution in both seasons, with a continuum related to waterlogging and surface water on the distinct topographic quotas. In general, we found discrete groupments of species, particularly in lower quotas. The main indicator species were the filiform Eriochrysis holcoides (Poales, Poaceae), Rhynchospora emaciata (Poales, Poaceae), Andropogon virgatus (Poales, Poaceae), Paspalum erianthoides (Poales, Poaceae) and P. flaccidum (Poales, Poaceae). Some species tend to be selective whilst others show plasticity regarding microhabitat.