Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp., Rutaceae): a wild species and its rapid transformation into a crop

Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp.;) is a shrub or small tree 3-7.5 m tall that can be found in native stands or as isolated individuals throughout Brazil. The leaves of jaborandi contain the alkaloid pilocarpine, widely used in ophthalmology for treatment of certain types of glaucoma and more recently for x...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economic botany 1997-01, Vol.51 (1), p.49-58
Main Author: Pinheiro, C.U.B. (EMAPA, Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil.)
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Alkaloids
Biological and medical sciences
COSECHA
Crop economics
Crop harvesting
CROPS
CULTIVOS
DRUG PLANTS
DURABILITE
Ecological sustainability
Economic botany
EXTRACTIVE HARVESTING
EXTRACTIVISM
FEUILLE
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Generalities. Genetics. Plant material
Genetics and breeding of economic plants
HARVESTING
HOJAS
LEAVES
MARANHAO
NON-SUSTAINABILITY
Origin, evolution, domestication
Plant material
PLANT PRODUCTION
PLANTACIONES
PLANTAS MEDICINALES
PLANTAS SILVESTRES
PLANTATIONS
PLANTE DE CULTURE
PLANTE MEDICINALE
PLANTE SAUVAGE
Plants
PRODUCCION VEGETAL
PRODUCTION VEGETALE
RECOLTE
RUTACEAE
SOSTENIBILIDAD
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainable agriculture
WILD PLANTS
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Summary:Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp.;) is a shrub or small tree 3-7.5 m tall that can be found in native stands or as isolated individuals throughout Brazil. The leaves of jaborandi contain the alkaloid pilocarpine, widely used in ophthalmology for treatment of certain types of glaucoma and more recently for xerostomia. This paper discusses the current systems of production of jaborandi leaves in Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil. On one side, the extractivism practices by indigenous people and peasants; on the other, the plantation recently established, as the result of heavy investment by a pharmaceutical company. In the extractive system, the non-sustainable exploitation of the drug-rich leaves of this plant species may have produced considerable damage to the native populations over time, reducing the size of the populations, and impoverishing their gene pools. The following potential effects of the plantation are discussed; contribute to diminishing the pressure on wild populations; impact on the local people currently involved in the extractivism; and its impacts on the local economies. /// Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp.) é um arbusto ou arvoreta de 3-7.5 m de altura, que pode ser encontrado em formações nativas ou como indíviduos isolados em várias partes do Brazil. As folhas do jaborandi contêm o alcalóide pilocarpina, largamente utilizado em oftalmologia, no tratamento de certos tipos de glaucoma. Este trabalho mostra vários aspectos dos atuais sistemas de produção de folhas de jaborandi no Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil. De um lado, o sistema extrativista praticado por comunidades indigenas e camponeses; do outro, a plantação, recentemente implantada como resultado de significativo investimento por parte de uma indu̇stria farmacêutica, buscando domesticação desta espécie nativa. No sistema extrativista, a exploração extrativa das folhas de jaborandi pode estar produzindo danos consideráveis às populações nativas, reduzindo o tamanho dessas populações e empobrecendo suas bases genéticas. A plantação, por outro lado, levanta questões em relação à sua contribuição para diminuir a pressão sobre as populações nativas, sobre o futuro do povo atualmente envolvido no extrativismo, e os seus efeitos na economia local.
ISSN:0013-0001
1874-9364
DOI:10.1007/BF02910403