Potential medicinal use of forest species of the Deciduous Seasonal Forest from Atlantic Forest Biome, South Brazil

The current paper focuses on potential medicinal use of forest species from Deciduous Seasonal Forest in central region of Rio Grande do Sul State, South Brazil. Floristic and phytosociological surveys were carried out in 2011 and 2012. Results were compared with the available information in scientific literature about popular knowledge and biological/pharmacological evidences. Each species was classified in use categories to diseases, symptoms our disorders based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). In 2011, we found a total of 31 species, 77,4% of them with medicinal use. In 2012, we found 33 species,72,7% of them with medicinal use. The species most frequently mentioned were Casearia sylvestris, Eugenia uniflora, Cabralea canjerana, Luehea divaricata, Parapiptadenia rigida and Vitex megapotamica. The main species with biological/pharmacological properties were C. sylvestris, E. uniflora, L. divaricata, V. megapotamica and Zanthoxylum rhoifolium. We concluded that there is a considerable potential for medicinal purposes to forest species from Deciduous Seasonal Forest in the study region. We recommend further studies mainly about the species Prunus myrtifolia, Zanthoxylum rhoifolium, Cabralea canjerana and Casearia sylvestris which presented references to antitumoral properties.