HOW TO STUDY THE PHARMACOLOGY OF MEDICINAL-PLANTS IN UNDERDEVELOPED-COUNTRIES

This paper presents a reflection based on 15 years' experience of stud ies on the pharmacology of medicinal plants in an underdeveloped count ry, Brazil. In these countries the investment in research is small and frequently interrupted. There is no new-medicines development program . Brazilian pharmaceutical companies have been short-sighted and have not developed new drugs. Although the diversity of the Brazilian flora is a remarkable opportunity for the development of new medicine produ cts, natural product research is limited to a small group. These diffi culties are common to all underdeveloped countries. Strategies for the pharmacological study of medicinal plants are proposed, the main diff iculties are identified and a discussion of possible ways to overcome them is presented.