PROSPECÇÃO TECNOLÓGICA: APLICAÇÕES FITOTERÁPICAS DO BOLDO EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY: APPLICATIONS OF HERBAL BOLDO

Despite major technological advances in medicine currently observed, medicinal plants still play an important role in the health of the population. It is believed that 30% of all drugs are evaluated as therapeutic agents derived from natural products, and various species of bilberry is one of the most studied plants for medicinal purposes. Its leaves are used in folk medicine to treat digestive problems, liver and also used in homeopathic medicine. The aim of this study was to prospecting, hoping to make the pursuit of precedence and present an overview of the current state of scientific and technological development related to several applications of the bilberry based on the number of patents and published articles. The exploration was conducted in the Bank (European Patent Office patent Europen EPO), the Bank of the World Intellectual Property Organization (World intellectual Organization WIPO), the Bank of America Patent and Trademark Office (United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO) and the database of the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil INPI on the basis of periodic Web of Science. Japan, France, Chile and Brazil lead the ranking of countries by patents. The study showed a marked technological advancement, where it was observed that the patents are classified with the code A61K related to preparations for medical purposes, or dental hygiene, then the ratings A61P and A61Q, related to specific therapeutic activity of chemical compounds or preparations medicines, and the specific use for cosmetic or similar personal hygiene preparations, respectively. We observed that Chile and Brazil are the countries that publish articles in recent years and this is indicative of a growing technological evolution in the use of plant medicianal. Key-words: Boldo, medical application, patent, technology foresight 1. Introducao O uso de plantas medicinais no Brasil e um traco cultural marcante e figura como uma alternativa para as pessoas que nao possuem acesso a medicina tradicional. A medicina popular tem sido usada no tratamento e na cura de doencas nas regioes mais carentes do pais assim como em grandes cidades brasileiras e isso se dar em grande parte atraves do uso de plantas medicinais que sao comercializadas em feiras livres, mercados populares e encontradas em quintais residenciais. Esse tipo de cultura medicinal desperta o interesse de pesquisadores em estudos envolvendo areas multidiciplinares, como por exemplo, botânica, farmacologia, fitoquimica, genetica, entre outras, que associadas enriquecem os conhecimentos sobre a inesgotavel fonte medicinal natural (VIEIRA e SILVA, 2002; NANI, 2000). Podemos citar como exemplo de