ABSTRACT
Plants from tropical forest served as a source of medicines for people from the tropics for centuries. Many therapeutic agents were derived from tropical forest species. Brazilian biodiversity was the source of active molecules used by the pharma. The combination of a rich traditional medicine and biodiversity places Brazil in a privileged position for drug discovery. Brazilian government created organizations and laws to protect and stimulate biodiversity local exploitation. Aché launched drug discovery via pharmacology and modern chemical, and pharmacological screening to discover active molecules, for example, Acheflan® from Cordia verbenacea for inflammatory processes. Preparations of Echinacea purpurea were used for centuries for common cold. Research showed that the main active constituents in ethanol preparations, alkyl-amides, act distinctively on the immune system with a specific binding on the cannabinoid-2 receptor, which leads to an immune modulatory 10and anti-inflammatory mode of action. Less was known about its direct antiviral properties. It was investigated in vitro the antiviral effects of Echinaforce®, an ethanol tincture from E. purpurea herba/radix (95:5), which inhibited effectively H3N2 influenza, and herpes simplex and respiratory syncytial viruses. Experiments on the antibacterial activity versus strains, which play a major role in infections of the upper respiratory tract, revealed good antibacterial effects.
