Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-02-29T23:02:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FranciscoAngeloGurgelDaRocha_TESE.pdf: 6305095 bytes, checksum: 04ae66ce7ff9aa72c4e0ca1c58ed9d3d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-02T20:07:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FranciscoAngeloGurgelDaRocha_TESE.pdf: 6305095 bytes, checksum: 04ae66ce7ff9aa72c4e0ca1c58ed9d3d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-02T20:07:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FranciscoAngeloGurgelDaRocha_TESE.pdf: 6305095 bytes, checksum: 04ae66ce7ff9aa72c4e0ca1c58ed9d3d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Historicamente, o homem adquiriu de forma emp?rica conhecimentos acerca das aplica??es terap?uticas de elementos extra?dos do ambiente natural no qual se inseria. Tais conhecimentos ao longo do tempo culminaram na forma??o dos sistemas de medicina tradicional. Dentre os seus recursos, o uso de esp?cies vegetais bioativas ? as plantas medicinais - destaca-se pela sua efic?cia e alta aceita??o popular. Apesar de sua import?ncia para a sa?de coletiva, a popula??o ainda tem nas feiras livres a principal fonte para a aquisi??o das esp?cies que utiliza. Nestes espa?os, a comercializa??o de modo geral ocorre na informalidade e em condi??es desfavor?veis ? qualidade dos produtos e ? sustentabilidade financeira do neg?cio. Neste contexto, este estudo objetivou caracterizar os aspectos socioecon?micos, culturais e sanit?rios referentes ? comercializa??o de plantas medicinais em munic?pios de uma regi?o semi?rida do Rio Grande do Norte, al?m de propor legisla??o espec?fica ? atividade. Os dados socioecon?micos foram coletados por meio de entrevistas in loco guiadas por formul?rio estruturado. As observa??es acerca da adequa??o higi?nica e sanit?ria das instala??es f?sicas e pr?ticas empregadas nos pontos de comercializa??o/entorno foram conduzidas e registradas com uso de instrumento avaliativo desenvolvido para a aplica??o em feiras livres. A adequa??o das plantas medicinais ao consumo foi determinada atrav?s de an?lises microbiol?gicas. A atividade era exercida por indiv?duos pertencentes ? faixa et?ria entre 21 e 81 anos de idade, de baixo n?vel escolar e baixa renda, com predomin?ncia de indiv?duos do sexo masculino. Os dados apontaram uma tend?ncia ? extin??o da atividade em todos os munic?pios estudados. Observou-se em todas as feiras livres estudas inadequa??es higi?nicas e sanit?rias que caracterizavam isco sanit?rio muito alto, representando-se desta forma a elevada probabilidade da ocorr?ncia de surtos de Doen?as Transmitidas por Alimentos. Tais condi??es se refletiram nos elevados percentuais de inadequa??o das amostras de plantas medicinais analisadas ao consumo, ilustrando o risco potencial ? sa?de dos consumidores. Visando contribuir com a corre??o das inadequa??es higi?nicas e sanit?rias observadas nas feiras estudadas, foram realizadas a??es educativas voltadas ? capacita??o dos comerciantes em Boas Pr?ticas. De forma complementar, foi elaborada proposta de legisla??o espec?fica para a comercializa??o de produtos da medicina popular em feiras livres. Tais a??es, produtos e seus desdobramentos poder?o contribuir de forma significativa para a melhoria na qualidade dos produtos dispon?veis ? popula??o e para a preserva??o da atividade, potencialmente reduzindo os riscos ? sa?de p?blica. / Historically, man has empirically acquired knowledge about the therapeutic applications of extracted elements of the natural environment in which belonged. Such knowledge over time culminated in the formation of traditional health systems. Among its features, the use of bioactive plant species - medicinal plants - stands out for its efficiency and high popular acceptance. Despite its importance for public health, the population still has in the open-air fairs the main source for the acquisition of the species used. In these spaces, the trade generally occurs informally, under unfavorable conditions to the quality of the products and to the financial sustainability of the business. In this context, this study aimed to characterize the socioeconomic, cultural and sanitary aspects related to the trade of medicinal plants in municipalities of a semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte, and additionally, proposing a specific legislation to the activity. Socioeconomic data were collected through on-site interviews, guided by structured form. The observations about the hygienic and sanitary adequacy of physical facilities and practices employed at the point of sale /environment were conducted and recorded with the use of assessment tool developed for use in open markets. The adequacy of medicinal plants to consumption was determined by microbiological analysis. The activity was carried out by individuals who are aged between 21 and 81 years of age, low educational level and low-income, predominantly males. The data showed a tendency to extinction of the activity in all the districts studied. It was observed in all the fairs studied hygiene and sanitation inadequacies that characterized very high health risk, representing in this way, the high probability of Food Transmitted Diseases outbreaks Such conditions were reflected in the high percentage of inadequacy to the consumption of the analyzed medicinal plants samples, illustrating the potential health risk to consumers. To contribute to the correction of hygiene and sanitation inadequacies observed in the studied open-air fairs, educational interventions were made to the training of traders in Good Practices. As a complement, was drafted a specific legislation for the marketing of folk medicine's products in open-air fairs. Such actions, products and its developments will contribute significantly to improving the quality of products available to the population and the preservation of activity, potentially reducing the risks to public health.