Abstract
Many medicinal plants are sought as alternative therapies for various conditions, as opposed to synthetic alternatives. The Brazilian Amazon provides a plethora of plants with various therapeutic and medicinal properties. One of them is copaiba oil, a natural product of the biodiversity of the Amazon. The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of copaiba oil have been drawing the attention of the scientific community as a great alternative in the treatment of illnesses associated with inflammatory and infectious processes. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate and analyze the latest publications on the use of copaiba oil in the PubMed/Medline database from 2014 to 2017. Forty-two articles were collected, verifying anti-inflammatory activity, antimicrobial activity, healing, and antitumor activity. The results found on researches with copaiba oil according to publication dates were 11.9% in 2014, 38.1% in 2015, 16.7% in 2016, and 33.3% in 2017. In the analyzed studies, the proposed administration of copaiba oil was 50% topical, 28.6% oral, 9.5% enteral, 4.8% subcutaneous, and 7.1% others. In the objectives of the presente study in relation to the administration of copaiba oil, the result was 31% antimicrobial, 28.6% anti-inflammatory, 9.5% antitumor, 9.5% healing, and 21% others. Regarding the types of research, we have found 50% in vitro, 40.4% in vivo animals, 2.4% in vivo human, 2.4% review and 4.8% others. Regarding the significance factor evaluation, the result was 100% positive in antitumor activity, 84% positive in infection and inflammation pathology, 62% positive in others, like dental processes, food technology application support and as a drug absorption vehicle, and 50% in healing. The results presented in the current meta-analysis show that copaiba oil is an effective alternative to treatments of illnesses such as chronic inflammation, infectious diseases, various types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and as a vehicle for the absorption of other drugs. Thus, more studies regarding the benefits of copaiba oil could provide a great contribution to the medical community in the treatment of the aforementioned illnesses.
Keywords
copaiba oil - anti-inflammatory - antimicrobial - antitumor - healing
