Informal Trade of Psychoactive Herbal Products in the City of Diadema, SP, Brazil: Quality and Potential Risks

The present study aimed to assess the quality and risks involved in the consumption of psychoactive herbal products (PHs) that are available through informal commerce in the city of Diadema, SP, Brazil. Methods of ethnography were used to conduct the fieldwork during which four dealers were selected to record the collection, handling, packaging, types of PHs marketed, and their therapeutic purposes. In addition, lots of the PHs selected were purchased from the dealers and analyzed using microbiology and pharmacognosy techniques. 217 PHs were recorded and categorized into two main groups: stimulants (67%) and depressants (27%) of the central nervous system; sixteen of them were selected, and their 52 lots were acquired. The deficiencies observed in handling and packaging these lots by dealers were confirmed by microbiological analysis; 80.8% of them presented risk according to the indicators defined by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. The pharmacognostic analysis confirmed the authenticity of only 9 to 16 PHs analyzed. In addition, descriptions of contraindications, adverse reactions, and drug interactions were found in the literature for the PHs. The results of this study allow the observation of the priorities for the sanitary adequacy of the popular trade of herbs.