The use of medicinal plants is one of the oldest practices employed in the treatment of human
diseases, allowing the strengthening of traditional medicine over the years, as popular
wisdom, being an important therapeutic resource and ally to the ethnopharmacology. The
ethnobotany research contributed to the study of the flora of the state of Ceará aiming to
identify, characterize, record and retrieve knowledge and therapeutic use of medicinal plants
used by most community residents of the Horto, Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará and get through
phytochemical prospecting, confirming the indications of the plants studied. The methodology
used for the study was based on ethnobotanical interviews, observations with participants in a
universe of 200 respondents of both sexes. We identified 50 medicinal species belonging to
27 botanical families, which formed were collected and dried specimens, embedded in the
Herbarium of the Center for Health and Rural Technology (CSTR) at the Federal University
of Campina Grande, where he presented information on parts used in the preparation of home
remedies, method of preparation, uses, source knowledge, get the plant names and popular. The
largest number of respondents had age ranged from 40 to 79 years (65%). The most frequent
residence time ranged between 20 and 59 years (62,5%). Knowledge about the use of plants
for therapeutic purposes have been inherited from the parents (45%) and grandparents (30%),
having been influenced also by the local religious culture (22%). For those parts of the plants
most used are featured in the leaves with 37%, followed by shells with 24%. The community
uses a greater proportion of medicinal plants from a crop itself (48%), but also using their
natural habit (32%). The representatives of 12 plants, belonging to the family Anacardiaceae
(01), Cleomaceae (01), Fabaceae (06), Oleaceae (01), Phyllanthaceae (01), Plantaginaceae
(01), Rubiaceae (01), most cited were subjected to analysis phytochemical that the steps of
collecting, obtaining the ethanol extract and identification of secondary metabolites by
chemical gear. Experimental tests were performed at the Research Laboratory of Natural
Products (LPPN) Regional University of Cariri (URCA), which enabled the identification of
samples with 100% of alkaloids, tannins containing 84,6% and 56,2% had all groups
flavonoids. The positive results for the classes of chemical compounds revealed that the
species incorporate healing properties. The data showed that the community has acquired a
rich knowledge on medicinal plants and subject to ethnopharmacological studies.
