Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. 20, 000–000 (2006)DOI: 10.1002/ptr

618 J. ALONSO ET AL.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCHPhytother. Res. 20, 618 (2006)Published online in Wiley InterScience(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/ptr.1923

LETTER TO THE EDITORPrimary Health Care and Phytomedicinein Argentina

Received 14 March 2006Accepted 16 March 2006

To date, the project has been active in three pro-vinces of Argentina: Misiones (with headquarters in thecapital city of Posadas), Santa Fe (with headquartersin the district of Reconquista) and Buenos Aires (withheadquarters in the district of Malvinas Argentinas).Initial products have been based on ‘congorosa’(Maytenus ilicifolia – Celastraceae), whose effective-ness in the treatment of gastric problems has been suf-ficiently validated; ‘ambay’ (Cecropia pachystachya –Cecropiaceae), useful in the treatment of respiratoryailments; and ‘calendula’ (Calendula officinalis –Asteraceae), highly effective in dermatology. Theextracts are delivered as tablets, syrup and dermalcream, respectively. The list is completed by ‘amaranth’(Amarantus spp. – Amarantaceae), an Andean cerealthat is being included in the diet of undernourishedchildren. However, further regions and products areexpected to be included in the future.

Pharmaceutical products are being manufactured bythe Misiones Province Laboratory, and distributedthroughout the three regions. ‘Amaranth’, on the otherhand, is being treated as a crop, and its production,together with the development of food products, is beingfocused on in Reconquista, while its distribution isplanned for the other two regions. Community phar-macies are also being developed in this district, withthe aim of producing pharmaceutical products for localuse. The list of activities is completed in the district ofMalvinas Argentinas, where the effects of the inclusionof ‘amaranth’ in the diet of urban low-income childrenare being studied. The production of ‘calendula’ andother species used as raw materials in the manufactureof phytomedicines is also being introduced in familygardens by small producers whose aim is to improveproductive-based income.

Jorge Alonso, Cristian Desmarchelier andHugo Golberg

Argentine Association of Phytomedicine,Santa Fe 3553, Second Floor 8, Buenos Aires,

Argentina.

We would like to appraise you of a new initiative beingdeveloped in Argentina which may be of interest andrelevance to other areas. According to the Declarationof Alma-Ata, agreed by the World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) in 1978, primary health care can bedefined as essential health care based on practical,scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods andtechnology made universally accessible to individualsand families in the community. Thus, this is the firstlevel of contact of individuals, the family and the com-munity with the national health system bringing healthcare as close as possible to where people live and work.

The use of medicinal plants and phytomedicines inprimary health care has been endorsed by the WHO,and has been put into practice in many countries aroundthe world. However, much is still to be done, in par-ticular throughout the region of South America. In thissense, and thanks to the support of the Italian Ministryof External Affairs and to the Lombard Region of thiscountry, the Argentine Association of Phytomedicineand the Centre for Educational Orientation of Italyhave been involved, since 2004, in a project whose aimis to introduce the use of phytomedicines in primaryhealth care within three critical regions or provinces ofArgentina.

This project, also known locally as ‘Cultivando laSalud’ (or ‘Cultivating Health’, in English), as its namemay suggest, is not only focused on health issues, butalso has a strong productive component, paying specialattention to all the stages that lead to the manufactur-ing process of phytomedicines, including the collectionof wild species and the cultivation of domesticatedplants, production of extracts as by-products forthe manufacture of phytomedicines and high qualitystandards of finished products. Thus, compliance withnational health policy requirements is a must when itcomes to the distribution of phytomedicines within thelocal health care system. The cycle is not complete untilmedicines reach the community, usually through pre-scription by health professionals that receive trainingfor this purpose, also provided by the project.