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Jaborandi, source of pilocarpine, gains a living bank in the Carajás National Forest after scientists identify a rare conservation challenge.
An essential Amazonian plant for modern medicine has become the focus of a conservation project in the Carajás National Forest, in Pará.
The jaborandi, scientifically known as Pilocarpus microphyllus, is the only known natural source of pilocarpine, a substance used in the treatment of glaucoma, Sjögren’s syndrome, and xerostomia.
The species is listed as vulnerable on the Brazilian Flora Red List, pressured by decades of inadequate management, intense collection, and habitat loss.
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The situation concerns researchers because there is still no consolidated synthetic alternative to replace the pilocarpine extracted from the plant.
Scientific investigation reveals a rare conservation challenge
The project was developed by researchers from the Instituto Tecnológico Vale Desenvolvimento Sustentável, the ITV, within the FLONA Carajás.
According to a study published in the scientific journal PLOS One, the team created an inter situ collection, that is, a germplasm bank formed by living plants.
Unlike traditional banks, this model keeps specimens in semi-natural conditions, within ecological restoration areas of the forest itself.
According to researcher Cecilio Caldeira Frois, corresponding author of the study, jaborandi seeds lose viability quickly.
This characteristic prevents the plant from being efficiently conserved in conventional seed banks.
Between 2020 and 2023, seedlings were taken to recovery areas
Researchers collected seeds from four genetically distinct populations within the FLONA Carajás between 2020 and 2023.
The seedlings were produced in a nursery and transplanted to former mining areas in different stages of recovery.
Each plant received individual monitoring from its maternal origin to the field.
This control allowed identifying bottlenecks in propagation and adjusting collection strategies for each new campaign.
By 2023, three out of the four populations showed significant results.
Each of them exceeded 500 established plants and maintained adequate genetic representation of the wild populations.
The fourth population still faces challenges and remains a priority for upcoming campaigns.
Local cooperative strengthens sustainable use of the plant
The project also includes the participation of CoEx-Carajás, a cooperative formed by families who have managed jaborandi for generations.
The cooperative members participate in the planning from the beginning and do not act only as seed collectors.
This integration helps to unite science, traditional knowledge, and sustainable use of jaborandi.
According to Cecilio Caldeira Frois, the cooperative members are essential for identifying real needs and assessing the feasibility of proposals.
Living bank also helps restored areas
The living collection helps enrich the understory of areas in ecological restoration.
The bank also generates biological material for new research and for improving management in traditional collection regions.
Researchers point out that the experience in Carajás can serve as a reference for other tropical species.
This model is especially interesting for plants whose seeds also cannot withstand conventional storage for long.
The article published in PLOS One details procedures, challenges, and solutions found during the process.
Thus, the jaborandi living bank ceases to be just a local action and becomes a scientific conservation model.
Now, the challenge is to expand the results and ensure that the plant remains available for the forest, science, and medicine.
After all, how many essential species can still disappear before society understands their true value?
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