FAVA D’ANTA PROJECT - Social environmental economic - BRAZIL

The Fava-d’Anta Project is related to a bioactive plant from Cerrado, a Brazilian biome.

This Project focuses on the sustainable use of Cerrado’s biodiversity, which generates employment and opportunities to many small farmers working with medicinal plants as a resource. It is an investment opportunity for sustainable business for phytomedicines and phytocosmetics. Brazil has a rich biodiversity in its different ecosystems that hold species with high-medicinal value.

The fava-d’anta or Favela (figure 1), scientifically called Dimorphandra Mollis Benth, or D. mollis, is a vegetable found in the Brazilian biome Cerrado, located mainly in the north and northwest of the Minas Gerais State.

Fava-d’Anta has a high content of Rutin (up to 15%). Rutin is found in the leaves of the Ruta graveolens and other plants, and obtained as a bitter yellow crystalline substance which produces quercitin on decomposition.

Figure 1: Fava-d’anta

Although the industries have massively exploited the area and generated products from vegetal species, unfortunately, they do not take any responsibility on how to obtain raw materials, the nature of its products and management of tailings and the effluents from the production process.

The collecting process of Fava-d’Anta’s fruit is an important economic activity in the rural area of Minas Gerais’ north and northeast regions, that lasts four months every year.  In other words, small farmers, rural workers and entire families harvest the fruit as a source for subsistence or additional income, which represents 12% of the region familys´ earnings. 

Thousands of families that harvest fava-d’anta  are living at the margin of human dignity, despite the fact that the end product – rutin – has a high aggregate technological value. The families believe that rutin can be produce in Brazil with positive socio-economic-technological and cultural effect, but at the moment the situation is precarious.

Rutin, a bioflavonoid extracted from numerous plant species, is used, as a medicine, to treat varicose veins, hemorrhoids and blood vessels fragility; as a dietary supplement it is used as vitamin P, increasing the absorption of vitamin C in the body. It is also a powerful antioxidant, prevents atherosclerosis, and protects the blood-brain barrier.  

The main features and properties of rutin include:
• 100% natural;
• absorption of vitamin C in the body increase;
• antioxidant action that prevents the formation of free radicals;
• hypertension controlling action;
• prevention of aging process effects;
• resistance of capillaries increase;
• hemorrhoids treatment and prevention;
• prevention and treatment of varicose veins;
• diuretic action; and
• powerful preventive antioxidant of atherosclerosis.

GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT:

The project aims to stimulate a sustainable development of social, environmental and economic activities related to the exploitation of Cerrado’s medicinal plants, For that, a positive contribution to nature and health quality cam be achieved by organizing the production chain of Fava-d’anta and other medicinal plants, enabling small farmers to have jobs and income throughout the year (if a rutin industry is installed in the area).

Also, the project will prepare and submit a plan to encourage public and private investments in the industry for processing and adding value to the plant.  Hence, it will transform the region into a pole of excellence in the medicinal plant market.

 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

• Research and improve technological methods for extraction of fava-d’anta and other medicinal plants from Cerrado.
• Enable small farmers to deploy the cultivation and extraction of medicinal plants in a sustainable manner, targeting markets of pesticides, phytomedicines and phytocosmetics.
• Generate employment, income and work throughout the year for small farmers and community.
• Reduce the predatory exploitation of natural resources through training and educating the population to care about a fair and sustainable trade of Brazilian Cerrado fruit.
• Use the network among stakeholders involved to create multidisciplinary knowledge contributing to the sustainable exploitation of Cerrado natural resources.
• Build a factory for processing fava-d’anta fruit, and other Cerrado bioactive plants in partnership with the private sector.