This study aimed to make a diagnosis of consumers of medicinal plants and phytomedicine, also addressing some aspects related to trade in Itaqui Municipality, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Data collection was performed in two complementary stages focusing on consumers and stores, especially drugstores. First, the profile of medicinal plant users was diagnosed through a semi-structured questionnaire which was applied to 183 people approached in areas frequently visited by inhabitants from different villages of the municipality; in the second stage, the trade and the view of formal trade was evaluated in the eight drugstores of the municipality. The results of interviews to build the profile of medicinal plant users showed that 71% interviewees were between 21 and 60 years old and most of them had monthly income of up to three minimum wages; as to the use of plants in folk medicine, around 82% stated to have had efficiency and, in cases of health problems, 47% searched for these plants; as regards cultivation, 55% interviewees cultivated medicinal plants in their houses. The second stage, carried out in drugstores, also indicated that phytomedicines and medicinal plants were purchased mostly by women, 75% adults and 25% elderly. The most sold teas were slimming and digestive teas, and the value paid for this type of product was between R$ 1.00 and R$ 3.00. In conclusion, there is market for medicinal plants and phytomedicine and there is also the need for further information related to their cultivation form and proper botanical identification, as well as information to users, quality and efficacy of products, and their use
ethnobotany; drugstores; plants in therapeutics
