Aqui Tem Química: Parte VIII. Produtos Florestais não-Madeireiros (PFNM)

Resumo

Forests represent the continuity of life on the planet and are the pillars of social and economic development.
However, their existence is threatened due to the irresponsibility and greed of the humans who plunder
their valuable natural resources and their lands. As a result of deforestation and forest fragmentation,
there have been more and more changes in the global climate effects, which provide devastating events
of drought and fires in fields and floods and deadly landslides in cities. Forests act as buffers that regulate
the world’s climate. They are a vast stock of valuable non-timber forest products (NWFPs) that have been
used for millennia by animals, including humans, since since the evolution of Homo sapiens sapiens they
have been fundamental to the livelihoods of their tribes and families. There are many products that can
be economically exploited by keeping forests standing and recovering those that are already devastated.
These forests can attract companies that can generate jobs, income, chemicals derived from renewable
sources, new drug prototypes, food, cosmetics, etc. In this article, some non-timber forest products will
be highlighted, in particular, the chemical aspects of forest oleoresins and their main applications, which
have international markets for uses in cosmetics, medicinal therapeutics, among other diverse industrial
applications.