Inflammatory disorders are common in modern life, and medicinal plants provide an interesting source for new compounds bearing anti-inflammatory properties. In this regard, Brazilian medicinal plants are considered to be a promising supply of such compounds due to their great biodiversity. To undertake a review on Brazilian medicinal plants with corroborated anti-inflammatory activities by selecting data from the literature reporting the efficacy of plants used in folk medicine as anti-inflammatory, including the mechanisms of action of their extracts and isolated compounds. A search in the literature was undertaken by using the following Web tools: Web of Science, SciFinder, Pub-Med and Science Direct. The terms 'anti-inflammatory' and 'Brazilian medicinal plants' were used as keywords in search engine. Tropicos and Reflora websites were used to verify the origin of the plants, and only the native plants of Brazil were included in this review. The publications reporting the use of well-accepted scientific protocols to corroborate the anti-inflammatory activities of Brazilian medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory potential were considered. We selected 70 Brazilian medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory activity. The plants were grouped according to their anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action. The main mechanisms involved inflammatory mediators, such as interleukins (ILs), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cyclooxygenase (COX) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The collected data on Brazilian medicinal plants, in the form of crude extract and/or isolated compounds, showed significant anti-inflammatory activities involving different mechanisms of action, indicating Brazilian plants as an important source of anti-inflammatory compounds.

Copaifera is a genus of large trees found in Brazil, mainly in Amazon forest, but also in Atlantic forest and cerrado biomes. It has also been found in other countries in South America. In Africa, it is found mainly in Congo, Cameroon, Guinea and Angola. Its oleoresin has been used in folk medicine in the treatment of numerous healthy disorders, such as urinary, respiratory, skin and inflammatory diseases, for which there are several studies corroborating its ethnopharmacological uses. It is also extensively employed in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in the development of ointments, pills, soaps, perfumes, among others. Copaifera oleoresin contains mainly diterpenes, such as: kaurenoic acid, kaurenol, copalic acid, agathic acid, hardwiickic acid, polyalthic acid, and sesquiterpenes, comprising β-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, α-copaene, α-humulene, γ-muurolene and β-bisabolol, among other compounds. On the other hand, Copaifera leaves contain mainly phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and methylated galloylquinic acid derivatives. Therefore, considering the economic importance of Copaifera oleoresin, its ethnopharmacological uses, the need to develop new pharmaceuticals for the treatment of many diseases, as well as the pharmacological potential of the compounds found in Copaifera spp., it was undertaken a review covering mostly the last two decades on the distribution, chemistry, pharmacology, quality control and safety of Copaifera species.