Medicinal plant research conducted by medical students in Peru

In order to determine the contribution in medicinal plant research conducted by medical students in Peru a bibliometric study was conducted, using as source of analysis the abstract books of the National Scientific Congress of medical students conducted in Peru during the years 2005 to 2011. Research in basic sciences which were aimed at the medicinal properties of plants were selected. As results, 17.4% (95/546) of the investigations were about medicinal plants, experimental model in vivo was 73.7%; mostly type used was the aqueous extract (29.5%), the alcohol-hidroalcohol (20.0%) and essential oil (12.6%); 21 reported possible medicinal utilities; 15.8% of all the investigations was published in a scientific journal. We conclude that there is interest in research on medicinal plants. We conclude that there is interest in the study of medicinal plants in undergraduate medical students. Support of schools for their development and communication of results through the publication is required.