The Boracéia Biological Station () is field research center of the

Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo The Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (, abbreviated MZUSP) is a public natural history museum located in the historic Ipiranga (district of São Paulo), Ipiranga district of São Paulo, Brazil. The MZUSP is an Museum education, ...

Salesópolis Salesópolis is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 17,252 (2020 est.) in an area of 424.997 km². Salesópolis sits at an elevation of . It is noted for b ...

in the

state of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. Its mission is to carry out

biological research Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

on the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) of the São Paulo region. The biological station covers within the municipality of Salesópolis and is located from the city of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. The Boracéia Biological Station was established on March 16, 1954 under Decree-Law 23 198 of 1954. The center traces its history to 1938 with the establishment of the Quina Experimental Station of the Agronomical Institute of Campinas. The station studied the cultivation of quina, a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

known as sources for

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

. Quina was grown at the institute until 1952. The biological station is located within a larger protective water reserve maintained by

Sabesp Sabesp is a Brazilian water and waste management company headquartered in São Paulo. It provides water and sewage services to residential, commercial and industrial users in São Paulo and in 363 of the 645 municipalities in São Paulo State, ty ...

, a water and waste management owned by the State of São Paulo. The water reserve serves as a source of the River Claro aqueduct, and includes of Atlantic Forest. The Boracéia Biological Station, as a unit of the University of São Paulo, is under neither the control of Sabesp nor the Brazilian National System of Units of Conservation (SNUC).

References

Protected areas of São Paulo (state) {{MesoregionSãoPaulo-geo-stub