Casimiroa edulis seed extracts show anticonvulsive properties in rats

Status analysis of herbal drug therapies in epilepsy: advancements in the use of medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory properties

BACKGROUND

Use of plants and plant products in health care has shown exponential increase in past two decades.

INTRODUCTION

In-spite of the availability of well-established pharmacotherapy for epilepsy, a large no of population still explores alternative treatments due to refractory seizures, adverse effects of drugs, chronic treatment, inaccessibility of standard therapies in rural areas and the social stigma attached to the disease. Various studies on medicinal plants showed the protective effect of herbals in animal models of epilepsy.

METHOD

In the present review, a status analysis of the traditional use of various medicinal plants in epilepsy with a special focus on plats having anti-inflammatory potential is recorded.

RESULT AND CONCLUSION

The shortcomings of research on medicinal plants which needs to be explored further in order to tackle the growing need of safer and effective drugs for epilepsy are discussed. Overall, there is a huge scope of herbal drugs in CNS disorders especially epilepsy, either as an adjunct by reducing the dose and thus side effects of standard anti-epileptic drugs or as standalone agent . Although, there is still an urgent need of well planned randomized controlled clinical trials to validate their efficacy and safety.

Natural products isolated from Casimiroa

About 140 genera and more than 1,600 species belong to the Rutaceae family. They grow in temperate and tropical zones on both hemispheres, as trees, shrubs, and herbs. Casimiroa is one of the genera constituting 13 species, most of which are found in tropical and subtropical regions. Many chemical constituents have been derived from this genus, including quinoline alkaloids, flavonoids, coumarins, and N-benzoyltyramide derivatives. This article reviews different studies carried out on aromatic compounds of genus Casimiroa; their biological activities; the different skeletons of coumarins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and others; and their characteristic NMR spectral data.

Chemical Profile and Biological Activity of Casimiroa Edulis Non-Edible Fruit`s Parts

Purpose: the non-edible fruit parts of Casimiroa edulis Llave et were evaluated for their active constituents and their potential as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and antitumor activity. Methods: Fruits peel (FP) and seeds kernel (SK) of Casimiroa edulis Llave et Lex. were extracted successively with hexane and then methanol. Fatty acids were prepared from hexane extracts and identified by GC. Total flavonoid, phenolic acids and tannins contents in methanol extracts were determined by UV spectrophotometer and identified by HPLC. Antioxidant, in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity and antitumor effect against Caco-2 cell line were determined. Results: GC analysis of hexane extracts showed that oleic acid (47.00%) was the major unsaturated fatty acids in both extracts while lignoceric acid (15.49%) is the most abundant saturated fatty acid in (FP). Total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents in (FP) & (SK) methanol extracts were; 37.5±1.5, 10.79±0.66 and 22.28±0.23 for (FP); 53.5±1.5mg/g, 14.44±0.32 mg/g; and 53.73±3.58 mg/g for (SK) respectively. HPLC analysis of methanol extract revealed that; the major phenolic compound was pyrogallol in (FP) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid in (SK), the major flavonoid was luteolin 6-arabinose-8-glucose in (FP) and acacetin in (SK). Conclusion: This study showed that non-edible parts of C. edulis fruit is a rich source of different phenolic compounds and fatty acids which has great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities; that could be used as a natural source in pharmaceutical industry.

Antiepileptic activity of total triterpenes isolated from Poria cocos is mediated by suppression of aspartic and glutamic acids in the brain

CONTEXT

Triterpenes from Poria cocos Wolf (Polyporaceae) have been used to treat various diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the antiepileptic effects and mechanism are not fully understood.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to investigate the antiepileptic properties of total triterpenes (TTP) from the whole P. cocos.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The ethanol extract TTP was identified by HPLC fingerprint analysis. Male ICR mice were gavaged (i.g.) with TTP (5, 20, 80 or 160 mg/kg) or reference drugs twice a day for 7 d. Antiepileptic activities of TTP were evaluated by maximal electroshock (MES)- and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice for 30 and 60 min, respectively. Locomotor activity and Rota-rod tests were performed for 60 min and 5 min, respectively. The levels of glutamic acid (Glu), aspartic acid (Asp), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine (Gly) in convulsive mice were estimated. The chronic epileptic model of Wistar rats was built to measure expressions of glutamate decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and GABA_A in rat brain after TTP treatment.

RESULTS

The LC₅₀ of TTP (i.g.) was above 6 g/kg. TTP (5-160 mg/kg) protected mice against MES- and PTZ-induced convulsions at 65.0% and 62.5%, respectively, but have no effect on rota-rod treadmill; TTP (20-160 mg/kg) significantly reduced the locomotor activities, shortened the onset of pentobarbital sodium-induced sleep; TTP decreased Glu and Asp levels in convulsive mice, but increased the GAD65 and GABA_A expressions in chronic epileptic rats at doses usage.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

TTP extracted from P. cocos possessed potential antiepileptic properties and is a candidate for further antiepileptic drug development.

Phenolic compounds from leaves of Casimiroa edulis showed adipogenesis activity

Casimiroa edulis is known as cochitzapotl, and it belongs to a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family Rutaceae, native to eastern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica. In this study, we isolated two furocoumarins and two polymethoxyflavones from leaves of C. edulis and evaluated the functions of glucose and lipid metabolism activity with 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We discovered that the addition of furocoumarins increased glucose uptake and lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocyte. These results suggest that furocoumarin compounds can be used as functional food-derived compounds, to regulate adipocyte functioning for the management of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with dysfunctions of glucose and lipid metabolism.

Antiepileptic potential of matrine via regulation the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamic acid in the brain

Our present study aimed to determine the antiepileptic activity of matrine, and explore the possible molecular mechanism. To evaluate the antiepileptic activity of matrine, seizures in mice induced by PTZ and MES were established, then the pentobarbital sodium-induced anaesthetizing time and locomotor activity tests in mice were also carried out. For the molecular mechanism investigations, contents of aspartic acid (Asp), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid (Glu), glycine (Gly) in seizures mice were determined; then, the chronic seizures rats induced by PTZ were prepared, and western blotting was used to determine the expressions of GAD 65, GABAA and GABAB in the brains. In the results, matrine showed significant antiepileptic effects on seizures mice induced by MES and PTZ. Moreover, the pentobarbital sodium-induced anaesthetizing time and locomotor activity tests were also demonstrated that matrine had obvious antiepileptic effects. Additionally, our results revealed that after treatment with matrine, contents of GABA can be elevated, and the contents of Glu were obviously decreased. Furthermore, western blotting revealed that the mechanism regarding the antiepileptic effect of may be related to the up-regulations of GAD 65 and GABAA in the brain. Collectively, we suggested that matrine can be developed as an effective antiseptic drug.

Inhibition of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase associated activities by the hydroalcoholic extract of Casimiroa edulis seeds

The hydroalcoholic extract obtained from the seeds of Casimiroa edulis cultivated in Sardinia (Italy) have been assayed on the two enzymatic-associated activities of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT), the RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (RDDP) and the ribonuclease H. In biochemical assays, the extract inhibited both activities in a dose-dependent manner, showing a 10-fold more potent inhibition of the HIV-1 RT RDDP activity. Furthermore, the extract was cytotoxic on K562 cell replication.

Chemical Composition of the Leaf Essential Oil of Casimiroa Edulis La Llave & Lex. (Rutaceae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica

The leaf essential oil of Casimiroa edulis (Rutaceae), collected from Monteverde, Costa Rica, has been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The leaf oil was dominated by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, predominately germacrene D (16-22%) and ( E)-caryophyllene (16-17%), consistent with the traditional use of this plant as a sedative, sleep inducer and hypotensive.

Zapotin, a Phytochemical Present in a Mexican Fruit, Prevents Colon Carcinogenesis

Zapotin (5,6,2',6'-tetramethoxyflavone), found in the tropical fruit zapote blanco (Casimiroa edulis), is consumed in many parts of the world, including Central America and Asia. Previously, we have demonstrated in vitro chemopreventive activity of extracts derived from the seeds of C. edulis. In the present study, we examined the effects of natural and synthetic zapotin in SW480, SW620, and HT-29 colon cancer cell lines and on the generation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) using mice. Zapotin treatment (IC50=2.74x10(-7 M)) resulted in a marked suppression of cell proliferation in the HT-29 cells. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated a significant accumulation of cells in the G2-M phase, with a concomitant decrease of cells in the G0-G1 phase, after treatment with zapotin (molecular weight=342.35 g/mol; 1 microM for 18, 24, and 48 h). Zapotin treatment enhanced apoptosis in all of the colon cancer cell lines studied. For the study of ACF, 5-wk-old CF-1 mice were given subcutaneous injections of azoxymethane (AOM; 10 mg/kg body weight, BW) weekly for 2 wk, and zapotin (5 or 10 mg/kg BW; 46 or 92 pmol/kg BW) or vehicle was administered intragastrically 7 days/wk. The mean number of ACF for the control group was 14.0+/-2.3, whereas the mean numbers of ACF in the zapotin-treated groups were 6.2+/-1.7 and 4.6+/-1.4 at doses of 5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg BW, respectively. Loss of hexosaminidase, a lysosomal enzyme active in normal colonic crypts but decreased in up to 95% of ACF, was used as a second biomarker for colon carcinogenesis. Zapotin was found to significantly (P<0.01) prevent loss of hexosaminidase in the colon of AOM-treated mice. The present study is the first to report the potent anticancer activity of zapotin and suggests a role for zapotin both as a chemopreventive and a chemotherapeutic agent against colon cancer.

Central nervous system activity of the hydroalcoholic extract of Casimiroa edulis in rats and mice

In order to evaluate the effects produced by the hydroalcoholic extract of leaves from Casimiroa edulis on the central nervous system, different behavioral tests and animal models of depression and anxiety were performed. The extract was administered intraperitoneally in male and female rats and tested on spontaneous motor activity, locomotor activity, exploration of an elevated plus-maze (EPM) and in the forced swimming test (FST). In addition, the extract was administered orally in male and female mice and evaluated in the following tests: general observation, pentobarbital-induced hypnosis, EPM, rota-rod, hole-board, and marble-burying. The results revealed that, in rats, the extract caused considerable reduction of locomotor and exploratory activities and increased the exploration of the EPM open arms in a similar way that diazepam. In the FST, the extract was as effective as fluoxetine in inducing shortening of immobility, along with a significant increase on climbing duration. On the other hand, in mice, the extract prolonged pentobarbital-induced hypnosis, increased exploration of the EPM open arms and partially protected from the pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions. No significant effect was evident on motor coordination, hole-board and marble-burying tests. These results suggest that the hydroalcoholic extract of Casimiroa edulis may contain sedative principles with potential anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, which need further investigation.