New approaches to clarify antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the ethanol extract from Vernonia condensata leaves

Analgesic and Antipyretic Activities of Ethyl Acetate Fraction Tablet of Andrographis paniculata in Animal Models

Objectives

To determine the analgesic and antipyretic activities of a tablet derived from Andrographis paniculata ethyl acetate fraction (AS201-01) in animal models.

Methods

The tablet derived from AS201-01 contains an equivalent of 35 mg andrographolide per tablet. Analgesic activity was determined using an acetic acid-induced writhing test on adult male mice. A writhe was recorded by a stopwatch and was defined as the stretching of the abdomen and/or stretching of at least one hind limb. For the determination of antipyretic activity, pyrexia was induced by subcutaneous injection of 15% w/v Brewer's yeast into adult male rats. Rectal temperature was monitored at 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours after treatment.

Results

The results showed that the AS201-01 tablet had analgesic and antipyretic activity. In the acetic acid-induced writhing model, AS201-01 tablet exhibited significant analgesic effect with a 66.73% reduction in writhing response at a dose of 50 mg andrographolide/kg body weight compared to the negative control group. The tablet also showed a significant antipyretic effect. The maximum antipyretic effect was observed after the third hour of administration of the AS201-01 tablet at a dose of 100 mg andrographolide/kg body weight.

Conclusion

Tablet of Andrographis paniculata ethyl acetate fraction (AS201-01) exhibited analgesic and antipyretic activities.

New aspects on the hepatoprotective potential associated with the antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic and anti-inflammatory activities of Vernonia condensata Baker

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae) is traditionally used in South American Countries as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and hepatoprotective.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to investigate the in vivo hepatoprotective and antioxidant, and the in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of the ethyl acetate partition (EAP) from the ethanolic extract of this medicinal plant leaves.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For the in vivo hepatoprotective activity, rats were pretreated orally for seven days with vehicle, silymarin 100mg/kg or EAP 50, 100 and 200mg/kg. Then, acetaminophen 3g/kg was also orally administrated. Animals were euthanatized 24h after the damage inducement. The levels of the serum enzymes ALT, AST and ALP were determined, as well as the triglycerides, total cholesterol and fractions. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by TBARS assay and by the measurement of glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the rats liver tissue. The in vitro anti-inflammatory assay using Raw 264.7 cell line induced by lipopolysaccharide was conducted to verify EAP ability to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokines.

RESULTS

EAP was able to inhibit all the acute biochemical alterations caused by acetaminophen overdose. EAP inhibited malondialdehyde formation, maintained the catalase and increased the glutathione reductase activities. Also, EAP decreased NO, IL-6 and TNF-α levels at concentrations from 10 to 20µg/mL. 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid was isolated and identified as the major compound in EAP. Apigenin, luteolin, chlorogenic acid were also identified. EAP anti-inflammatory action may be due to its antioxidant activity or its capacity to inhibit the pro-inflammatory cytokines.

CONCLUSION

These results strongly suggested that V. condensata may be useful as a possible therapy against liver damage.

A systematic review of medicinal plants used for weight loss in Brazil: Is there potential for obesity treatment?

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Obesity is a pandemic disease and its prevalence is still increasing. Moreover, it has important costs to public health. In Brazil, many plants are used for weight loss by overweight or obese people, but there is a lack of scientific basis for this practice. Many ethnobotanical studies aiming to characterize this usage have been published, but they are still limited by the region considered and the diversity of the popular knowledge.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study was undertaken to systematically review the ethnobotanical surveys regarding the species utilized to reduce body weight in overweight or obese people in Brazil.

METHODS

Ethnobotanical surveys related to this usage and performed in Brazilian regions were systematically found in MEDLINE, LILACS and Scopus.

RESULTS

Thirty-three studies were included in this review. Fifty species were popularly utilized to lose weight. The most cited species were Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC, Annona muricata L. and Hancornia speciosa Gomes. Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze and Hibiscus sabdariffa L. were also cited and are supported by either animal or human investigations that indicate some beneficial activity against obesity. However, for the majority of species cited in the included studies, there is no scientific basis that assures the biological effects of this usage. Many studies have demonstrated important effects of these plants on glycemia, serum lipid levels or body weight control in non-obese conditions, which is not sufficient to recommend the use of these plants to reduce body weight in overweight or obese people.

CONCLUSIONS

Although many plants are popularly used to reduce weight in overweight or obese people in Brazil, there is little scientific evidence corroborating its usage. Based on the ethnobotanical data presented, this review indicates the plants that should be considered for scientifically controlled studies devoted to investigating their effects on obesity.

Medicinal plants recommended by the world health organization: DNA barcode identification associated with chemical analyses guarantees their quality

Medicinal plants are used throughout the world, and the regulations defining their proper use, such as identification of the correct species and verification of the presence, purity and concentration of the required chemical compounds, are widely recognized. Herbal medicines are made from vegetal drugs, the processed products of medicinal species. These processed materials present a number of challenges in terms of botanical identification, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of incorrect species is a threat to consumer safety. The samples used in this study consisted of the dried leaves, flowers and roots of 257 samples from 8 distinct species approved by the WHO for the production of medicinal herbs and sold in Brazilian markets. Identification of the samples in this study using DNA barcoding (matK, rbcL and ITS2 regions) revealed that the level of substitutions may be as high as 71%. Using qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses, this study identified situations in which the correct species was being sold, but the chemical compounds were not present. Even more troubling, some samples identified as substitutions using DNA barcoding contained the chemical compounds from the correct species at the minimum required concentration. This last situation may lead to the use of unknown species or species whose safety for human consumption remains unknown. This study concludes that DNA barcoding should be used in a complementary manner for species identification with chemical analyses to detect and quantify the required chemical compounds, thus improving the quality of this class of medicines.

Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae): a promising source of antioxidants

The present study evaluated the antioxidant potential of Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae). Dried and powdered leaves were exhaustively extracted with ethanol by static maceration followed by partition to obtain the hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and butanol fractions. Total phenols and flavonoids contents were determined through spectrophotometry and flavonoids were identified by HPLC-DAD system. The antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging activity, TLC-bioautography, reducing power of Fe(+3), phosphomolybdenum, and TBA assays. The total phenolic content and total flavonoids ranged from 0.19 to 23.11 g/100 g and from 0.13 to 4.10 g/100 g, respectively. The flavonoids apigenin and luteolin were identified in the ethyl acetate fraction. The IC50 of DPPH assay varied from 4.28 to 75.10 µg/mL and TLC-bioautography detected the antioxidant compounds. The reducing power of Fe(+3) was 19.98 to 336.48  μg/mL, while the reaction with phosphomolybdenum ranged from 13.54% to 32.63% and 56.02% to 135.00% considering ascorbic acid and rutin as reference, respectively. At 30 mg/mL, the ethanolic extract and fractions revealed significant effect against lipid peroxidation. All these data sustain that V. condensata is an important and promising source of bioactive substances with antioxidant activity.

Steroids with anti-inflammatory activity from Vernonia nigritiana Oliv. & Hiern

The leaves of Vernonia nigritiana Oliv. & Hiern. (Asteraceae) were investigated for their in vivo topical anti-inflammatory properties, following a bioassay-oriented fractionation approach. Petroleum ether, chloroform and chloroform-methanol extracts inhibited the Croton oil-induced ear dermatitis in mice. The chloroform extract was only about half as active as the non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin (ID50=237 and 93 μg/cm(2), respectively). Phytochemical investigation of this extract led to the isolation of nine polyhydroxylated stigmasterol glycosides and six polyhydroxylated stigmasterols. Their structures were elucidated by NMR, MS and chemical methods. Each compound exerted a significant anti-oedema activity, the most active being 1 (3β-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-5α-stigmasta-7,9(11),24(28)Z-triene-6β,16β,26,29-tetrol) and 3 (3β-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-5α-stigmasta-7,9(11),24(28)Z-triene-6β,16β,29-triol), only two and five fold less potent than the steroidal drug hydrocortisone (ID50=0.10, 0.21 and 0.04 μmol/cm(2), respectively). Compound 1 (50 μM) also completely inhibited the transcription factor NF-κB in vitro.

A review of the medicinal potentials of plants of the genus Vernonia (Asteraceae)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The Vernonia genus has about one thousand species and members of the genus are widely used as food and medicine. The aim of this review is to analyze published data on the ethnomedicinal, ethnoveterinary and zoopharmacognostic uses of plants of the Vernonia genus. This will help to identify the state of ethnopharmacological knowledge in regard to this genus and to propose future research priorities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The major scientific databases including SciFinder, Sciencedirect, Medline and Google Scholar were queried for information on Vernonia genus using various keyword combinations. The International Plant Name Index was also used to verify the names of species and authors.

RESULTS

A total of 109 Vernonia species were reported in the literature to have medicinal properties. One hundred and five (105) plants were linked to the treatment or management of 44 human diseases or health conditions. Plants of the genus also feature in ethnoveterinary and zoopharmacognostic practices. A total of 12 vernonia species were identified to be used in ethnoveterinary medicine while 2 species are used in self medication practices by chimpanzees and gorillas. In vitro and in vivo research studies reporting the validation of the medicinal properties of some species were also reviewed. One hundred and three bioactive compounds isolated from various Vernonia species were also identified. Vernonia amygdalina was identified as the most frequently used member of the Vernonia genus. The Vernolides, a class of sesquiterpene lactone were identified as the most studied compounds from the genus and show interesting bioactivity in antiplasmodial, antileishmanial, antischistosomial, cytotoxicity, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory assays.

CONCLUSION

On the basis of results from a combination of in vitro and in vivo efficacy and toxicity studies reported, Vernonia amygdalina holds the most promise for development into a nutraceutical against diabetes and malaria while Vernonia cinerea has potential against cancer and inflammatory conditions. Vernolide A is so far the most promising single agent from a Vernonia species that has potential for development into an anticancer agent. The other Vernonia species and isolated compounds require further studies to ascertain their medicinal potentials.

Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ethanol extract from Vernonia polyanthes leaves in Rodents

The ethanol extract from Vernonia polyanthes leaves (EEVP) was investigated for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects at the doses (p.o.) of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg in animal models. The extract reduced the number of abdominal contortions by 16.75% and 31.44% at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. The results obtained showed that EEVP exerted a significant antinociceptive effect in the two phases of formalin. The EEVP increased the reaction time on a hot plate at the doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg after 90 min of treatment. The paw edema was reduced by EEVP at the doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg after 4 h of application of carrageenan. Doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, administered 4 h before the carrageenan injection, significantly reduced the exudate volume (29.25 and 45.74%, respectively) and leukocyte migration (18.19 and 27.95%, respectively). These results suggest that V. polyanthes can be an active source of substances with antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities.