Safety assessment of Morus nigra L. leaves: Acute and subacute oral toxicity studies in Wistar rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Morus nigra L. is a plant native to Asia, and well adapted to the Brazilian climate. It is popularly known as "amoreira preta", and is part of the National List of Plants of Interest to the Brazilian Unified Health System. It is used in folk medicine mainly to soften the effects of menopause, as anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antihypertensive. However, information on safe doses and use is still precarious. AIM OF THE STUDY: To identify the chemical composition of the ethanolic extract of Morus nigra L. leaves (EEMN), as well as perform a toxicological study in male and female rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chemical composition of the extract was performed by HPLC/DAD. In the acute study, the dose administered was 2000 mg/kg, and signs of toxicity and mortality was observed. In the sub-acute study, the extract was administered at doses of 500, 750 and 1000 mg/kg for 28 days. Behavioral changes, object recognition test, renal and hepatic tissue assessments, biochemical and hematological parameters were determined. The extract was administered orally to male and female rats in both studies. RESULTS: Quercetin and caffeic acid showed as major compounds in the extract. In the acute treatment, the extract was classified as safe (category 5), according to the protocol. In the subacute study, there was a decrease in AST in males (750 and 1000 mg/kg) and females (1000 mg/kg), reduction of total cholesterol in females (750 and 1000 mg/kg), and increase in renal and hepatic change the LPO levels. CONCLUSION: The present investigation showed that EEMN did not present significant toxic effects when administered orally. Moreover, presented a potentially protective action of organs and possesses hypocholesterolemic activity, thus, it is shown as a promising natural source to be used in pharmacology.

Avaliação do uso de flavonoides no tratamento da inflamação / Evaluación del uso del flavonoides en el tratamiento de la inflamación / Evaluation of the flavonoides use in the treatment of the inflammation

A inflamação é considerada uma forma de defesa do nosso organismo, podendo ser desencadeada por vários estímulos. Entretanto, em determinadas situações a resposta pode ser exacerbada e contínua, tornando‒se prejudicial. Os fármacos utilizados atualmente no tratamento dos processos inflamatórios possuem efeitos adversos, sendo os compostos vegetais uma alternativa ao uso destes medicamentos. Um destes compostos são os flavonoides, que apresentam uma série de propriedades farmacológicas, destacando-se a atividade anti-inflamatória. Para a execução deste trabalho foi realizada uma pesquisa nas bases de dados do Google Acadêmico, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), o recorte temporal usado na pesquisa compreende os anos de 2008 a 2014 e as palavras‒chave utilizadas foram flavonoides, inflamação, flavonoides na inflamação, mediadores inflamatórios e atividade dos flavonoides. Objetiva‒se apresentar diferentes estudos que avaliam a atividade dos flavonoides na inflamação, enfatizando sua ação em mediadores químicos específicos como as citocinas, óxido nítrico e metabólitos do ácido araquidônico. Observa‒se a capacidade dos flavonoides de modular estas substâncias químicas. Quercetina, miricitrina, apigenina, epicatequina, entre outros flavonoides regulam a atividade de enzimas e a síntese de mediadores químicos, responsáveis pela ativação e perpetuação do processo inflamatório, sendo esta a principal maneira com que combatem esta doença(AU)

Inflammation is considered a form of defense of our body and can be triggered by various stimuli. However, in certain situations the answer may be exacerbated and further, becoming harmful. The drugs currently used to treat inflammatory processes have adverse effects, vegetables compounds as an alternative to the use of these drugs. One of these compounds are flavonoids, which exhibit a number of pharmacological properties, especially the anti-inflammatory activity. For the execution of this study a survey was conducted in the databases Google Scholar, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and Virtual Health Library (VHL), the time frame used in the research comprises the years 2008-2014 and the keywords used were flavonoids, inflammation, flavonoids in inflammation, inflammatory mediators and activity of flavonoids. The objective was to present different studies evaluating the activity of flavonoids in inflammation, emphasizing its action on specific chemical mediators such as cytokines, nitric oxide and arachidonic acid metabolites. The paper underlined the ability of flavonoids to modulate these chemicals. Quercetin, miricitrin, apigenin, epicatechin, and other flavonoids regulate the activity of enzymes and the synthesis of chemical mediators responsible for the activation and perpetuation of the inflammatory process, which is the main way to fight this disease(AU)

La inflamación es considerada como una defensa del organismo que se activa por diferentes estímulos; em ocasiones puede exacerbarse y causar daño. Los medicamentos actualmente usadas para tratar los procesos inflamatorios presentan efectos adversos, por lo que como una alternativa de uso se pudieran explorar algunas plantas consideradas verduras. Los flavonoides exhiben actividad antiinflamatoria entre otras propiedades farmacológicas. Para la ejecución de este estudio se revisaron las bases de datos de Google Académico, la Biblioteca Electrónica Científica en línea (SciELO) y la Biblioteca de Virtual Salud (BVS), la investigación comprende los años 2008 al 2014 y las palabras clave utilizadas fueron flavonoides, inflamación, flavonoides en la inflamación, mediadores inflamatorios y actividad de flavonoides. El objetivo era localizar estudios que evaluaran la actividad de lós flavonoides en la inflamación, con énfasis en su acción como mediadores químicos específicos como la citocinas, el óxido nítrico y metabolitos del ácido araquidónico. Se resalta la habilidad de lós flavonoides de modular estos químicos. Quercetina, miricitrina, apigenina, epicatequina entre otros flavonoides regulan la actividad de enzimas y la síntesis de mediadores químicos responsable para la activación y perpetuación del proceso inflamatorio que es la manera principal de luchar esta enfermedad(AU).