Adverse effects of Croton urucurana B. exposure during rat pregnancy.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Croton urucurana presents several beneficial pharmacological properties. In Brazil, women who intend to interrupt the pregnancy indiscriminately use extracts of this plant as an abortifacient agent. AIM OF STUDY: To evaluated the effect of aqueous extract of Croton urucurana latex on the maternal-fetal repercussions in rats. METHODS: Pregnant rats were randomly distributed into four experimental groups: Control=treated with water (vehicle); Treated 200=treated with a dose 200mg/kg; Treated 400=dose 400mg/kg and; and Treated 800=dose 800mg/kg. The rats were orally treated by gavage with Croton urucurana or vehicle (water) during whole pregnancy. At term of pregnancy, all rats were killed to obtain maternal blood and tissues samples and fetal weight and anomaly analyses. RESULTS: C. urucurana treatment (Treated 400 and Treated 800) showed elevated liver enzymatic activities, reduced fetal body weight and placental efficiency. The Treated 800 group presented increased maternal total protein and cholesterol levels, and heart relative weight. All treated groups presented reduced maternal body weight and food intake, and increased pre-implantation loss rate compared to those of Control group. In addition, the treatment contributed to increased skeletal and visceral anomalies with higher doses. CONCLUSION: Croton urucurana treatment caused maternal toxicity, which contributed for impairment embryo fetal development. These results showed that the indiscriminate use of plants during pregnancy should be avoided to prevent potential risk on maternal health as well as their offspring.

Effect of aqueous extract of Phyllantus amarus leaves on implantation and pregnancy in rats.

Phyllanthus amarus is a medicinal plant used widely in the treatment of many diseases. It has a long tradition of use in the Hindu Ayurvedic system of medicine and it has long been used as a medicinal agent in cultures around the world. Traditionally, in the Yoruba speaking part of western Nigeria it is used in treating sterility and difficult childbirth. This experiment was therefore designed to scientifically test the effect of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus amarus (AEPA) leaves on implantation and pregnancy. Animals were divided into two groups of 18 rats each after pregnancy has been established. Group I received 0.2mg/100g body weight of AEPA from day 1 of pregnancy. Group II received equal volume of distilled water serving as the control. Six rats from each group were sacrificed on days 6, 8 and 19 respectively. Implantation and pregnancy were assessed. AEPA reduced the time frame for implantation in the treated rats and caused abortion of pregnant rats. Although the aqueous extract of Phyllanthus amarus reduces the time frame for implantation, its abortificent effect does not support the traditional claim that it can treat sterility.

Antiimplantation and pregnancy interruption efficacy of Rivea hypocrateriformis in the rat.

Petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and distilled water extracts of the aerial parts of the plant Rivea hypocrateriformis (Convolvulaceae) were tested for antiimplantation and pregnancy interruption properties in female albino rats. Among these, the ethanol extract was found to be most effective in causing significant antiimplantation and interruption of early pregnancy. The antifertility activity of ethanol extract was reversible on exogenous administration of hydroxy progesterone. However, the same ethanol extract was found to be ineffective in interruption of late pregnancy. Among the four extracts subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening, the active ethanol extract showed positive tests for alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, tannins and phenolic compounds.

A simplified procedure for the purification of trichosanthin (a type 1 ribosome inactivating protein) from Trichosanthes kirilowii root tubers.

A one step rapid and simple purification procedure for trichosanthin, a type 1 ribosome inactivating protein, from root tubers of Trichosanthes kirilowii has been developed using cation-exchange perfusion chromatography. The identity of the protein has been confirmed by its size, immunoreactivity, and sequence information. Yields of 0.16% of electrophoretically pure trichosanthin from dried root tuber have been achieved with a single 10-min chromatographic step giving the ability to purify gram quantities of trichosanthin in 1 day.

[Studies on the antifertility constituents of Marsdenia oreophila].

A new pregnane glycoside, marsdeoreophiside B was isolated from the stems of Marsdenia oreophila (Asclepiadeaece). The structure was elucidated by means of chemical and spectrometric analysis as 12-O-cinnamyldihydrosarcostin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->4)-O-3-O-methyl-6-deoxy-beta-D-allopyranosyl(1-->4)-O-beta-D- oleandropyranosyl (1-->4)-O-beta-D-cymaropyranoside. It showed significant antifertility activity in rats.

Effect of feeding ponderosa pine needle extracts and their residues to pregnant cattle.

Solvents including ethanol, methylene chloride, acetone, hexane, and hot and cold water were used in separate procedures to extract needles and bark from ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa L.) to determine which system was optimal for the extraction of abortifacient compound(s). The extracts and residues therefrom were fed by gavage to pregnant cows beginning at day 250 of gestation. After methylene chloride extraction, the pine needle residue fed by gavage failed to abort 4 cows. Subsequently, 4 cows fed the methylene chloride extractable material, adsorbed on ground hay, but free of methylene chloride, aborted (days 253-260 of gestation) and all 4 cows retained fetal membranes. Only 2 of 6 cows fed the pine needle residue after ethanol extraction aborted (days 260 and 261 of gestation) and both retained their fetal membranes, while the other 4 cows calved normally. Hot and cold water extracts did not cause abortion, whereas the extracted plant residue did. One cow fed the plant residue after acetone extraction calved normally as did 1 of 2 cows fed residue after hexane extraction. One cow fed hexane extract absorbed on ground hay also calved normally. These results demonstrate that abortifacient compound(s) present in pine needles are most efficiently extracted by methylene chloride.

Isolation and characterization of an abortifacient protein, momorcochin, from root tubers of Momordica cochinchinensis (family cucurbitaceae).

A glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 32,000 as estimated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and characterized by an abundance of Asp and Glu residues and an absence of Cys residues in its amino acid analysis, was isolated from fresh root tubers of Momordica cochinchinensis using a procedure that involved acetone precipitation, ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE Sepharose CL-6B and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75. The protein was capable of inducing mid-term abortion in mice. The characteristics of this protein were compared and contrasted with those of the abortifacient proteins isolated from other plants of the Cucurbitaceae family.

Beta-trichosanthin: a new abortifacient protein from the Chinese drug, wangua, Trichosanthes cucumeroides.

beta-Trichosanthin was a new abortifacient protein purified from the Chinese drug, Wangua, root tubers of Trichosanthes cucumeroides (Cucurbitaceae). The purification procedure involved acetone fractionation, ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose and preparative agarose electrophoresis. Homogeneity of beta-trichosanthin was demonstrated in immunoelectrophoresis, agarose electrophoresis and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It had a molecular weight of 28,000 and no cysteine in its molecule. It differed from trichosanthin, a known abortifacient protein isolated from a related Chinese drug, Tianhuafen, root tubers of Trichosanthes kirilowii (Cucurbitaceae), in molecular weight, carbohydrate content, charge and amino acid composition. beta-Trichosanthin was, however, immunochemically identical to trichosanthin and was about twice as potent as trichosanthin in inducing mid-term abortion in mice.