Cecropia pachystachya Leaves Present Potential to Be Used as New Ingredient for Antiaging Dermocosmetics.

Several biological activities have been reported for leaf extracts of Cecropia pachystachya species, including antioxidant and wound healing activities. This study aims to report, for the first time, the antiaging potential of the hydroethanolic (HE) and the ethanolic (EE) extracts obtained from the leaves of C. pachystachya using different in vitro assays. Both HE and EE presented relevant antioxidant capacity in different models, including phosphomolybdenum, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), carotene/linoleic acid bleaching, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assays. Their ability to prevent the production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) was also evaluated, and both extracts showed important activity, especially HE. The extracts also stimulated the fibroblasts proliferation in vitro, specialized cells that produce several mediators which maintain the skin integrity and youthfulness. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was not observed for this lineage or HEK-293, human embryonic kidney cells widely used to evaluate cytotoxicity of chemical compounds. HE also exhibited the ability to inhibit the collagenase (metalloproteinase MMP-2) and elastase activities. The total phenolic and flavonoids contents were also determined. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of the flavonoids orientin and iso-orientin, which were quantified to be used as chemical markers. The results suggested that the extracts of C. pachystachya leaves present the potential to be used in dermocosmetic formulations to prevent the skin aging process, which attracts the attention of pharmaceutical companies and researchers interested in the development of novel ingredients likely to be used as active principles in antiaging products.

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.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Mitracarpus frigidus in established animal models.

OBJECTIVES: This study reports the in vivo anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Mitracarpus frigidus (MFM) and its chemical fingerprint. METHODS: The acute anti-inflammatory activity was performed using the carrageenan-induced paw oedema and peritonitis, ear oedema induced by croton oil and ethyl phenylpropiolate methods. Total COX, COX-1 and COX-2 expression was also evaluated. Chronic activity was determined by cotton pellet granuloma model. The antioxidative activity was assessed using liver tissue malondialdehyde, catalase and myeloperoxidase activities. KEY FINDINGS: M. frigidus showed an intense acute anti-inflammatory action (100 and 300 mg/kg) in a nondose-dependent manner with selective inhibition of COX-2 expression. This activity may be also related to the strong antioxidative effect observed. By the other side, the chronic anti-inflammatory activity of MFM was not expressive. Kaempferol, kaempferol-O-rutenoside, rutin, ursolic acid and psychorubrin were identified in MFM. CONCLUSIONS: The anti-inflammatory activity of MFM was probably due to inhibition of COX expression in a selective manner for COX-2. Other mechanisms, such as inhibition of inflammatory mediators and of the oxidative stress were possibly involved in the effects observed. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time those activities are reported for M. frigidus.