ABSTRACT
Dried leaves extract from Bouchea fluminensis was assessed in anti-inflammatory (mouse paw edema) and analgesic models (acetic acid-induced writhings and hot plate). Oral pretreatment of animals with a crude mixture (IG) and a purified mixture of ursolic, oleanolic and micromeric acids (IG-59) at doses ranging from 1 to 30 mg/kg, significantly inhibited carrageenin-induced edema formation. At the same doses, IG and IG-59 also exhibited peripheral and central analgesic activity. It seems that B. fluminensis triterpenes develop their analgesic effect through central opioid receptors, due to the observation that naloxone reverted analgesic activity on the hot plate model.
Subject(s)
Analgesics/pharmacology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , Edema/prevention & control , Pain/prevention & control , Phytotherapy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Verbenaceae , Acetic Acid , Administration, Oral , Analgesics/administration & dosage , Analgesics/therapeutic use , Animals , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/administration & dosage , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Carrageenan , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Edema/chemically induced , Histamine , Hot Temperature , Male , Mice , Pain/chemically induced , Plant Extracts/administration & dosage , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Plant Leaves , SerotoninABSTRACT
Brazilian plant extracts belonging to 16 species of 5 different families (71 extracts) were tested against the stable DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) free-radical. The ability to scavenge DPPH radical was measured in these experiments by the discoloration of the solution. Ginkgo biloba and rutin, commonly used as antioxidants for medical purposes, were used as standards. Based on our results, we can say that as a general rule the ethanol extracts of plants belonging to the Verbenaceae family showed lower EC(50) values than the other plant extracts. Among the partitions, the more polar ones (ethyl acetate and n-butanol) are those that generally have higher antioxidant activity (AA).
