In vivo study of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of Copaifera pubiflora Benth oleoresin.

Copaifera pubiflora Benth oleoresin (CPO) is used as an anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and antimicrobial. This paper reports the cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive activities of CPO. CPO (10 mg/kg) did not affect locomotor capacity in the open-field and rotarod tests and was not cytotoxic to CHO-k1, THP-1, and L929 cell lines. It was active in the formalin test at 3 mg/kg by 86 ± 3% and 96 ± 3%, respectively, for the first and second phases. At 10 mg/kg, CPO inhibited 90 ± 7%, the pain in the mechanical hyperalgesia test. In the tail-flick test, CPO at 3 mg/kg affected the tail-flick latencies in mice by 77 ± 20%, which in combination with naloxone was only partially reduced. At 3 mg/kg CPO inhibited 80 ± 12% the carrageenan-induced paw edema, and at 3 mg/kg it reduced by 91 ± 5% the nociception on acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing. Therefore, CPO possesses anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities.

Effect of Piper cubeba total extract and isolated lignans on head and neck cancer cell lines and normal fibroblasts.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the action of the crude hydroalcoholic extract of Piper cubeba fruits and isolated lignans (cubebin, dihydrocubebin, ethylcubebin, hinokinin and methylcubebin) on head and neck cancer cells. We evaluated the influence of the Piper cubeba extract and isolated lignans (10, 50 e 100 µg/mL) for 4, 24, 48 and 72 h, in the larynx (Hep-2) and oral (SCC-25) squamous cell carcinoma cells and normal fibroblasts, on morphology, cell proliferation and migration, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and gene and protein expression (PTGS2, PTGER3, PTGER4, MMP2, MMP9). The results showed that the P. cubeba extract and different lignans do not alter the cellular morphology, but decrease cell proliferation and migration, have low cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, probably due to the alteration of the expression of genes and proteins involved with inflammatory process. From these data, we can conclude that the lignans cubebin and methylcubebin had a greater effect on head and neck cancer cells in the antiproliferative, antimigratory and genotoxic action, and could be the target of the development of new therapies including possible new drugs as a therapeutic resource for the treatment of head and neck cancer due to its immense range of biological properties.

(-)-Hinokinin Induces G2/M Arrest and Contributes to the Antiproliferative Effects of Doxorubicin in Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer incidence rises worldwide and new chemotherapeutical strategies have been investigated to overcome chemoresistance. (-)-Hinokinin is a dibenzylbutyrolactone lignan derived from the partial synthesis of (-)-cubebin extracted from Piper cubeba seeds. Biological effects of dibenzylbutyrolactone lignans include antiviral, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and trypanocidal activities. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of (-)-hinokinin to modulate the antiproliferative effects of doxorubicin intumoral (MCF-7 and SKBR-3) and normal (MCF-10 A) breast cell lines. Treatment with (-)-hinokinin did not affect the cellular proliferation or contribute to the antitproliferative effects of doxorubicin in MCF-10 A cells. After 24 and 48 hours of treatment with (-)-hinokinin, MCF-7 and SKBR-3 were accumulated in G2/M and, when combined with doxorubicin, (-)-hinokinin contributed to the antiproliferative effects of this chemotherapic by modulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1. Apoptotic cell death was observed in response to (-)-hinokinin alone in MCF-7, but not in SKBR-3 even 72 hours after treatment. In MCF-7, doxorubicin-induced apoptosis was not increased by (-)-hinokinin. The findings of the present study suggest (-)-hinokinin as an antiproliferative agent that contributes to the effects of doxorubicin. (-)-Hinokinin modulates apoptotic cell death via the molecular regulation of the cell cycle and apoptotic control genes, but the cellular genetic background directly affects the cell fate decision in response to treatment.

Poly(L-lactic acid) membranes: absence of genotoxic hazard and potential for drug delivery.

The use of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) has been considered an important alternative for medical devices once this polyester presents biomechanical, optical and biodegradable properties. Moreover, the use of PLA results in less inflammatory reactions and more recently it has been proposed its application in drug delivery systems. Genotoxicological evaluations are considered part of the battery assays in toxicological analysis. Considering the wide applications of PLA, the present work evaluated the potential cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of PLA in CHO-K1 cells, as well as its physicochemical properties. No cytotoxic effects of PLA were detected by colorimetric tetrazolium assay (XTT) analysis, and the clonogenic survival assay showed that PLA did not disrupt the replicative cell homeostasis, neither exhibited genotoxic effects as evidenced by comet and micronucleus assays. Thermogravimetric properties of PLA were not altered after contact with cells and this film exhibited ability in absorb and release Europium(III) complex. All these data suggest genotoxicological safety of PLA for further applications in drug delivery systems.

Antigenotoxicity of Roupala montana extract in the mouse micronucleus and comet assays.

Roupala montana Aubl. (Proteaceae) is a typical savannah species and native to tropical South America that has a moderate mortality for adult forms of Schistossoma mansoni. Because this species has been little studied, the aim of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of R. montana extract on DNA damage induced by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) in peripheral blood cells and liver of Swiss mice using the micronucleus and comet assay, respectively. R. montana dichloromethane extract was prepared from a stock solution (0.5 mg/mL) in 5% dimethyl sulfoxide in water. Animals received a single dose of different concentrations of R. montana (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight) by gavage (0.5 mL/animal). For antigenotoxicity assessment, different concentrations of R. montana were administered simultaneously with MMS diluted in water (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally; 0.3 mL/animal). Peripheral blood and hepatocyte samples were obtained 48 and 24 h after treatment, respectively. Results showed that R. montana administered alone indicated the absence of genotoxicity in the mouse micronucleus or comet assay. On the other hand, administration of different doses of R. montana concomitantly with MMS led to a significant reduction in frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes and DNA damage, when compared to the group treated only with MMS. Further, for the micronucleus assay, the gradual increase of R. montana concentration led to a proportional increase in the reduction of genotoxicity induced by MMS, indicating a dose-response relationship.

In vitro schistosomicidal activity of some brazilian cerrado species and their isolated compounds.

Miconia langsdorffii Cogn. (Melastomataceae), Roupala montana Aubl. (Proteaceae), Struthanthus syringifolius (Mart.) (Loranthaceae), and Schefflera vinosa (Cham. & Schltdl.) Frodin (Araliaceae) are plant species from the Brazilian Cerrado whose schistosomicidal potential has not yet been described. The crude extracts, fractions, the triterpenes betulin, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and the flavonoids quercetin 3-O-ß-D-rhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-ß-D-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-2)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside and isorhamnetin 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-2)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside were evaluated in vitro against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms and the bioactive n-hexane fractions of the mentioned species were also analyzed by GC-MS. Betulin was able to cause worm death percentage values of 25% after 120 h (at 100 µM), and 25% and 50% after 24 and 120 h (at 200 µM), respectively; besides the flavonoid quercetin 3-O-ß-D-rhamnoside promoted 25% of death of the parasites at 100 µM. Farther the flavonoids quercetin 3-O-ß-D-glucoside and quercetin 3-O-ß-D-rhamnoside at 100 µM exhibited significantly reduction in motor activity, 75% and 87.5%, respectively. Biological results indicated that crude extracts of R. montana, S. vinosa, and M. langsdorffii and some n-hexane and EtOAc fractions of this species were able to induce worm death to some extent. The results suggest that lupane-type triterpenes and flavonoid monoglycosides should be considered for further antiparasites studies.