Evaluation of acute toxicity of babassu mesocarp in mice

The safety of babassu mesocarp (Orbignya phalerata Mart., Arecaceae), which exhibited anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic activities, was evaluated by determining the potential acute toxicity in mice. A lyophilized ethanol extract of babassu mesocarp (BME) was administered to C3H/HePas mice (10/group) in a single dose of 1000, 3000 and 5000 mg/kg, by gavage. General behavior adverse effects and mortality were determined for up to fourteen days. Selected biochemical parameters including glucose, triacylglyceride, cholesterol, urea, alkaline phosphatase and creatinine were determined by colorimetric assay. The heart, liver, spleen, kidneys and brain were weighted and evaluated macro and microscopically. The median lethal dose (LD50) of BME was greater than 5000 mg/kg. No behavior or body weight alterations were detected after the treatment. The acute treatment with BME has no effect on macroscopic and microscopic aspect of examined organs. Instead, BME increased the alkaline phosphatase and reduced the urea concentration in all groups. A significant increase on triacylglyceride was detected in the group BME1000. In conclusion, the acute treatment with high doses of BME can affect some biochemical parameters with a long lasting effect, although any change was detected at tissue level or body and organ weight.

Anti-thrombotic effect of chronic oral treatment with Orbignya phalerata Mart.

Babassu is the popular name of Orbignya phalerata Mart. (Arecaceae). The mesocarp flour obtained from their fruits has been used in Brazil as medicine in the treatment of pains, constipation, obesity, leukemia, rheumatism, ulcerations, tumors, inflammations and venous diseases. The effect of the chronic oral treatment with aqueous extract of babassu mesocarp (500mg/kgday) on the number of platelets, the prothrombin time (PT), the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), the nitric oxide (NO) production and the carrageenin-induced thrombosis was evaluated, using C57Bl/6 mice. The chronic oral treatment with babassu mesocarp induced an anti-thrombotic effect. There was a 88.9% reduction in the necrosis of the tail. This effect seems to be related to an increase in the ability of the macrophage to produce NO and to a slow coagulation process associated to an increase of 12.0 and 13.9% in PT and aPTT, respectively. However, the anti-thrombotic effect seems to be not related to alterations in the number of platelets. It is possible to conclude that the oral treatment with babassu mesocarp has a significant anti-thrombotic effect, which could justify the popular use of babassu mesocarp in the treatment of venous diseases. Meanwhile, this study suggests a potential use of babassu mesocarp as a prophylactic agent to avoid thrombosis events.

Macrophage activation induced by Orbignya phalerata Mart.

Babassu is the popular name of Orbignya phalerata Mart. [Arecaceae (Palmae)], which fruits mesocarp has been used in Brazil as medicine for the treatment of pains, constipation, obesity, leukemia, rheumatism, ulcerations, tumors and inflammations. In this study, we investigated the effect of babassu mesocarp flour aqueous extract (BM) on C3H/HePas mice peritoneal cellular migration and macrophage activation by measuring the nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) release, spreading activity and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expression. Our results demonstrate that BM injected once ip in mice at 10 and 20 mg/kg increased the cellular influx to the peritoneal cavity, the MHC class II expression and the spreading ability, and also induced the production of NO, TNF and H(2)O(2). The increase in NO-production and MHC expression was also observed after the addition of BM to resident macrophage cultures (100 microg/ml). Thus, BM-treatment was able to activate peritoneal macrophages in vitro and in vivo inducing the production of inflammatory and cytotoxic metabolites, which could justify the popular use of babassu mesocarp in the treatment of tumor diseases, but not in inflammatory pathologies.