RESUMO
Cereus jamacaru, popularly known as mandacaru, is a Cacactacea native to the Caatinga of Brazil, but it is distributed in arid and semiarid regions worldwide. This plant is used for various purposes, such as food, animal fodder, civil construction, and as an ornamental and medicinal plant. Traditional medicine uses the cladodes, roots, and seeds of C. jamacaru to treat various diseases. This review discusses the ethnobotanical uses, phytochemical composition, and biological properties of C. jamacaru. The data demonstrate that C. jamacaru produces a wide range of secondary metabolites involved in the defense mechanism against biotic agents and abiotic stresses. Carbohydrate polymers, phenolic compounds, terpenes, and bioactive nitrogen compounds, have been identified and linked to this plant's biological properties. The present review will support future scientific research in identifying new bioproducts and demonstrating the potential of C. jamacaru as a food and medicinal plant.
RESUMO
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Amburana cearensis (Allemao) A.C.Sm. is a medicinal plant of the Brazilian Caatinga reported to present antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. This study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of the extracts obtained from the seeds of A. cearensis in primary cultures of cerebellar cells subjected to excitotoxicity induced by glutamate and brain mitochondria submitted to oxidative stress. MATERIALS: and methods: Primary cultures of cerebellar cells were treated with the ethanol (ETAC), hexane (EHAC), dichloromethane (EDAC) and ethyl acetate (EAAC) extracts of the seeds of A.cearensis and subjected to excitotoxicity induced by glutamate (10µM). Mitochondria isolated from rat brains were submitted to oxidative stress and treated with ETAC. RESULTS: Only the EHAC extract reduced cell viability by 30% after 72h of treatment. Morphological analyses by Immunofluorescence showed positive staining for glutamine synthetase, ß-III tubulin, GFAP and IBA1 similar to control cultures, indicating a better preservation of astrocytes, neurons and microglia, after excitotoxic damage induced by glutamate in cerebellar cultures treated with the extracts. The ETAC extract also protected mitochondria isolated from rat brains from oxidative stress, reducing the swelling, dissipation of the membrane potential, ROS production and calcium influx. CONCLUSION: Thus, this study suggests that the seed extracts from A. Cearensis exhibit neuroprotective potential against oxidative stress and excitotoxicity induced by glutamate and can be considered a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
