Toxicological and pharmacological effects of pentacyclic triterpenes rich fraction obtained from the leaves of Mansoa hirsuta.

Mansoa hirsuta is a medicinal plant native to the Brazilian semi-arid region. This approach aimed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo toxicity and anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions of the M. hirsuta fraction (MHF). In vitro cell viability was assessed in 3T3 cells. In vivo, the acute toxicity test, a single dose of the MHF was administered. For the subchronic toxicity test, three doses of were administered for 30 days. Locomotion and motor coordination were assessed using open field and rota-rod. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in carrageenan-induced paw edema and zymosan-induced air-pouch models. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and total proteins were also measured. The antinociceptive activity MHF was determined using acid acetic-induced abdominal writhing and formalin models. In the cytotoxicity assay, MHF showed no significative impairment of cell viability and in the acute toxicity study, did not cause mortality or signs of toxicity. Repeated exposure to MHF did not cause relevant toxicological changes. The evaluation in the open field test showed that the MHF did not alter the locomotor activity and there was no change in motor coordination and balance of animals. MHF significantly reduced edema, MPO production, the migration of leukocytes and protein leakage. In addition, MHF reduced abdominal writhing and significantly inhibited the first and second stage of the formalin test. The results of this study indicated that MHF has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential without causing acute or subchronic toxic effects and it can be a promising natural source to be explored.

Evaluation of laser therapy and alpha-lipoic acid for the treatment of burning mouth syndrome: a randomized clinical trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and secondary oral burning (SOB) by unstimulated sialometry, symptom assessment, and measurement of salivary TNF-α levels. Forty-four patients were randomized into four treatment groups: BMS/laser (n = 10), BMS/ALA (n = 5), SOB/laser (n = 15), and SOB/ALA (n = 14). The control group consisted of eight healthy female subjects. Unstimulated salivary flow was measured before and after treatment, and the collected saliva was stored at - 20 °C for the analysis of TNF-α. Symptoms were evaluated before and after treatment using a pain visual analog scale. Most patients were women (81.8%) during menopause (72.2%). LLLT and ALA were efficient in increasing salivary flow only in BMS but provided symptom relief in both conditions. TNF-α levels did not differ between patients with BMS and SOB or between those patients and the control group. No differences were observed in posttreatment TNF-α levels in either condition. The results of this study suggest that LLLT and ALA are efficient therapies in reducing burning mouth symptoms, with LLLT being more efficient than ALA.