Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell) Brenan: Ethnobotanical, phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological aspects.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan is an endemic tree to South America and different parts of it are used by the population for the treatment of various diseases, as well as in indigenous rituals. This species has high pharmacological potential but may present toxic potential due to the presence of psychotropic compounds. AIM OF THE STUDY: To review published studies with the species A. colubrina regarding ethnobotanical, phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological aspects, as well as discuss perspectives for new research and protection of this species. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature review was performed by accessing published articles on databases such as: PubMed, Science Direct, Scielo, Scopus, Taylor and Francis online, Springer Link, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), ACS Publications, Chemspider and Google Scholar. The keywords used were: "Anadenanthera colubrina" or "Mimosa colubrina" or "Piptadenia colubrina" or "Piptadenia macrocarpa" or "Piptadenia grata" or "Anadenanthera macrocarpa" and "medicinal plants" or "pharmacological" or "phytochemicals" or "traditional use" or "toxicological" or "ethnobotanical" or "pre-clinical trial" or "clinical". Articles found by database searches and search engines were screened at four stages: (i) title screening, (ii) locality screening, (iii) abstract screening, and (iv) full text. Other articles found through supplementary searches were screened in the full text whenever available. Each article was assessed by three reviewers at the title and abstract screening stages, except for those found in Portuguese databases that were assessed by the native reviewer. RESULTS: This robust tree has been popularly useful for agroeconomic, medicinal and as a hallucinogen in religious rituals. According to the published studies, the main parts of the plant are the bark and seeds that are mostly used for respiratory conditions and as entheogens, respectively. It is a rich traditional herbal medicine with many pharmacological properties such as anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antidiarrheal, wound healing, antimicrobial, antitumoral, antioxidant, antiaddictive, insecticide and allelopathic that were described in in vitro and in vivo assays, and approximately 56 compounds were identified, suggesting a therapeutic potential for this species. Although most relate to medicinal uses, these are preliminaries and do not show the mechanism of action. The phytochemical assays showed the presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, triterpenes, steroids and alkaloids. Some of the compounds are anadanthoflavone, which is exclusive to this species, and no pharmacological or toxicological studies have yet demonstrated this compound. Another important compound is bufotenine which was isolated from seeds and is related to hallucinogenic and antiviral activity. The extracts made from leaves, bark, gum, and fruits appear to be safe, according to both in vivo and in vitro toxicology testing, which all shown low toxicity. Due to the presence of bufotenine in the seeds, it can be toxic, however, it was not found in toxicological assays with the seed extracts. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, part of the studies confirms the popular use of A. colubrina, however, more assays with isolated compounds and with the different extracts are necessary to corroborate other uses and the mechanism of action of their pharmacological effects needs to discuss in more detail. Therefore, the present review would be identified the gaps and suggests further studies oriented to validate the popular use. Thus, it must be noted that the use of this species must be controlled in order to minimize the environmental impact, as most of the pharmacological potential was shown with the bark and seeds. Due to its wide use in folk medicine, it is part of the Brazilian medicinal species with priority for conservation.

Macrophage activation in vitro by Parachartergus fraternus venom.

Parachartergus fraternus wasp induces inflammation with a predominance of mononuclear cells, that can acquire macrophage functions at the sting site, amplifying the response. These cells can be activated by venomous animals and are involved in destruction of injurious agents and release of inflammatory mediators. The objective of this work was to evaluate the activity of P. fraternus venom (Pfv) on isolated murine macrophage function. The cells were obtained from peritoneal cavity of Swiss male mice and incubated with Pfv (2.5, 5 and 10 µg/mL). Cytotoxicity was determined using MTT assay. Adhesion and detachment were evaluated using violet crystal dye. Spreading was evaluated based on morphological parameters. Phagocytosis was performed with opsonized zymosan. Production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) were quantified using the phenol red and Griess assays, respectively. Pfv at concentrations evaluated was not cytotoxic in MTT assay and did not cause macrophage detachment in cell culture plates. However, it increased adhesion of macrophage, spreading and phagocytosis of opsonized zymosan, as well as induced production of H2O2 and NO. Therefore, Pfv induces macrophage activation in vitro and the response of these cells can be correlated with the previously reported inflammatory process triggered by this wasp.

The effect of Sebastiania hispida gel on wound model infected by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Medicinal plants are an alternative for the treatment of infected wounds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Sebastiania hispida in an animal model with a wound infected by Staphylococcus aureus. The crude ethanol extract (ExtEtOH) of S. hispida underwent phytochemical analysis, quantification of metabolites and antibacterial activity analysis performed using S. aureus. Wistar rats were used to test healing activity, and the groups evaluated comprised gels of ExtEtOH at the concentrations 0.2 and 2% compared with control groups. Animals were inoculated with the bacteria S. aureus resistant to methicillin. The treatment periods were of 3 and 21 days. Macroscopic and microscopic analysis were conducted and data were submitted to analysis of variance (p < 0.05). Phytochemical and quantification analysis indicated that phenolic compounds and flavonoids are the major constituents, followed by tyterpenes. ExtEtOH 0.2% was the most effective gel against the growth of strains of S. aureus. Histological wound and regression analysis showed that ExtEtOH gels (0.2% and 2%) were similar and effective in promoting wound healing. In the quantification of collagen fibers, the animals from all groups showed a high amount of thick collagen fibers. Thus, ExtEtOH gels based on the shoots of S. hispida can be used for the treatment of infected wounds as a complementary therapy for infected wound closure and further assays are required with other means. The healing effectiveness may be due to the high content of phenolics, flavonoids and triterpenes.