Solidagenone from Meyen Protects against Acute Peritonitis and Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Shock by Regulating NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Anti-inflammatory agents are widely used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Nevertheless, the associated side effects of the available drugs make it necessary to search for new anti-inflammatory drugs. Here, we investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of solidagenone.

Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Betulinic Acid: A Review.

Inflammatory diseases have a high prevalence and has become of great interest due to the increase in life expectancy and the costs to the health care system worldwide. Chronic diseases require long-term treatment frequently using corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which are associated with diverse side effects and risk of toxicity. Betulinic acid, a lupane-type pentacyclic triterpene, is a potential lead compound for the development of new anti-inflammatory treatments, and a large number of derivatives have been produced and tested.

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).

Cytotoxicity of the diterpene 14-O-methyl-ryanodanol from Erythroxylum passerinum in an astrocytic cells model.

Plant secondary metabolites, such as, specifically, alkaloids and terpenes, may present psychoactive properties that modify the function of the central nervous system (CNS) and induce neurotoxicity. Neurotoxicity involves the response of glial cells, mainly astrocytes, which play a fundamental role in the control of homeostasis of the CNS. Some Erythroxylum species are indigenous to the state of Bahia in Brazil.

Potent anti-inflammatory activity of betulinic acid treatment in a model of lethal endotoxemia.

Betulinic acid (BA) is a lupane-type triterpene with a number of biological activities already reported. While potent anti-HIV and antitumoral activities were attributed to BA, it is considered to have a moderate anti-inflammatory activity. Here we evaluated the effects of BA in a mouse model of endotoxic shock.

Antimalarial activity of betulinic acid and derivatives in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum and in vivo in P. berghei-infected mice.

Malaria is one of the most important tropical diseases and mainly affects populations living in developing countries. Reduced sensitivity of Plasmodium sp. to formerly recommended antimalarial drugs places an increasing burden on malaria control programs as well as on national health systems in endemic countries.

Early toxicity screening and selection of lead compounds for parasitic diseases.

Despite many advances made in disease mechanisms knowledge and drug discovery and development processes, the election of promising lead compounds continues to be a challenge. Efficient techniques are required for lead selection of hit compounds selected through in vitro pharmacological studies, in order to generate precise low cost throughput data with minimal amount of compound to support the right decision making. In this context, the selection of lead compounds with physicochemical parameters that will benefit orally bioavailable drugs are crucial for patients compliance and cost effectiveness, as well as for successful pharmacology.

The flavonoid rutin but not the alkaloid arborinine induces apoptosis in a B-cell hybridoma cell line.

The effects of arborinine, an alkaloid extracted from Erthela bahiensis and of rutin, a flavonoid obtained from Dimorphandra mollis (Benth.), Brazilian medicinal plants, on the viability and function of a murine B-cell hybridoma as a tumor model were investigated. The flavonoid rutin at 50 microM induced an increase in the number of apoptotic cells of one- to fivefold and reductions in cellular proliferation and monoclonal antibody production.

Anti-leishmanial and immunomodulatory activities of extracts from Portulaca hirsutissima and Portulaca werdermannii.

Ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts from aerial parts of Portulaca werdermannii and P. hirsutissima were tested in lymphoproliferation assays and axenic cultures of Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi. Both extracts of P.