Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Ficus maxima is a medicinal plant extensively used in traditional medicine by Indigenous peoples across Central and South America. It is a member of the family Moraceae, subgenus Pharmacosycea, employed in treating various conditions, including intestinal parasites, gingivitis, internal inflammations, and snake bites. Despite its significant pharmacological potential, the species remains underrepresented in scientific literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Echinodorus macrophyllus (Kunth.) Micheli (Alismataceae), known as chapéu-de-couro in Brazil, is popularly used to treat inflammatory diseases. We have previously demonstrated a significant reduction in the acute inflammation for the aqueous extract of E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in adult men. LQB-118 is a pterocarpanquinone with antitumor activity toward prostate cancer cells. It inhibits cell proliferation by down-regulating cyclins D1 and B1 and up-regulating p21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen
August 2022
The benefits of practicing physical activity, such as weight loss and control, are commonly associated with caloric restriction diets and may be improved by the ingestion of thermogenic and ergogenic supplements. However, there is a lack of safety data on commonly marketed nutritional supplements. Therefore, this investigation aims to evaluate a pre-workout supplement for mutagenicity using the Ames test, hepatocytoxicity in HepG2 and F C3H cells after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, genotoxicity using the CBMN assay, determination of gluthatione activity and computational prediction of the three major isolated compounds present in the supplement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim: (Kunth.) Micheli is popularly used for acute and chronic inflammatory conditions. The anti-inflammatory activity was previously demonstrated for its flavonoid-enriched fractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Ethnopharmacol
February 2022
Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In Brazil, Echinodorus macrophyllus (Alismataceae), popularly known as chapéu-de-couro, is used to treat inflammatory diseases. Previous studies have shown a significant decrease in the acute inflammation for the aqueous extract of E. macrophyllus (AEEm) and its ethanolic fraction (Fr20).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of Pterodon polygalaeflorus hexane extract (HE) and its fractions on macrophage migration in vitro and in vivo.
Methods: Hexane extract from P. polygalaeflorus fruits was fractionated and yielded four fractions.
Objectives: Echinodorus macrophyllus (Kunth) Micheli (Alismataceae) is popularly used as an infusion to treat inflammatory diseases. This work fractionated the aqueous extract of E. macrophyllus (AEEm) to improve its anti-inflammatory effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and is the second major cause of death by parasites, after malaria. The arsenal of drugs against leishmaniasis is small, and each has a disadvantage in terms of toxicity, efficacy, price, or treatment regimen. Our group has focused on studying new drug candidates as alternatives to current treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer chemotherapy is an important strategy to treat this leading cause of death worldwide and plants may constitute a source of new antineoplastic agents. This work fractionated the ethanolic extract of Jacaranda puberula leaves and studied the in vitro antitumoral action and some toxicological effects of the most bioactive fraction. Cell lines related to worldwide cancers were used.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Complement Altern Med
November 2012
Background: Plant derived compounds have been shown to be important sources of several anti-cancer agents. As cell cycle deregulation and tumor growth are intimately linked, the discovery of new substances targeting events in this biochemical pathway would be of great value. The anti-leukemic effect of an ethanolic extract of Pterodon pubescens seeds (EEPp) has been previously demonstrated and now we show that a terpenic subfraction (SF5) of EEPp containing farnesol, geranylgeraniol and vouacapan derivatives induces apoptosis in the human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeme is a ubiquitous molecule that has a number of physiological roles. The toxic effects of this molecule have been demonstrated in various models, based on both its pro-oxidant nature and through a detergent mechanism. It is estimated that about 10 mM of heme is released during blood digestion in the blood-sucking bug's midgut.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeme (iron protoporphyrin IX) is an important molecule involved in many biological reactions, including oxygen transport, respiration, photosynthesis and drug detoxification. Trypanosoma cruzi parasites, the etiological agent of Chagas' disease, take up heme from the environment to supply their nutritional needs because they do not synthesize this cofactor. However, the mechanisms involved in heme transport across biological membranes are poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant-derived compounds are important sources of effective anti-cancer agents. Pterodon pubescens is a native Brazilian plant popularly known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects. The ethanolic extract of its seeds (EEPp) is a viscous, brown and fragrant oil containing geranylgeraniol, farnesol, naphthalene, dimethyldodecatrienol and vouacapan diterpene derivatives, in addition to other compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeranylgeraniol is a natural isoprenoid with anti-inflammatory properties extracted from the Pterodon pubescens Benth. fruit oil (PpO). In this work, the antiplatelet effect of both PpO and geranylgeraniol is investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEchinodorus macrophyllus is a medicinal plant, popularly known in Brazil as "chapéu de couro", used to treat rheumatic diseases, which are usually characterized by exacerbated T and B lymphocyte response. We have evaluated the effects of the aqueous extract of Echinodorus macrophyllus (AEEm) on these cell functions, proliferation, and nitric oxide production. Mice treated orally for 7 days with AEEm had inhibited B cell antibody production (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have previously demonstrated that the hydroalcoholic extract from Pterodon pubescens Benth. seeds (sucupira branca, Leguminosae) exhibits anti-arthritic activity and that its oleaginous extract (OEP) and PF1 fraction exhibit acute and topic anti-edematogenic activities. In this work, we studied the antinociceptive activity of OEP and its fractions on the acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction and formalin assays in SW male mice.
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