RESUMO: O uso milenar de plantas medicinais mostrou ao longo dos anos, que determinadas plantas apresentam substâncias potencialmente perigosas. Do ponto de vista científico, algumas pesquisas mostraram que muitas dessas plantas possuem substâncias agressivas e por essa razão devem ser utilizadas com cuidado, respeitando seus riscos toxicológicos. Os efeitos mais preocupantes do uso indiscriminado de plantas medicinais são embriotóxico, teratogênico e abortivo, uma vez, que os constituintes da planta podem atravessar a placenta, chegar ao feto e gerar um desses efeitos. Este estudo objetiva fornecer uma listagem das principais plantas medicinais que tenham efeitos embriotóxicos, teratogênicos e abortivos comprovados, conhecendo as partes da planta utilizadas e seus respectivos nomes científicos, com a finalidade de alertar gestantes quanto aos riscos de seu uso. Realizou-se buscas nas bases eletrônicas de dados SciELO, PubMed, MEDLINE, LILACS, CAPES e Google acadêmico. Nos resultados encontrados, plantas como Arnica (Arnica montana), Artemísia (Artemisia vulgaris), Arruda (Ruta chalepensis/ Ruta graveolens), Barbatimão (Stryphnodendron polyphyllum), Boldo (Vernonia condensata) dentre outras, podem vir a gerar um desses efeitos. A partir deste estudo comprova-se que para a maioria das plantas medicinais não há dados a respeito da segurança de seu uso durante a gravidez.Palavras-chave: plantas medicinais, gestação, teratogênico, embriotóxico, abortivo ABSTRACT: Embryotoxic, teratogenic and abortive effects of medicinal plants. The ancient use of medicinal plants has shown over the years that certain plants have potentially dangerous substances. From a scientific point of view, some studies have shown that many of these plants contain aggressive substances and therefore should be used with caution, respecting their toxicological risks. The most important effects of the indiscriminate use of medicinal plants are embryotoxic, teratogenic and abortifacient since the plant constituents can cross the placenta, reaching the fetus and leading to one of these effects. This study aimed to provide a list of the major medicinal plants that have proven embryotoxic, teratogenic and abortifacient effects, including the used plant parts and their respective scientific names, in order to warn pregnant women about the risks of its use. Searches were carried out in the electronic databases SciELO, PubMed, MEDLINE, LILACS, CAPES and Google Scholar. Results indicated that plants such as mountain arnica (Arnica montana), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), fringed rue (Ruta chalepensis / Ruta graveolens), "Barbatimão" (Stryphnodendron polyphyllum) and "Boldo" (Vernonia condensata) are likely to generate such an effect. This study shows that for most medicinal plants there are not data regarding the safety of their use during pregnancy.
Caffeic acid (CA) is a hydroxycinnamic acid, a group of natural organic phenolic compounds used in folk medicine and in foods for the prevention and treatment of obesity. CA is present in a variety of plants, as it is an intermediate in secondary metabolism. It is found in coffee, wine and olive oil. The aim of this work was to study the influence of caffeic acid (CA) on the reduction of intracellular lipid accumulation, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and in mitochondrial transmembrane potential alterations in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. The pre-adipocyte cell line 3T3-L1 was differentiated using a differentiation cocktail. Cells were treated with CA, and the MTT assay was performed to assess the effect of CA on pre-adipocytes. The quantification of lipids accumulated within the mature cells was performed using Oil Red O dye. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the production of ROS through 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) oxidation and changes in mitochondrial transmembrane potential by Rhodamine 123 dye (Rho123). CA did not exhibit significant toxicity on the 3T3-L1 cell line at the studied concentrations. Caffeic acid causes significant reduction of lipid content in the cells submitted to the post-and co-treatment, being more effective in cotreatment. Caffeic acid results in an absolute decrease in the formation of intracytoplasmic reactive oxygen species. The treatment with caffeic acid protects against oxidative stress caused in the mitochondria by the adipocyte differentiation process. Thus, CA acts on adipogenesis, reducing intracellular lipid accumulation in the 3T3-L1 cells. It reduces intracellular ROS formation and mitochondrial transmembrane potential alterations in differentiated cells.
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