Background: Propolis is a natural product that has been widely utilized as medicine and dietary supplement because of its broad biological activities. However, although meliponide hive products have many advantages, meliponiculture has not yet become popular in Argentina, and few scientific studies on its chemical composition and/or its bioactive properties were reported, so the use of stingless bee propolis Argentine in popular medicine continues to be based on empirical knowledge. Our work aims to evaluate in vivo anti-inflammatory, antitussive and expectorant activities, and acute toxicity of the Argentine geopropolis ethanol extracts of two stingless bee's species, Scaptotrigona jujuyensis Schrottky and Tetragonisca fiebrigi Schwarz. Wistar male rats were used for all in vivo studies. Anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated through carrageenan-induced edema and cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation. Antitussive activity was assessed against ammonia-induced cough. Expectorant activity was measured by volume of phenol red in the rats' tracheas. The extract doses tested were 125, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg (p.o.). The safety was evaluated with test of acute toxicity (48 h). Results: The results showed that S. jujuyensis and T. fiebrigi propolis (1000 mg/kg) significantly reduced the carrageenaninduced edema and cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation 3 h post-dosing. In the ammonia liquor-induced cough, both propolis significantly enhanced the latent period and reduced cough frequency as compared with those of the negative control. However, they did not increase the expulsion of red phenol in the treated rats. Conclusions: This study shows that ethanol extracts of S. jujuyensis and T. fiebrigi propolis have anti-inflammatory and antitussive effects. These findings would justify the use of geopropolis in medicine as a potential phytotherapeutic product.
The chemical machinery of vegetables offers a great diversity of biological properties and plays a fundamental role in the field of pharmacology. The search for new drugs with fewer adverse effects represents a challenge for researchers. The objective of the present work was to carry out to investigate the medicinal properties and safety of extracts and essential oil from aerial parts of Clinopodium gilliesii (muña muña) and evaluate their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in vivo. The extractions were carried out serially, using 96º alcohol (EE) and boiled distilled water (AE). The essential oil (EO) was obtained by steam dragging. The AE in vivo anti-inflammatory activity was determined by carrageenan induced plantar edema (acute inflammation) and granuloma formation by cotton disc (chronic inflammation) at oral doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg while that of the EO was established topically at doses of 50, 100μl/kg. In-vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH depuration and inhibition of lipid peroxidation (β-carotene-linoleic acid method). Chemical study of the extracts was carried out by means of phytochemical screening and the essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS chromatography. The safety was evaluated with test of acute toxicity (48 h) and acute dermal toxicity (14 days). The results revealed that EE and EO had a significant acute and chronic anti-inflammatory activity, compared with positive patterns. EE (500 mg/kg), EO (100μl/kg), ibuprofen (100 mg/kg) and meprednisone (5 mg/kg) significantly reduced the weight of the exudate and cotton disc granuloma (24.17, 35.30, 45.56 and 57.17% respectively). The alcoholic and aqueous extracts presented important antioxidant activities with values higher than 90% (from 400μg/ml) in both methods and similar to the positive patterns (BHT and quercetin). The chromatographic profile of volatile oil compounds showed a great richness in terpene substances, pulegone, menthone and neomenthol, being its major constituents. The hydroalcoholic extracts revealed the presence of reducing compounds, polysaccharides, tannins, triterpenes, sterols and coumarins as major phytoconstituents. In the acute toxicity study, a single dose of 4000 and 8000 mg/kg b.w., produced no mortality and no clinical signs of disease were observed after 48 h. The essential oil at a single dose of 2000 and 5000 mg/kg of body weight did not produce treatment-related signs of toxicity or mortality in all rats tested during the 14 day observation period. These findings are encouraging to continue studies for the validation of popular use and development of a phytopharmaceutical with medicinal utility.
The anti-pathogenic activity of Acantholippia deserticola, Haplopappus baylahuen, Lippia integrifolia and Satureja parvifolia herbs used as traditional infusion was investigated. The extracts obtained were compared with respect to chromatographic profiles and antimicrobial activities. The dichloromethane and methanol extracts of the four herbs showed significant inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth and biofilm formation. The dichloromethane extract of Lippia integrifolia that showed the highest inhibitory effect on P. aeruginosa biofilm formation, was fractionated by column chromatography using a gradient of polarity, and the activities of the fractions were evaluated. In general, the lower polar fractions inhibited biofilm in correlation with bacterial growth. However, in more polar fractions the biofilm diminution is well correlated with the inhibition of autoinducers production more than the bacterial development. The results provide scientific support for the usage of these herbs to the protection against foodborne diseases. This effect is noteworthy in L. integrifolia because the fractions showed higher growth, biofilm, and autoinducer inhibitory activity than the crude extract.
Despite all the advantages of consuming meliponid honey, meliponiculture has not been sufficiently promoted in Argentina yet, and published studies on these species of bees are very scarce. <i>Tetragonisca fiebrigi</i> honey (<b>TfH</b>) or Yateí honey has recently been incorporated into the Argentine food code. This study assesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and acute toxicity by oral administration of <b>TfH</b> in rats. In addition, we present the melissopalynological analysis and physicochemical characterization. High-performance liquid chromatography identifies and quantifies sugars and phenolic compounds. The <i>T. fiebrigi</i> honey analyzed exhibited ABTS<sup>•+</sup> and DPPH radical scavenging effect (IC<sub>50</sub>= 98.28 mg/ml and IC<sub>50</sub>=337.83 mg/ml, respectively). A significant reduction in hind paw edema (44.44%) was observed in rats pretreated with <b>TfH</b> honey (1000 mg/kg b.w.) 3.0 h after dosing and significantly reduced transudative and granuloma weights at all doses tested (27.34%, 35.53% and 47.53% granuloma inhibition). The <b>TfH</b> honey oral administration produced analgesic responses in the three models used (acetic acid, formalin, tail immersion). Ferulic, ellagic, coumaric, gallic, cinnamic acids and the flavonoids quercetin and hesperetin were identified and quantified. Fructose (40.9%), glucose (29.02%) and sucrose (1.06%) were the main sugars. <b>TfH</b> honey administration did not produce lethal effects or clinical signs of disease in the acute toxicity study. The results showed that <i>T. fiebrigi</i> honey could be a good source of bioactive natural compounds with therapeutic and nutritional value.
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