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Approximately 600-700 species of Ipomoea, Convolvulaceae, are found throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Several of those species have been used as ornamental plants, food, medicines or in religious ritual. The present work reviews the traditional uses, chemistry and biological activities of Ipomoea species and illustrates the potential of the genus as a source of therapeutic agents. These species are used in different parts of the world for the treatment of several diseases, such as, diabetes, hypertension, dysentery, constipation, fatigue, arthritis, rheumatism, hydrocephaly, meningitis, kidney ailments and infl ammations. Some of these species showed antimicrobial, analgesic, spasmolitic, spasmogenic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, anticoagulant, anti-infl ammatory, psychotomimetic and anticancer activities. Alkaloids, phenolics compounds and glycolipids are the most common biologically active constituents from these plant extracts.

Recebido em 18/5/05; aceito em 14/11/05; publicado na web 13/7/06 SECUNDARY METABOLITES FROM SPECIES OF ANACARDIACEAE. This review describes some aspects of the family Anacardiaceae dealing with the presence and distribution of secondary metabolites in the main genera of this family and their biological activities. It reports the occurrence of different natural compounds present in their species with special emphasis on phenolic lipids, flavonoids and triterpenes that are typical metabolites of this family.Keywords: Anacardiaceae; phenolic lipids; flavonoids. INTRODUÇÃOAnacardiaceae é uma família constituída por cerca de 76 gêne-ros e 600 espécies. Seus gêneros são subdivididos em cinco tribos (Anacardieae, Dobineae, Rhoeae, Semecarpeae e Spondiadeae). Cerca de 25% dos gêneros dessa família são conhecidos como tó-xicos e causadores de dermatite de contato severa. De modo geral, as espécies venenosas desta família estão restritas às tribos Anacardieae, Rhoeae e Semecarpeae 1,2 . A dermatite de contato provocada por essas plantas é atribuída principalmente a compostos fenólicos e catecólicos ou a mistura destas substâncias, denominados lipídios fenólicos. Estas substâncias podem estar presentes em diferentes partes do material vegetal, ocorrendo principalmente em espécies do gênero Rhus 3,4 . Nos últimos anos, a origem dos lipídios fenólicos e derivados também foi objeto de investigação; além disso, espécies da família Anacardiaceae têm se mostrado bastante promissoras na busca de substâncias bioativas. Do ponto de vista químico, os gêneros mais estudados nesta família são Mangifera, Rhus (Toxicodendron), Anacardium, Spondias, Lannea, Semecarpus, Schinus, Pistacia, Lithraea, Tapirira e Melanorrhoea. Mangifera, Rhus e Anacardium destacam-se pelo número de investigações relativas à composição química de suas espécies e atividades biológicas de seus extratos e metabólitos. Os estudos destas espécies possibilitaram verificar a ocorrência de flavonóides, terpenos, esteróides, xantonas e, principalmente, dos lipídios fenó-licos e derivados. Destaca-se que entre os flavonóides, os biflavonóides são os mais freqüentes.

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The bark of Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret (Leguminosae family), popularly known as “jurema preta” in Brazil, is used by the population of Contendas of Sincorá (Bahia State, Brazil) for the treatment of coughs and wound healing. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the bark ethanol extract (EEMT) and solvent soluble fractions (hexane—H, DCM—D, EtOAc—E and BuOH—B) of the extract in vivo. Additionally, we synthesized 5,7-dihidroxy-4’-methoxyflavanone (isosakuranetin) and isolated the compound sakuranetin, and both compounds were also tested. The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive assays performed were: writhing test; nociception induced by intraplantar formalin injection; leukocyte recruitment to the peritoneal cavity; evaluation of vascular permeability (Evans blue test); and evaluation of mechanical hypernociception (von Frey test). Production of TNF-α, IL-10, myeloperoxidase and the expression of ICAM-1 were also evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni post-test (n = 8), with P < 0.05. The EEMT showed antinociceptive activities in writhing test (100–200 mg/kg), in the second phase of the formalin test (50–200 mg/kg), and in mechanical hypernociception (100 mg/kg). EEMT showed an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing neutrophil migration to the peritoneal cavity and in the plantar tissue detected by the reduction of myeloperoxidase activity (100 mg/kg), reduction of IL-10 levels and expression of ICAM-1 in the peritoneal exudate and the mesentery (100 mg/kg), respectively. The four soluble EEMT fractions showed good results in tests for antinociceptive (H, D, E, B) and anti-inflammation (H, D, E). Only sakuranetin showed reduction of the writhing and neutrophil migration (200 mg/kg). Thus, the EEMT and soluble fractions of M. tenuiflora bark demonstrated great antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities, as also sakuranetin. More studies should be conducted to elucidate the mechanism of action of this compound. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the antinociceptive activity of the M. tenuiflora fractions and the bioactive isolated compound sakuranetin in vivo.

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