There has been marked interest in recent years in the use of plants for the treatment of diabetes. Plants have been found in many countries which have been indicated as having hypoglycemic activity. The present work is an up-to-date review with 178 references of crude plant extracts and chemically defi ned molecules with hypoglycemic activity from South, Central and North America. The review refers to 224 plants with their families, parts used and type of extract, organism tested and activity. It also includes 40 compounds isolated from those plants. Some aspects of recent research with natural products from plants directed to the treatment of diabetes are discussed.

RESUMO: "Atividade anti-infl amatória de alkalóides: Uma revisão do século XX". Muitas substâncias que interferem na resposta infl amatória têm sido isoladas de plantas. Esta revisão mostra alguns alcalóides de origem vegetal que no período de 1907-2000 foram avaliados quanto a uma possível atividade anti-infl amatória. Os alcalóides foram classifi cados em subgrupos de acordo com suas estruturas químicas e os dados farmacológicos foram obtidos de diferentes modelos experimentais. Dos 171 alcalóides avaliados, 137 apresentaram atividade anti-infl amatória, e, entre eles, os alcalóides do tipo isoquinolínicos foram os mais estudados. O modelo de edema de pata induzido por carragenina foi o mais empregado para avaliação da atividade anti-infl amatória. Nesta revisão 174 referências foram consultadas. Unitermos: Alcalóides, atividade anti-infl amatória, infl amação, modelos experimentais.ABSTRACT: Many substances which interfere with the infl ammatory response have been isolated from plants. This review shows some alkaloids of vegetal origin which in the period of 1907 to 2000 were evaluated regarding a possible anti-infl ammatory activity. The alkaloids were classifi ed in sub-groups in accordance with their chemical structures and the pharmacological data were obtained from different experimental models. Of the 171 evaluated alkaloids, 137 presented anti-infl ammatory activity, and among those, the isoquinoline type was the most studied. The Carrageenin-induced paw edema was the most used model for evaluating the anti-infl ammatory activity. In this review, 174 references were cited.

RESUMO: "Produtos naturais inibidores da enzima conversora de angiotensina (ECA).Uma revisão entre 1980 -2000". A inibição da Enzima Conversora da Angiotensina (ECA) é um alvo terapêutico moderno e efi caz no tratamento da hipertensão arterial. Na cascata enzimática que envolve o sistema renina-angiotensina, a ECA promove a remoção dos aminoácidos histidilleucina da angiotensina I para formar o octapeptídio angiotensina II, a qual é fi siologicamente ativa em diversos sistemas, e considerado como um dos mais potentes vasoconstrictores endógenos conhecido. Portanto, uma racionalidade no tratamento da hipertensão seria administrar drogas ou compostos de origem natural que inibam seletivamente a ECA. O presente estudo constitui uma revisão da literatura sobre plantas e moléculas de origem natural com potencial anti-hipertensivo, baseado na inibição in vitro da ECA. A revisão referencia 321 plantas, partes usadas, tipo de extrato e se é ativo ou não. Inclui ainda o nome de 158 compostos isolados de plantas superiores, esponjas e algas marinhas, fungos e venenos de cobra. Alguns aspectos de pesquisa recente com produtos naturais direcionados à produção de drogas anti-hipertensivas também são discutidos. Nesta revisão 148 referências foram consultadas.Unitermos: Enzima conversora da angiotensina, efeito anti hipertensivo, agentes hipotensivos. ABSTRACT: Inhibition of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) is a modern therapeutic targetin the treatment of hypertension. Within the enzyme cascade of the renin-angiotensin system, ACE removes histidyl-leucine from angiotensin I to form the physiologically active octapeptide angiotensin II, one of the most potent known vasoconstrictors. Therefore, a rationale for treating hypertension would be to administer drugs or natural compounds which selectively inhibit ACE. The present work constitutes a review of the literature of plants and chemically defi ned molecules from natural sources with in vitro anti-hypertensive potential based on the inhibition of ACE. The review refers to 321 plants, the parts utilized, type of extract and whether they are active or not. It includes also the names of 158 compounds isolated from higher plants, marine sponges and algae, fungi and snake venom. Some aspects of recent research with natural products directed to produce anti-hypertensive drugs are discussed. In this review, 148 references were cited.

Peptic ulcer disease is a deep gastrointestinal erosion disorder that involves the entire mucosal thickness and can even penetrate the muscular mucosa. Numerous natural products have been evaluated as therapeutics for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including this one. These products usually derive from plant and animal sources that contain active constituents such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins and others. The alkaloids are natural nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites mostly derived from amino acids and found in about 20% of plants. There has been considerable pharmacological research into the antiulcer activity of these compounds. In this work we review the literature on alkaloids with antiulcer activity, which covers about sixty-one alkaloids, fifty-five of which have activity against this disease when induced in animals.

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Recebido em 22/5/12; aceito em 21/7/12; publicado na web em 15/10/12Our study reports the extraction and isolation of a new phaeophytin derivative 15 1 -hydroxy-(15 1 -S)-porphyrinolactone, designated anamariaine (1) herein, isolated from the chloroform fraction of aerial parts of Thyrsacanthus ramosissimus Moric. along with the known 15 1 -ethoxy-(15 1 -S)-porphyrinolactone (2). These compounds were identified by usual spectroscopic methods. Both compounds were subjected to in vitro (inhibitory activity) tests by means of supercoiled DNA relaxation techniques and were shown to display inhibitory activity against human DNA topoisomerase II-a at 50 µM. Interconversion of these two pigments under the mild conditions of the isolation techniques should be highly unlikely but cannot be entirely ruled out.