Inflammatory diseases result from the body's response to tissue damage, and if the resolution is not adequate or the stimulus persists, there will be progression from acute inflammation to chronic inflammation, leading to the development of cancer and neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. Due to the complexity of events that occur in inflammation associated with the adverse effects of drugs used in clinical practice, it is necessary to search for new biologically active compounds with anti-inflammatory activity. Among natural products, essential oils (EOs) present promising results in preclinical studies, with action in the main mechanisms involved in the pathology of inflammation. The present systematic review summarizes the pharmacological effects of EOs and their compounds in in vitro and in vivo models for inflammation. The research was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, BIREME, Scielo, Open Grey, and Science Direct. Based on the inclusion criteria, 30 articles were selected and discussed in this review. The studies listed revealed a potential activity of EOs and their compounds for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, especially in chronic inflammatory conditions, with the main mechanism involving reduction of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species associated with an elevation of antioxidant enzymes as well as the reduction of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), reducing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, this review suggests that EOs and their major compounds are promising tools for the treatment of chronic inflammation.
Background:
Passiflora L. is a genus belonging to the Passifloraceae family, with many species widely used in folk medicine and several pharmacological activities described in the scientific literature, being a major target for the development of new therapeutic products. Studies have identified several bioactive compounds in their composition as responsible for these activities, mainly C-glycoside flavonoids.
Objective:
The aim of this study was carry out a review of patents related to the genus and its application in several pharmacological activities, important for the development of new drugs and formulations.
Method:
The search was carried out in 5 specialized databases, INPI, EPO, WIPO, Latipat and Derwent, using the term ‘Passiflora’ combined with ‘A61K and A61P', subclasses of the section A, of the International Patent Classification (IPC), which are destined to medical, dental or hygienic purposes, and therapeutic activity of chemical compounds or medicinal preparation, respectively.
Results:
1,198 patents, citing the genus in the title or abstract, have been found, 508 being duplicates. After exclusion and inclusion criteria, 23 patents written in English, Portuguese and Spanish were selected, which demonstrated biological assays in vivo with species of Passiflora as the only active constituent or incorporated in formulations with other compounds.
Conclusion:
The findings of this search showed growing interest in research and industrial areas, in the pharmaceutical development with species of Passiflora, suggesting that the different bioactive compounds present in the genus can be considered as an important tool for the development of new effective and safe products with pharmacological potential.
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