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Avaliação in vivo do efeito hipoglicemiante de extratos obtidos da raiz e folha de bardana Arctium minus (Hill.) Bernh.

The jaboticaba tree, Plinia trunciflora (O. Berg) Kausel, is popularly named “jabuticabeira” in Brazil and is used in folk medicine to treat diabetes and chronic inflammation of the tonsils, but studies evaluating the central effects of this species are limited. This study evaluated the antidepressant-like and antioxidant effects of P. trunciflora (PT) aqueous extract, in which five different anthocyanins were identified. PT showed significant ferric-reduction power and DPPH radical scavenging activity in vitro and reduced lipid peroxidation both in vitro and ex vivo. At the behavioural level, PT (400 and 800 mg/kg, i.p.) dose-dependently reduced immobility time in the tail suspension test in Swiss male mice. The identification of bioactive compounds accompanied by the in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant activity of PT suggests that these activities might be related to the antidepressant-like activity of P. trunciflora.

We investigated the antiviral activity of an aliphatic nitro compound (NC) isolated from Heteropteris aphrodisiaca O. Mach. (Malpighiaceae), a Brazilian medicinal plant. The NC was tested for its antiviral activity against poliovirus type 1 (PV-1) and bovine herpes virus type 1 (BHV-1) by plaque reduction assay in cell culture. The NC showed a moderate antiviral activity against PV-1 and BHV-1 in HEp-2 cells, and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) were 22.01 microg/ml (selectivity index (SI)=2.83) and 21.10 microg/ml (SI=2.95), respectively. At the highest concentration of the drug (40 microg/ml) a reduction of approximately 80% in plaque assay was observed for both viruses. The treatment of cells or virus prior to infection did not inhibit the replication of virus strains.

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Aedes aegypti is the main vector of dengue, Chikungunya and Zika virus worldwide. The strategies for the population control involve the use of synthetic insecticides, which may cause toxicity problems and environmental contamination. This study evaluated the larvicide effect of hydroalcoholic extracts of leaves and fruits Ilex paraguariensis and Ilex theezans on A. aegypti. The bioassays were conducted under controlled conditions. Fresh and dry fruits of I. paraguariensis showed the higher larvicidal activity on A. aegypti than the leaves of the same species. Mosquito larvae showed increased susceptibility from dried leaf extracts, fresh fruit and leaf of I. theezans. It was also observed a variation in larval mortality during periods of exposure. The larvicide efficiency of I. theezans extracts on A. aegypti are promising results and widen the possibility for further studies of the use of extracts of this plant.Keywords: vector control; dengue; yerba mate; larvicide; natural products. RESUMOAedes aegypti é o principal vetor da dengue, febre Chikungunya e Zika vírus em escala global. As estratégias para controle populacional deste vetor recorrem à utilização de inseticidas sintéticos, que podem acarretar problemas de intoxicação e contaminação ambiental. Este estudo avaliou o efeito larvicida de extratos hidroalcoólicos de folhas e frutos de Ilex paraguariensis e de Ilex theezans sobre A. aegypti. Os bioensaios foram conduzidos sob condições controladas. Os frutos in natura e secos de I. paraguariensis demonstraram maior atividade larvicida sobre A. aegypti em relação às folhas da mesma espécie. As larvas do mosquito demonstraram maior susceptibilidade frente aos extratos de folhas secas, in natura e frutos verdes de I. theezans. Também foi observada variação na mortalidade larval nos períodos de exposição. A eficiência larvicida dos extratos de I. theezans são resultados promissores e abrem a possibilidade para estudos subsequentes do uso de extratos desta planta.