Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of a triterpene-rich fraction from Himatanthus drasticus

Abstract

Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel belongs to the Apocynaceae family and the latex from its trunk bark ( Hd ) is known as “janaguba milk”. This latex is widely used in Northeast Brazil, mainly in the Cariri region, for its gastroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties. The objective of this study was to investigate a triterpene-rich fraction (FJNB) from H. drasticus latex on acute models of nociception and inflammation and to clarify its mechanisms of action. Wistar rats or Swiss mice were subjected to the carrageenan-induced paw edema test or the formalin test, respectively, after the acute oral treatment with FJNB. The inflamed paws from the carrageenan-induced paw edema and formalin tests were processed for histological and immunohistochemical assays, respectively. The results were analyzed by ANOVA and considered significant at P<0.05. FJNB (10 mg/kg) decreased the paw edema by 25% at the 3rd h after the carrageenan injection. Indomethacin, used as reference, inhibited the paw edema by 59% at the same time-point. In the formalin test, FJNB inhibited the 1st phase by 27, 49, and 52% and the 2nd phase by 37, 50, and 67%, at the doses of 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg, respectively. In addition, FJNB significantly inhibited the expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. The histone deacetylase (HDAC) expression and the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa (NF-kB) were also inhibited at the same doses. In conclusion, the FJNB inhibitory actions on iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, HDAC, and NF-kB could be involved with the drug anti-inflammatory activity.

Ethnopharmacology of the angiosperms of Chapada of Araripe located in Northeast of Brazil

“…The inflammatory process was another condition with many citations in the group of unclassified systems or pain; we verified investigations of anti-inflammatory actions in the species A. occidentale (Vasconcelos et al, 2015) and A. urundeuva (Galvão et al, 2018) by significantly inhibiting ear edema in mice and rats respectively. C. langsdorffii (Pereira et al, 2008) and H. drasticus (Almeida et al, 2019) also due to inhibition of leg edema in animal models, and L. ferrea, which in addition to anti-inflammatory properties, also had an anti-receptive effect in vivo test (Falcão et al, 2019).…”

“…(barbatimão) e Ximenia americana L. (ameixa). These species have great medicinal, cultural, food, and commercial value in the region, including some of which are known to have scientifically proven pharmacological and biological activities, being explored in the bioprospecting of molecules and the search for new drugs (Pereira et al, 2015;Bezerra et al, 2018;Galvão et al, 2018;Almeida et al, 2019.…”

Insecticidal Compound from Himatanthus drasticus Latex against Cowpea Infestation by Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

“…In the Brazilian state of Ceará, H. drasticus is found in the Araripe Plateau region, where residents collect and sell its latex to treat gastritis, hemorrhoids, anemia, inflammation, and cancer . Previous studies of H. drasticus have shown that a fraction of its latex, rich in triterpenes, has antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities in murine models . Ethnopharmacological knowledge also reveals that the latex is used to treat diabetes, leukemia, rheumatism, tuberculosis, mycoses, and hemorrhoids .…”

The Anticancer Activity of Oleanane-type Saponin from Bombax ceiba (in vitro) and Theoretical Investigation of Signaling Pathway

“…Previous phytochemical studies highlighted the presence of flavonoids, quinines, sterols, saponins, fatty acids, and hydrocarbons [9], as well as various promising activities such as anti-tumour, anti-microbials [10], antioxidant, cytotoxicity [11], and anti-proliferative [12]. β-Amyrin is a known compound which has been isolated from many plants, such as Bombax ceiba [13], Himatanthus drasticus [14], Protium paniculatum [15], and Myrcianthes pungens [16]. This compound has been used for many pharmacological activities, such as antidiabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-nociceptive, antiinflammatory [17][18][19][20], apoptosis [21], Alzheimer's [22], and anti-hyperglycemic [23].…”

“…13 C-NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3, δ / ppm ): 145.16 (C-13), 121.69 (C-12), 78.98 (C-3),55 14. (C-5), 47.70 (C-9), 47.44 (C-18), 46.89 (C-19), 41.67 (C-14), 39.76 (C-8), 38.75 (C-4), 38.55 (C-1),37.11 (C-22), 37.07 (C-20), 36.91 (C-10), 34.70 (C-21), 33.35 (C-29), 32.61 (C-7), 32.61 (C-17), 28.37 (C-28), 15.43 (C-23), 27.19 (C-2), 26.90 (C-15), 26.12 (C-16), 25.9 (C-27), 23.65 (C-30), 23.51 (C-11), 18.39 (C-6), 16.76 (C-26), 15.54 (C-25), 28.0 (C-24); HSQC (CDCl3, δ / ppm): C-1 (38.55, 1.61, 1.02; CH2), C-2 (27.19, 1.60, 0.80; CH2), C-3 (78.98, 3.24; CH), C-5 (55.14, 0.71; CH), C-6 (18.39, 1.54, 1.41; CH2), C-7 (32.61, 1.51, 1.35; CH2), C-9 (47.70, 1.54; CH), C-11 (23.51, 1.87; CH2), C-12 (121.69, 5.19; CH), C-15 (26.90, 1.98; CH2), C-16 (26.12, 1.76, 0.95; CH2), C-18 (47.44, 1.54; CH), C-19 (46.89, 1.69, 1.07; CH2), C-21 (34.70, 1.38, 1.18; CH2), C-22 (37.11, 1.41, 1.23; CH2), C-23 (15.43, 0.78; CH3), C-24 (28.0, 0.99; CH3), C-25 (15.54, 0.93; CH3), C-26 (16.76, 0.96; CH3), C-27 (25.9, 1.13; CH3), C-28 (28.37, 0.83; CH3), C-29 (33.35, 0.87; CH3), C-30 (23.65, 0.87; CH3); HR-MS (m/z): 427.3933 (MH) + .…”