Atividades biológicas e enzimáticas do extrato aquoso de sementes de Caesalpinia ferrea Mart., Leguminosae

Abstract

RESUMO:Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. (jucá ou pau-ferro) é uma espécie da família Leguminosae cuja ocorrência estende-se da região Nordeste ao Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de uma espécie bastante utilizada na medicina popular pelas suas inúmeras propriedades terapêuticas tais como antiinflamatória, analgésica, antimicrobiana e antitérmica as quais indicam a presença de compostos de interesse farmacológico. Contudo, muitos estudos em plantas também investigam a presença de compostos de interesse industrial. Com base nas propriedades terapêuticas e atividades já descritas para essa espécie, esse trabalho objetivou pesquisar atividades biológicas no extrato de sementes de C. ferrea na busca por compostos de interesse industrial e farmacológico. Os resultados indicaram a presença das atividades celulásica, amilásica, anticoagulante e larvicida contra A. aegypti no extrato aquoso das sementes de C. ferrea, entretanto, não foram observadas as atividades tóxica aguda, hemolítica, heparinásica, antibacteriana e antifúngica.Unitermos: Caesalpinia ferrea, Leguminosae, atividades biológicas, atividades enzimáticas, sementes.ABSTRACT: "Biological and enzymatic activities of aqueous extract of seeds from Caesalpinia ferrea Mart., Leguminosae." Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. is a species belonging to Leguminosae family commonly known in Brazil as "jucá" or "pau-ferro". It occurs in Brazil from the Northeast Region to the State of Rio de Janeiro and it is widely utilized in folk medicine due to its several therapeutic properties such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial and antithermic, which indicate the presence of compounds of pharmacological interest. Besides, many studies with plants look for the presence of compounds with industrial applications. Based upon the therapeutic and bioactive properties described for this species so far, this work aimed to investigate several biological activities in the water extract of C. ferrea seeds. The results indicated the presence of the following activities: cellulase, amylase, anticoagulant and larvicide against A. aegypti in the water extract of C. ferrea seeds. Nevertheless, the extract did not show the other activities assayed: acute toxic activity, hemolytic, heparinasic, antibacterial and antifungal activities.

Biotechnical application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi used in the production of foliar biomolecules in ironwood seedlings [Libidibia ferrea (Mart. ex Tul.) L.P.Queiroz var. ferrea]

“…ferrea (Fabaceae), also known as ironwood has various uses: it restores degraded forest areas, used for soil recovery and medicine (Maia, 2004). Parts of the plant are used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases due to its antiulcerogenic, antiinflammatory, anti-cancerogenic, anti-histaminic, antimicrobial, anti-coagulant and cicatrizing properties (Bacchi et al, 1995;Carvalho et al, 1996;Nakamura et al, 2002;Gonzalez, 2005;Sampaio et al, 2009;Cavalheiro et al, 2009;Oliveira et al, 2010). These therapeutic characteristics are related to the presence of secondary compounds such as flavonoids, phenols, tannins, saponins, coumarins, anthraderivatives, quinines (Gonzalez, 2005;Almeida et al, 2005) present in the leaves, fruits, skin and roots of the plant (Maia, 2004).…”

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of Caesalpinia ferrea

“…In addition, it has been shown to have cellulase, amylase and anticoagulant activities and to kill Aedes aegypti larvae (Cavalheiro et al, 2009). The fruits have also been used to treat diabetes (Balbach, 1972) and to prevent cancer.…”

Herbal mouthwash based on Libidibia ferrea: microbiological control, sensory characteristics, sedimentation, pH and density

“…Anti-infl ammatory, analgesic and antimicrobial properties have been demonstrated, causing interest in continuing with analysis of its pharmacological and therapeutic characteristics [9][10][11][12] . Studies with L. ferrea have demonstrated promising results, and there is a perspective for its use as a mouth wash for dental biofi lm control, because it has antibacterial activity against the microorganisms present in the oral cavity 10,12 .…”