Preliminary in vitro assessment of the potential toxicity and antioxidant activity of Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hill) Ravenna (Paineira)

Abstract

The bark tea of Ceiba speciosa, a tropical tree of the Malvaceae family, is used in the Northwestern Region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, to reduce blood cholesterol levels. However, there are no scientific data on the efficacy and safety of this plant. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and toxic potential of bark extracts of C. speciosa. We performed a preliminary phytochemical analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and evaluated the oxidative damage to proteins and lipids, the radical scavenging effect, and genotoxicity of the lyophilized aqueous extract (LAECs) and the precipitate obtained from the raw ethanol extract (Cs1). The phytochemical profile demonstrated the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. The LAECs and Cs1 prevented damage to lipids and proteins at concentrations of 50 and 10 µg/mL. They also showed a scavenging effect on 2,2-diphenyl-1-pricril-hydrazyl (DPPH) radicals in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, no genotoxic effect was observed at concentrations of 10, 5 and 2 µg/mL in the Comet assay. The present study is the first evaluation regarding the characterization of C. speciosa and its safety, and the results demonstrate its antioxidant potential and suggest that its therapeutic use may be relatively safe.Uniterms: Ceiba speciose/phytochemistry. Ceiba speciose/antioxidant activity. Phenolic content. Comet assay. DPPH scavenging capacity. Natural medicine. Safety.

Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hil.) Seeds Oil: Fatty Acids Profiling by GC-MS and NMR and Bioactivity

“…Previously, Dörr et al [35] revealed that C. speciosa aqueous steam bark extract exerted a promising DPPH radical scavenging potential. A promising DPPH radical scavenging effect was observed, also by Krüger Cardoso Malheiros et al [36], who found percentage of 85.13 and 88.95% at concentration of 50 µg/mL for raw aqueous bark extract and ethanol extract, respectively. Both extracts are rich in kaempferol, cholorogenic acid and caffeic acid.…”

Aqueous Bark Extract ofCeiba speciosa(A. St.-Hill) Ravenna Protects against Glucose Toxicity inCaenorhabditis elegans

“…These findings confirm that worms were ingesting the extract and feeding normally, indicating that the use of these concentrations is safe, considering the experimental conditions tested. Previous in vitro data have also demonstrated that this same extract did not reduce leukocytes viability and did not cause genotoxicity [ 18 ]. C. speciosa is a plant widely used by southern Brazilians; therefore, the safety of its use by this population is germane.…”

“…The antioxidant potential of the extract has been previously demonstrated in vitro through the DPPH radical scavenging capacity and demonstrated a good scavenging potential [ 18 , 24 ]. The phytochemical analysis of the extract used in this study was published by Malheiros and cols and revealed that flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, and kaempferol) and phenolic acids (gallic, chlorogenic, ellagic, and caffeic) are present [ 18 , 25 ].…”

“…The plant material was identified by a botanist, and an exsiccata or botanical voucher was deposited in the Zoobotanic Herbarium Augusto Ruschi at the University of Passo Fundo, under the code RSPF 12637. C. speciosa barks were ground, and the aqueous extract was prepared by decoction in distilled water according to Malheiros et al [ 18 ]. Since we have used the exact same batch of lyophilized extract, the phytochemical composition has been already reported [ 18 ].…”

“…C. speciosa barks were ground, and the aqueous extract was prepared by decoction in distilled water according to Malheiros et al [ 18 ]. Since we have used the exact same batch of lyophilized extract, the phytochemical composition has been already reported [ 18 ]. To expose worms, the lyophilized material was diluted in water to obtain a stock solution at 10 mg/mL that was subsequently used for further dilutions.…”