Investigations on the anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities of the leaves of Uncaria guianensis (Aublet) J. F. Gmelin

Abstract

Uncaria guianensis (Aublet) J. F. Gmelin is an herbal medicine from tropical areas of South and Central America. We investigated the anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties of an ethanolic extract of U. guianensis leaves, containing alkaloids, flavonoids and phenol carboxylic acids, as revealed by thin layer chromatography (TLC). Oral pre-treatment with U. guianensis inhibited zymosan-induced paw oedema (500 mg/paw) and pleural exudation (100 mg/kg) within 4 h (25-200 mg/kg). U. guianensis (100 mg/kg) inhibited total leukocyte and neutrophil numbers in the pleural cavity 4 h after zymosan stimulation. Pre-treatment with U. guianensis (100 mg/kg, p.o.) inhibited total leukocyte, neutrophil and eosinophil recruitment into the pleural cavity 24 h after LPS (250 ng/cavity, i.t.). Pre-treatment with U. guianensis inhibited paw oedema (25-200 mg/kg) induced by ovalbumin (OVA) within 1 h, and neutrophil and eosinophil recruitment into the mice pleural cavity 24 h after OVA (100 mg/kg). In vitro data revealed that U. guianensis impaired LPS-induced nitric oxide and CXCL8 generation by murine peritoneal macrophages, as well as OVA-induced interleukin-5 synthesis by previously sensitized spleen cells. These results demonstrate that U. guianensis leaves provide effective anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities.

Novel quinoline and naphthalene derivatives as potent antimycobacterial agents

“…Cell viability in the presence and absence of test compounds was determined by Mossman's MTT assay [40][41][42] at two different concentrations 1 and 10 mg/mL for the most active compounds (22, 23, 26 and 27) from our data set. The results are presented as percentage cell viability (Table 3).…”

Kaempferitrin from Uncaria guianensis (Rubiaceae) and its potential as a chemical marker for the species

“…17 The ethanol extract (2 g) was partitionated between CH 2 Cl 2 /H 2 O to yield an insoluble yellowish solid (27 mg) from the aqueous fraction.…”

“…16 The EtOH extract of the leaves of U. guianensis showed anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities. 17 The present work describes the isolation of kaempferol-3,7-O-(α)-dirhamnoside (kaempferitrin) from the leaves of U. guianensis and the screening for this compound in the EtOH extracts from the leaves, stems or bark of U. guianensis and U. tomentosa through TLC and HPLC-DAD-MS techniques.…”

Synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of N′-[(E)-(monosubstituted-benzylidene)]-2-pyrazinecarbohydrazide derivatives

“…The cellular viability in the presence and absence of test compound was determined by Mosmans's MTT (3-(4,5-demethylthylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dimethyl tetrazolium bromide; Merck) microcultured tetrazolium assay [26,27]. The results were represented as percentage cell viability (Table 2).…”