Neuropharmacological Activity of the Pericarp of Passiflora edulis flavicarpa Degener: Putative Involvement of C-Glycosylflavonoids

Abstract

Passiflora edulis has been used in traditional medicine as a sedative and to treat or prevent central disorders such as anxiety and insomnia. In this study, the central effects of the aqueous extract (AE), the butanolic fraction (BF), and the aqueous residual fraction (ARF) obtained from the pericarp of P. edulis flavicarpa were investigated in mice and the possible compounds involved in these putative neuropharmacologic effects were determined. AE, BF, and ARF increased the total time spent in the light compartment of the light:dark box, an anxiolytic-like effect, and AE also potentiated the hypnotic effects of ethyl ether, a sedative effect. The thin layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis indicated the predominance of C-glycosylflavonoids in these extracts and fractions, which were identified as isoorientin, vicenin-2, spinosin, and 6,8-di-C-glycosylchrysin.

Chemical composition of hydroethanolic extracts from Siparuna guianensis, medicinal plant used as anxiolytics in Amazon region

“…Flavonoids showed anxiolytic activity on rodent behavior with efficiency comparable to that of typical BDZ agents. Beside this, unlike BDZ, the flavonoid anxiolytics did not induce sedation and dependence as side effects (Sena et al, 2009;Birk et al, 2005;de Castro et al, 2007).…”

“…Many of these species are present as offi cial drugs in the pharmacopeias of several countries (Dhawan et al, 2004). The anxyolitic activity of Passifl ora genus had been attributed to fl avones C-glycosides derivatives of apigenin and luteolin (Lolli et al, 2007;Sena et al, 2009), such as isoorientin, vicenin-2, spinosin, and 6,8-di-C-glycosylchrysin (Sena et al, 2009). Other classes of constituents found in this genus were cyanogenic glycosides, benzopyrones (Dhawan et al, 2004), volatile constituents, saponins (Birk et al, 2005) and simple indole alkaloids (Abourashed et al, 2003).…”

Investigação da atividade antihiperglicemiante da farinha da casca de Passiflora edulis Sims, Passifloraceae, em ratos diabéticos induzidos por aloxano

“…Dentre as fibras solúveis, a pectina caracteriza-se como o principal componente, sendo apontada como adjuvante na redução dos níveis de colesterol e glicemia, e apresentando ainda atividade anticancerígena e imunoestimulatória (Mohnen, 2008;Anderson et al, 2009). Além dessas propriedades, a casca do fruto de P. edulis demonstrou ainda ação antihipertensiva em modelo animal de roedores hipertensos (Ichimura et al, 2006), associada a presença de GABA e, mais recentemente, propriedades ansiolitícas em ratos (Sena et al, 2009). As sementes do fruto também foram investigadas e apresentaram majoritariamente fibras insolúveis em sua composição, as quais, quando adicionadas a dieta hipercolesterolêmica de cobaio demonstraram redução dos níveis de triglicerídeos, colesterol total e colesteol LDL (Chau & Huang, 2005).…”

Glycemic Regulation and Cytotoxic Characteristics of the Ethyl Acetate Fraction from <em>Passiflora cincinnata</em> Mast Leaves

“…Although the Passiflora genus is widely used and accepted in traditional medicine because of its pharmacological properties, the phytochemical constituents responsible for these properties are not yet elucidated, although [17] suggested that some of the medicinal properties of Passiflora are associated with the presence of C-glycosylated flavonoids. [11] reported that the major constituents in Passiflora leaves are flavonoids derived from apigenin and luteolin (vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, isoorientin).…”