Screening of Bioactivities and Toxicity ofCnidoscolus quercifoliusPohl

Abstract

The caatinga, an exclusively Brazilian biome, is one of the most endangered vegetation systems in the planet. To be exploited rationally, its potential needs to be scientifically demonstrated. Among these is the faveleira, used in northeastern Brazil. It stands out for its extraordinary drought resistance and medicinal properties. The objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic potential of compounds extracted from Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl in preventing disease and its rational use as a herbal therapeutic tool. The methodology began with the collection and herborization of the plant material, to obtain the chemical compounds, preliminary phytochemical analysis, and extraction of the constituents of the active extracts. To determine the biological activities the authors conducted investigation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, inhibition capacity of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme, and initial assessment of toxicity of the extracts. The results demonstrated great potential as an antimicrobial agent, an important antioxidant capacity, and acetylcholinesterase inhibition response with no significant difference compared with the reference drug. The authors expect to develop a new herbal product, resulting in lower production costs and that, consequently, could be commercialized in more accessible form to the population, highlighting the risk reduction of contraindication of this category of medications.

Bioactive properties of faveleira (Cnidoscolus quercifolius) seeds, oil and press cake obtained during oilseed processing

“…No faveleira extracts were able to inhibit the growth Staphylococcus aureus , Listeria monocytogenes , Bacillus cereus , Enterococcus faecalis (Gram-positive) and Pseudomonas aeroginosa , Enterobacter cloacae , Escherichia coli , Salmonella Typhimurium , Enterobacter aerogenes (Gram-negative). Previously, Paredes et al [ 43 ] have shown that methanolic extracts of faveleira leaves, bark and root bark showed some inhibition of Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , but no activity against E . coli was observed.…”

Toxicity of food flavorings to ex-vivo, in vitro and in vivo bioassays

“…The toxicity test of aroma and flavor micro-ingredients against A. salina was carried out according to the protocol proposed by Meyer et al (1982) and Paredes et al (2016) with minor modifications. A. salina eggs were incubated in solution of synthetic sea salt (30 g L -1 ) in a glass vessel equipped with a dark compartment and another with artificial light.…”

“…Nauplii of this species are used as biological test to evaluate the toxic potential of useful natural and/or synthetic substances . The lethality of this organism has been used to identify biological responses, in the which variables such as death or life are the only ones involved (Meyer et al, 1982;Paredes et al, 2016;Silva et al, 2017).…”

Chemical Constituents of Non-Polar Fractions Obtained from Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl (Euphorbiaceae), a Medicinal Plant Native from the Brazilian Caatinga Biome

“…In folk medicine, its leaves and stem barks are used to treat hemorrhoids, renal problems, ophthalmic diseases, injury, skin problems, urinary tract infection and inflammatory processes. 3 In fact, pharmacological investigations have demonstrated that extracts or isolated compounds from C. quercifolius have some therapeutic properties, such as antinociceptive, 6 antiinflammatory, 7 antioxidant, 8-10 cytotoxic 11 and antimicrobial 9 activities.…”