PREVENTIVE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF AN AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF LARREA DIVARICATA CAV. AND DIGESTIVE AND HEMATOLOGICAL TOXICITY

DAVICINO ROBERTO; PERALTA IGNACIO; MARTINO RENZO; ALONSO ROSARIO; CLAUDIA ANESINI

International Journal Of Pharmaceutical Sciences And Research

ELSEVIER

Año: 2015 vol. 6 p. 1000 - 1010

2320-5148

Larrea divaricata Cav. commonly known as ?jarilla hembra?is used in folklore medicine as anti-inflammatory. There was no scientificevidence justifying the medicinal use of the aqueous extract for inflammationdiseases. Nowadays, there are two principal types of anti-inflammatorydrugs: Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids) and non-steroidalanti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which exert gastrointestinal ulcerationand bleeding. In this work the preventive anti-inflammatory activity of L.divaricata aqueous extract (AE) in C3H/He mice was determined bycarrageenan- induced inflammation and ear edema tests, also its toxicity ongastric tissues and on blood cells was studied. The chromatographic profileshowed: nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) as majority compound. AEexerted anti-inflammatory action without inducing gastric or blood celltoxicities. Also, it could modulate anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatorycytokines. NDGA was not the compound responsible of the antiinflammatoryaction. This work rescues the potentiality of AE as a gastricand blood cells innocuous anti-inflammatory agent and confirms its ethno-pharmacological uses.