ANTI-INFLAMMATORY SCREENING OF PLANT EXTRACTS USED IN FOLK MEDICINE OF COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN COAST

JENNY CAMPO; NELLY MEJIA; YANETH OCAMPO; SANTIAGO BOLIVAR

Modena

Congreso; 25° SILAE CONGRESS; 2016

Società Italo-LatinoAmericana di Etnomedicina

Responding to the need to find new, more effective and safe therapeutic alternatives to treat the clinical conditionsassociated with inflammatory processes and attempting to exploit the ethnobotanical richness of the Colombian Caribbean Coast, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory potential of seven total ethanolic extracts of botanical species widely used in the folk medicine of this region. The total extracts of: Ambrosia cumanensis, Bauhinia guianensis, Capparis odoratissima, Cecropia peltata, Hyptis capitata, Mammea americana and Murraya exótica; were obtained by maceration with ethanol. Presence of different metabolites was determined qualitatively, while flavonoids and phenolic compounds were determined quantitatively. The antiinflammatory potential of the extracts were assessed determining their activity on the production of nitric oxide (NOx),in RAW 264.7 macrophages cell line, quantified spectrophotometrically by the accumulation of nitrite (NO2−), using the Griess reaction(1). Additionally, NO scavenging effect was determined, using sodium nitroprusside as a radical donor. The extracts were tested at non-toxic concentrations and below 100 µg/mL in all cases, which were previously determined evaluating cell viability through the MTT reduction colorimetric assay. Ultimately, we evaluated possible antioxidant effects of the extracts, using the free radical scavenging DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS+ (2,2?-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) spectrophotometric methods(2, 3).The total ethanolic extracts of Ambrosia cumanensis, Cecropia peltata, Hyptis capitata, Mammea americana and Murraya exótica showed a potent inhibitory activity of the NOx production (70-100%), without significant scavenging effect of the NOx free radical. These extracts did not show significant scavenging effects of DPPH and ABTS+ free radicals, at the same concentrations used in tests with cell cultures, suggesting that its potential anti-inflammatory activity is unrelated to neutralization of oxidative stress associated with inflammatory processes. These five plant species should continue to be studied, in order to isolate and identify compounds responsible for the activity, which could become a starting pointfor the discovery of new anti-inflammatory agents.Acknowledgments: This study was supported by the University of Cartagena (Grant 054-2013). Jenny Castro is deeply grateful to Colciencias and the University of Cartagena for her PhD fellowship through the National Program for Doctoral Formation (Grant 647-2014).1. Ding, A. H., C. F. Nathan, et al. (1988). Release of reactive nitrogen intermediates and reactive oxygen intermediates from mouse peritonealmacrophages. Comparison of activating cytokines and evidence for independent production. J Immunol 141(7): 2407-2412.2. Re, R., N. Pellegrini, et al. (1999). Antioxidant activity applying an improved ABTS radical cation decolorization assay. Free Radic Biol Med 26(9-10):1231-1237.3. Silva, B. M., P. B. Andrade, et al. (2004). Quince (Cydonia oblonga Miller) fruit (pulp, peel, and seed) and Jam: antioxidant activity. J Agric Food Chem52(15): 4705-4712.