Abstract
The genus Cecropia belongs to the Urticaceae family and has a wide diversity of species in several regions of South America. In folk medicine, they have many uses, such as hypoglycemic, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and sedative. Species of the genus Cecropia, such as Cecropia pachystachya, Cecropia glaziovii, and Cecropia obtusifolia, have been the subject of several phytochemical studies, and the main isolated compounds were orientin, isoorientin, isovitexin, vitexin, as well as c-glycosylflavonoid compounds. These active compounds were characterized as responsible for the use of Cecropia plants in the treatment of inflammation and also as antimicrobial agents. This review aims to describe the main characteristics of the genus Cecropia, exploring the compounds responsible for the medicinal uses of these species and focusing on anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial uses.
Highlights
The genus Cecropia belongs to the Urticaceae family and comprises approximately 100 species, being a native plant of Central and South America [1]
Containing polyphenols and flavones, the mechanism behind C. glaziovii action is the anti-inflammatory effect by inhibition of the migration of leukocytes together with the decrease in inflammatory mediators such as nitrite and cytokines as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL1β to the inflammation site [1]
The mechanism that explains this action is related to the capacity of the extracts in reducing pro-inflammatory mediators [57] mainly because of the presence of gallic and caffeic acid, as it was previously shown to be responsible for reducing edema inflammation [63,64]. In another set of way, de Los Ángeles Fortis-Barrera et al performed experiments to verify the hypoglycemic effect of aqueous extracts from the leaves of C. obtusifolia, concluding that extracts were effective mainly because of its anti-inflammatory capacity, modulating the mediators of inflammation, increasing IL-10 and adiponectin, and decreasing TNF-α in the serum
Summary
The genus Cecropia belongs to the Urticaceae family and comprises approximately 100 species, being a native plant of Central and South America [1]. Another fact that reinforces this hypothesis is that the extracts of C. pachystachya used in this study showed high levels of polyphenols that are known to be antioxidants and act as reducing agents through several mechanisms, including eliminating free radicals together with the capacity to inhibit many enzymes involved in the pro-inflammatory cascade [59]. Showing the presence of flavones (C-glycosylated, orientin, and isoorientin) and polyphenols (chlorogenic acid), other studies pointed out that the use of C. pachystachya extracts resembles the effects of a reference anti-inflammatory in a croton oil-induced ear edema model.
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