Abstract
Carpotroche brasiliensis is a native Brazilian tree belonging to the Oncobeae tribe of Flacourtiaceae. The oil extracted from its seeds contains as major constituents the same cyclopentenyl fatty acids hydnocarpic (40.5%), chaulmoogric (14.0%) and gorlic (16.1%) acids found in the better known chaulmoogra oil prepared from the seeds of various species of Hydnocarpus (Flacourtiaceae). These acids are known to be related to the pharmacological activities of these plants and to their use as anti-leprotic agents. Although C. brasiliensis oil has been used in the treatment of leprosy, a disease that elicits inflammatory responses, the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of the oil and its constituents have never been characterized. We describe the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of C. brasiliensis seed oil in acute and chronic models of inflammation and in peripheral and central nociception. The mixture of acids from C. brasiliensis administered orally by gavage showed dose-dependent (10-500 mg/kg) anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, inhibiting both the edema by 30-40% and the associated hyperalgesia. The acid fraction (200 mg/kg) also showed significant antinociceptive activity in acetic acid-induced constrictions (57% inhibition) and formalin-induced pain (55% inhibition of the second phase) in Swiss mice. No effects were observed in the hot-plate (100 mg/kg; N = 10), rota-road (200 mg/kg; N = 9) or adjuvant-induced arthritis (50 mg/kg daily for 7 days; N = 5) tests, the latter a chronic model of inflammation. The acid fraction of the seeds of C. brasiliensis which contains cyclopentenyl fatty acids is now shown to have significant oral anti-inflammatory and peripheral antinociceptive effects.
Highlights
Chaulmoogra oil used to be widely employed in the treatment of leprosy, this activity has only been experimentally demonstrated as activity against mycobacterial species and by its ability to inhibit the multiplication of M. leprae in mice [4,5]
The increases in edema and hyperalgesia were both prevented by pretreatment with C. brasiliensis seed acid extract
From the ID50 values observed during edema formation it can be seen that the acid mixture of C. brasiliensis is more potent at a later stage of the edema (Figure 2), suggesting that C. brasiliensis seed extract is more selective in the inhibition of the mediators involved at this later stage, such as prostaglandins
Summary
Mayna brasiliensis Raddi) is a native Brazilian tree belonging to the Oncobeae tribe of Flacourtiaceae, which occurs in the high altitude forests of the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Bahia, São Paulo, and Piauí. It is commonly known as sapucainha and has several other local popular names such as canudeiro, babado fruit, comona fruit, cotia fruit, leprosy fruit, monkey fruit, mata-piolho, papo de anjo, pau de anjo, pau de cachimbo, pau de cotia, pau de lepra, and ruchuchu [1]. C. brasiliensis oil, like the better known chaulmoogra oil prepared from the seeds of various Flacourtiaceae, was used in medicine for the treatment of leprosy until 1940 when diaminodiphenyl sulfone began to be used with better results [4]
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