Abstract
Urera baccifera (Urticaceae) is a shrub used in folk medicine for rheumatic diseases and mycosis. This study aimed to test the antiviral, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of U. baccifera leaves and roots. The cytotoxic and antiviral activity was evaluated against Herpes virus type 1, in vitro. The antimicrobial activity was determined by the broth microdilution method based on Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M27-A3, M38-A2 and M7-A6 standardized reference method. In vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity were evaluated in ear edema measurement, complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced nociception, measurement of cold allodynia and spontaneous nociception in male adult Swiss mice. U. baccifera roots and leaves presented anti-herpetic activity. The plant extract, predominantly the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions, also inhibit Klebsiella pneumoniae, Prototheca zopfii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and did not show antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effect on the tested experiments. The presence of biologically active products and the low cytotoxicity demonstrated by the extract and fractions of U. baccifera makes these extracts promising antiviral candidates. This nettle can also be considered a moderated antimicrobial agent against K. pneumoniae, P. zopfii and S. cerevisiae. However, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects to the samples in this study were not observed. Key words: Stinging nettle, herpes simplex type 1, Urticaceae, Klebsiella pneumonia, Prototheca zopfii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Highlights
IntroductionThe stinging hairs of the plant gave it its folk names as nettles in English and ortigas in Spanish
U. baccifera best results was obtained with the crude extract (CE) and ethyl acetate fraction (EtOAc) fraction of the roots, and the
The remaining fractions of both the roots and the leaves showed higher cytotoxicity, they demonstrated antiviral activity (Table 1). The cytotoxicity in this method can be evaluated by the cytotoxic concentration 50% (CC50) value, such that the lower it gets, the more toxicity the extract brings to the cells
Summary
The stinging hairs of the plant gave it its folk names as nettles in English and ortigas in Spanish. This shrub is popularly used for inflammatory diseases, where leaves or roots are prepared. License 4.0 International License by infusion to oral or topic use (Badilla et al, 1999a), and the rubefacient effect is used for rheumatic pains and arthritis (Badilla et al, 1999a; Valadeau et al, 2009) By topic use, this plant is used for dermal diseases.
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