Identification of the Active Principle Conferring Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Properties in Bamboo Plant.

Bruna Araujo Sousa,Ana Paula Ferreira Leal,Thales Lima Rocha,Octávio Luiz Franco,Ruy De Araujo Caldas,William Farias Porto,James Oluwagbamigbe Fajemiroye,Maria Fátima Grossi-De-Sá,Cesar De La Fuente Nunez,Luciano Paulino Silva,Susana Elisa Moreno,Danieli Fernanda Buccini,Osmar Nascimento Silva

doi:10.3390/molecules26103054

Abstract

Early plants began colonizing earth about 450 million years ago. During the process of coevolution, their metabolic cellular pathways produced a myriad of natural chemicals, many of which remain uncharacterized biologically. Popular preparations containing some of these molecules have been used medicinally for thousands of years. In Brazilian folk medicine, plant extracts from the bamboo plant Guadua paniculata Munro have been used for the treatment of infections and pain. However, the chemical basis of these therapeutic effects has not yet been identified. Here, we performed protein biochemistry and downstream pharmacological assays to determine the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of an aqueous extract of the G. paniculata rhizome, which we termed AqGP. The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of AqGP were assessed in mice. We identified and purified a protein (AgGP), with an amino acid sequence similar to that of thaumatins (~20 kDa), capable of repressing inflammation through downregulation of neutrophil recruitment and of decreasing hyperalgesia in mice. In conclusion, we have identified the molecule and the molecular mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties of a plant commonly used in Brazilian folk medicine.

Highlights

Inflammation is a mechanism of host-defense that mounts local or generalized responses to confer protection against harmful stimuli such as injury or invasion by microbial pathogens
Thhigehhearrtmhafnulthceonaccteinvteroantieo,ndoemf AonqGstPraotibnsgearvceodmwfoarstaabplepsraofxeitmy matearlygifnobuerttwimeeensthhiegahcetrivtehan tahnedahctairvme founled,odseems oofntshtreamtinoglecaucloems. fDoerstapbitlee tshaefeptyosmsibarlegianllebregtweneiecnepthiteopacetiinvethaanudmhaatrinm,ful dthoessees roefstuhltesminodlieccauteletsh.aDt eusspinitgetthheeepxotrsascibt line aqluleersgtieonnicisespaifteopinepinratchtiacuem[3a1t,i3n2,]t.hese results indicate that using the extract in question is safe in practice [31,32]
A thaumatin-like protein isolated from these aqueous extracts appears to act as the active principle of such activities

Summary

Introduction

Inflammation is a mechanism of host-defense that mounts local or generalized responses to confer protection against harmful stimuli such as injury or invasion by microbial pathogens. One such response is pain, which alerts the body that an injury has occurred [1]. This defense mechanism can itself become harmful to the host, causing severe tissue damage and potentially pain, resulting from chronic inflammation [2]. Chronic inflammation is a consequence of an exacerbated inflammatory response and is typically treated with anti-inflammatory drugs [6]. It is necessary to discover novel drugs against chronic inflammation that have fewer adverse effects [9]

Methods

Results

Conclusion