Abstract
Baccharis trimera is a plant popularly used as a tea and to treat gastrointestinal diseases and inflammatory processes as well. The total phenolic content was determined and the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of six extracts (dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, butanol, aqueous, saponin and phenolic) from B. trimera were evaluated. Using carrageenan-induced pleurisy as a model of acute inflammation, the phenolic extract at 15 mg/kg decreased significantly the analyzed parameters when compared to the carrageenan group (p < 0.05), thus showing potential anti-inflammatory activity. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteau and DPPH methods, respectively. Phenolic and ethyl acetate extracts presented higher antioxidant activity (p < 0.05) than ascorbic acid. The phenolic extract also showed the highest antioxidant potential in relation to the other extracts, thus suggesting that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were due to the presence of phenolic compounds.
Highlights
Baccharis trimera, a member of the Asteraceae, is a shrub native to South Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina
thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analyses showed a predominance of phenolic and terpenoid compounds in the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions. This was verified by TLC using anisaldehyde-H2SO4/100 °C through visualization of violet spots in both fractions, a color characteristic of terpenoid compounds
Reagent A/UV356, it was possible to observe yellow spots corresponding to phenolic compounds present in these same B. trimera fractions
Summary
A member of the Asteraceae, is a shrub native to South Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. The flavonoids reported so far to B. trimera were apigenin, 7,4'-di-O-methyl-apigenin, cirsimaritin, eupatorin, genkwanin, hispidulin, isoquercetin, luteolin, nepetin, quercetin, 3-O-methylquercetin, 5,6-dihydroxy-7,3',4'-trimethoxyflavone and rutin [8,9,10]. In relation to its pharmacological activity, several studies demonstrated the anti-inflammatory activity of its ethanol and aqueous extracts, as well as analgesic, antioxidant, antihepatotoxic and antimutagenic activities [8,9,11,12]. Our group demonstrated that the crude aqueous extract of B. trimera presented anti-inflammatory activity at the doses of 400 and 800 mg/kg [13]. Considering the previous biological activity studies of B. trimera, chemical and pharmacological studies using bioassay-guided fractionation of B. trimera were initiated by our group in order to identify its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. The investigation of its lead compounds should contribute to new drug discovery
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