Recognizing Antiophidian Plants Using the Neuromuscular Junction Apparatus

Abstract

Here we expressed our opinion in respect to an important research area of study the neuromuscular junction which historically has been helped the pharmacology with numerous discoveries related to the mechanisms of action of several substances Venomous animals toxins plants and other bioactive compounds can be studied using neuromuscular preparations from mammalian avian and other species The kind of information which is possible to extract from the data interpretation is relevant and stickling to this field of study and the teaching of new researchers should be encouraged In the last twenty years our group has employed neuromuscular preparations for confirming the antiophidian potential of ethnobotanical plant extracts used in folk medicine which need scientific validation In this view representatives of Brazilian venomous snakes of Crotalus and Bothrops genera Crotalus durissus terrificus and Bothrops jararacussu respectively have been the protagonists for these studies Besides other studies are of notorious importance which includes those with Ophiophagus hannah King cobra and Phylodrias olfersii an opisthoglyphous colubrid Ethnobotanical plants such as Casearia sylvestris ldquo gua ccedil atonga rdquo Casearia gossypiosperma ldquo pau de espeto rdquo Curcuma zedoaroides ldquo Wan Paya Ngoo Tua Mia rdquo Camellia sinensis tea Dipteryx alata ldquo baru rdquo Hypericum brasiliense Jatropha elliptica ldquo batata de teiu rdquo Mikania laevigata ldquo guaco rdquo Plathymenia reticulata ldquo vinh aacute tico rdquo and Vellozia flavicans ldquo canela de ema rdquo had their antiophidian properties confirmed using the neuromuscular junction as biological preparations In a literatures survey the majority of studies found in on line data bank after crossing the words ldquo antiophidian plants and neuromuscular junction rdquo as themes involves the use of in vitro mouse rat phrenic nerve diaphragm PND chick biventer cervices BC or the in vivo rat external popliteal sciatic nerve tibialis anterior EPSTA preparations respectively Such biological methods were chosen probably because the robustness and sensitivity of the neuromuscular junction to the deleterious effect of snake venoms In the case of chick BC it has a unique value to the experiment because the inherent sensitivity to the exogenous application of agonists such as acetylcholine and potassium chloride which induce a contracture as a response When the potential for clinical applications are desired in vivo experiments such as those of EPSTA are relevant in respect to the involvement of the neuromuscular system in the pharmacological response In conclusion this text reflects the potential of an indispensable physiological preparation named neuromuscular junction which is outstanding to recognize and validate antiophidian ethnobotanical compounds In this context Dipteryx alata is a plant that has been studied by our group for a long time in which neuromuscular preparations were chosen as efficient biological models