Cochlospermum Vitifolium Research Articles

Hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant and hepatoprotective effects of Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Sprengel: A potential agent for the treatment of metabolic syndrome

Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Sprengel is a Mexican medicinal plant that is used in the folk medicine for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis and related diseases. The purpose of the present study was to assess the pharmacological properties of different extracts from Cochlospermum vitifolium bark as potential agent for the treatment of some factors related with metabolic syndrome (MS), a complex disease produced for several pathophysiological factors such as visceral fat obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and liver steatosis. Hexane (HECv), dichloromethane (DECv) and methanol (MECv) extracts were subjected to some pharmacological assays to determine their vasorelaxant and hypoglycemic activity. On the other hand, MECv was also evaluated to determine its hepatoprotective effect on sub-chronic experimental assay. HECv showed a significant endothelium-independent relaxation on rat aorta rings (intact endothelium: IC 50 = 14.42 ± 5.90 μg/mL, E max = 92.71 ± 8.9%; denuded endothelium: IC 50 = 27.94 ± 4.0 μg/mL, E max = 78.68 ± 4.6%) and MECv produced an endothelium-dependent relaxation (IC 50 = 21.94 ± 6.87 μg/mL, E max = 79.12 ± 7.80%) on this tissue. Furthermore, HECv (at a dose of 120 mg/kg) also showed a significant decrease of blood glucose levels ( p < 0.05) on normoglycemic rats. Moreover, MECv (at a dose of 100 mg/kg) also was administered to bile duct-obstructed rats to determine its hepatoprotective activity, showing a statistically significant decrease of serum glutamic–pyruvic transaminase (PGT, 45%) and alkaline phosphatase (APh, 15%) ( p < 0.05). Finally, we obtained a crystalline polyphenolic compound from MECv by spontaneous precipitation. Those crystals were identified as (±)-naringenin by X-ray diffraction, NMR, IR and GC–MS techniques. Results suggest that Cochlospermum vitifolium could be used as a potential agent against MS since it shows hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant and hepatoprotective properties.

Effects of Mycorrhizae and Nontarget Organisms on Restoration of a Seasonal Tropical Forest in Quintana Roo, Mexico: Factors Limiting Tree Establishment

Abstract We initiated a study of the effects of mycorrhizal fungal community composition on the restoration of tropical dry seasonal forest trees. Tree seedlings were planted in a severely burned experimental site (1995 fire) during the growing season of 1998 at the El Edén Ecological Reserve, in north Quintana Roo, Mexico. Seedlings of Leucaena leucocephala, Guazuma ulmifolia, Caesalpinia violacea, Piscidia piscipula, Gliricidia sepium, and Cochlospermum vitifolium were germinated in steam‐sterilized soil and either remained uninoculated (nonmycorrhizal at transplanting) or were inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi in soils from early‐seral (recently burned) or late‐seral (mature forest) inoculum. Inoculum from the early‐seral soil was largely Glomus spp., whereas a diverse community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were reintroduced from the mature forest including species of Scutellospora, Gigaspora, Glomus, Sclerocystis, and Acaulospora. Plants grew better when associated with the mature forest inoculum, unlike a previous experiment in which plants grew taller with the early‐seral inoculum. Reasons for the different responses include a less‐intense burn resulting in more residual organic matter. In addition to mycorrhizal responses, plants were severely affected by deer browsing. One tree species, C. vitifolium found in the region but not in the reserve, was eliminated by a resident fungal facultative pathogen. Several practical conclusions for restoration can be made. The common nursery practice of soil sterilization may be detrimental because it eliminates beneficial mycorrhizal fungi; species not native to the site may not survive because they may not be adapted to the local pathogens; and herbivory can be severe depending on the landscape context of the restoration.

Constituintes químicos voláteis e não-voláteis de Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willdenow) Sprengel

The essential oils from leaves, root bark and root wood of Cochlospermum vitifolium were investigated for the first time. The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/MS. The main volatile constituents were b-caryophyllene (8.2 - 46.5%), b-bisabolene (11.5 - 29.3%), g-muurolene (28.4%), a-humulene (26.0%), 1-hydroxy-3-hexadecanone (16.2 - 19.5%) and b-pinene (10.6%). Phytochemical analysis of the root bark and root wood extracts yielded excelsin, pinoresinol, narigenin, aromadendrin, galic acid and a triacylbenzene, along with b-sitosterol and stigmasterol and their D-glucosides. The structures of all compounds were determined by analyses of the spectroscopic data (NMR and MS), and comparison with the literature.

In vitro immunomodulatory activity of plants used by the Tacana ethnic group in Bolivia

One hundred and seventy-eight ethanolic plant extracts from the pharmacopoeia of the Tacana, an ethnic group from Bolivia, were screened for immunomodulatory activity using complement cascade inhibition and ADP-induced platelet aggregation inhibition assays. Six impaired both complement pathways (classical and alternative): stem bark from Astronium urundeuvea (Anacardiaceae), Cochlospermum vitifolium (Cochlospermaceae), Terminalia amazonica (Combretaceae), Triplaris americana (Polygonaceae), Uncaria tomentosa (Rubiaceae) and Euterpe precatoria (Arecaceae) roots. Inhibition of complement cascade was independent of essential ion complexation, and was not due to direct hemolytic activity on target red blood cells. For A. urundeuvea, C. vitifolium, and T. amazonica, anti-inflammatory activity relied on cyclo-oxygenase inhibition. Four of these species (A. urundeuva, T. americana, U. tomentosa and E. precatoria) are used traditionally to treat inflammatory processes.

Biological screening of selected medicinal Panamanian plants by radioligand-binding techniques.

Nineteen plants from the Republic of Panama were selected by their traditional uses in the treatment of hypertension, cardiovascular, mental and feeding disorders and 149 extracts were screened using radioligand-receptor-binding assays. The methanol:dicloromethane extracts of the bark and leaves of Anacardium occidentale L., the leaves of Begonia urophylla Hook., the roots of Bocconia frutescens L., the stems and leaves of Cecropia cf.obtusifolia Bertol., the branches of Clusia coclensis Standl., the bark of Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.)Spreng., the roots of Dimerocostus strobilaceus Kuntze, the bark of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam., the leaves of Persea americana Mill. and the branches of Witheringia solanaceae L'Her. inhibited the [3H]-AT II binding (angiotensin II AT1 receptor) more than 50%. Only extracts of the roots of Dimerocostus strobilaceus Kuntze and the stems of Psychotria elata (Sw.) Hammel were potent inhibitors of the [3H] NPY binding (neuropeptide Y Y1 receptor) more than 50% and the ethanolic extracts of the leaves of Cecropia cf. obtusifolia Bertol., the leaves of Hedyosmum bonplandianum H.B.K., the roots of Bocconia frutescens L., the stem of Cecropia cf. obtusifolia Bertol. and the branches of Psychotria elata (Sw.) Hammel showed high inhibition of the [3H] BQ-123 binding (endothelin-1 ET(A) receptor) in a preliminary screening. These results promote the further investigation of these plants using the same assays.

Effects of seasonal rainfall on radial growth in two tropical tree species

Seasonal drought may limit primary productivity in most of the tropics, but the determinants of tree growth are not well known. A 10-year study of the deciduous trees Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Spreng. (Cochlospermaceae) and Cnidoscolus spinosus Lundell (Euphorbiaceae) in southwestern Mexico showed radial growth to be highly correlated (both r>0.85) only with precipitation during an interval of <2 months in the mid-wet season. Growth was not affected by total annual precipitation or by an early starting or late ending of the wet season, or by heavy rainfall in the dry season. Annual mean girth increments ranged from 0.03 to 3.31 cm and −0.1 to 2.01 cm, respectively. The best model for growth (r 2>0.85) was a linear combination of mid-summer precipitation (positive coefficient) and total precipitation over the previous 2 years (negative coefficient). Comparison with other species showed heterogeneous responses of wood production to climate variation, and suggests that the range of functional types of dry forest trees is still unknown.

Responses to Phosphorus of Contrasting Successional Tree-Seedling Species from the Tropical Deciduous Forest of Mexico

1. We compared the growth responses of three early successional species, Cochlospermum vitifolium, Cordia alliodora and Heliocarpus pallidus, and the late successional Caesalpinia eriostachys, Caesalpinia platyloba, Jacquinia pungens and Recchia mexicana tree-seedling species to four concentrations (0, 2, 10 and 41 ppm) of phosphorus. The experiment was conducted over 50 days in pure silica sand inside growth chambers. 2. Mature-forest species had low relative growth rates and net assimilation rates, and showed little or no response, in growth and biomass allocation, to different P concentrations. 3. Early successional species had small seeds and higher responses in biomass allocation, growth and net assimilation rates to P availability, as well as a higher phosphorususe efficiency when P supply was low. 4. Species and treatment differences in growth rate generally corresponded more closely with patterns of net assimilation rate than with biomass allocation. The responsiveness of growth to P availability was negatively correlated with seed mass and P dependency.

Barriers to Lowland Tropical Forest Restoration in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

AbstractExtensive areas of the tropics have been converted into pasture for cattle ranching. Frequently, abandoned pasture does not revert to forest. The goal of this project was to identify barriers to lowland moist forest regeneration in highly degraded grasslands in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. The barriers we considered were seed source, seed predation, competition with grasses, microclimate and soil limitations on plant growth, and fire. Seed dispersal into the grasslands is limited to within 10 meters of forest fragments, but this barrier can be overcome by sowing seeds and planting seedlings and by establishing perches to attract dispersers. In these degraded grasslands, seed predation was lower than in the adjacent forest patches, and there was no evidence that grasses inhibited the establishment of woody species. The most important barrier was the severe degradation of the soils. In much of the area, the A and B horizons have been eroded away, leaving saprolite at the soil surface. Seedlings of two fast‐growing pioneer species, Ochroma pyramidale and Cochlospermum vitifolium, grew to a maximum height of only 2.5 and 12 cm, respectively, during the first eight months. The slow plant growth in the degraded grassland soils compared to forest soils was associated with lower levels of cation‐exchange capacity, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Even if these barriers could be overcome, the frequent and extensive use of fire in the region must be controlled to avoid killing established woody plants.

Vitixanthin and dihydrovitixanthin - new unusual 7′-apocarotenoic acids from [formula omitted

The title compounds 1 and 2 from the American Cochlospermum vitifolium represent new 7′-apocarotenoic acids with unusual structural features.

Pollen Deposition and Removal by Bees Visiting Two Tree Species in Panama

Pollen Deposition and Removal by Bees Visiting Two Tree Species in Panama

Stratum, Tree, and Flower Selection by Tropical Bees: Implications for the Reproductive Biology of Outcrossing Cochlospermum Vitifolium in Panama

Forager behavior in three patches of flowering Cochlospermum vitifolium (Malvales, Cochlospermaceae) and fruit, flower, seed, and ovule number on trees in six sites were used to test two incipient paradigms and study the role of bee pollinators in tree reproductive success. Antho- phorid bees of the genus Centris were the most important pollinators. Behavior of both small and large Centris species indicated no consistent preference for flowers either in the densest floral arrays or within the stratum containing most flowers in the local flowering population. Flowers 7-12 m in height were never visited more often than flowers '_4 m from ground level. However, within groups of 5-33 flowers, Centris visited on average at least 50% of the flowers during a foraging bout. Polli- nating bees were indiscriminate in selecting inflorescences within floral arrays, but they appeared to maximize the rate of resource harvest once a small group of flowers was entered. The fruit of Cochlospermum contained an average seed number equal to 13% of the average ovule number per flower. Seed-set per fruit was no higher among flowers visited more often by pollinators than among flowers visited less frequently. Female competition for pollinators was not detected, but male com- petition may have occurred at one site where bees preferred flowers that were most abundant in the patch as a whole. Efficient outcrossing of a tree is in direct conflict with the optimal foraging of its pollinators. Cochlospermum may manipulate pollinators by (1) presenting small numbers of open flowers, (2) presenting large, conspicuous flowers and no leaves, and (3) providing only pollen con- cealed in poricidal anthers as a reward. If pollinators rather than the physiological capacity of a tree limited reproductive success, this probably arose from deposition of incompatible pollen on stigmas, rather than intertree competition or low pollinator abundance.

Phenology and Floral Biology of Gustavia superba (Lecythidaceae) in Central Panama

Leaf fall, leaf production, flower and fruit production, and floral biology of Gustavia superba (Kunth) Berg were studied for a year in the tropical moist forest of central Panama. Although leaves fall throughout the year, peak fall occurs in the first month of the wet season. Leaf production on any branch is possible throughout the year, but within the population studied two pronounced peaks were observed, one in the late wet-early dry season and the other after the first rains of the wet season. Flowering began about one month after the rains ceased and continued throughout the dry season into the first month of the following wet season. Fruits reached maturity at the end of the dry season and into the early wet season. The severity of the dry season of 1974-1975 may have altered the normal flowering pattern and reduced fruit production in this species. Observations revealed that the flowers are diurnal, without odor anid nectar, and are visited by bees for their pollen. A limited number of crosses suggest that this species is self-incompatible. SEVERAL PAPERS IN RECENT YEARS have emphasized the peak in flowering of trees in the seasonally dry forests of Central America in the dry season (Fournier and Salas 1966, Janzen 1967, Croat 1969, Frankie et al. 1974). Not only do more tree species bloom during this time of the year but those that do bloom tend to have larger, more spectacular flowers. In central Panama the large, bright-yellow flowers of Tabebuia guayacan (Seem.) Hemsl., T. ochracea (Cham.) Standl. subsp. neochrysantha (A. Gentry), A. Gen,try, Cespedesia macrophylla Seem., and Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Spreng., the golden-yellow flowers of Cassia moschata Benth., the duller yellow flowers olf Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) H.B.K., the pink flowers of Tazbebiaz rosea (Bertol.) DC., and the red ones of several species of Erythfina are among the more spectacular indicators of the dry season. The number of species with maturing fruit is also greater during the dry season (Janzen 1967, Croat 1969, Smythe 1970, Frankie et al. 1974). Smythe (1970) has demonstrated a pronounced peak of large animal-dispersed seeds (over 1.5 cm in greatest diameter) at the end of the dry season into the early wet season. In addition to flowering and fruiting, certain vegetative phenomena coincide with the dry season in the seasonal tropical forests of Central America. Frankie et al. (1974) and Daubenmire (1972) have shown a distinct dry-season peak in leaf fall for a number of species of trees studied in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Production of new leaves at the beginning of the dry season has been demonstrated in several species by Rockwood (1975, table 8) and toward the end of the dry season and into the rainy season by Daubenmire (1972) and Frankie et al. (1974). Even though certain phenological patterns predominate in moist tropical forest with seasonal rainfall, there are, nonetheless, many deviations from these patterns. For example, most deciduous tree species lose their leaves in the dry season, but some species like Jacquinia pungens A. Gray (Janzen 1970) and Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pavon) Cham. (T. Croat, pers. colmm.) lose their leaves in the wet season. The large animal-dispersed seeds of Spondias mombin L. and S. radlkoferi J. Donn. Sm. ripen and fall in the midto late-wet season in contrast to the peak for this fruit type at the end of the dry season and early wet season (Smythe 1970, Croat 1974). Because of these and other exceptions to general phenological patterns, phenological studies of individual species of seasonal tropical forest are needed.