Elsevier

Phytomedicine

Volume 12, Issues 1–2, 10 January 2005, Pages 78-87
Phytomedicine

Antinociceptive effect of Nidularium procerum: a Bromeliaceae from the Brazilian coastal rain forest

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2003.09.002Get rights and content

Abstract

Nidularium procerum, a common plant of the Brazilian flora, has not yet been studied for its pharmacological properties. We report here that extracts of N. procerum show both analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Oral (p.o.) or intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of an aqueous crude extract from leaves of N. procerum (LAE) inhibited the writhing reaction induced by acetic acid (ED50 value=0.2 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) in a dose-dependent manner. This analgesic property was confirmed in rats using two different models of bradykinin-induced hyperalgesia; there was 75% inhibition of pain in the modified Hargreaves assay, and 100% inhibition in the classical Hargreaves assay. This potent analgesic effect was not blocked by naloxone, nor was it observed in the hot plate model, indicating that the analgesic effect is not associated with the activation of opioid receptors in the central nervous system. By contrast, we found that LAE (0.02 μg/ml) selectively inhibited prostaglandin E2 production by cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, but not COX-1, which is a plausible mechanism for the analgesic effect. A crude methanol extract from the leaves also showed similar analgesic activity. An identical extract from the roots of N. procerum did not, however, block acetic acid-induced writhes, indicating that the analgesic compounds are concentrated in the leaves. Finally, we found that LAE inhibited an inflammatory reaction induced by lipopolysaccharide in the pleural cavity of mice.

Introduction

The Brazilian flora remains poorly studied with regard to its chemical and pharmacological potential. The Bromeliaceae, one of the largest botanical families of the New World, is distributed extensively in tropical America (Chedier and Kaplan, 1996). This family comprises 46 genera, encompassing about 2500 species, of which 20 genera and 245 species are found in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian coastal rain forest is the habitat preferred by Bromeliaceae (81.8%) where there are the greatest genetic diversity and the highest degree of endemism exist (Fontoura et al., 1991). Species of Nidularium are well spread in the coastal rain forest from Bahia State, in the northeast region of Brazil, to Rio Grande do Sul State, in the south. The most common representatives are Nidularium procerum and N. innocentii, with high concentrations at Rio de Janeiro State, where they appear as an important vegetation feature (Leme, 2000).

The chemical profile of bromeliads includes cinnamic acid derivatives (Takata and Scheuer, 1976), flavonoids, diterpenoids (Bringmann et al., 2000; Harbone, 1988; Raffauf et al., 1981), triterpenoids and steroids (Atallah and Nicholas, 1971; Borin and Gottlieb, 1993; Marker et al., 1943). Despite several reports on biological activities of representatives of these chemical groups, no record of a pharmacological investigation of Bromeliaceae species has been found.

Considering the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of plants from the same family and the pharmacological results obtained in a recent screening program conducted with plants of several families from the rain forest, we investigated different extracts from the leaves and roots of N. procerum Lindman for their antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities.

Section snippets

Plant material

N. procerum Lindman was collected in the National Biological Reserve of Poço das Antas, Silva Jardim, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Identification of the botanical material was made by Dr. Tânia Wendt and Elton Leme and a voucher specimen has been deposited at the Herbarium of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, under number 304732.

Preparation of plant extracts

Leaves (2250 g) and rhizomes/roots (557 g) were dried in a ventilated oven at 40 °C, ground and submitted to extraction with hexane and subsequently with methanol,

Extracts from N. procerum leaves display potent analgesic activity that is independent of opioid receptors

Antinociceptive activity was measured using the writhing test. The injection of acetic acid (0.6%, i.p.) induced a significant increase in the number of writhes in mice during the 10-min evaluation period. Doses of N. procerum LAE ranging from 0.001 to 10 mg/kg body weight (i.p.) inhibited the writhing reaction potently and a dose dependency was observed (Fig. 1). As a control we found that ASA (10–500 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) also inhibited the number of writhes (Fig. 1). Under our experimental

Discussion

N. procerum, a member of the Bromeliaceae family, has not previously been subjected to any systematic pharmacological screening. The results obtained in the present study demonstrate potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of this plant.

N. procerum LAE potently inhibited acetic acid-induced writhes when administered either through an oral or i.p. route, and significantly attenuated the hyperalgesia induced by bradykinin in two different assays. Importantly, its analgesic effect was found

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to: Leandro Pereira Costa for his excellent technical assistance; Rosaura Presgrave and Eloísa Alves of Instituto Nacional de Controle de Qualidade em Saúde—INCQS/Fiocruz for histological analysis; Dr. Marco Aurélio Martins and Tatiana Lavich of Laboratory of Inflammation, Department Fisiologia e Farmacodinâmica, IOC/Fiocruz, for the Hargreaves modified assay; and Dionísio Pessamilho, Director of Reserva Biológia Nacional de Poço das Antas/IBAMA, for the supply of plant material.

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