Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of the aqueous extract of Rheedia longifolia Planch & Triana

• Published in: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Vol. 102; no. 1; pp. 91 - 96
• Main Authors: da Silva Frutuoso, Valber, Monteiro, Márcia Magalhães, Amendoeira, Fábio Coelho, Almeida, Andressa Luiza Figueiredo, do Nascimento, Diogo Dibo, Bérenger, Ana Luiza Rangel, Kaplan, Maria Auxiliadora Coelho, Figueiredo, Maria Raquel, Bozza, Patrícia T, Castro-Faria-Neto, Hugo C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz 01-02-2007; Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)
• Subjects: Abdominal Pain - drug therapy; Acetic Acid; analgesic; Analgesics - therapeutic use; Animals; anti-inflammatory; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Clusiaceae - chemistry; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Mice; natural products; opioid receptors; Pain Measurement; PARASITOLOGY; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Pleurisy - drug therapy; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rheedia longifolia; Rheedia longifolia - analgesic - anti-inflammatory - opioid receptors - natural products; TROPICAL MEDICINE; opioid receptors; anti-inflammatory; Rheedia longifolia; natural products; analgesic
• ISSN: 1678-8060; 0074-0276; 0074-0276
• DOI: 10.1590/S0074-02762007000100016

Rheedia longifolia Planch et Triana belongs to the Clusiaceae family.
This plant is widely distributed in Brazil, but its chemical and
pharmacological properties have not yet been studied. We report here
that leaves aqueous extract of R. longifolia (LAE) shows analgesic and
anti-inflammatory effects. Oral or intraperitoneal administration of
this extract dose-dependently inhibited the abdominal constrictions
induced by acetic acid in mice. The analgesic effect and the duration
of action were similar to those observed with sodium diclofenac, a
classical non-steroidal analgesic. In addition to the effect seen in
the abdominal constriction model, LAE was also able to inhibit the
hyperalgesia induced by lipopolysaccharide from gram-negative bacteria
(LPS) in rats. We also found that R. longifolia LAE inhibited an
inflammatory reaction induced by LPS in the pleural cavity of mice.
Acute toxicity was evaluated in mice treated with the extract for seven
days with 50 mg/kg/day. Neither death, nor alterations in weight, blood
leukocyte counts or hematocrit were noted. Our results suggest that
aqueous extract from R. longifolia leaves has analgesic and
anti-inflammatory activity with minimal toxicity and are therefore
endowed with a potential for pharmacological control of pain and
inflammation.