Neem fruit (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) are popularly used to treat infections, diarrhea, fever, bronchitis, skin diseases, infected burns and hypertension. Although the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory potential of A. indica has already been investigated in experimental models of pain and inflammation in mice, the current research is the first to report the evaluation of the capacity of A. indica fruit ethanolic extract (EtFrNeem) in acute pain attenuation using the adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an alternative model to the use in rodents. EtFrNeem was submitted to antioxidant action, preliminary chemical prospecting, FT-IR and determination of phenol and flavonoid content tests. Subsequently, EtFrNeem was tested for acute nociception and abdominal inflammation, locomotor activity, and acute toxicity in adult zebrafish. Possible neuromodulation mechanisms were also evaluated. EtFrNeem showed low antioxidant activity, but was shown to be rich in flavonoids. EtFrNeem showed no anti-inflammatory action, did not alter the locomotor system, and it was not toxic. However, EtFrNeem significantly reduced the nociceptive behavior induced by formalin, glutamate and acidic saline, when compared to the control group. These effects of EtFrNeem were significantly similar to those of morphine, used as a positive control. The antinociceptive effect of EtFrNeem was inhibited by naloxone, ketamine and amiloride. EtFrNeem has the pharmacological potential for acute pain treatment and this effect is modulated by the opioid system, NMDA receptors and ASICs channels. These results lead us to studies of isolation and characterization of EtFrNeem bioactive principles, using adult zebrafish as an experimental model.

The larvicidal activity of the essential oils from leaves of five species of Lippia (L. alba, L. aff. gracilis, L. gracilis, L. microphylla and L. nodiflora) was studied on third instar larvae of Aedes aegypti. The larvae were exposed to serial concentrations from 500 to 12.5 μg/mL of the essential oils. The results indicate that the oil of L. gracilis has a higher larvicidal activity with a LC 50 of 26.3 μg/mL The results suggest the use of these essential oils as natural larvicidal agents.

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Schinus terebenthifolius popularly known as aroeira, is a plant widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of respiratory disorders, mycosis and invasive candidal infections. The chemical composition of the essential oil of S. terebenthifolius from different parts of the world is described in the literature, however, there are no comparative reports of essential oils composition from male and female individuals of this plant. In this context, this study aimed to determine the essential oil composition of leaves (male and female plants) and green and ripe fruits from S. terebenthifolius. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and chemical composition were obtained by gas chromatography at GC-MS and CG-FID systems. Regarding the chemical composition, all the essential oils showed predominance of monoterpene compounds, except the essential oil of leaves from female plant, which presented higher content of sesquiterpenes constituents. The monoterpene D-limonene (39.52-96.61 %) was presented as the main volatile component of leaves (male individual) and in green fruits. The sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene (30.20 %) and the monoterpene terpinen-4-ol (64.59 %) were identified as major constituents of essential oils extracted from the leaves of the female individual and the ripe fruits, respectively. These components are reported with antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, among others properties. In this sense, the chemical composition knowledge indicates that the essential oils properties should be investigated to increase the importance of these volatiles in therapeutic applications.