Croton cajucara BENTH. Leaf Extract Scavenges the Stable Free Radical DPPH and Protects Against Oxidative Stress Induced by Paraquat

Abstract

Croton cajucara BENTH. (of the Euphorbiaceae family), popularly known as Sacaca, is a shrubby plant with purulent bark and alternate, lanceolate, odorant leaves, which is very common in Amazonia. 1) In Northern Brazil, the leaves and barks of the trunk of this plant are used to prepare teas or pills to treat diabetes, diarrhea, malaria, and fever, gastrointestinal, renal, and hepatic disorders, and in the control of high levels of cholesterol. [2][3][4] Phytochemical studies of bark extracts have demonstrated the presence of several clerodanes of the diterpene type such as trans-dehydrocrotonine, trans-crotonine, cis-cajucarine and sacacarine.5) The pharmacological activity of the largest component of the bark extract, trans-dehidrocrotonine has been extensively studied and antiinflammatory, analgesic, antiulcerogenic or antilipidemic effects have been reported. 5,6) The essential oil from the bark has also been reported to present gastroprotective, antiinflammatory and antinoniceptive effects. 4,7) Although leaf preparations are also much employed in Amazonian folk medicine, there is almost no information on pharmacological activity and only an anti-nociceptive activity of crude extracts has been reported. 8) Phytochemical analysis on leaf extracts has revealed the presence of flavonoids such as 3,7,4Ј-tri-O-methylkaempferol and 3,7-di-O-methylkaempferol. 8)Flavonoids are polyphenols widely distributed in foods of plant origin frequently consumed by the human such as fruits, vegetables, teas, and wine. At present, about 4000 compounds of this group of substances are known, containing a number of phenolic hydroxyl groups that confer strong antioxidant activity and therapeutic potential in some diseases, including cancer, ischemic heart disease, and atherosclerosis.9,10) Their antiradical property is directed towards highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) implicated in the initiation of lipid peroxidation; moreover, flavonoids are soluble chain-breaking inhibitors of the peroxidation process, scavenging intermediate peroxyl and alkoxyl radicals and chelating metal ions which are of major importance for the initiation of radical reactions. 11)Given the implication of ROS in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of clinical disorders and the strong antioxidant properties recently reported for different medicinal plants, [12][13][14][15] the aim of this work was to verify a possible antioxidant activity of the leaf extracts of Croton cajucara using both in vitro (capacity to scavenge the stable free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH) and in vivo (percentage survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and oxidative stress in rats treated with paraquat) approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant MaterialLeaves of Croton cajucara Benth were collected in Amazonica-Santaren (Brasil). The air-dried powdered leaves (5 g) was ground and mixed with boiling water (100 ml) to provide a 5% aqueous extract.16) After 20 min, the mixture was filtered through filter paper and the extract was administered to the rats.Chlorophormic ...

Extract of the Bark of Bathysa cuspidataAttenuates the Development of Chemically-Induced Preneoplastic Colorectal Lesions in Rats

“…The antioxidant activity of some aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Chinese medicinal plants have been positively correlated to the content of polyphenols and flavonoids (Cai et al 2004;Zhang et al 2011). Other similar studies have demonstrated the antioxidant activity of polyphenols from Solanum melongena (Kimura et al 1999) and Croton cajucara (Tieppo et al 2006), which presented a high concentration of phenolic compounds that were able to suppress the oxidative stress in liver tissue. In the present study, the preliminary phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds -important antioxidant compounds It has already been established that the toxicity of DMH manifests as systemic effects such as lethargy, anorexia, and progressive weight loss in the animals.…”

Effect of Bark Extract of Bathysa cuspidata on Hepatic Oxidative Damage and Blood Glucose Kinetics in Rats Exposed to Paraquat

“…40, No. 1, 2012 EFFECT OF BATHYSA CUSPIDATA ON PARAQUAT POISONINGanions (O À 2 ) in the mitochondria and cytosol of mammalian cells, subsequently generating H 2 O 2 and hydroxyl free radicals (Fukushima et al 2002;Tieppo et al 2006). These highly toxic radicals are extremely reactive with macromolecules, and their presence in excess can result in organ damage and eventually death (Suntres 2002).…”

Traditional uses, chemistry and pharmacology of Croton species (Euphorbiaceae)

“…152 Leaf extracts of C. cajucara were observed to exert antioxidant effects against the free radical DPPH and in paraquat treated yeast cells. 154 …”