Neuroleptic-Like Properties of the Chloroform Extract of Maytenus obtusifolia MART. Roots

Abstract

The species of Maytenus (Celastraceae) are effectives against several kind of sickness including cancer, gastric ulcers, dyspepsia and also useful as an antibacterial and antiinflammatory.1-3) Sesquiterpenes, triterpenes, quinone-methide and sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids have been identified in these species. 1,4) Maytenus obtusifolia MART. is a plant found in many states of the Northeast and South-east of Brazil, which is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of ulcer.5) A chemical study of chloroform extract (CE) of this plant showed the presence of triterpenes of the series friedelan, oleanane, ursane and one pyranoquinoline alkaloid.6) It is known that terpenes have actions pharmacological on animal behavior. 7) Therefore it was made a preliminary screening which showed that the CE possesses a CNS depressant effect. In the present study, we report the neuroleptic activity of the CE of Maytenus obtusifolia MART. roots. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant MaterialMaytenus obtusifolia roots were collected in João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil, in February 1995. The plant was identified by Dr. Maria de Fátima Agra and a voucher specimen (3230) was deposited in the Herbarium of the JPB/Paraíba University.Extraction Procedure The dried and powdered roots (2950 g) were extracted with 95% ethanol (12.0 l) in a soxhlet extraction apparatus. The ethanolic extract obtained was suspended in the mixture ethanol-water (7 : 3; 0.6 l) and then partitioned with hexane (2.0 l) and chloroform (2.0 l), respectively. The CE obtained (0.85% w/w) was stored under refrigeration at 4°C.Animals Male Wistar rats (150-250 g) and Swiss mice (25-35 g) obtained from the animal house of the laboratory were used. The animals were maintained under standard environmental conditions (temperature of 27ϩ2°C with an alternating 12 h light-dark cycle) with food and water ad libitum. All behavioral observations took place between 8:00 and 13:00 h.Drug Administration Control animals received vehicle (cremophor and saline) while treated animals received either CE suspended in cremophor or reference drugs. Administration was by intraperitoneal (i.p.) route. Toxicity StudyThe toxicity study was performed with different doses of CE to groups of 10 mice and rats administered i.p., and mortality was recorded for 48 h for the determination of LD 50 . 8)Locomotor Activity Mice were divided into 2 groups of 10 each. Vehicle (control) and CE (125 mg/kg) were i.p. injected. The spontaneous motor activity of the animals was assessed in cages measuring 30ϫ48ϫ48 cm lined with floor demarcated in square measuring 12ϫ12 cm. Sixty minutes after treatment, the number of squares traveled was recorded cumulatively in every 5 min. 9)Catalepsy Test Three groups of 10 mice each received i.p. 0.9% saline, CE (125 mg/kg) and haloperidol (5 mg/kg), respectively. To measure cataleptic reaction the animals were placed in an uncomfortable position (stretched between two horizontal metal wires spaced apart at different levels) and observed at 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after adminis...

Antipsychotic and behavior effect of the ethanolic extract from the bark of Maytenus macrocarpa (Ruiz &Pav.) Briq.in mice

“…28 When compared to doses of 200 400, 600 and 800 mg/kg of Maytenus macrocarpa, it didn't show a statistically significant difference, revealing a potential neuroleptic effect. In contrast, a study of Maytenus obtusifolia MART root, demonstrated antipsychotic effect in the experimental model of catalepsy, 10 therefore, this study expanded the evidence of the neuroleptic activity to the macrocarpa species, more precisely, the bark. This antipsychotic effect could be explained with the secondary metabolites of the genus Maytenus.…”

“…7 Other species of genus Maytenus, for example M. aquifolium, M. robusta and M. obtusifolia MART have shown antiulcer activity. [8][9][10] In Maytenus ilicifolia, acute diuretic activity and hipotensive activity were found, 11 as well as antiprotozoal activity which was attributed to quinonemethide triterpenes. 12 Furthermore, particular effects upon thecentral nervous system have been registered.M.…”

“…obtusifolia'schloro form extracts have a central depressant effect,resulting in a significant decrease in spontaneous motor activity; also, it shows neuroleptic activity, shown as catalepsy, probably because of an interference with the central neurotransmission of dopamine. 10 There are validated methods employed to evaluatethe effect of chemical substances upon CNS at a preclinical level.Theforced swim test, explores neuroleptic activity and/or antidepressant in mice, and the Irwin test, explores mice behavior. [13][14] This study was focused in evaluating the possible antipsychotic and behavior effect of the ethanolic extract from the bark of Maytenus macrocarpa (Ruiz & Pav.)…”

Antioxidant activity of Maytenus imbricata Mart., Celastraceae

“…It is endemically encountered in "campo rupestre" (Rupiculous field grasslands) regions mainly in Bahia and Minas Gerais States of Brazil (Okano, 1992). Antiulcerogenic and analgesic effects (Queiroga et al, 2000;Gonzalez et al, 2001;Santos et al, 2007;Mota et al, 2008), antitumoral (Pullen et al, 2003;Ravelo et al, 2004), antimicrobial activity (Orabi et al, 2001;Estevam et al, 2009), antispasmodic (El Tahir et al, 1999, insecticidal (Avilla et al, 2000), citotoxic (Spivey et al, 2002), neuroleptic and anticonvulsant properties (Sousa & Almeida, 2005;Quintans-Júnior et al, 2008), antiinflammatory (Jorge et al, 2004;Santos et al, 2007;), antiespermatogenic (Montanari et al, 1998) and antidiabetical properties (Okine et al, 2005) are pharmacological activities attributed to different species of Maytenus.…”

Evaluation of the toxicity and antiulcerogenic activity of the ethanol extract of Maytenus obtusifolia Mart. leaves

“…The phytochemical screening showed the occurrence of three different chemical classes of secondary metabolites in M. obtusifolia, alkaloids for example N-methylfl indersine, pentacyclic triterpenes as 3,4-secofriedelan-3-oic acid, 3b-hydroxy-11, 13-en-oleanane, 7-oxofriedelin, 3-oxo-29-hydroxyfriedelan, friedelin, 3b-hydroxy-9, 12-enoleanane and 3b-hydroxy-9,12-en-ursane and fl avonoids of the type 4'-O-methyl-(-)-epigallocatechin, ourateaproanthocyanidin A, catechin and epicatechin (Silva et al, 2008). Pharmacological studies demonstrated that this species possess analgesic (Freire, 1998) and neuroleptic activities (De Sousa & De Almeida, 2005).…”