Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigations of Virola oleifera Leaves

Abstract

A methanolic extract and two fractions (n-hexane and ethyl acetate) from Virola oleifera leaves and some compounds (one lignan and two flavonoids) were investigated to verify the analgesic activity by using the writhing test in mice. The crude methanolic extract showed a moderate analgesic effect (about 40% of inhibition in this test at 10 mg/kg), whereas n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions caused inhibition of 51.3 ± 5.9% and 50.5 ± 6.3% , respectively. Oleiferin-C (1), a lignan isolated from the n-hexane fraction, showed an interesting analgesic potential in this model when compared to two standard drugs, paracetamol (4-acetamidophenol) and aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). The ID50 calculated for this compound was 17.25 μmol/kg, with confidence interval between 13.7 and 21.3 μmol/kg, being about 8 times more potent than the standard drugs. The mixture of two glycoside-flavonoids, identified as astilbin (2) and quercitrin (3), also exhibited good analgesic activity, causing 63% of reduction of abdominal constriction in mice. These results suggest beneficial effect of this plant to treat dolorous processes.

Antinociceptive peripheral effect of Achillea millefolium L. and Artemisia vulgaris L.: both plants known popularly by brand names of analgesic drugs

“…Phenolic acids, sesquiterpene lactones, lignans, tannins and triterpenes found in A. millefolium and A. vulgaris (Heinrich et al, 1998;Lorenzi and Matos, 2002) are classes that present analgesic and/or antiinflammatoryrelated effects (da Silva et al, 2001(da Silva et al, , 2005Kuroshima et al, 2001;Spessoto et al, 2003;Gaertner et al, 1999). Furthermore, some alkaloids exhibit a potent analgesic effect; however, only traces of these constituents were found in the two plants.…”

Quantitative determination of astilbin in rabbit plasma by liquid chromatography

“…1), was isolated from the rhizome of Smilax glabra, a Liliaceae plant. The flavanone was also reported in many other plants such as Dimrophandra mollis, Hypericum perforatum, Virola oleifera, and Engelhardtia chrysolepis et al [1][2][3][4]. In some wines such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir vintages, and French varietal wines, the existence of astilbin was also detected [5,6].…”

Involvement of opioidergic and serotonergic systems in the analgesic activity of Cissus quadrangularis L. stem extract in mice

“…Previous studies reported the presence of resveratrol, quercetin, quercitrin and kaempferol in C. quadrangularis [11,13], and all these phenolic compounds were reported to possess good analgesic effect in previous studies [34][35][36][37][38][39]. Hence, the analgesic effect of CQME may be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds.…”