Jct. Carvalho et al., Anti-inflammatory activity of the crude extract from the fruits of Pterodon emarginatus Vog, J ETHNOPHAR, 64(2), 1999, pp. 127-133
The vegetal species Pterodon emarginatus Vog. (Leguminosae/Papilonaceae), p
opularly known in Brazil as 'sucupira branca', is widely used by domestic m
edicine as an anti-inflammatory. From these observations, the hexanic crude
extract (HCE) of the fruits was obtained and submitted for assessment of i
ts anti-inflammatory activity. For this purpose, the following tests were u
sed: (1) Determination of ED50 and LD50; (2) Paw edema induced by carrageen
in, dextran, histamine and nystatin; (3) Peritonitis caused by carrageenin
and (4) Granuloma test. The ED,, (oral) in the edema induced by carrageenin
was 500 mg/kg, and LD50 (oral) was 4.02 g/kg. In the edema caused by nysta
tin, there was a significant inhibition by 45% (P < 0.05 student's t-test)
at the 6th hour following the treatment. In the granuloma test performed in
animals treated with HCE, there was an inhibition of the granulomatous tis
sue formation by 22%. The migration of neutrophils towards the peritoneal c
avity was inhibited in HCE treated animals by 43% (P < 0.05). However, in t
he edema caused by dextran and histamine, there was no significant response
in HCE treated animals. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights
reserved.