Primeiro estudo fitoquímico e atividade biológica do extrato etanólico de folhas de Cissus spinosa Cambess

Abstract

Plants are used for thousands of years for various purposes, one of the most important being medicinal use. They can act as a natural antioxidant helping to prevent damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (NRS). The genus Cissus is the most abundant within the Vitaceae family. The plants belonging to this genus have hypoglycemic, anti-lipemic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action. The objective of this study was to identify the phytochemical profile of the leaf extract of the species Cissus spinosa Cambess, known as cipó-de-arraia, and to evaluate the biological effects of the crude ethanolic extract (EE) and the ethanolic fraction (EF), after oxidative stress induced by the drug cyclophosphamide (CP) in mice. Phytochemical screening was performed to detect functional groups and, later, the analysis of the concentration of flavonoids and total phenols, as well as

the anti-radical activity in EE and EF. The phytochemical characterization was done by LC- MS/MS for the identification of flavonoids present in the leaves of the plant. In the biochemical

tests, hematological parameters, glucose and total cholesterol dosages, enzymatic and non- enzymatic antioxidants and lipid damage marker were evaluated in different tissues, besides

genotoxic and immunological analyzes. The animals received 15 days of treatment with EE (50 mg/Kg) or EF (50 mg/Kg) and on the 15th day, an intraperitoneal injection of CP (100 mg/Kg) or saline (0,9%). Twenty-four hours after the last treatment, the animals were anesthetized for blood withdrawal and sacrificed for removal of the organs for testing. In the phytochemical analyzes, the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and phenols was identified, and the latter presented a higher concentration for EF. Eight flavonoids were identified in EE, being Rutin, Quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside, Quercitrin, Taxifolin, Quercetin, Canferol, Luteolin and Apigenin, and 2 flavonoids in EF, being Rutin and Quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside. In the biochemical analyzes, in general, EE showed a better antioxidant action against oxidative damages when comparing with EF, probably due to the synergism caused by flavonoids. It was observed the reduction and an increase of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes, due to the action of antioxidant compounds and alkaloids present in the plant, also considering the question of the seasonal period that directly interferes in the production of these compounds. In the immunological analysis, the extracts did not stimulate the spontaneous production of H2O2 and NO• . This is the first study on C. spinosa, which as a result showed an antioxidant effect against cyclophosphamide, suggesting new studies to better understand the biological action present in the plant.