Contribution to the Preclinical Safety Assessment of Lannea velutina and Sorindeia juglandifolia Leaves

Phytochemical Characterization and Biological Activity of Two Anacardiaceae Species from Guinea-Bissau

The dried leaves of Lannea velutina A.Rich. and Sorindeia juglandifolia Planch. ex Oliv. are commonly used in traditional medicine throughout West Africa to treat inflammatory diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the standardized hydroethanolic (70%) extracts of these plants and to investigate the underlying mechanisms, with a focus on their antioxidant properties. The anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated using a rat model of induced paw edema, while the antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH• radical scavenging and iron-reducing antioxidant power assays. Chemical fingerprint was achieved by LC-UV/DAD-ESI/MS and the main classes of secondary metabolites were quantified by colorimetric analysis. The results showed that Sorindeia juglandifolia extract significantly inhibited the increase in paw edema volume, with the maximum effect observed at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg (20.51 ± 1.07% and 35.50 ± 6.90%, respectively). For L. velutina, the strongest inhibition was observed at 200 and 400 mg/kg (47.48 ± 11.37% and 35.40 ± 1.70%, respectively). Both extracts also showed remarkable antioxidant activity. Phenol derivatives were identified as the main classes of secondary metabolites, with L. velutina containing 350.1 ± 20.6 mg GAE/g DE and S. juglandifolia containing 463.4 ± 29.4 mg GAE/g DE. Ten phenolic markers were identified in L. velutina and six in S. juglandifolia extracts. The main components of L. velutina include myricetin-3-O-glucuronide, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, catechin, and gallic acid, while S. juglandifolia contains gallic acid, isoquercitrin, and ethyl gallate. These results confirm the anti-inflammatory potential of L. velutina and S. juglandifolia and highlight their prospects as candidates for the development of standardized anti-inflammatory herbal medicines based on their chemical and biological properties.

Potential anti-HIV and antitrypanosomal components revealed in Sorindeia nitidula via LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS

Sorindeia nitidula (Anacardiaceae) is used by traditional practitioners to treat influenza illnesses with cephalgia and febrile aches. However, the potential active ingredients for its remarkable antioxidant, anti-HIV and antitrypanosomal activities remain unexplored. The present study aims to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-HIV and antitrypanosomal activities of the ethyl acetate extract of S. nitidula (SN) in order to screen out the bioactive compounds and to analyze their possible mechanisms of action. Overall, 21 phenolic compounds were annotated, by using the MS and MS/MS information provided by the QTOF-MS. In vitro assays on the extract revealed potent antioxidant (IC50 = 0.0129 ± 0.0001 mg/mL), anti-HIV (IC50 = 1.736 ± 0.036 µM), antitrypanosomal (IC50 = 1.040 ± 0.010 µM) activities. Furthermore, SN did not present cytotoxic effect on HeLa cancer cell lines. The integrated strategy based on LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS provided a powerful tool and a multidimensional perspective for further exploration of active ingredients in S. nitidula responsible for the antioxidant, anti-HIV and antitrypanosomal activities.

Ethnomedicinal, Chemical, and Biological Aspects of Lannea Species-A Review

Lannea L. genus belongs to the Anacardiaceae botanical family and has long been used in traditional medicinal systems of many countries to manage several health conditions, but no studies have been conducted regarding its usefulness as a source of herbal medicine for human use. A literature review was conducted on scientific papers indexed on B-On, Pubmed, and Web of Science databases. Our results showed that medicinal plants from this botanical genus, mostly constituted by bark and leaf, are often used to approach a wide variety of disease symptoms, like fever, inflammatory states, pain, and gastrointestinal disorders. Phytochemical profiles of Lannea species revealed that phenolic acid derivatives including hydroquinones, phenolic acids, flavonoids, condensed tannins, and triterpenoids are the main classes of secondary metabolites present. Among the total of 165 identified compounds, 57 (34.5%) are flavonoids, mostly quercetin- and myricetin-derived flavonols and catechin and epicatechin flavan-3-ol derivatives also containing a galloyl group. In vitro and in vivo studies allowed the identification of 12 different biological activities, amongst which antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities were the most frequently cited and observed in in vitro essays. Our review contributes useful information for the scientifical validation of the use of Lannea species in traditional medicinal systems and shows that more research needs to be conducted to better understand the concrete utility of these as herbal medicines.

Quality, Safety and Biological Studies on Campylanthus glaber Aerial Parts

In Cabo Verde, several endemic species are used in traditional medicine. However, no scientific studies have been conducted on the quality, efficacy, and safety of most of these plants. This study focused on establishing the botanical and chemical identification parameters required for a quality monograph of Campylanthus glaber Benth. aerial parts, a medicinal plant of Cabo Verde traditionally used to treat fever and muscular pain. In addition, in vitro antioxidant and antihyperglycemic activity, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity were assessed for this medicinal plant. Optical microscopy, LC/UV-DAD-ESI/MS, and colorimetric assays were used for botanical, chemical, and biological studies, respectively. Cytotoxicity was assessed by the MTT assay with HepG2 cells, and genotoxicity by the Ames test. Microscopically, the xeromorphic leaf of C. glaber presents a thick cuticle (13.6-25.5 µm), thick-walled epidermal cells, anomocytic-type stomata, glandular trichomes (stalk length = 49.4-120.8 µm), and idioblasts containing calcium oxalate microcrystals. The chemical screening of aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts of this medicinal plant revealed the presence of organic acids, iridoids, phenylethanoids, and flavonoids as the main classes of marker compounds, with malic acid, citric acid, and verbascoside being the main marker compounds identified. Both extracts showed similar LC/UV-DAD/ESI-MS qualitative profiles and DPPH radical scavenger activity (IC50 = 130.9 ± 1.4; 134.3 ± 3.1 µg/mL). The hydroethanolic extract inhibited both α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes in a dose-dependent manner. Both extracts showed no cytotoxicity (up to 1000 µg/mL) by the MTT assay and no genotoxic potential with or without metabolic activation up to 5 mg /plate. The results obtained are an important contribution to the monographic quality assessment of C. glaber aerial parts and suggest that this medicinal plant may be safe and potentially used as an herbal drug raw material for pharmaceutical purposes.