Atividade farmacológica e toxicológica das flores de Acmella oleracea (L.) R. K. Jasen

Abstract

Vegetables have been a rich source of getting molecules to be exploited therapeutically. The empirical use of drugs of plant origin is recorded since the earliest civilizations, and is considered one of the mos t remote practices used by men to cure, prevent and treat diseases. Acmella oleracea (L.) R. K. Jansen, popularly known as Jambu is a vegetable of the family Asteraceae, much appreciated in northern Brazil, where part of local cuisine and folk medicine. Al though there are indications Acmella oleracea popular for the treatment of certain pathologies, toxicological studies of the extract of the flower of this kind are not described in the literature. Thus, the goal of this paper is to analyze the effects of a queous extract of flowers Acmella oleracea at doses of 50, 100 and 200mg/kg, about memory, locomotion, motor coordination and anxiety by means of tests of the Morris water maze, field open in Y maze, rota rod test and test box light / dark, and evaluating its anti inflammatory and antinociceptive activity tests employing the withdrawal of the tail (tail flick) and paw edema induced by 1% carrageenan in to contribute to a better assessment of benefits and damages caused by the use of this plant. The use of s ub chronic aqueous extract of flowers of this species at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg / kg, showed no toxic effects on memory and motor coordination of the animals, but caused an anxiogenic effect in animals in the test of locomotion open field. In pharmaco logical tests, the extract showed antinociceptive effect antiedematogenic and these results corroborate with the literature. From the results, it is suggested that further studies to evaluate the toxicological activity of Acmella oleracea are required, sin ce this species is an alternative for treatment of inflammatory and analgesics. But more tests are needed to elucidate the possible mechanisms of action involved in the activities and antiedematogenic antinociceptive and evaluate possible toxic effects.