title: Down-modulation of nitric oxide production in murine macrophages treated with crude plant extracts from the Brazilian Cerrado.
abstract: Several plant species from the Cerrado biome in Brazil are popularly used as herbal medicines for its reputed analgesic, anti-acid, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumoral properties, among others. It has been reported that some plant extracts interfere in the production of nitric oxide (NO), an important inflammatory mediator. In the present study, we investigated the effect of hexanic and ethanolic extracts from three plant species on NO production by LPS/IFN-gamma-activated J774 macrophages based on traditional use. The cytotoxic effect of the crude extracts was determined by the thiazolyl blue test (MTT) to measure cell viability. Serjania lethalis stem extracts and Cupania vernalis leaf extracts significantly inhibited NO production, while extracts from Casearia sylvestris var. lingua were inactive or showed low activity on NO production, or were very cytotoxic. The ethanolic stem bark and leaf extracts of Serjania lethalis and Cupania vernalis, respectively, almost completely inhibited the production of NO by J774 macrophages. It can be concluded that the selected extracts are potential sources of active compounds that might be used as anti-inflammatory agents.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Napolitano
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Mineo
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: de Paula
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Espindola
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Espindola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology; D001938:Brazil; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003625:Data Collection; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts; D009569:Nitric Oxide