title: Quantification of polyphenols and evaluation of antimicrobial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Libidibia ferrea, Parapiptadenia rigida and Psidium guajava.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vast numbers of plant species from northeastern Brazil have not yet been phytochemically or biologically evaluated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this work was to obtain, characterize and show the antimicrobial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Libidibia ferrea, Parapiptadenia rigida and Psidium guajava.
  
  
  METHODS
  The plant material (100g) was dried, and the crude extracts were obtained by using turbo-extraction (10%; w/v) with water or acetone:water (7:3, v/v) as the extraction solvent. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were used to screen the crude extracts for hydrolysable tannins (gallic acid) and condensed tannins (catechins). The antibacterial activity was evaluated by agar-diffusion and microdilution methods against Gram-positive strains (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus epidermidis INCQS 00016, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and a clinical isolate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) as well as Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella enteritidis INCQS 00258, Shigella flexneri and Klebsiella pneumoniae). To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity, a leukocyte migration model was used. Analgesic activity was determined by the hot plate test and the acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing test. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of 5%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parapiptadenia rigida presented the highest amount of total polyphenols (35.82 ± 0.20%), while the greatest catechin content was found in the acetone-water extract of Psidium guajava (EAWPg; 1.04 μg/g). The largest amounts of catechins were found in the aqueous extract of Libidibia ferrea (EALf; 1.07 μg/g) and the acetone-water extract of Parapiptadenia rigida (EAWPr; 1.0 μg/g). All extracts showed activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Psidium guajava showed the greatest inhibition zones in the agar diffusion tests. In the evaluation of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), the most susceptible Gram-positive bacterium was Staphylococcus epidermidis and the most susceptible Gram-negative bacterium was Shigella flexneri. EAPg and EAWPg showed the greatest MIC values. All extracts were significant inhibitors of leukocyte migration (p<0.05). Using the writhing test, significant analgesic activity was found for EAPr (50 mg/kg), EAWPr (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) and EAWPg (50 mg/kg) (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, the appropriate extraction procedure preserves the chemical components such as gallic acid and catechin, and showed antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Public Health, Postgraduate program in Pharmaceutical Science, Department of Biophysics and Pharmacology, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Campus Universitário, Lagoa Nova, 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil. Electronic address: aurigena@ufrnet.br.
authors.forename: Aurigena Antunes
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Araújo
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Pharmaceutical Science/Department of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Artur de Sá, Cidade Universitária, 50740-520, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Alberto Lira
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Pharmaceutical Science/Department of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Artur de Sá, Cidade Universitária, 50740-520, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Magda Rhayanny
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Assunção Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Pharmaceutical Science, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rua Gen. Gustavo Cordeiro de Farias, 59010-180, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Manoel André
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Souza Neto
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Pharmaceutical Science, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rua Gen. Gustavo Cordeiro de Farias, 59010-180, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Giselle Ribeiro
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Functional and Structural Biology, Postgraduate program in Health Science, Department of Morphology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Campus Universitário, 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raimundo Fernandes
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: de Araújo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Campus Universitário, 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gerlane Coelho Bernardo
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate program in Parasitary Biology, Postgraduate program in Biology Science, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Campus Universitário, 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Celeste Nunes
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: de Melo
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001938:Brazil; D029911:Caesalpinia; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D031298:Mimosa; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D044945:Proanthocyanidins / Q000737:chemistry; D031647:Psidium; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D059808:Polyphenols; D044945:Proanthocyanidins
keywords: Antiinflammatory; Antimicrobial; Libidibia ferrea; Parapiptadenia rigida; Polyphenols; Psidium guajava