title: In vitro anticoagulant and antioxidant activities of Jatropha gossypiifolia L. (Euphorbiaceae) leaves aiming therapeutical applications.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Jatropha gossypiifolia L. (Euphorbiaceae) is a medicinal plant largely used in folk medicine. Teas from the leaves are popularly used as an antithrombotic agent and the branches are frequently employed as a "thick blood" agent. Considering that the anticoagulant activity associated with antioxidant properties could be beneficial for various cardiovascular diseases, this study's aim is the evaluation of anticoagulant and antioxidant activities of J. gossypiifolia leaves, seeking new therapeutic purposes for this plant.
  
  
  METHODS
  The aqueous leaf crude extract (CE) was prepared by decoction and was fractionated by liquid-liquid partition with solvents of increasing polarity. The phytochemical analysis was performed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and by the spectrophotometric quantification of sugars, proteins and phenolic compounds. The anticoagulant activity was evaluated by prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) tests. The capacity to act in the fibrinolytic system (fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities) was also assessed. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, copper chelating activity, iron chelating activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and superoxide radical scavenging assays. The potential toxicity was evaluated using hemolytic assay and the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay on HEK-293 cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CE showed significant anticoagulant activity in aPTT test, while no action was observed in PT test, suggesting a preferential action toward the intrinsic and/or common pathway of coagulation. No effect was observed in the fibrinolytic system. Using the aPTT test, it was observed that the residual aqueous (RA) fraction was the most active, being two times more active than CE. RA presented very significant antioxidant activity in all models tested comparable to or even higher than CE. Regarding the safety, CE and RA did not produce significant cytotoxicity in both tests employed. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, proteins, tannins, steroids and/or terpenoids and sugars.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CE and RA possessed significant anticoagulant and antioxidant activity and absence of cytotoxic effect in vitro, thus showing the potential of the plant, especially RA fraction, as a new source of bioactive molecules for therapeutic purposes, with particular emphasis on the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Félix-Silva
authors.forename: Thiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Rafael Barros Gomes
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Camara
authors.forename: Bárbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.forename: Arnóbio Antônio
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Silva-Júnior
authors.forename: Ivanise Marina Moretti
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Rebecchi
authors.forename: Silvana Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Zucolotto
authors.forename: Hugo Alexandre Oliveira
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Tecnologia & Biotecnologia Farmacêutica (TecBioFar), Departamento de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rua Gal, Gustavo Cordeiro de Farias, s/n, Petrópolis, CEP 59012-570 Natal, RN, Brazil. mpedrosa@ufrnet.br.
authors.forename: Matheus de Freitas
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Fernandes-Pedrosa
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D031286:Jatropha / Q000737:chemistry*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D011517:Prothrombin Time
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D000975:Antioxidants; D005419:Flavonoids; D010936:Plant Extracts