title: Does the gastroprotective action of a medicinal plant ensure healing effects? An integrative study of the biological effects of Serjania marginata Casar. (Sapindaceae) in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serjania marginata (Sapindaceae), a medicinal plant commonly found in the Brazilian Cerrado, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina, is also known as "cipó-uva" or "cipó-timbó". Ethnopharmacological studies indicate that the leaves from this medicinal plant are used in folk medicine to treat gastric pain. The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the gastroprotective and healing effect of the hydroalcoholic extract obtained from S. marginata (HESM) leaves using rodent experimental models. As part of the integrative study of this medicinal plant, we also evaluated the acute toxicity, antimicrobial, antidiarrheal, (anti)mutagenic, and hemodynamic effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a pharmacological study to test the acute toxicity and antimutagenic effect (Ames assay) of the HESM. The HESM was tested against different necrosis-promoting agents and experimental manipulations, such as absolute ethanol, cysteamine, pyloric ligature, and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The gastroprotective effect of the HESM was assessed by analyzing the gastric juice (volume, pH, total acidity) and the mucus in the gastric mucosa from rats. We assessed the levels of NO, sulfhydryl compounds, PGE2, vanilloid receptor, glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. The gastric healing effects of the HESM were evaluated during 7 or 14 days of treatment. The intestinal motility, antidiarrheal action, and antibacterial effects (microdilution methods) of the HESM were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The phytochemical analysis of the HESM revealed the presence of saponins, flavonoid glycosides, and tannins. The extract exhibited no sign of acute toxicity or mutagenic effect in vitro. In contrast, this extract exhibited a protective effect against the mutagenic action of direct- and indirect-acting mutagens. Only the oral administration of HESM (250mg/kg) significantly decreased the severity of gastric damage induced by ethanol (60.13%) and I/R (58.31%). The HESM exerts its gastroprotective effects by decreasing the MPO and MDA activities in the gastric tissue and by increasing the amount of adherent mucus covering the gastric mucosa. In vitro, the extract also displayed evident antimicrobial effects against Helicobacter pylori. However, the preventive effect of the HESM was not accompanied by an ulcer-healing effect. The treatment with HESM (14 days) significantly increased gastric lesions in 99% of the tested animals compared with the control group. This result represents a highly relevant piece of evidence that should resonate as an alert against the chronic use of this medicinal plant as an antiulcer in folk medicine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the anti-H. pylori and gastroprotective actions of S. marginata in experimental models, the gastric injuries aggravation induced after chronic treatment with the HESM argues against the use of this plant species in folk medicine.
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, CEP 18618-970, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Larissa Lucena
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Périco
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvia Cristina
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Heredia-Vieira
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, CEP 18618-970, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando Pereira
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Beserra
authors.affiliation: Universidade São Francisco, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Unidade Integrada de Farmacologia e Gastroenterologia, CEP 12916-900, Bragança Paulista, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Cássia Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcio Barczyszyn
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flavia Aparecida
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Matheus Aparecido
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dos Santos Ramos
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruna Vidal
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Bonifácio
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Taís Maria
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Bauab
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 14800-902, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eliana Aparecida
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Varanda
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, CEP 18618-970, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Irani Fratucci
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: de Gobbi
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, CEP 18618-970, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lúcia Regina Machado
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: da Rocha
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista, CEP 11330-900, São Vicente, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Wagner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vilegas
authors.affiliation: Univ. Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, CEP 18618-970, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: hiruma@ibb.unesp.br.
authors.forename: Clélia Akiko
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hiruma-Lima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D018515:Plant Leaves; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D029631:Sapindaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013997:Time Factors; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D000930:Antidiarrheals; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Antimutagenic effect; Gastroprotective effect; Sapindaceae; Serjania marginata Casar