Abstract
Aleurites moluccanus is used in folk medicine to treat many diseases including pain and inflammatory processes
in general. Considering the potential of the leaf extract, evidenced in a previous
study, the present study investigates the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties
of the hydroethanolic extract of A. moluccanus bark and isolated compounds in animal models of pain. The antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory
activities of A. moluccanus bark were evaluated through hyperalgesia induced by carrageenan, PGE2 , cytokines, bradykinin, epinephrine, Freundʼs complete adjuvant, and lipopolysaccharide.
Five compounds were isolated from the dichloromethane bark extract: acetyl aleuritolic
acid, atraric acid, spruceanol, (5β ,10α )-12-hydroxy-13-methoxy-8,11,13-podocarpatrien-3-one and sonderianol. To optimize
the extraction conditions, ethanol 50, 70, and 90°GL were used as extracting solvent,
in a 1 : 20 (w/v)
drug : solvent ratio, under stirring at room temperature for 4 h. The extracts
were named AMC50, AMC70, and AMC90, respectively. These extracts were administered
to mice (250 mg/kg, p. o.) with reduced mechanical hyperalgesia activity in the carrageenan
test. Of these, AMC90 showed the best results. Pure (5β ,10α )-12-hydroxy-13-methoxy-8,11,13-podocarpatrien-3-one showed a beneficial effect for
up to 48 hours after the administration of carrageenan, while acetyl aleuritolic acid
was effective only in the first hour. AMC90 was able to reverse the analgesia induced
only by prostaglandin E2 and tumor necrosis factor. We also induced hyperalgesia using the lipopolysaccharide
and Freundʼs complete adjuvant models, with positive results. These results support
the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity of A. moluccanus bark extract. The observed effects are partly due to the presence of acetyl aleuritolic
acid, atraric acid, and
(5β ,10α )-12-hydroxy-13-methoxy-8,11,13-podocarpatrien-3-one.
Key words Euphorbiaceae -
Aleurites moluccanus
- antinociceptive - diterpene - hyperalgesia
