Potencial antioxidante e efeito de preparações fitoterápicas de Cordia salicifolia sobre adipocinas

Abstract

Cordia salicifolia, also known as porangaba, is a popular plant suitable for different therapeutic purposes, among them to reduce body weight. It is known that overweight and obesity are multifactorial conditions that lead to the development of oxidative stress and a state of low intensity chronic inflammation. Considering the popular use of C. salicifolia for weight reduction, we aim to evaluate the antioxidant potential and the effect of aqueous (EA) and ethanolic (EE) extracts prepared from porangaba leaves and stems on cytokines involved in the inflammatory process and correlated with obesity. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of these herbal preparations on cell viability in vitro and determined the phytochemical composition of the extracts, in order to observe the relationship between phytochemical constituents and biological effects. The results demonstrated that the extracts have antioxidant potential and the ability to sequester the reactive species NO, H2O2 and radical •OH, being the aqueous extract EA more efficient for this action in relation to EE. Such effects may be related to phytochemical constituents and the amounts present in the extracts. Both extracts have phenolic substances in their composition, being verified that the EA has larger amounts in relation to the EE. This result may be due to higher levels of flavonols and flavones determined in the EA. The viability of McCoy cells was significantly decreased by 0.5 mg mL-1 of EA and 0.02 mg mL-1 of EE, while in macrophages, a reduction in viability of 1 mg mL-1 and 0.02 was observed mg mL-1 , respectively, demonstrating that EE has greater cytotoxicity. At concentrations that maintained 90% viability, the ability of EE to stimulate the production of interleukin-10 (IL-10) by murine macrophages was verified, while EA induced an increase in interleukin-6 (IL-6). The production of TNF-α by macrophages treated with the evaluated extracts was not detected. Although IL-6 is considered a pro-inflammatory cytokine and, in cases of obesity being increased, contributing to oxidative stress and inflammation, studies have reported that, in nonobese people, this adipokine has a lipolytic capacity and has an anti-obesity effect. In this context and in view of the results obtained, we believe that the empirical use of C. salicifolia leaf tea, by the population, in order to reduce body weight seems to be adequate and can minimize the deleterious effects caused by the accumulation of fat in the body.