Estudo Fitoquímico e Atividade Anti-inflamatória de Jungia floribunda Less

Abstract

Jungia floribunda Less is a shrub that belongs to the Asteraceae family and is found in phytogeographical areas such as Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. This plant, according to popular usage, is medicinal in nature, as infusions of its leaves are used as anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic drugs in South American countries such as Paraguay. In the south of Minas Gerais, its folkloric use provide treatment for sprains with its leaves macerated in ethanol. There is no study on the chemical composition and anti-inflammatory activity of this species, so the objective of this work was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity and the constitution of the extracts and essential oil of its leaves. To this end, in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory assays were carried out, as well as analysis of the extracts by UPLC-HRMS. It was possible to determine that the leaf wash, aqueous (infusion) and hydroethanolic are composed of phenolic substances, flavonoids and sesquiterpene lactones by dereplication and comparison of UPLCHRMS results with literature data. The dereplication of the essential oil demonstrated the presence of chemical structures known with anti-inflammatory properties such as βcaryophyllene, α-caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide. From the topical application of the extracts, only the hydroethanolic extract demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity in the ear edema test in mice. However, the three extracts demonstrated in vitro inhibition of the elastase enzyme at different concentrations. Thus, different substances can act through different mechanisms, which may be related to the use of the plant for the treatment of anti-inflammatory diseases. In vitro toxicity studies carried out on the extracts in human fibroblast cells demonstrated that extracts were classified as moderate toxicity. Therefore, the plant has antiinflammatory potencial, which justifies its medicinal use by population in the south of Minas, Brazil.