Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 28, 2017; 23(24): 4381-4389
Published online Jun 28, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i24.4381
Maytenus erythroxylon Reissek (Celastraceae) ethanol extract presents antidiarrheal activity via antimotility and antisecretory mechanisms
Rodrigo de Oliveira Formiga, Zelma Glebya Maciel Quirino, Margareth de Fátima Formiga Melo Diniz, Alexsandro Fernandes Marinho, Josean Fechine Tavares, Leônia Maria Batista
Rodrigo de Oliveira Formiga, Margareth de Fátima Formiga Melo Diniz, Alexsandro Fernandes Marinho, Josean Fechine Tavares, Leônia Maria Batista, Postgraduate Program in Natural Products and Bioactive Synthetics, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051, PB, Brazil
Zelma Glebya Maciel Quirino, Applied Science and Education Center, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051, PB, Brazil
Author contributions: Formiga RO, Quirino ZGM, Diniz MFFM, Marinho AF, Tavares JF and Batista LM contributed to the conception and design of the study, performed most of the experiments, coordinated the study, participated in writing the manuscript and approved the final version of the article to be published.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB).
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The experimental protocols were approved by the Committee for Ethics in Animal Experimentation (CEUA/UFPB) under number 0105/14.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Leônia Maria Batista, PhD, Postgraduate Program in Natural Products and Bioactive Synthetics, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051, PB, Brazil. leoniab@uol.com.br
Telephone: +55-83-32167003 Fax: +55-83-32167502
Received: November 28, 2016
Peer-review started: December 1, 2016
First decision: February 9, 2017
Revised: February 24, 2017
Accepted: March 15, 2017
Article in press: March 15, 2017
Published online: June 28, 2017
Abstract
AIM

To investigate the acute toxicity, phytochemical profile, antidiarrheal activity and mechanisms of action of Maytenus erythroxylon (M. erythroxylon) ethanol extract.

METHODS

A castor oil-induced diarrhea model was used to evaluate antidiarrheal activity. Intestinal transit and gastric emptying protocols were used to evaluate a possible antimotility effect. KATP channels, nitric oxide, presynaptic α2-adrenergic and tissue adrenergic receptors were investigated to uncover antimotility mechanisms of action and castor oil-induced enteropooling to elucidate antisecretory mechanisms.

RESULTS

All tested doses of the extract (62.5, 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg) possessed antidiarrheal activity, with a significant decrease of the evacuation index. This activity is possibly related to a reduced gastric emptying (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg) and to a decreased percentage of intestinal transit for all tested doses. That last effect seems to be modulated by nitric oxide, KATP channels and tissue adrenergic receptors. Besides, the extract also presented antisecretory effect due to a decrease of intestinal fluid accumulation.

CONCLUSION

The antidiarrheal effect of M. erythroxylon found in this study involves antimotility and antisecretory mechanisms that may be attributed to the chemical compounds found in this species: saponins, flavonoids, tannins, triterpenes and steroids.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, Celastraceae, Maytenus erythroxylon, Diarrhea, Antidiarrheal activity

Core tip:Maytenus erythroxylon Reissek, known as “casca grossa” and “bom-nome” in Brazil, is a species with indication to treat gastrointestinal disorders, like ulcers and diarrhea. Diarrhea is a pathological condition characterized by an increase in three or more defecations in 24 h, being of multiple origin, whether infectious or not. There is a search for new therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of diarrhea, since the current drugs on the market present serious undesirable effects. Species of Maytenus genus appear in this scenario as andiarrheics, due to their ethnopharmacological support and promising results from research.