euphol and Edema

Based on the fact that Synadenium grantii is used in folk medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcers and inflammatory diseases, this work describes its chemical and pharmacological properties. Pharmacological investigation of the crude bark extract showed a high antioxidant activity over several scavenger systems, such as 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylenebenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)• +, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl•, O2 • - , and HOCl, as well as an enzymatic system with human myeloperoxidase and an ex vivo hemolysis system. Furthermore, the oral administration of the crude bark extract was able to reduce carrageenan-induced rat paw edema as effectively as ibuprofen. These biological activities may be associated with the presence of flavonoids and terpenes, as revealed by HPLC and NMR analyses of the crude stem bark extract. The phytochemical investigations in this study resulted in the isolation of friedelin and 3β-friedelinol for the first time, while euphol and lanosterol were also isolated.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Benzothiazoles; Biphenyl Compounds; Carrageenan; Edema; Euphorbia; Female; Flavonoids; Humans; Inflammation; Lanosterol; Peroxidase; Phytotherapy; Picrates; Plant Bark; Plant Extracts; Plant Stems; Rats, Wistar; Sulfonic Acids; Triterpenes

Inflammation underlies the development and progression of a number of skin disorders including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and cancer. Therefore, novel antiinflammatory agents are of great clinical interest for prevention and treatment of these conditions. Herein, we demonstrated the underlying molecular mechanisms of the antiinflammatory activity of euphol, a tetracyclic triterpene isolated from the sap of Euphorbia tirucalli, in skin inflammation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in mice. Topical application of euphol (100 μg/ear) significantly inhibited TPA-induced ear edema and leukocyte influx through the reduction of keratinocyte-derived chemokine (CXCL1/KC) and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 levels. At the intracellular level, euphol reduced TPA-induced extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) activation and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) upregulation. These effects were associated with euphol's ability to prevent TPA-induced protein kinase C (PKC) activation, namely PKCα and PKCδ isozymes. Our data indicate that topical application of euphol markedly inhibits the inflammatory response induced by TPA. Thus, euphol represents a promising agent for the management of skin diseases with an inflammatory component.

Topics: Administration, Topical; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Cyclooxygenase 2; Edema; Enzyme Activation; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases; Inflammation; Lanosterol; Leukocytes; Male; MAP Kinase Signaling System; Mice; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; Protein Kinase C; Skin Diseases; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; Up-Regulation

Persistent pains associated with inflammatory and neuropathic states are prevalent and debilitating diseases, which still remain without a safe and adequate treatment. Euphol, an alcohol tetracyclic triterpene, has a wide range of pharmacological properties and is considered to have anti-inflammatory action. Here, we assessed the effects and the underlying mechanisms of action of euphol in preventing inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Oral treatment with euphol (30 and 100 mg/kg) reduced carrageenan-induced mechanical hyperalgesia. Likewise, euphol given through the spinal and intracerebroventricular routes prevented mechanical hyperalgesia induced by carrageenan. Euphol consistently blocked the mechanical hyperalgesia induced by complete Freund's adjuvant, keratinocyte-derived chemokine, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha associated with the suppression of myeloperoxidase activity in the mouse paw. Oral treatment with euphol was also effective in preventing the mechanical nociceptive response induced by ligation of the sciatic nerve and also significantly reduced the levels and mRNA of cytokines/chemokines in both paw and spinal cord tissues following i.pl. injection of complete Freund's adjuvant. In addition, the pre-treatment with either CB₁R or CB₂R antagonists, as well as the knockdown gene of the CB₁R and CB₂R, significantly reversed the antinociceptive effect of euphol. Interestingly, even in higher doses, euphol did not cause any relevant action in the central nervous system. Considering that few drugs are currently available for the treatment of chronic pain states, the present results provided evidence that euphol constitutes a promising molecule for the management of inflammatory and neuropathic pain states.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Behavior, Animal; Cytokines; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Down-Regulation; Edema; Gene Knockdown Techniques; Hindlimb; Hyperalgesia; Lanosterol; Male; Mice; Neuralgia; Neutrophil Infiltration; Pain Measurement; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2; RNA, Messenger; Spinal Cord

The nonsaponifiable lipids of camellia and sasanqua oils from the seeds of Camellia japonica L. and C. sasanqua THUNB., respectively, were investigated for their triterpene alcohol constituents. This led to the isolation of twenty-seven triterpene alcohols of which seven were novel naturally occurring compounds, tirucalla-5,7,24-trien-3 beta-ol (1), lemmaphylla-7,21-dien-3 beta-ol (2), isoeuphol (3), isotirucallol (4), (24R)-24,25-epoxybutyrospermol (5) and its 24S-epimer (6), and isoaglaiol (7). The structures were determined by spectroscopic and chemical methods. The inhibitory effects of 3, 4 a mixture of 5 and 6, a mixture of 7 and its 24S-epimer (aglaiol), and eight known triterpene alcohols isolated in this study were evaluated in ear inflammation in mice induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The 50% inhibitory dose of these triterpenes for TPA-induced inflammation (1 microgram per ear) was 0.2-0.9 mg/ear.

Topics: Alcohols; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Ear Diseases; Edema; Lanosterol; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mice; Plant Oils; Seeds; Tea; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; Triterpenes