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Gastroprotective Effect of Xylopia langsdorffiana A. St.-Hil. & Tul. (Annonaceae): Involvement of Endogenous Sulfhydryls Compounds and Nitric Oxide

Camila de Albuquerque Montenegro, Gedson Rodrigues de Morais Lima, Isis Fernandes Gomes, Josean Fechine Tavares and Leônia Maria Batista

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraiba, 58051-970, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil

National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, 100050 Beijing, P.R. China; 3 School of pharmaceutical sciences, Zhengzhou University, 450051 Zhengzhou

Abstract: Xylopia langsdorffiana A. St.-Hil. & Tul., belonging to the Annonaceae family, popularly known as "pimenteira-da-terra" was selected for study on the basis of chemotaxonomic criteria because various chemical compounds (among these the diterpenes) with pharmacological activities have been isolated. We investigated the acute toxicity of the ethanolic extract (EtOHE) and hexane phase (HexPh) obtained from the leaves of X. langsdorffiana (XL) and its ability to prevent gastric mucosa ulceration in animal models. The results suggest that XL-EtOHE has low toxicity to mice treated with a single dose of 2000 mg/kg (p.o.) and the inhibition the formation of gastric lesions induced by ethanol, restraint-hypothermic stress and NSAIDs. In the pylorus ligature model, XL-EtOHE (500 mg/kg) and XL-HexPh (250 mg/kg) showed gastric protection with both oral (p.o.) and intraduodenal (i.d.) administration, yet without altering the gastric juice parameters (pH, [H +], and volume). XL-HexPh (250 mg/kg) did not increase mucus production, and both EtOHE and HexPh induced gastroprotection with a certain dependency on sulfhydryls groups and nitric oxide.

Keywords: Xylopia langsdorffiana; acute toxicity; gastric ulcers; gastroprotection; endogenous sulfhydryls compounds; nitric oxide. © 2014 ACG Publications. All rights reserved.