PHYTOCHEMICAL CONTENTS AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF VERNONIA POLYANTHES LESS

摘要

Vernonia polyanthes Less. (Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant that has been broadly used in Brazil for the treatment of inflammation and cutaneous damages. The present study evaluated the phytochemical contents and the antioxidant and topical anti-inflammatory activities of the V. polyanthes branches. Dried and powdered of V. polyanthes branches were exhaustively extracted with ethanol by static maceration followed by partition to obtain the hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and butanol fractions. Phytochemical screening and the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined using chemical reactions and spectrophotometry, respectively. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH, reducing power of Fe+3 and β-carotene/linoleic acid assays. The topical anti-inflammatory effects of the ethanol extract (EEVPB) and ethyl acetate fraction (EFVPB) were investigated in Croton oil-, arachidonic acid-, and phenol-induced ear edema models. Tannins, flavonoids, coumarins, terpenoids and steroids, saponins and alkaloids were detected in the ethanol extract and/or fractions. In these samples, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents varied from 0.65 ± 0.07 to 12.58 ± 0.67 g/100 g and 0.15 ± 0.02 to 4.75 ± 0.21 g/100 g, respectively. After topical application, EEVPB and EFVPB significantly (p V. polyanthes is an important and promising source of bioactive compounds with relevant biological properties and can be used as a strategy to develop new products for the treatment of skin conditions related to oxidative damage.