A survey of chemistry and biological activities of Chrysobalanaceae

A SURVEY OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF CHRYSOBALANACEAE^*

Rachel O. Castilho, Ilélia de Souza, Úrsula P. Guimarães and Maria Auxiliadora C. Kaplan

Núcleo de Pesquisas de Produtos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

Chrysobalanus icaco L. and Licania tomentosa Aubl., known as abajeru and oiti, respectively, belong to Chrysobalanaceae, order Rosales, superorder Rosiflorae ( sensu Dahlgren 1980). The family Chrysobalanaceae encompasses 17 genera and about 450 species represented by trees and shrubs. Several species are cultivated for their fruits. The most important of them is coco plum, Chrysobalanus icaco. In Brazil Licania rigida is grown for oil extraction which is used as a substitute of tung oil, while the oil of Licania arborea is used in candle and soap industry. C. icaco and L. tomentosa leaf infusions are used popularly in Brazil as diurectic and hypoglycemic agents. These ethnopharmacological indications have been experimentally confirmed for abajeru. The 5% infusion of abajeru has shown a distinct hypoglycemic effect, correcting the fasting hyperglycemia caused by alloxan, and presenting a protection effect against alloxan toxic doses. The chemical features of Chrysobalanaceae species includes flavonoids, terpenoids (triterpenes and diterpenes), steroids and tannins. The plant materials for this study were collected in Rio de Janeiro and extracted successively with hexane and methanol. The resulting methanol extract was fractionated by liquid-liquid partition with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol. It was possible to isolate from C. icaco and L. tomentosa, using chromatographic methodology, steroids, triterpenoids and flavonoids. These compounds have been identified by comparison of the spectral data (NMR ¹H, ¹³C, MS/GC) with the literature records. The antimicrobial activity was determined for C. icaco and L. tomentosa extracts and fractions using the disk diffusion method. Analgesic and antiinflammatory activities were evaluated for C. icaco and showed activities of 84,4% and 60,3% respectively. The methanol extract from C. icaco leaves was investigated for their activity in HeLa cells and as angiogenic/antiangiogenic. The results showed drastic inhibition in HeLa cells and modification of the protein profile for high concentrations (100 and 200 mg/ml) after 48h of incubation. The angiogenic/antiangiogenic potential was made in corioalantoid membrane (CAM) model. The results showed an average reduction about 44% of the new vessels formation. Thus C. icaco extract has potencial activities for cancer and diabetic treatments.

— ( November 23, 1999 ) .

*

Supported by: CNPq/CAPES.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  07 Aug 2000
• Date of issue
  June 2000