Several in vitro methods have been used for the investigation of the biological activities of plants used in folk medicine for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. In this study, we have investigated the ability of the hydroethanolic extracts from Rauvolfia sellowii Muell. Arg, Hybanthus bigibbosus (St.-Hil) Hassler, and Anchieta pyrifolia (Mart.) G. Don, locally known as pau-pra-tudo, canela-de-veado, and cipó-suma, respectively, in interfering with the human leukocytes migration induced by casein, using the Boyden chamber method. Dexamethasone has been used as a positive control for leukocyte inhibition in the same experimental approach. The data herein presented showed a significant inhibition of the casein-induced polymorphonuclear leukocytes migration for all plants studied. However, the intensity of such activity was variable according to the dose and plant tested. For pau-pra-tudo, canela-de-veado, and cipó-suma extracts the average number of migrated polymorphonuclear leukocytes was 81.6±3.9%, 85.4±2.4% and 91.7±2.2% of the input for the doses of 1000, 10, and 1mg/ml, respectively, while for dexamethasone, the value found was 70.3±5.9%. Although further studies are needed, the results presented in this study may be useful to clarify the anti-inflammatory properties of these herbal medicines, supporting their ethnobothanical use for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Rauvolfia sellowii; Hybanthus bigibbosus; Anchieta pyrifolia; medicinal plants; leukocyte migration; casein; inflammation; chemotaxis