Toxicity of the hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves of Cissus sicyoides

Cissus sicyoides L. (cipó-anil, vegetal insulin) belongs to the family Vitacea. It is much used by the population for the treatment of diabetes. The objective of this research was to perform a phytochemical screening of the hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of C. sicyoides to be used as primary source in the toxicological test with Artemia salina L. Were be phytochemical tests on the hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves of C. sicyoides for research on secondary metabolites and was evaluated the toxicological activity using A. saline cysts to quantify the mean lethal concentration (CL50). The extract presented steroids, tannins, flavonoids and saponins, compounds that had already been found in other studies of this species. It presented high toxicity to A. salina, reporting a Mean Lethal Concentration (CL50) of 930.7 g mL-1, serving as a parameter for the accomplishment of later studies in animal models with the pretension to reach more results for a safe use of C. sicyoides

Isopropyl Caffeate: A Caffeic Acid Derivative—Antioxidant Potential and Toxicity

Phenolic compounds, among them isopropyl caffeate, possess antioxidant potential, but not without toxicity and/or adverse effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity and toxicity of isopropyl caffeate through in silico, in vitro and in vivo testing. The results showed that isopropyl caffeate presents no significant theoretical risk of toxicity, with likely moderate bioactivity: GPCR binding, ion channel modulation, nuclear receptor binding, and enzyme inhibition. Isopropyl caffeate induced hemolysis only at the concentrations of 500 and 1000 μg/ml. We observed types A and O erythrocyte protection from osmotic stress, no oxidation of erythrocytes, and even sequestrator and antioxidant behavior. However, moderate toxicity, according to the classification of GHS, was demonstrated through depressant effects on the central nervous system, though there was no influence on water and food consumption or on weight gain, and it did present possible hepatoprotection. We conclude that the effects induced by isopropyl caffeate are due to its antioxidant activity, capable of preventing production of free radicals and oxidative stress, a promising molecule with pharmacological potential

Clinical safety evaluation of a tea containing Cissampelos sympodialis in healthy volunteers

ABSTRACTCissampelos sympodialis Eichler, Menispermaceae, is widely used by Indian tribes and folk medicine to treat various inflammatory disorders, including asthma. Clinical toxicological trials were made with the tea of C. sympodialis, a medicinal plant. The study took place at Lauro Wanderley Hospital/UFPB-PB, where seventeen healthy volunteers were chosen, among those six men and eleven women who orally ingested, during four weeks uninterruptedly, 150 ml of the tea, once a day. Before the first ingestion and after the last one, the participants were subjected to clinical and laboratorial tests for their overall conditions in order to analyze the toxicity of the plant. The results demonstrated that the volunteers neither experience clinical nor laboratorial alterations, as well as no significant adverse effects, apart from little change detected in their hematological tests. Nevertheless, none demonstrated any pathological conditions, just alterations of the normal human being physiology. Therefore, it is concluded that these data complement that obtained during pre-clinical studies and confirm a low toxicity of this plant