Effect of leaf essential oil from Piper solmsianum C.DC. in mice behaviour

The essential oil from Piper solmsianum leaves and its major compound (sarisan) were tested to verify their influences upon mice behaviour. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation in a modified Clevenger extractor and analysed by GC/ MS. This analysis revealed in the oil the presence of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and of arylpropanoids. The compound sarisan, a myristicin analogue, was isolated from the oil to perform the pharmacological tests. Emulsions of the oil and of sarisan (5.0 and 10.0% v/v) were used in the tests. Pentobarbital (30 mg/ kg s.c.) or diazepam (2.5 mg/ kg s.c.) were tested as standard drugs to verify depressant or anxiolytic effects, respectively. Both essential oil and sarisan showed to have exciting and depressant effects in the tested animals

Antioxidant and antiviral properties of Pseudopiptadenia contorta (Leguminosae) and of quebracho (Schinopsis sp.) extracts

Proanthocyanidins from P. contorta leaves and from a commercial quebracho extract were isolated and characterized. Flavonoids, catechins and gallic acid were also identified in the extracts of P. contorta. Compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant properties and for their antiviral activity against an acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1 strain. The low molecular weight phenolic derivatives and the proanthocyanidins from P. contorta showed the highest antioxidant activity. Purified proanthocyanidins from both P. contorta and quebracho showed the same maximum non toxic concentrations (25 µg/mL), with 82.2% and 100% of virus inhibition, respectively

Traditional use and safety of herbal medicines

In the European Union, traditional herbal medicines that are regarded as "acceptably safe, albeit not having a recognized level of efficacy" fit into a special category of drugs ("traditional herbal medicine products") for which requirements of non-clinical and clinical studies are less rigorous. A regulation proposal published by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance (Anvisa) defines a similar drug category ("traditional phytotherapeutic products") for registration purposes. Regarding herbal medicines, both agencies seem to be lenient regarding proof of efficacy, and consider long-standing folk use as evidence of safety and a waiver of a thorough toxicological evaluation. Nonetheless, several herbal products and constituents with a long history of folk usage are suspected carcinogenic and/or hepatotoxic. Herbal products have also been shown to inhibit and/or induce drug-metabolizing enzymes. Since herbal medicines are often used in conjunction with conventional drugs, kinetic and clinical interactions are a cause for concern. A demonstration of the safety of herbal medicines for registration purposes should include at least in vitroand in vivogenotoxicity assays, long-term rodent carcinogenicity tests (for drugs intended to be continuously used for > 3 months or intermittently for > 6 months), reproductive and developmental toxicity studies (for drugs used by women of childbearing age), and investigation of the effects on drug-metabolizing enzymes