M.Tech. / The plants Salacia leptoclada and Warburgia salutaris possess antioxidant properties and are commonly used in Southern Africa for the treatment of inflammatory and other diseases. In order to determine their therapeutic use in crystalline silica-induced injury, the extracts of S. leptoclada and W. salutaris were investigated on silica-induced increased levels of (i) TNF-a, IL-113, INF-y, (ii) the activation of the transcription factor NE-KB, and (iii) the induction of DNA damage and lipid peroxidation. Through its antioxidant property, W. salutaris exhibited a protective effect against crystalline silica-induced inflammatory cytokine expression, NF-KB activation and DNA strand breakage. The extracts of W. salutaris also inhibited cellular membrane peroxidation induced by crystalline silica. Similarly, the extracts of S. leptoclada showed protection of cells against crystalline silica-induced membrane peroxidation. However, S. leptoclada proved ineffective in protecting against silica-induced DNA damage, proinflammatory cytokine expression and NF-KB activation. Since crystalline silica-induced inflammation, NE-KB activation, DNA damage and lipid peroxidation are involved in the process of crystalline silica-induced fibrogenecity and carcinogenicity, W. salutaris may be a potential therapeutic agent against crystalline silica-induced cellular injury.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:12:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao gilmar quimica.pdf: 1338329 bytes, checksum: bc6520969a279db69b166b4914defad2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-09-25 / This work describes the study of the specie Salacia elliptica, a plant from Hippocrateaceae family, known as bacupari, saputá and other popular names. In folk medicine it has been used in fever, swelling, scarring of wounds, diabetes and other treatments. The families Hippocrateaceae and Celastraceae are morphologically very close. Some taxonomists have considered them as only one family, while others split them in two. The Hippocrateaceae family comprises around 30 genera, and Salacia and Hippocratea are the most important with 300 species. Celastraceae comprises about 55 genera and 850 species. In this work, S. elliptica was considered an Hippocrateaceae plant, and by phytochemical study we intend to contribute to the chemotaxonomy position of this family. The phytochemical study of stem and root led to the isolation of the quinonamethide triterpenes: maitenin, pristimerin and 30-hydroxy-friedelan-3-one. Their structures were elucidated by 1H and 13C NMR spectra. The bioassays carried out so far demonstrate the great potential of this specie / Salacia elliptica é uma planta da família Hippocrateaceae, conhecida como bacupari, saputá entre outros nomes populares. Na medicina popular tem sido usado no tratamento da febre, edemas, cicatrizações de ferimentos, diabetes, etc. A família Hippocrateaceae é constituída por 30 gêneros, sendo Salacia e Hippocratea os maiores representantes. Há um embate entre grupos de botânicos quanto ao posicionamento taxonômico da S. elliptica devido às similaridades morfológicas e químicas entre as famílias Celastraceae e Hippocrateaceae. Neste trabalho, foi considerado que a S. elliptica é uma Hippocrateaceae. Trabalho este que busca contribuir com a quimiotaxonomia da família, através do isolamento de marcadores químicos. O estudo fitoquímico do caule e da raiz levou ao isolamento de triterpenos quinonametídeos: maitenina, pristimerina e 30-hidroxi-friedelan-3-ona, cujas estruturas foram elucidadas a partir de espectros de RMN de 1H e de 13C. Os bioensaios realizados até então demonstram o grande potencial da espécie