Prospecção Fitoquímica e Avaliação da Atividade Analgésica de Extratos Hidroalcoólicos de Malvaviscus arboreus e Hibiscus tiliaceus (Malvaceae)

Resumo

Medicinal plants have been used as therapeutic agents for millennia due to their intrinsic properties and therapeutic or curative potential. The species Malvaviscus arboreus and Hibiscus tiliaceus, belonging to the Malvaceae family, have been considered promising sources of bioactive compounds with pharmacological potential. This study aimed to investigate the hydroalcoholic extracts of the species Malvaviscus arboreus and Hibiscus tiliaceus for the presence of flavonoids and phenols, as well as their analgesic activities. The species were collected on the UFRRJ campus, and the extracts were obtained using an ethanol: water (70:30) mixture by maceration. The determination of total phenols was performed by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and the flavonoid content using aluminum chloride, in addition to the prospecting of these metabolites by 1D and 2D NMR. The tests to evaluate the antinociceptive effect were performed using male Swiss mice and the acetic acid-induced abdominal contortions model, as well as the non-inflammatory tail withdrawal pain model. The hydroalcoholic extracts of M. arboreus and H. tiliaceus exhibit the presence of phenols and flavonoids, which contribute to their significant antinociceptive activity in chemical and thermal stimulation models, through the involvement of the NO/cGMP/K+ATP pathway at peripheral, spinal, and/or supraspinal neuronal levels.