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.

O estudo objetivou realizar ensaios clínicos de fase II com o infuso das folhas de Cissus sicyoides L (Vitaceae) para investigar a eficácia terapêutica desse vegetal em voluntárias intolerantes à glicose (GIG n = 14) e diabéticas (GD n = 12) entre 30 e 59 anos de idade no Hospital Universitário Lauro Wanderley/UFPB. O chá foi preparado com 1g do pó das folhas secas, diluído em 150 mL de água quente por 10 minutos (uso popular), dose única, por um período de 7 dias (fase aguda). No GIG verificou-se a interação entre a glicemia e a insulina através do Teste Oral de Tolerância à Glicose, sem e com a ingestão do infuso. A glicemia e insulinemia foram determinadas nos tempos 0, 1, 2 e 3 h. Para o GD avaliou-se a variação espontânea da glicemia (em jejum e em repouso nos tempos 0, 1, 2 e 3 h) e o perfil glicêmico (antes e 2 h após as refeições) na ausência e na presença do chá. No GIG, o chá das folhas teve atividade hipoglicemiante significativa aos 120 minutos, porém, não houve aumento da insulinemia, além da fisiológica, sugerindo que esse efeito não ocorreu por liberação ou secreção da mesma. No GD o infuso não apresentou efeito hipoglicemiante significativo.

This study aimed to perform Phase II clinical trials with the infusion of the leaves of Cissus sicyoides L to investigate its therapeutic effectiveness in glucose-intolerant (GIG n = 14) and in type 2 diabetic (GD n = 12) volunteers, 30 to 59 years old, at Hospital Universitário Lauro Wanderley/UFPB. The tea was prepared with 1g of dust falling leaves diluted in 150 mL of hot water for 10 minutes (popular usage), in single doses, for 7 days (acute phase). In the GIG, the interaction between the glicemy and the insulin was verified through two oral tests of glucose tolerance, with and without infusion’s ingestion. The glicemy and the insulinemy were determined at 0, 1, 2, and 3 hours. For GD, the spontaneous variation of glicemy (during fasting and resting periods, at 0, 1, 2, and 3 hours), and the glicemic profile (before and 2 hours after meals) were evaluated in the absence and in the presence of the tea. For GIG, the tea of the leaves revealed considerable hypoglycemic activity at 120 minutes; however there was no insulinemy increase, beyond the physiological, suggesting that this effect did not happen because of insulinemy’s liberation or secretion. For GD, the tea did not demonstrate considerable hypoglycemic activity.