Abstract Different degrees in the biological activities of Canavalia rosea had been previously reported . In this study, our group assessed the cardioprotective effects of the ethyl acetate fraction (EAcF) of the Canavalia rosea leaves. Firstly, it was confirmed, by in vitro approach, that the EAcF has high antioxidant properties due to the presence of important secondary metabolites, as flavonoids. In order to explore their potential protector against cardiovascular disorders, hearts were previously perfused with EAcF (300 μg.mL-1) and submitted to the global ischemia followed by reperfusion in Langendorff system. The present findings have demonstrated that EAcF restored the left ventricular developed pressure and decreased the arrhythmias severity index. Furthermore, EAcF significantly increased the glutathiones peroxidase activity with decreased malondialdehyde and creatine kinase levels. EAcF was effective upon neither the superoxide dismutase, glutationes reductase nor the catalase activities. In addition, the Western blot analysis revealed that ischemia-reperfusion injury significantly upregulates caspase 3 protein expression, while EAcF abolishes this effect. These results provide evidence that the EAcF reestablishes the cardiac contractility and prevents arrhythmias; it is suggested that EAcF could be used to reduce injury caused by cardiac reperfusion. However more clinical studies should be performed, before applying it in the clinic.

OBJETIVO: Validar um modelo de obesidade induzida por dieta hiperlipídica, de baixo custo, fácil reprodutibilidade, que mimetizasse características observadas no humano e viabilizasse posteriores proposições terapêuticas. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Dezesseis camundongos Swiss receberam dieta padrão (DP) ou dieta hiperlipídica (DH), durante 10 semanas. RESULTADOS: Embora o grupo DP tenha apresentado maior consumo de água (p < 0,01) e ração (p < 0,001), o grupo DH apresentou maior ganho de peso corpóreo (p < 0,5) e aumento de coxins adiposos (p < 0,001), favorecendo maior índice de adiposidade (p < 0,001), glicemia (p < 0,01) e área sob a curva nos testes de tolerância à insulina (p < 0,001) e à glicose (p < 0,01). CONCLUSÃO: Validou-se um modelo de obesidade induzida por dieta hiperlipídica associada à resistência à ação da insulina e à intolerância à glicose, em um período de 10 semanas.

OBJECTIVE: Validate a model of high-fat diet-induced obesity, of low cost, easy reproducibility, that could express characteristics observed in human, and would enable subsequent therapy proposals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen Swiss mice received a standard diet (DP) or high-fat diet (DH) for 10 weeks. RESULTS: Although the DP group had greater water (p < 0.01) and feed (p < 0.001) consumption, the DH group had greater body weight (p < 0.5) and adipose tissue gain (p < 0.001), favoring higher adiposity index (p < 0.001), glucose (p < 0.01), and area under the curve in the insulin (p < 0.001) and glucose (p < 0.01) tolerance tests. CONCLUSION: A high-fat diet-induced obesity model has been validated, which was also associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance after a period of 10 weeks.

Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul., Fabaceae, is a plant with an anti-inflammatory activity that is used in folk medicine. To evaluate the mechanism of action of this plant, studies were performed on its antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties using an ethanol extract (EE) made from the inner bark. Oral treatment of mice with the EE (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) decreased their acetic acid-induced abdominal writhes (p<0.001) and their formalin-induced paw licking in both the first and second phases (p<0.001). This treatment increased the reaction time of mice on the hot-plate test (400 mg/kg, p<0.05); however, it did not alter their performance on the Rotarod performance test. The carrageenan-induced paw edema in the rats and the leukocyte migration into the peritoneal cavity of the mice were also reduced by the EE given at a dose of 400 mg/kg (p<0.05). In addition, the EE (100-400 mg/kg, v.o.) did not alter the arterial pressure of non-anesthetized rats. In conclusion, the EE of C. pyramidalis shows antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities in rodents, supporting the usage of this plant to treat various inflammatory diseases for which it has traditionally been used.