RESUMO O óleo de Caryocar villosum é usado na medicina popular amazônica para tratar dores e condições inflamatórias. Assim, avaliamos as propriedades antiinflamatórias e antinociceptivas do extrato etanólico obtido das cascas dos frutos desta espécie. Os testes de contorções induzidas por ácido acético, hiperalgesia mecânica induzida por carragenina, formalina, edema de pata induzido por carragenina e peritonite induzida por carragenina foram usados em camundongos. O extrato etanólico de C. villosum obtido das cascas dos frutos inibiu significativamente o número de contorções abdominais, a hiperalgesia mecânica e o tempo de lambida da pata na segunda fase do teste de formalina. Na dose de 300 mg kg-1, o extrato também reduziu significativamente o volume de edema formado na fase tardia e reduziu o recrutamento de leucócitos e neutrófilos na cavidade peritoneal, bem como os níveis de quimiocina CXCL1. Sugere-se que o extrato atenua o recrutamento de leucócitos por meio da inibição da ativação de CXCL1. A atividade antinociceptiva periférica ocorre por meio da modulação da via opioide pois o pré-tratamento com o extrato etanólico de C. villosum reverteu a antinocicepção induzida pela naltrexona.

ABSTRACT The oil of Caryocar villosum is used in Amazonian folk medicine to treat pain and inflammatory conditions. So, we assessed the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties of the ethanolic extract obtained from the fruit peels of this species. The acetic acid-induced writhing, carrageenan-induced mechanical hyperalgesia, formalin, carrageenan-induced paw edema and carrageenan-induced peritonitis tests were used on mice. The C. villosum ethanolic extract significantly inhibited the number of abdominal writhes, mechanical hyperalgesia and paw licking time in the second phase of the formalin test. At a dose of 300 mg kg-1, the extract also significantly reduced the volume of edema formed in the late phase and reduced the recruitment of leukocytes and neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity, as well as CXCL1 chemokine levels. It is suggested that the extract attenuates the leukocyte recruitment by inhibiting the CXCL1 activation. The peripheral antinociceptive activity occured through opioid pathway modulation because pretreatment with C. villosum ethanolic extract reversed the naltrexone-induced antinociception.

We compared plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels among asymptomatic/"indeterminate" Chagas disease patients (ASY) and patients across the clinical spectrum of chronic Chagas disease cardiomyopathy (CCC). Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients and normal controls (NC) were included as controls. ASY Chagas disease patients had significantly higher plasma TNF-alpha levels than NC. TNF-alpha levels among severe CCC patients with significant left ventricular (LV) dysfunction were similar to those of DCM patients, showing average 2-fold higher levels than CCC patients without LV dysfunction and ASY patients, and 8-fold higher levels than NC. In Chagas disease, chronic TNF-a production prior to heart failure may play a role in CCC progression.