In this study was evaluated the influence of the extraction factors on the extract’s properties to improve the recovery of high concentrations of the phytochemicals important for the biological activities from pods of Libidibia ferrea (Mart. ex Tul.) L. P. Queiroz. The extracts were obtained by turbo-extraction and a factorial design 32 was used to study the importance of the drug amount (5, 10 or 15 g) and the solvent (Ethanol 40, 60 or 80%, v/v) on the variables of response, and the optimization was performed by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Desirability profile. Mathematical models were fitted according to experimental data and the validated equations were used to generate RSM for each dependent variable (dry residue; total polyphenol content; content of gallic acid and ellagic acid; and, efficiency of extraction). The factors studied within the applied experimental field presented different influence profiles for the responses, and significant interactions between linear and quadratic terms. The statistical analysis showed high R2 > 0.99. The RSM and Desirability (> 0.95) allowed to show that the optimum conditions to produce extractive solutions of Libidibia ferrea with high efficiency for ellagic acid and gallic acid were 15 g and ethanol 40%.

Acanthospermum hispidum DC., Asteraceae, is widely used in folk medicine in Brazil to treat respiratory diseases; this biological property has been attributed to its phytosterol content. This study evaluated the spectrophotometric assay method to quantify the total phytosterol content in raw materials and extracts from roots of A. hispidum. The procedure was based on the quantification at 625 nm after the Liebermann-Burchard reaction. The method was evaluated for linearity, repeatability, intermediate precision, accuracy and robustness. The date indicated that the procedure is a valid analytical tool for materials and herbal derivatives from A. hispidum.

Erythrina velutina Willd., Fabaceae, known as "mulungu", is a tree of tropical regions, as northeastern Brazil. Its bark is used in folk medicine as tranquilizer, sedative and insomnia. This study aimed to characterize the stem and leaf anatomy and to provide subsidies to quality control of the plant drug due to its wide use in folk medicine as well as its differentiation from other species with the same popular name. Samples were collected at Cuité, in Paraíba State, Brazil, fixed in FAA50, semipermanent slides were made, following usual procedures in plant anatomy. The stem shows a cylindrical contour, covered by a uniseriate epidermis covered by a thickened cuticle. It shows claviform glandular and branched trichomes with uniseriate stalk. Secretory cavities are into the phloem. The leaf epidermis has branched and glandular trichomes and anisocytic and paracytic stomata, on both sides, with predominance of branched trichomes and stomata on abaxial surface. Secretory cavities in stem and leaf, types of trichomes and stomata, its location and distribution constitute diagnostic characters for this specie. The structural characterization of the stem and leaf allows its distinction from other ones of this genus, ensuring safety for commercial pharmacological uses, allowing certification of the authenticity of raw material.

Phyllanthus niruri L., Euphorbiaceae, spray-dried standardized extract was studied for its anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities in adult albino rats and mice. The anti-inflammatory effect of spray-dried standardized extract was observed in carrageenan-induced paw edema and thioglycolate-induced leukocyte migration, while antinociceptive effects were observed using Randall & Selitto, tail flick, and hot plate tests. This study showed that intraperitoneal spray-dried standardized extract at 100, 200, 800, or 1600 mg/kg reduced the vascular response in the inflammatory process of paw edema induced by 1% carrageenan. Oral spray-dried standardized extract at 100 or 200 mg/kg inhibited leukocyte migration to the site of inflammation induced by 3% thioglycolate. In rats, at 100 and 200 mg/kg intraperitoneally, the extract exhibited a marked peripheral analgesic effect in a Randall & Selitto assay and showed significant central analgesic activity in a hot plate and tail flick assay. In conclusion, this study suggested that Phyllanthus niruri spray-dried standardized extract has potent inflammatory and antinociceptive activities and that these activities are not modified by standard drying process, making it feasible to use the dry extract standardized to obtain a phytotherapic preparation and thus validating its use for the treatment of pain and inflammation disorders.

Spectrophotometric determinations (direct dilution or after acid hydrolysis) of flavonoid content in leaves of Bauhinia forficata Link, Fabaceae, from two different regions from Brazil were compared with contents of kaempferitrin quantified by HPLC analysis. The absence of kaempferitrin peak in one sample denotes the risk of LC-method failure. On the other hand, the both spectrophotometric assays showed satisfactory performance and do not underwent influence from absence of kaempferitrin. Since several flavonoids are present in the herbal material, different content of flavonoids were observed for each analytical procedure. However, a strong positive association could be detected among methods (R²>0.99). Although a conversion factor should be adopted to compare procedures, the data showed that the spectrophotometric methods remain as an important tool for analysis of complex matrices such herbal drugs, notably when there aren't any pharmacological or chemical marker established for the species. Moreover, it's possible to suggest that the techniques studied in this work exhibit similar performance under the conditions employed. Nevertheless, before the adoption of kaempferitrin as an analytical marker by HPLC for Bauhinia species, the pharmacological knowledge should be better developed. In this cases, the use of spectrophotometric assay provide higher assurance of the reproducibility of the efficacy and safety.

Due to its folk use, scientific reports and phytochemical screening, the purpose of this work was to study the phytochemical and the biological properties of the methanol extract and to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity as well as determine the acute toxicity, antitumor and cytotoxic activity of the root barks of Guettarda platypoda DC., Rubiaceae. In this analysis the presence of flavonoids and therpenoids were identified. These data and the ones in the literature indicated it as a potential antioxidant and motivated the cytotoxic analysis related with three tumoral cell strains as well as to evaluate its antitumoral activity (sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich carcinoma) in female mice. Due to the presence of esteroids and the previous study of the ethanolic extract, its anti-inflammatory activity and toxicity were also evaluated. Absence or low toxicity in 2000 mg/kg doses was verified and the attention to their phytochemical and pharmacological properties is constantly increasing.