Estudo da ação cardiovascular de extratos padronizados das folhas de Quassia amara L. (pau-amargo) coletadas em Manicoré, na Amazônia Ocidental

Abstract

Quassia amara L. (Simaroubaceae) is a pan american plant known as pau amargo and quassia. It is used in the folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension, malaria, and as insecticide and vermifuge. Several compounds were isolated from the plant leaves and barks as β-carbonile alkaloids, 6-cantin, steroids and quassinoids (neoquassin and quassin). In this work, the effects of the standardized extracts from Q. amara collected in Manicoré/AM were studied on the cardiovascular system of rodents. The aqueous extract (AE) was prepared from the dried leaves infusion and the butanolic fraction (BuF) was obtained from the AE partition in butanol. The BuF standardization and purification in HPLC isolated 6 fractions (F1 to F6). The AE oral administration (1.0 g/kg) did not produce evident signals of pharmacological activity in rats; BuF caused sedation, anesthesia and cyanosis after 1 h. Death was not observed after 24 h of the treatment. However, BuF (1.0 g/kg) intraperitoneal administration produced intense sedation, anesthesia and cyanosis after 1 h of the treatment; all animals died after 2 h. In anesthetized rats, BuF produced fast and transient hypotension, without altering the hypertensive effect of noradrenalin, or the hypotension induced by acetylcholine. The hypotension caused by BuF (10.0 mg/kg, e.v.) was unchanged by previous treatment with atropine or prazosin. The fractions responsible for the hypotensive effect were: F1, F3 and F6. All fractions were tested on intact endothelium- and denuded- aorta rings contracted by noradrenalin. F1, F3, F4, F5 and F6 fractions relaxed the endothelium intact aorta tonus, indicating a mechanism dependent on NO cascade. The chronotropic and inotropic effects of AE and BuF were also evaluated in isolated right and left rat atrium. Neither AE (30 to 300 μg/mL) nor BuF (10 to 100 μg/mL) alter the chronotropism, however, the force of contraction increased in a concentration dependent manner. BuF potentiated the diaphragm muscle contraction induced by direct and indirect electrical stimulation. BuF (1 to 300 μg/mL) inhibited the activity of the Ca2+-ATPase isolated from rabbit skeletal muscle; this enzyme inhibition may be related to the potentiation of the diaphragm contraction. In rat vas deferens preparations, BuF inhibited the maximal contraction induced by noradrenalin without affecting the drug affinity to the α1-adrenergic receptors. The purified fractions responsible for this effect were F1, F3, F4 e F5. BuF did not inhibit the calcium influx in cardiomyocytes and cultured rat uterus cells.