Análise química dos alcaloides de Erythrina velutina e avaliação toxicológica em modelo de zebrafish

Abstract

The use of natural products to treat diseases is an ancient custom in various cultures and peoples, and as knowledge deepens, more is discovered by science about the mechanism of action of active compounds. Plants of the genus Erythrina have been highlighted in research for their varied pharmacological activities, mainly related to the Central Nervous System, such as their anxiolytic and anticonvulsant action. Although several studies address the phytochemical analysis of these species, the standardization of this analysis for each species is very necessary, with a view to better directing the studies. The isolation of erythrin alkaloids can be used to verify the specificity and potency of their pharmacological properties; The methods for carrying out this procedure are varied, with emphasis on the application of chromatographic methods. However, the development of new drugs is hampered by the lack of models that respond to biological activities in a reliable and less expensive way. In this sense, zebrafish stand out, due to their size, transparency, easy handling and rapid development, in addition to their physiological similarity to mammals, including humans. For a better performance of these studies, establishing a safe dose is an important step, carrying out what has been called a toxicity test, where newly fertilized embryos are exposed to the compound or set of compounds under analysis for 96h, in serial concentrations. Therefore, this work aimed at chemical analysis by HPLC of the total fraction of alkaloids from E. velutina, with a view to determining its best collection time, as well as the toxic potential of this fraction in an in vivo study. This analysis found the month of October to be the most suitable for investigating the composition of the extracts, due to the number of qualifying chromatographic peaks presented, considering their areas. The toxicity test with leaf, flower, stem bark and root bark extracts yielded LC50 values of 187.9 ± 1.47 µg/mL; 358.4 ± 1.25 µg/mL; 338.3 ± 1.25 µg/mL, and; 233.1 ± 1.86 µg/mL, respectively. Additionally, considering the potential of erythrin alkaloids for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, an exploratory review of the application of the zebrafish model for screening natural products on this topic was carried out.