Anacardium occidentale
Verônica S. Lopes1,2*, Zélia M.S. Assis1, Vanusia S. Galdino1,
Iaperi S. Araújo1, Carlos L. Camacho3, Dámaso P. Chacon3,
Tereza N.C. Dantas2 and Maria Aparecida M. Maciel2**
1Maternidade Escola Januário Cicco (MEJC),
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário,
59012-300, Natal, RN, Brazil
2Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte,
Campus Universitário, 59078-970, Natal, RN, Brazil
3Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes (HUOL),
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário,
59012-300, Natal, RN, Brazil
ABSTRACT
This study has the aim of identifying clinical action of antiinflammatory, analgesic and cicatrizing effects of an aqueous extract obtained from the steam bark of Anacardium occidentale (AE). Clinical evaluation of AE was performed to 1384 patients infected with skin (SL, caused by injury or disease) or mucous membrane lesions (MML, aphta, vulva erosion, uterus inflammation and body ulceration). The assisted patients were randomly separated in two groups, e.g. A (GA with 834 adult persons) and B (GB with 550 adult persons, corresponding to a control group receiving allopathic medication) and were attended at the Maternidade Escola Januário Cicco (MEJC) and Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes (HUOL) medical centers. AE was administered in two different formulations DF and EF [aqueous diluted AE formulation (DF) and emulsified-AE, in which 1 per cent of AE, 3.5 per cent of stearic acid, 2.5 per cent of monostearoyl glycerol, 0.5 per cent of tryethanolamine and 92.5 per cent of distilled water, corresponding to EF-formulation] and then prescribed to GA to treat and cure SL and MML. In the treatment of aphta the aqueous extract AE (in the DF-formulation) was prescribed twice or tree times/day (during a period of tree days). Meanwhile, EF-formulation indicated in the treatment of vulva erosion uterus inflammations (in dose of 2 g/day). The whole period of treatment ranged from 2 to 60 days, depending of each inflammation process. Several GA-patients showed scarification in their MML, which improve the cicatrizing process. The safe use of AE was proved by the reductions of the characteristic lesions symptoms growing to the total lesions cure, without any single registration of side effects or adverse reactions.
Keywords:Anacardium occidentale, Aqueous extract, Cicatrizing effects, Clinical evaluation.
Introduction
It seems paradoxical that, at a time when modern scientific medicine appears to be making such giant strides and enjoying unparalleled prestige, so much interest should be taken in traditional medicine, in both developed and developing countries (Bannerman, 1982). This statement is valid when one considers Anacardium occidentale a tropical specimen largely used in the Brazilian traditional health care. Generally, medicinal plants had long been used around the world without any medical recommendation or control. A Brazilian typical example could be cited for the street market called Ver-o-peso in Belém (capital of Pará State), which is part of the centuries-old folk medicine culture of Brazilian Amazon region. According to Prance (1992), Van Den Berg correlated 1,200 different medicinal Amazonian plants available for sale at Ver-o-peso representing the strong cultural Amazon belief. Moreover, in other regions of Brazil the use of extracts from Brazilian medicinal plants in the treatment of human disease is a common practice, which has increased greatly in recent years. However, many vegetal extracts are used by Brazilian people without knowledge of the side effects they can have upon their health.
Concerning to Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiacea) popularly known as ’cajueiro’ (cashew), which occurs widely in all parts of Brazil and has a history of safe use in folk medicine, its leaves, stem bark, and nut/seed are largely used in the northeast region. Anacardium occidentale stem bark has popular indication to treat diabetes, diarrhoea, stomachache, and inflammation (Mota, 1985). Actually, this plant is extensively cultivated in India and east Africa. Additionally, has worldwide pharmacological uses, e.g., cytotoxic (Africa, Mexico, Turkey and Guatemala) and tattoo (Africa), against caries, toothache, wart, stomach, diabetes and sore (Haiti, Venezuela, Turkey, Mexico, Malaya). Anacardium occidentale ethnobotanical importance consisting in treatment of several diseases such as hypertension, inflammatory diseases, asthmas, and bronchitis, gastric (peptic ulcers) and intestinal disturbances (Corrêa, 1984).
Previously pharmacological results obtained with the anacardic acid isolated from this species, showed antiinflammatory, antibacterial and febrifuge action (Eichbaum, 1949), been the antiinflammatory activity correlated to Anacardium occidentale methanolic and ethanolic extracts, and also to the tannin constituents isolated from those extracts (Akinpelu, 2000, Mota et al., 1985). Its action against leishmania was also published (FranCa, 1993). The stem-bark is astringent because it is rich in tannin, then the possible validity of the popular indication as healing. In fact, previously studies conducted by Mota et al. (1985) have demonstrated that tannins isolated from the stem-bark of Anacardium occidentale possess analgesic and antiinflammatory effects. This antiinflammatory activity of the plant’s stem-bark have been recently described, in two different models of inflammation, it reduced the rat paw oedema induced by fresh egg albumin (Ojewole, 2004) and produced inhibition in the leakage of dye in the mouse skin after subcutaneous injection of LPS (Olajide et al., 2004).
In this work an aqueous extract obtained from stem bark of Anacardium occidentale (AE) was prescribed in both diluted (DF) and emulsion (EF) formulations, to a large amount of patients located at Rio Grande do Norte, a northeast State of Brazil. The present study has benefited from the involvement of chemistry, pharmacology and medical professionals, and summarizes clinical action of antiinflammatory, analgesic and cicatrizing effects.
Materials and Methods
Plant Material
Plant material was collected in January, May and September during all period of the present search (northeast of Brazil) and were identified by Maria Iracema Bezerra Loiola. A voucher specimen has been deposited in Herbarium of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Natal, Brazil) and a voucher specimen (number 1782) has been deposited in Herbarium of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Natal, Brazil).
Phytochemical Approach
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
