Phytochemical profile and antiproliferative activity of human lymphocytes of Gomphrena virgata Mart. (Amaranthaceae)

Abstract

Gomphrena virgata Mart. popularly known as ‘Cangussu-branco’, is used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat inflammations and infections. This work aimed to carry out phytochemical analysis and evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of Gomphrena virgata. In the phytochemical investigation, in addition to the presence of two ecdysteroids, 20 R-dihydroxyecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone, identified by HPLC-PDA-MS and NMR, 22 compounds were identified by GC-MS. In the cytotoxicity study, the aqueous extract of the roots of this species did not show in vitro toxicity of PBMCs in the concentrations of 250, 500 and 1000 µg/mL when analyzed by the trypan blue exclusion method. Also, it was effective in reducing lymphocyte proliferation, stimulated with the mitogen PHA, by 26.02%, 48.57% and 50.49% when compared to dexamethasone, respectively. In this work we present information about the phytochemicals of G. virgata, showing that the species is promising in obtaining compounds with medicinal potential mainly anti-inflammatory potential.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Gomphrena virgata
• phytochemistry
• ecdysteroids
• cytotoxicity
• lymphocyte proliferation

Acknowledgments

The authors thanks the Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri for the scholarship awarded to Marinho, B.M., the Center for Research in Natural and Synthetic Products of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto from the University of São Paulo (FCFRP/USP), and the Laboratory of Natural and Synthetic Inputs from Federal University of São Paulo (LINS – UNIFESP) for supporting infrastructure to CG-MS and HPLC-PDA-MS analysis.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq No. 484316/2013-3) and Foundation for Research Support of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil (FAPEMIG, No. CDS-APQ-01626-13).