Efeitos do extrato hidroalcoólico da folha de Davilla elliptica (Dilleniaceae) A. St.-Hil sobre parâmetros metabólicos de camundongos obesos induzidos por dieta

Abstract

Obesity is a disease characterized by excessive accumulation of body fat caused by the imbalance between consumption and energy expenditure. The use of medicinal plants for the treatment, cure and prevention of diseases is one of the oldest forms of medicinal practice used by mankind. Cumulative evidence reveals the traditional use of Davilla elliptica as a tonic, laxative and diuretic astringent. This species exhibits a wide range of secondary metabolism substances such as flavonoids, saponins, steroids, tannins, coumarins and triterpenoids - described for their anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and gastroprotective effects. In this perspective, in the first chapter, of this dissertation, we present a narrative review on D. elliptica, and their pharmacological aspects. Next, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of D. elliptica leaf hydroalcoholic extract on metabolic parameters of diet-induced obese mice. To this end, eight groups of SWISS mice were used in the experiment: control (standard diet); standard diet + EA (ethyl acetate fraction); standard diet + HE (hydroalcoholic extract of D. elliptica leaves); standard diet + PL (leaf powder) (0.26 mg/kg/body weight); control (high fat- diet); high fat- diet + EA; high fat- diet + HE; and high fat- diet + PL (0.26 mg/kg/body weight). The animals were treated for a period of four weeks. During the treatment, body weight and food intake were evaluated. At the end of treatment, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity tests were performed to assess glycemic metabolism. The animals were then sacrificed by guillotine decapitation and blood samples were collected for biochemical analyzes of glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol. The study was approved by the Committee of Ethics and Experimental Research of the State University of Montes Claros. The results were described in two articles. The first showed the therapeutic effects and biological properties of D. elliptica. In the article search strategy, the term "Davilla elliptica" was used as descriptor, and literature sources consisted of articles, congress proceedings, books, theses and dissertations. In the second article, the main findings showed a reduction of adiposity and body weight in animals fed a high fat- diet, and animals fed a standard diet showed improvements in biochemical parameters. This is the first study to investigate the role of D. elliptica on the metabolic parameters of obesity. Future analyzes will be carried out to investigate by which mechanisms and signaling pathways D. elliptica acts on obesity.