Estudo da atividade anti-inflamatória e toxicológica em extratos de corais do gênero Tubastraea

Abstract

The marine environment is one of the most diverse and complex ecosystems in terms of biodiversity. The conditions of chemical, physical and biological environment enables the production of a variety of substances by the biota, transforming the marine natural products resources on a promising research for new bioactive compounds. The genus Tubastraea (Scleractinia, Dendrophylliidae) includes ahermatypic corals that produce bioactive secondary compounds in competitive situations. In the state of Rio de Janeiro are found two invasive species of this genus, Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis. The first is widely distributed in the tropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, and the second is native to the eastern Pacific, both are invasive in the South Atlantic. This study is focused on the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and toxicological evaluation of methanol extracts of T. coccinea and T. tagusensis. Tubastraea colonies were collected in the Ilha Grande Bay, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil and extracted with methanol. Chemical characterization was performed by spectroscopies ultraviolet, visible and infrared. Anti-inflammatory properties were assessed by in vivo carrageenan-induced mouse paw oedema. Radical scavenging was evaluated by DPPH method. In toxicological evaluation Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay, in the presence and absence of exogenous metabolic activation, the in vitro mammalian cell micronucleus test and mortality test to brine shrimp Artemia salina were performed. Distinct chemical groups in extracts were found, with the results being corroborated with the literature. The extracts from both species showed significant inhibition of paw oedema at the doses tested, in relation to the vehicle. Both extracts showed DPPH radicals scavenger capacity. Cytotoxic and mutagenic activities in the absence of exogenous metabolism were not observed for TA97, TA98 and TA102 strains by both species. T. coccinea extract induced cytotoxicity in TA100 at 50 μg/placa. Both extracts induced cytotoxicity in the presence of exogenous metabolism for TA98 strain, and was also detected induction of mutagenicity by T. coccinea extract. The extracts were unable to induce micronucleus formation and were not toxic to the brine shrimp assay. The inhibitory response of carrageenan-induced mouse paw oedema after two hours indicates that the compounds present in the extracts act on the second stage of inflammation, possibly by inhibiting prostaglandin production. The results suggest that the extracts of the species T. coccinea and T. tagusensis contain pharmacological substances with potential use as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.