Análise direcionada de lignanas em espécies do gênero Phyllanthus (quebra pedra)

Abstract

Stonebreaker is a medicinal plant commonly used in the treatment of urinary lithiasis, diabetes and hepatitis. Several species of the genus Phyllanthus are recognized in Brazil as stonebreaker such as: P. niruri, P. amarus, P. urinaria e P. tenellus. Lignans is a group of substances produced by Phyllanthus species that have several pharmacological properties. The goal of this study is to assess the differences in the production of lignans by Phyllanthus genus focusing on extracts standardization and therapeutic application. To that end, specimens from six species ‒ P. niruri, P. amarus, P. urinaria, P. tenellus, P. stipulatus e P. caroliniensis ‒ were collected from different locations in Brazil. To that end a GC-MS analytical method was developed, with which 99 samples of the Phyllanthus genus were analyzed. Phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin were quantified and the presence of other lignans were investigated. According to the experimental design the optimized method for GC-MS analysis employed DB-17ht collumn and 120 °C initial oven temperature, 6 °C/min heating rate and 2.0 mL/min carrier gas flow. This new unpublished method presents better resolution than any published methods. Only 27 samples had amounts of phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin over the limit of quantification. Other lignans such as lintetralin, urinaligran, filtetralin, nirtetralin, niranthin, dextrobursehernin, hinokinin, 5-demetoxiniranthin e urinatetralin were identified as well. A multivariate analysis correlating the amount of these lignans with abiotic factors, was performed. No correlation between the amount of lignans and environmental factors were found. P. amarus presented the higher amounts of lignans as well as the greater variability in their production. Therefore, it is suggested the establishment of a producing lineage rich in lignans to be used in the brazilian public health system (SUS).