Contribuição ao estudo fitoquímico da espécie hipoglicemiante Cissus verticillata (L.) Nicolson & C. E. Jarvis (insulina vegetal)

Abstract

Medicinal plants constitute an important therapeutic resource, which have a pharmacochemical potential for the treatment of various pathologies. Among these plants we can highlight the species Cissus verticillata (L.) Nicolson & C. E. Jarvis (vegetable insulin), from the Vitaceae family, widely used by folk medicine as a hypoglycemic agent, mainly for the treatment of type 2 Diabetes mellitus (DM). The present work aims to contribute to the phytochemical study of the leaves of this species cultivated in the Horto de Plantas Medicinais Professor Francisco José de Abreu Matos. Initially, a bibliographic survey was carried out, with emphasis on botanical aspects, phytochemical, including pre-clinical and clinical pharmacological studies of the species as a hypoglycemic agent. The aqueous and alcoholic extracts of the leaves were prepared to carry out the phytochemical prospection and to know the phytochemical profile of Cissus verticillata collected in that Horto and compare with the literature data with a view to the hypoglycemic activity. The presence of the following chemical classes was observed: alkaloids, anthraquinone, steroids, flavonoids, saponins and tannins (phenolic compounds), according to literature data. These data report the hypoglycemic action of the extracts of the species, also demonstrating the effectiveness of these chemical compounds, isolated, in the reducing activity of blood glucose levels, in preclinical pharmacological studies. Thus, it is important to highlight the presence of a phytotherapic complex responsible for the hypoglycemic action of the plant. The phase II clinical study, with the infusion of the leaves, did not present a significant hypoglycemic effect, requiring further studies to complete the scientific validation of Cissus verticillata as a hypoglycemic agent.