PHCOG MAG.: Research Article Antiulcer and antimicrobial activities of Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart.

ABSTRACT The ethanolic extract of Stryphnodendron rotundifolium stem bark (EESR) was investigated for therapeutic properties using ethanol-induced ulceration in mice. Antimicrobial and preliminary phytochemical screening of the extract was also investigated. The extract (200-400 mg/kg p.o.) dose dependently reduced ethanol (0.2 mL/animal p.o.) - induced ulceration in mice. EESR showed antimicrobial activity against five bacterial species (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexineri, Staphylococcus epidermidis) but not against the fungi Aspergillus niger . The above results show that Stryphnodendron rotundifolium bark probably contains some active ingredients that could be developed for health problems as have been claimed by traditional popular use. KEY WORDS. Stryphnodendron rotundifolium ; ethanolic extract; antiulcer; antimicrobial activity. INTRODUCTION Plants are potent biochemists and have been components of phytomedicine since times immemorial (1). The beneficial medicinal effects of plant materials typically result from the combinations of secondary products present in the plant. The medicinal actions of plants are unique to particular plant species or groups are consistent with this concept as the combination of secondary products in a particular plant is taxonomically distinct (2). The genus Stryphnodendron Mart., family Leguminosae, includes about 48 species, all native to central savannas of Brazil, including Stryphnodendron obovatum Benth. (3). The stem bark of several species of Stryphnodendron, which contains about 20% tannins, is used by the local population for wound healing and treatment of leukorrhea and diarrhoea (4). Tannin-rich plants are used in folk medicine because of their antimicrobial properties, and act as scavengers of free radicals (4). Stryphnodendron rotundifoloium (Leguminoseae) popularly know as “Barbatimao” is a typical tree of Cariri Region, Ceara State, Brazil (5). Phytochemical analysis of the ethanol extract of stem bark of “barbatimao” allowed the identification and isolation of tannins and flavonoids. Their barks have been used in folk medicine as cicatrizant and for that reason your biological activity probably can be attributed to the high content of tannins (c.a. 40%) (6,7). In view of the popular use of extracts of Stryphnodendron rotundifoloium, the present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the ethanolic extract of "barbatimao" stem bark (EESR) on ethanol-induced gastric ulcers and its antimicrobial activity. MATERIAL AND METHODS Plant material. Plant material of S. rotundifolium was collected in September 2005, in line D of the National Forest Araripe, Crato, Ceara State, Brazil. A voucher specimen (# 33621) is deposited at the Herbarium Prisco Bezerra, Universidade Federal do Ceara. Ethanolic bark extract. Dried and powdered stem bark of S. rotundifolium (1.7 Kg) was exhaustively extracted with EtOH at room temperature. The EtOH stem bark extract was dried under reduced pressure to yield (183 g). Animals . Experiments were performed in male Swiss mice (20 – 25 g) obtained from the Central Animal House of this University. They were housed at 22 ± 2