| dc.description.abstract | Quina is the name originally assigned to Cinchona species, native to Peru and are producing the antimalarial quinine alkaloid. Currently, besides the use for the preparation of drugs, quinine is used as bitter ingredient in tonic waters and other snacks. In Brazil, other native bitter species are also known as quina, and were used as substitutes for Cinchonas as bitter/tonic and to treat fever and malaria. The aim ofthis study was to know the species of native bitter quinas of Brazil and assess their potential antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic. The first step was to survey the historical bibliography. The studies were started from thorough review in travel manuscripts and diaries of Brazilian and European naturalists who described the flora in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They have also been raised about the bitter quinas used in the XX and XXI. Six species were selected for chemical studies:Baccharis trimera (Asteraceae), Esenbeckia febrifuga (Rutaceae), Hortia brasiliana (Rutaceae), Polyouratea hexasperma (Ochnaceae), Remijia ferruginea (Rubiaceae) and Strychnos pseudoquina (Loganiaceae). For each plant, the bitterness index was determined and the presence and content of bitter substances, by means of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. B. trimera and S. pseudoquina showed high level of bitterness and the presence of important bioactive substances,especially flavonoids. The two species mentioned and R. ferruginea were selected for biological studies. The historical survey showed the existence of 29 species of native quinas of Brazil discovered and used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a bitter tonic. In the twentieth century, 47 bitter quinas have been described in the literature, 21 used specifically to treat digestive disorders. Currently, only Bathysa australis, Drimys brasiliensis and S. pseudoquina are cited as quinas and used as a tonic/digestive. The results show a profound change in the popular names and traditional uses of plants. S. Pseudoquina and B. trimera showed greater bitterness, despite all the species being bitter bioactive substances. B. trimera showed high toxicity in vitro, limiting its use in the preparation of commercial products of continuous use. In in vivo tests, groups of animals who received hypercaloric diet supplemented with extracts prepared with B. trimera (50, 100 and 200mg/kg) and S. pseudoquina (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) and 200 mg/kg of R. ferruginea showed a very significant reduction in glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels. The set of results shows that the peel S. pseudoquina bioactive showed the highest potential and together with B. trimera, R. ferruginea contribute to the further development of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals for use in appetite or other digestive disorders, as well bitter additives and dietary supplements. | |
