Recent Trends in Pharmacological Activity of Alkaloids in Animal Colitis: Potential Use for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:8528210. doi: 10.1155/2017/8528210. Epub 2017 Jan 9.

Alves de Almeida AC1, de-Faria FM1, Dunder RJ2, Manzo LP1, Souza-Brito AR1, Luiz-Ferreira A3.

Author information

1

Institute of Biology, Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.

2

Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.

3

Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Catalão, GO, Brazil.

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and disrupted inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. IBD have two main conditions, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and have been extensively investigated in recent years. Antibiotics derived from salicylates, steroids, immunosuppressors, and anti-TNF therapy are part of the therapeutic arsenal for IBD. However, very often patients stop responding to treatments over the time. In this context, searching for alternative agents is crucial for IBD clinical management. Natural products derived from medicinal plants are an interesting therapeutic alternative, since several studies have proven effective treatments in animal models of intestinal inflammation. Several naturally occurring compounds are potent antioxidants, both as free radical scavengers and as modulators of antioxidant enzymes expression and activity. A number of natural compounds have also been proved to inhibit the release of proinflammatory cytokines, decreasing the activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), which is important to the inflammatory response in IBD. The alkaloids are substances of a very diverse class of plant secondary metabolites; an extensive list of biological activities has been attributed to alkaloids, such as being anticholinergic, antitumor, diuretic, antiviral, antihypertensive, antiulcer, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory. In the present work, studies on the pharmacological activity of alkaloids in experimental models of IBD were reviewed.

PMID:

 

28191024

 

PMCID:

 

PMC5278565

 

DOI:

 

10.1155/2017/8528210

Free PMC Article