Abstract:
Aristolochia triangularis Cham., is one of the most frequently used medicinal plant in Southern
Brazil. Preparations containing the leaves and/or stems are traditionally used as anti-inflammatory,
diuretic, as well as antidote against snakebites. This study screened A. triangularis extracts, fractions
and isolated compounds for different bioactivities. A weak antiproliferative activity against human lung
cancer cell line (A549) was observed only for chloroform fraction obtained from stems (CFstems - CC50:
2.93 µg/mL). Also, a moderate antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus was detected just for
chloroform fraction obtained from leaves (CFleaves -13-16 mm inhibition zone). Additionally, two semipurified fractions (CFstems-4 and CFleaves-4) selectively inhibited HSV-1 replication (IC50 values of 0.40 and
2.61 µg/mL, respectively), while only CFleaves showed promising results against Leishmania amazonensis.
Fractionation of extracts resulted in the isolation of one neolignan (-) cubebin and one lignan (+) galbacin.
However, these compounds are not responsible for the in vitro bioactivities herein detected. The presence
of aristolochic acid I and aristolochic acid II in the crude ethanol extract of stems (CEEstems) and leaves
(CEEleaves) was also investigated. The HPLC analysis of these extracts did not display any peak with
retention time or UV spectra comparable to aristolochic acids I and II.
