Evaluation of the osteogenic action and analysis of the chemical profile of the latex from mangabeira tree (Hancornia speciosa Gomes)

• Grant number: 12/15810-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Duarte Novaes
• Grantee: Juliana dos Santos Neves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba (FOP). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Hancornia speciosa Gomes, commonly known as "Mangabeira", is a Brazilian native fruit tree belonging to the Apocynaceae family. Its ripe fruit is the main consumed product; however, leaves, bark and the latex extracted from the mangabeira's trunk have been commonly employed for therapeutic purposes. Ethnobotanical surveys confirm the popular use of the milky juice of the fruit and the latex for the treatment of fungal diseases, tuberculosis, gastric ulcers and bone fractures; however, there are few studies in the scientific literature on the biological effects of the latex from Hancornia speciosa, one of which showed that it possesses anti-inflammatory activity. We have investigated the effect of Hancornia speciosa latex on rat calvarial bone and the results obtained so far reveal a potential of it to induce bone formation. It was found that after 3 days in contact with the latex, the periosteum responded becoming thicker, and 5 and 11 days after the injection there was a considerable layer of newly formed bone over the old bone of the rat calvaria. Due to the potential of Hancornia speciosa latex to induce bone formation, as observed in our preliminary experiments, this project aims to perform several in vitro experiments and analysis to elucidate the manner by which the latex exerts its osteogenic effect, as well as to analyze the chemical profile of the latex and bioactive fractions obtained from this.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NEVES, JULIANA DOS SANTOS; FRANCHIN, MARCELO; ROSALEN, PEDRO LUIZ; OMAR, NADIA FAYEZ; DOS SANTOS, MARIANA ALBUQUERQUE; RIZZATO PASCHOAL, JONAS AUGUSTO; NOVAES, PEDRO DUARTE. Evaluation of the osteogenic potential of Hancornia speciosa latex in rat calvaria and its phytochemical profile. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, v. 183, p. 151-158, MAY 13 2016. (13/09485-7, 12/15810-5)