Antinociceptive activity of Quillaja saponaria Mol. saponin extract, quillaic acid and derivatives in mice.

Sylvia Arrau, Carla Delporte, Carlos Cartagena, Maité Rodríguez-Díaz, Patricia González, Ximena Silva, Bruce K Cassels, Hugo F Miranda

Department of Pharmacological and Toxicological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Journal of ethnopharmacology 2011 Jan 7

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Quillaja saponaria bark contains a high percentage of triterpene saponins and has been used for centuries as a cleansing and analgesic agent in Chilean folk medicine. The topical and systemic analgesic effects of a commercial partially purified saponin extract, 3β,16α-dihydroxy-23-oxoolean-12-en-28-oic acid (quillaic acid), methyl 3β,16α-dihydroxy-23-oxoolean-12-en-28-oate and methyl 4-nor-3,16-dioxoolean-12-en-28-oate. The samples were assessed in mice using the topical tail-flick and i.p. hot-plate tests, respectively. All the samples showed activity in both analgesic tests in a dose-dependent manner. The most active against tail flick test was commercial partially purified saponin extract (EC50 27.9 mg%, w/v) and more than the ibuprofen sodium. On hot-plate test, methyl 4-nor-3, 16-dioxoolean-12-en-28-oate was the most active (ED50 12.2 mg/kg) and more than the ibuprofen sodium. The results of the present study demonstrated that Quillaja saponaria saponins, quillaic acid, its methyl ester, and one of the oxidized derivatives of the latter, elicit dose-dependent antinociceptive effects in two murine thermal models. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Sylvia Arrau, Carla Delporte, Carlos Cartagena, Maité Rodríguez-Díaz, Patricia González, Ximena Silva, Bruce K Cassels, Hugo F Miranda. Antinociceptive activity of Quillaja saponaria Mol. saponin extract, quillaic acid and derivatives in mice. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 2011 Jan 7;133(1):164-7