@article {2488, title = {Analgesic Effect of the Chloroformic Extract of Aniba canelilla {\textquotedblleft}canelon{\textquotedblright} Bark in BALB/c Mice}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {17}, year = {2025}, month = {April 2025}, pages = {231-235}, type = {Research Article}, chapter = {231}, abstract = {

Background. Some diseases can cause intense pain, where pharmacological treatment with opioid analgesics is necessary, as in cancer. Despite advances in cancer treatment, pain is still a common symptom. Treatment is usually based on the use of opioids, but there is still some rejection because of their adverse effects or because of the delay in access to them. To evaluate the analgesic effect of Aniba canelilla "canelon" bark in mice to validate the above and consider it an alternative to existing palliative treatment in cancer patients. Methodology. The analgesic effect was evaluated according to the method of Koster et al. using 50 BALB/c mice distributed in groups of 07 mice each. Comparison was made with the standards Tramadol 50 mg/kg and Paracetamol 500 mg/kg administered orally, and acetic acid 0.8\% was used intraperitoneally as a pain inducer. Results. The potent analgesic effect of the chloroformic extract of Aniba canelilla at 200mg/kg was observed, with an analgesic percentage of 98.87\% with a mean number of writhes of 28.29 {\textpm} 5.44, being statistically significant to the other treatments (p\<0.01). Conclusions The analgesic effect of the chloroformic extract of Aniba canelilla at 200mg/kg was determined.

}, keywords = {Analgesic, Aniba canelilla, Pain, Palliative}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2025.17.29}, author = {Jesus Rojas Jaimes and Juana E. Chavez-Flores and Jenny Estela Villalobos and Ashley Mantilla Aliaga and Roxana Miranda Sanchez and Zulema Suricachi Cerron} } @article {2556, title = {Proliferative effect of Dracontium spruceanum on Leishmania}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {17}, year = {2025}, month = {December 2025}, pages = {683-687}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {683}, abstract = {

Introduction: Leishmaniasis, transmitted by sandflies and caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, primarily presents in its cutaneous form. Difficulties in diagnosis and the adverse effects of conventional treatments have driven the search for alternatives, such as Dracontium spruceanum ("sacha jerg{\'o}n"), an Amazonian plant containing compounds with potential activity against Leishmania spp., whose efficacy still requires scientific validation. Objective: To determine the effect of the aqueous extract of Dracontium spruceanum against Leishmania. Methods: Detection of Leishmania (Viannia) spp. kDNA was performed by PCR using primers MP1-L and MP3-H, with LTB-300 (L. (V.) braziliensis) and DNAfree water as controls. Promastigotes were isolated from cutaneous lesion scrapings and cultured in biphasic medium, achieving differentiation into axenic amastigotes in Schneider medium, with pH 4.7 as the optimal condition for complete conversion. Plant material of Dracontium spruceanum collected in Ucayali (Peru) was processed to obtain an aqueous extract (100 mg/mL). The antiparasitic activity of the extract was evaluated by the MTT assay against promastigotes and amastigotes, using Glucantime as a positive control. Data obtained were analyzed by ANOVA, considering p-values \< 0.05 as significant. Results: In in vitro assays with Leishmania sp., administration of Glucantime (25 mg/mL) produced a significant decrease in cell viability of promastigotes (71\%) and axenic amastigotes (38\%) compared to the control group. Conversely, the aqueous extract of Dracontium spruceanum (8.33 mg/mL) caused a significant increase in promastigote (160\%) and amastigote (179\%) viability, indicating a stimulatory effect on parasite growth (p \< 0.05). Discussion and conclusion: The in vitro effect of the aqueous extract of Dracontium spruceanum on promastigotes and axenic amastigotes of Leishmania sp. was investigated. Unlike Glucantime, which significantly decreased parasite viability, the extract consistently promoted proliferation in both forms. This result, uncommon in medicinal plant studies, could be linked to the presence of ceramides and cerebrosides, compounds in the genus Dracontium previously associated with mitogenic activity. Additional dose-response studies and phytochemical analysis are needed to identify the active compounds and clarify their mechanism of action.

}, keywords = {Cell viability, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Dracontium spruceanum, Glucantime, Leishmania}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2025.17.85}, author = {Marco Mesia Guevara and Jesus Rojas Jaimes and Luis Casta{\~n}eda Pelaez} }