Review Article

Medicinal Plants from Brazilian Cerrado: Antioxidant and Anticancer Potential and Protection against Chemotherapy Toxicity

Table 1

Biological activities, botanical features, and geographical distribution of plants from Brazilian Cerrado.

NameFamilyBiological activitiesBotanical featuresGeographical distribution

Stryphnodendron adstringens Mart. CovilleFabaceaeThe roots and stem bark extract (h) have wound healing [23, 24], anti-inflammatory (w) [25], antigastric ulcer (e) [26], and antidiabetic (e) [27] effects, and fractions from stem bark extract have antimicrobial activity against Cryptococcus neoformans (aw-F/etacF) [28], Candida albicans (aw-F/etacF) [29, 30], herpes virus (etacF) [31], and gram-positive bacteria (e, h, and b) [32].Trees in this genus are medium-sized, the trunk does not have ramifications, and the stem usually has a rusty, coarse, and rust-colored bark. Species can be differentiated by their leaf structure; S. adstringens has 5–7 pairs of leaflets in an opposite sense with 5–6 pairs of second-order leaflets alternately inserted, different from other species [33].Distribution of gender is limited to the area between Nicaragua and the southern regions of Brazil. S. adstringens more specifically is distributed in Brazilian states: Tocantins, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Paraná [33].

Campomanesia adamantium O. BergMyrtaceaeThe peel extract (e : w–70/30%) was found to have antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory effects [34]; the seed extract (w) has an antinociceptive effect [35, 36]; the peel extract (e : w–70/30%) has antidiarrhoeal activity [37]; and the leaf extract (w) has hypolipidaemic [38] effects.They are shrubs with elliptical branches, growing from 1.5 m to 3 m in height with a disorganized crown. The trunk is tortuous and branched from the base with yellowish bark. The leaves are simple, opposing, oblong (longer than broad), and glabrescent (with almost no hair on the mature leaf), and the dimensions of the leaf range are from 4.5 to 6.8 cm in length by 1.5 to 2.3 cm wide [39].Endemic distribution in some Brazilian states such as Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Santa Catarina and arriving in some adjacent regions in Argentina and Paraguay [39].

Hancornia speciosa GomesApocynaceaeThe bark extract has antidiabetic, antiobesity, antimicrobial, and gastroprotective activities (he) [40]; the latex has anti-inflammatory activity [41]; and the leaf extract (e) was found to have antihypertensive [42], vasodilatory (e) [43, 44], and antidiabetic (e) [45] activities.H. speciosa is a tree that has a medium-sized (2-10 m), tortuous, and rough trunk. The leaves are simple, alternating, and opposite and varied in shapes and sizes. The flowers are white and have an elongated shape. The small fruit has a shape similar to that of the pear [46].Widely distributed throughout the Brazilian territory and described in other countries such as Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela [46].

Schinus terebinthifolius RaddiAnacardiaceaeThe leaf extract (e) has antidiabetic activity [47]. The leaf extracts (me) can treat neuropathic pain [48] and have antihypertensive (meF) [49] and antiarthritis (he) [50] effects. The essential oil from twigs and leaf extract (c : m) showed activity against Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus agalactiae [51], and the essential oil from leaves (e) has anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects [52]. Isolated endophytic fungi showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa [53]. The stem bark extract has activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (he and mef) [54]; the bark extract has activity against the Candida genus (a) [55]; and the leaves and fruits extracts (e) have activity against Escherichia coli [56].S. terebinthifolius is a tree that is almost 8 m in height, and the diameter of the trunk can reach up to 60 cm. The leaves are composite by leaflets measuring 3 to 5 cm, and the plant has small flowers in a pyramidal structure and red fruits [57].More frequently seen along the Brazilian coast from the north to the south and found in other regions such as Mato Grosso do Sul and Minas Gerais. It probably covers most of South America and was largely introduced in other countries, including the United States, as ornamental plants [57].

Jacaranda decurrens subsp. symmetrifoliolata Farias & ProencaBignoniaceaeThe leaf extract (he) is described to have antiobesity, hypocholesterolemic, and hypolipidaemic [58] activities and the roots (he) has anti-inflammatory [59] activity.The species measures 50-150 cm. Its leaf is biped, with leaflets elliptical to oblong, and its fruit is an oblong-obovate capsule, extremely woody, brown, and glabrous with a nonwavy margin in the dehiscence [60].This is an endemic species of the southern State of Mato Grosso [60].

Guazuma ulmifolia Lam.MalvaceaeThe stem bark and leaf extracts (w) have antidiabetic potential [61]. The stem bark extract (a) has hypotensive, vasorelaxant [62], and gastroprotective [63, 64] effects.The leaves of G. ulmifolia display as an ovoid structure; the flowers have long filiform appendages; and the black fruits have a capsular form of two to three centimeters [65].G. ulmifolia is a tree that is distributed from Mexico to Brazil [65].

Legend. Solvent: e: ethanol; h: hexane; w: water; a: acetate; m: methanol; e : w: ethanol : water; h : e: hydro : ethanol; c : m: chloroform : methanol. Fraction: aw-F: acetate water; etacF: ethyl acetate fraction; meF: methanol fraction.