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This study investigated thein vitroand in silico biological properties of the methyl chavicol (MC) and its analogue 2-[(4-methoxyphenyl)methyl]oxirane (MPMO), emphasizing the antioxidant and antilipase effects. MPMO was synthesized from MC that reacted withmeta-chloroperbenzoic acid and, after separation and purification, was identified by1H and13C NMR and GC-MS. The antioxidant activity was investigated by DPPH, cooxidationβ-carotene/linoleic acid, and thiobarbituric acid assays. With the use of colorimetric determination, the antilipase effect on the pancreatic lipase was tested, while the molecular interaction profiles were evaluated by docking molecular study. MC (IC50 = 312.50 ± 2.28 μg/mL) and MPMO (IC50 = 8.29 ± 0.80 μg/mL) inhibited the DPPH free radical. The inhibition of lipid peroxidation (%) was 73.08 ± 4.79 and 36.16 ± 4.11 to MC and MPMO, respectively. The malonaldehyde content was significantly reduced in the presence of MC and MPMO. MC and MPMO inhibited the pancreatic lipase in 58.12 and 26.93%, respectively. MC and MPMO (−6.1 kcal·mol−1) produced a binding affinity value lower than did diundecylphosphatidylcholine (−5.6 kcal·mol−1). These findings show that MC and MPMO present antioxidant and antilipase activities, which may be promising molecular targets for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative damage and lipid metabolism.

Palicourea rigida Kunth is traditionally used for the treatment of skin diseases, kidney pains and ovarian inflammation. Based on these traditional uses, this study evaluated the topical anti-inflammatory activity of the ethanol extract from P. rigida leaves (EEPR) and identified bioactive compounds. Ear edema was induced in Swiss mice by the topical application of Croton oil, arachidonic acid, phenol and capsaicin. Histopathological analysis and myeloperoxidase and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase activities were determined. EEPR was characterized by UHPLC-UV-MS HPLC and the isolated compound was identified through 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance and mass fragmentation. Interaction profiles between quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucoside and cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 were established by molecular docking. EEPR significantly inhibited ear edema induced by Croton oil (p

Sesame oil is widely consumed as nutritious food, cooking oil, and in pharmaceuticals and food. In this study, the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of the sesame oil and sesamin were investigated. The sesame oil and sesamin reduced the number of abdominal contortions at the doses 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg. The first and second phases of the time paw licking were inhibited by sesame oil and sesamin (100, 200, or 400 mg/kg). After 90 min of treatment, sesame oil and sesamin increased the reaction time on a hot plate (200 or 400 mg/kg). Considering the tail-immersion assay, the sesame oil and sesamin produced significant effect after 60 min at the doses of 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg. After 4 h of application of the carrageenan, the sesame oil and sesamin were effective against the paw edema. The exudate volume and leucocyte migration were also reduced by sesame oil and sesamin. These results suggest that sesamin is one of the active compounds found in sesame oil and justify the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of this product.

The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of three dibenzylbutyrolactone lignans, (-)-hinokinin (2), (-)-6,6'-dinitrohinokinin (3), and (-)-6,6'-diaminohinokinin (4), obtained by partial synthesis from (-)-cubebin (1), were investigated using different animal models. It was observed that compounds (1) and (2) inhibited the edema formation in the rat paw edema assay at the same level and that all responses were dose dependent. Also, at the dose of 30 mg/kg, compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 inhibited the edema formation by 53%, 63%, 54%, and 82%, respectively, at the third hour of the experiment. In the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice, compounds 2 and 4 produced inhibition levels of 97% and 92%, respectively, while 3 displayed lower effect (75%), which was still higher than 1. The assayed compounds neither displayed activity in the cell migration test nor in the hot plate test.