Peperomia pellucida

Generic name: Peperomia Pellucida L. HBK.
Brand names: Coracaozinho, Erva-de-jaboti, Erva-de-jabuti, Erva-de-vidro, Lingua De Sapo, Shiny Bush, Silver Bush

Usage of Peperomia pellucida

Reviews of P. pellucida document in vitro and animal data on the anti-inflammatory, chemotherapeutic, and analgesic properties found in the crude extracts.

Anti-inflammatory activity

Animal data

One study reported that anti-inflammatory activity may vary depending on the plant's development phases. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by using the rat paw edema test induced by carrageenan. Eight Wistar rats received oral indomethacin 10 mg/kg as a control; another group of rats received P. pellucida aqueous extract 400 mg/kg for all 4 distinct phenophases 1 hour before subplantar injection of 1% carrageenan 0.1 mL/paw. Although indomethacin was more effective, greater anti-inflammatory action was documented with extracts from phenophase 1 and 2 during winter and spring, or vegetative and beginning-of-bloom stages, respectively. In a similar experiment, rats orally administered P. pellucida aqueous extract 200 and 400 mg/kg exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in the carrageenin test. The mechanism of action is associated with prostaglandin synthesis interference, as confirmed by results of an arachidonic acid-induced rat paw edema study.(Arrigoni-Blank 2002, de Fatima 2004)

Clinical data

Research reveals no clinical data regarding the use of P. pellucida as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Analgesic activity

Animal data

Most studies assessed analgesic activity by the abdominal writhing test using acetic acid or by the hot-plate test. The results suggest that the analgesic effect of P. pellucida is related to the mechanism of action associated with prostaglandin synthesis. In mice subjected to the acetic acid-induced writhing test, a P. pellucida extract exhibited analgesic activity at 400 mg/kg, inhibiting pain by 50% compared with controls. The same test, when repeated in another study, attained higher inhibition percentages (78%) when a methanolic extract of P. pellucida 210 mg/kg was used. The difference in results may be associated with use of different extracts, climatic conditions, and plant origin. An analgesic effect was observed in the hot-plate test at lower concentrations of 100 and 200 mg/kg, which may indicate extract activity against inflammatory and noninflammatory pain.(Aziba 2001, de Fatima 2004)

Clinical data

Research reveals no clinical data regarding the use of P. pellucida as an analgesic agent.

Antimicrobial activity

In vitro data

Crude methanolic extracts of P. pellucida had broad spectrum antimicrobial activity using the disk diffusion method. The fractions were more active than the crude extracts.(Muñoz 2000) Other studies document similar results for activity against numerous species, including Bacillus subtilis, EscheriChia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Listeria ivanovii, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus uberis, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus.(Bojo 1994, Lee 2016, Okoh 2017)

Chloroform extracts from dried leaves of P. pellucida, particularly apiol and pachypophyllin, have antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes.(Ragasa 1998)

A whole plant extract inhibited growth of the Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum Indo strain by 95% in vitro at 100 mg/mL, and the rodent malaria Plasmodium vinckei petteri by 78% in vivo at 1,000 mg/kg. Monoterpenoid derivatives from the plant species Peperomia galioides have toxic activity against promastigote forms of Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania donovani, and Leishmania amazonensis at a concentration of 25 mcg/mL and cause total lysis of the parasites at 100 mcg/mL.(Chan-Bacab 2001, Muñoz 2000)

Clinical data

Research reveals no clinical data regarding the use of P. pellucida for antimicrobial activity.

Other uses

Cytotoxicity was observed in crude extracts from P. pellucida against the cancer cell lines HL-60, MCF-7, and HeLa.(Xu 2006)

A study in rodents demonstrated bone healing, suggested to be due to stimulatory effects on osteoblast differentiation and mineralization.(Florence 2017, Ngueguim 2013)

Gastroprotective activity of extracts from P. pellucida has been reported in rodents.(Rojas-Martínez 2013)

Estrogenic activity has been identified in a phenylpropanoid and lignan compounds isolated from an ethyl acetate extract of P. pellucida. Effects varied from full to partial agonist activity that tended to be dose-dependent. Additionally, 2 of the compounds demonstrated anti-estrogenic effects. No significant cytotoxicity was observed at concentrations of 0.1 to 10 mcg/mL.(Kartika 2020)

In vitro studies have demonstrated antioxidant effects of P. pellucida stem and leaf essential oils in a concentration-dependent manner but in different manners against different oxidants. Each essential oil performed comparably or better than control antioxidants (ie, vitamin C, beta-carotene) in various tests.(Okoh 2017)

Peperomia pellucida side effects

The plant has a strong mustard-like odor and may cause asthma-like symptoms in patients with known hypersensitivity reactions to the plant species.

Before taking Peperomia pellucida

Information regarding pregnancy and lactation is lacking. The plant species interferes with prostaglandin synthesis.

How to use Peperomia pellucida

None validated by clinical data.

Warnings

Animals given P. pellucida aqueous extract 5 g/kg for 14 days showed no adverse reactions or changes in behavior or weight. No clinical data have been reported on human toxicity.de Fatima 2004

What other drugs will affect Peperomia pellucida

No drug interaction data could be found in medical literature. Theoretically, patients taking herbal preparations containing P. pellucida with analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs should be wary of potential additive and adverse effects such as GI bleeding, constipation, and bruising.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Popular Keywords