ABSTRACT
Baccharis crispa is commonly known to be used in the treatment of several digestive disorders and the primarypurpose of this study was to detect its acute toxicity. Its influence on general behavior, sleeping time and intestinaltransit activity in mice were followed as a mean of initial validation for popular use. The gastrointestinal effectwas determined by testing the influence of B. crispa (Bc) on both intestinal motility (in vivo) and spontaneouscontractile response of isolated ileum (in vitro). Oral administration of Bc showed low toxicity and induced asignificant shortening of sleeping time in mice. After in vitro evaluation on isolated ileum, doses of 5.10−4; 10−4and 5.10−3 mg/mL of Bc potentiated the contractile response to acetylcholine. The intestinal propulsive activityincreased with oral doses of 1, 5 and 50 mg/kg of Bc. After in vitro and in vivo gastrointestinal evaluations ofBc extract, it was clear that an efficient prokinetic activity and a significant increase in spontaneous contractioninduced by acetylcholine in isolated mouse ileum occurred. These results partially support and justify thetraditional use of B. crispa to treat gastrointestinal disorders.