ABSTRACT
Extract of Vernonia condensata (Asteraceae = Compositae) leaves has different uses in Brazilian folk medicine, which includes analgesic and antiinflamatory agent. The aim of this study was to apply a modified simplex-centroid mixture design to evaluate the best extractor system for the antinociceptive activity, evaluated by writhing test. Different solvents (acetone, dichloromethane, ethanol and ethyl acetate) as well as their binary, ternary and quaternary mixtures were used. For comparison, aqueous extract was also evaluated. LD50 was estimated and qualitative phytochemical screening, conducted. The extracts with antinociceptive activity were: aqueous, acetone, dicloromethane (DCM), ethanol (ETOH), acetone-DCM, acetone-ETOH, acetone-ethyl acetate, ETOH-ethyl acetate, acetone-DCM-ethyl acetate, acetone-ETOH-ethyl acetate and DCM-ETOH-ethyl acetate. The higher margin of safety (LD50/ED50) was for acetone > acetone-ETOH-ethyl acetate > aqueous > ETOH = acetone-ETOH > DCM > acetone-ethyl acetate > DCM-ETOH-ethyl acetate > acetone-DCM > acetone-DCM-ethyl acetate. Phytochemical screening showed that all the extracts contained alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins and saponins. In conclusion, the extractor system influences both the pharmacological activity and acute toxicity of leaves from V. condensata. Acetone and the ternary mixture, acetone-ETOH-ethyl acetate extracts showed higher margin of safety than aqueous extract.