PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Corteza y ramas.

ACCION FARMACOLOGICA= Pharmacological action: cicatrizante y astringente.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Os principais constituintes químicos desta planta sao principalmente taninos, lignanas e um alcaloide denominado taspina e reconhecido com propiedades antiinflamatorias, alem de alguns antioxidantes. A maioria dos estudos publicados concentram-se principalmente na elucidaçao da suas propiedades cicatrizantes, que foram atribuidas a dois de seus componentes, a dimetilcedrusina, una substancia da clase das lignanas e ao alcaloide taspina.

ZONA GEOGRAFICA= Geografical zone: Argentina. 

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs

1) The essential oil obtained from the stem bark of Croton urucurana Baillon (Euphorbiaceae) was analyzed by GC and GC-MS.  83 Compds. were identified and borneol (14.7%), bornyl acetate (5.2%), 1-isopropyl-7-methyl-4-methylene-1,3,4,5,6,8-hexahydro-2H-naphthalen-4a-ol (I)(14.7%), sesquicineole (10.5%) and g-gurjunene epoxide (5.4%) were the main components.  The EC50 value of the crude essential oil in the DPPH free radical scavenging assay was 3.21 mg mL-1.  The fraction of the crude essential oil that presented antioxidant activity was purified by prep-TLC on silica gel.  GC and GC-MS anal. revealed that a-bisabolol (38.3%), a-eudesmol (9.3%) and guaiol (8.2%) were the main components of the antioxidant fraction.  The EC50 value measured for the bioactive oil fraction in the DPPH assay was 1.05 mg mL-1.  The antimicrobial activity of the crude essential oil was assayed against seven Gram-pos. and Gram-neg. bacteria and three yeasts.  Measured MIC values ranged from 1.25 to 10.00 mg mL-1. 

2) Croton urucurana, known in Brazil as Sangre de Grado or Sangra d'Agua is a species employed in folk medicine because of its analgesic and antiinflammatory effects.  This paper describes the isolation through exhaustive extn. with methanol of the air-dried, pulverized bark and chromatog. sepn. of this plant's active compds.  This procedure revealed several compds. presenting analgesic activity, namely campesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, acetyl aleuritolic acid, catechin, gallocatechin and beta-sitosterol glucoside.  A comparison between the analgesic potency of the identified exts. and that of the pure compds. suggests the existence of other, more potent analgesic compds. that are probably present in a very small proportions and that were not detd. or it also suggests the existence of a synergistic effect.

3) Based on ethnobotanical approach, the dragon's blood collected from Croton urucurana Baill. bark (Euphorbiaceae) was tested for antifungal activity against five dermatophytes by paper disk diffusion method.  The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) showing no visible fungal growth was also determined, using tube dilution technique.  The test dermatophytes were Tricophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis and Epidermophyton floccossum.  The dragon's blood (0.175-3.0 mg/ml) exhibited an inhibition zone range of 7.6-26.9 mm against all the tested fungi with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 1.25-2.5 mg/ml.

4) In the methanolic extract of Croton urucurana Baillon (Euphorbiaceae) a number of known compounds, such as acetyl aleuritolic acid, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol, campesterol, beta-sitosterol-O-glucoside, sonderianin, catechin and gallocatechin were isolated and identified by MS and NMR spectroscopy, HRGC and data from literature.  The antibacterial activity of the aqueous-EtOH extract, some fractions of the methanolic extract and some of the isolated compounds, were tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium.  Acetyl aleuritolic acid exhibits the best minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against both Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium.

5) We evaluated the antibacterial activity of the latex and exts. from different polarities and pharmacogens of Croton urucurana using antimicrobial assays.  The pharmacogens were collected in Barao de Melgaco-MT.  The exts. were obtained by cold maceration in hexane, dichloromethane, Et acetate, ethanol and chloroform.  They were concd. in rotatory evaporator and dried in stove.  In the disk diffusion assay, the latex showed a potent action against all bacterial strains, excepting E. coli, not differing in the potency and antibacterial spectrum.  The hexane, dichloromethane and ethanol exts. of leaves showed activity against S. pyogenes, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, S. typhimurium, S. aureus and S. epidermidis in the major doses.  Exts. obtained of stem bark were actives against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa, E. faecalis, S. pyogenes, E. coli, K. pneumoniae and S. typhimurium.  The latex showed higher potency and broad-spectrum of action than exts. from stem bark and leaves.  Among the stem bark exts., the chloroform was the most potent one, followed by the ethanol ext.  This result suggests the presence of different active principles.  In the broth-microdilution, the latex and all exts. showed activity, even though, the latex presented more potency.  Our results indicate that C. urucurana presents antibacterial activity, in different parts of the plant and by different secondary metabolites

Uses: wound healng, wound, cancer, cleanser, hypertension, prostate, stomach, gastritis, ulcer, uterine infection, bleeding, urinary infection, kidneys.                                                 

Origin: Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay. 

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Summary
Dragon’s blood is a red viscous latex that can be obtained by bark incision of several species of the genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae). In the specific case of Croton urucurana, several biological activities have been described for the latex and other parts of the plant, and pharmacological evidence suggests that anti-dermatophytic, immunomodulating, and antidiarrheic actions are present in the species, the latter being more evident in the case of patients affected by cholera.

1) ALONSO, Jorge ; DESMARCHELIER, Cristian. Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina : bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud. Buenos Aires : L.O.L.A, 2005, pp.515-519.

2) LORENZI, Harri; MATOS, José de Abreu. Plantas medicinais no brasil: nativas e exóticas. Nova Odessa, SP: Instituto Plantarum, 2002. p. 209.

3) SIMIONATTO, Euclesio, et al. Chemical composition and evaluation of antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Croton urucurana Baillon (Euphorbiaceae) stem bark. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society. 2007, vol.18, nº5, p.879-885.
 
4) PERES, Marize T. Analgesic compounds of Croton urucurana Baillon. Pharmaco-chemical criteria used in their isolation. Phytotherapy Research  (1998), vol.12, nº3, p.209-211.
 
5) GURGEL, Luilma A., et al. In vitro antifungal activity of dragon's blood from Croton urucurana against dermatophytes. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 2005, vol.97, nº2, p.409-12.
 
6) PERES, M T., et al. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Croton urucurana Baillon (Euphorbiaceae). Journal of ethnopharmacology. 1997, vol.56, nº3, p.223-6.
 
7) Oliveira, Iris S., et al. In vitro screening of antibacterial activity of the latex and extracts from Croton urucurana Baillon. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia. 2008, vol.18, nº4, p.587-593.
 
8) ALONSO, Jorge ; DESMARCHELIER, Cristian. Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina : bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud.  Buenos Aires: L.O.L.A, 2005, p. 515.

9) Geraldini , Isanete, Journal of Ethnopharmacology v. 173, 2015 . -- p. 383-423

10) Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina. Bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud / Jorge Alonso y Cristian Jorge Desmarchelier. - 1a ed. - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Corpus Libros Médicos y Científicos, 2015.