Abstract

Marcos A. Reynoso, Franco A. Medina and Nancy R. Vera*

ABSTRACT

The present study was carried out to investigate the medicinal properties and safety of organic unifloral atamisqui honey (Atamisquea emarginata). We evaluated the antioxidant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of honeys with a previous quantitative analysis of some phytoconstituents such as total phenolic compounds and flavonoids. Safety was evaluated with the acute toxicity test. The unifloral atamisqui honey (UAH) presented an important antioxidant activity with values higher than 90% (from 400 μg / ml) in both methods (DPPH and β-carotene bleaching) and similar to the positive patterns (BHT and quercetin). In addition, UAH exhibited a significant anti-inflammatory activity in the acute and chronic inflammation models. The anti-inflammatory effect was greater in animals treated with both doses 14 days prior to the trial (84.13% reduction in edema and 42.63 % reduction the weight of exudate). UAH has antinociceptive activity at both central and peripheral levels. Acute toxicity results suggest that single oral doses of 2000 and 5000 mg/kg b.w. are safe to use in rats. Our data indicate that UAH is a natural source of bioactive substances with promising beneficial properties for human health.