Pharmacological and phytochemical studies of callus culture extracts from Alternanthera brasiliana.

This work describes the establishment of callus cultures of Alternanthera brasiliana, a Brazilian medicinal plant used to treat several ailments. In addition the two extracts, exhibiting best yields, were chemically analysed and evaluated as antinociceptive agents in two classical models of pain in mice: the writhing test and the formalin test. The results show that the highest biomass accumulation was observed in callus grown in media with higher concentrations of growth regulator of 2,4-D. Both extracts studied exhibited antinociceptive effects in mice, being more effective than the plant extracts. The pharmacological action seems to be related to the presence of steroids and/or terpenes.