Drug-Like Properties of Copaiba Tree Oil-Resin Active Ingredients
摘要
Copaifera spp. are a group of Amazonian rainforest plant species widely used because of their medicinal properties, especially in folk medicine. The species also occur in Africa, Central America and Asia. The tree is called Copaíba and produces an oil-resin with valuable therapeutical characteristics, usually associated with anti-inflammatory, wound healing, antitumor, antiseptic, germicidal, antifungal, antibacterial, larvicidal and gastric protection activities. The oil-resin is composed mainly of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, like β-caryophyllene, and diterpenic acids, including copalic and kaurenoic acids. The bioactivity attributed to Copaíba oil-resin is due to the presence of these important chemical entities with valuable pharmacological properties. Copaíba oil-resin emerge as an interesting source of drug-like chemical entities candidates to the conception and design of medicines to treat particularly inflammatory, rheumatic and infectious diseases.